Hawzah Studies

Students who successfully complete the ILM Program, exhibiting both academic excellence and integrity of character, will have the option to proceed to the Hawzah Program – a comprehensive thirteen-year program divided into three phases:

Phase One

Phase One is an exhaustive foundational course in basic hawzah studies where students build upon the introductory material learnt in the ILM Program and go on to establish firm bases in the traditional (naqli) and intellectual (aqli) sciences of Islam. Starting with instrumental sciences such as classical Arabic and Logic, students proceed to cover the tripartite areas of Law (ahkam), Ethics (akhlaq), and Theology (aqaid) on multiple levels. Qurʾanic studies are present in all parts and stages of the course and are the constant refrain that enrich and substantiate all the other studies. Throughout the course, a guided reading component where contemporary books in English are read and discussed helps students to acquire an overview of how their hawzah studies are relevant to the critical situation of Islam in the modern world.

Phase Two

Phase Two is an extensive integral course in intermediate hawzah studies where students build upon the foundational material learnt in the Phase One Program and go on to develop a good knowledge of the naqli and aqli sciences of Islam. By focusing on the level of principles and by acquiring the tools necessary for understanding and responding to the challenges they face in the modern world, students become better prepared to defend and propagate Islam in our times. Consequently, there is an emphasis on the extension (imtidad) of principles to apply to newly appearing situations. Throughout the course, some modules are taught in English and many research projects, including a thesis, are done in English, so as to increase the proficiency and preparedness of the students. The Qurʾan, through a regular study of Qurʾanic exegesis (tafsir), provides the mainstay and the ultimate point of reference for all other intermediate studies in this phase.

Phase Three

Phase Three is a consolidative final course in advanced hawzah studies where students build upon the integral material learnt in the Phase Two Program and go on to acquire an expertise in one or more facets of the naqli and aqli sciences of Islam. By delving deep into their area of expertise, the students, who are now scholars in their own right, aim to realise their profound knowledge of Islam by making it applicable in our time. Their concentrated efforts in this regard are informed by the balanced fusion of all their learnt-sciences under the supremacy of the Qurʾan. Having been mentored for many years by those who were also mentored in a contiguous and continuous manner going back to the Holy Prophet (s) of Islam, gives them an authentic education in the Book of Allah and Wisdom, and a viable edification at the hands of such inspired mentors. All of this allows the participants of this course to tread on the path of the Holy Prophet (s) and his Purified Progeny (a), and thereby to become authorities and leaders who, if Allah should desire, can help others find the luminous way of Islam in the darkness of the latter days.