Karima al-Marwaziyya Foundation is pleased to announce that we will be opening registration for the 7th intake of students of a 3/4 year programme which will equip students with the knowledge and tools of in depth Islamic studies.
Upon completion, students will be able to pursue further Islamic studies at an advanced level.
The FTA is an attempt to take the magnificent historical tradition of Islamic learning encapsulated in the sacred sciences and make it conceivable in a 21st century context. Students from the previous 5 years of its running have gone on to study further in more advanced programs or, for those who chose to focus primarily on secular studies, traversed the plan of secular education with a newfound confidence in their faith. The program is staffed by a diverse group of traditionally trained Islamic teachers, with all the staff members having attained secular degrees in conjunction with their more traditional Islamic training. Gender is not a restrictive barrier in our understanding of Islamic education, and thus the program caters for both males and females, with the standard of learning maintained equally in both cohorts. A principle we hold strongly to is the age-old adage that Islamic knowledge is not attained through comfort. The program is not for those who are unwilling to lift the heavy burden of Prophetic inheritance and has strict selection criteria to ensure excellence is achieved. Students are expected to have a strong desire to work hard and a deep commitment to the ethical demands of attaining Islamic knowledge. The rest is left to the Will of the Divine.
Curriculum for 1446/1447
Year 1
Aqīdah – Why Islam is True by Shaykh Hamza Karamali serves as the foundation for teaching ʿAqīdah, following the Ashʿarī/Māturīdī framework of Kalām. Drawing on the thought of the late Ottoman theologian Mustafa Sabri, this course addresses contemporary challenges to Islam, including evolution, materialism, atheism, and the problem of evil.
Adab – Custom-prepared notes on Islamic manners, etiquette, and decorum, based on Adab al-Dunyā wa al-Dīn by Imām al-Māwardī. The course also introduces key events in the Islamic calendar and principles of spiritual refinement.
10 Lessons in Arabic – Dr. Aamir Bashir’s translation of this classic introductory Arabic grammar primer, widely taught at Nadwatul ʿUlamāʾ, provides students with a solid foundation for further Arabic study.
Fiqh – Students study the chapters on purification (Ṭahārah) and prayer (Ṣalāh), using the Hanafi primer Kifāyat al-Mubtadiʾ. This introductory class explains both the rulings and the underlying uṣūlī-fiqhī principles, fostering an appreciation for the reasoning behind the law.
Year 2
Sīrah & Islamic History – An overview of the life of the Prophet ﷺ and major events of Islamic history, highlighting their lessons and contemporary relevance.
Fiqh – Marriage & Related Topics – Continuing with Kifāyat al-Mubtadiʾ, covering marriage, family matters, and related aspects of Hanafi law.
Qasas & Arabic Grammar – Students study Stories of the Prophets by Shaykh Abul Ḥasan ʿAlī Nadwī, with Shaykh Yusuf Mullan’s notes on grammar and rhetoric. They continue grammar studies, begin Arabic morphology (ṣarf), and start parsing verses from the Qurʾān.
Spirituality & 40 Ḥadīth – Students memorise 40 ḥadīth (Shaykh Shah Wali Allah’s collection) on spirituality and self-development, alongside selected aphorisms from Mufīd al-Ṭālibīn.
Year 3
Advanced ʿAqīdah – Study of Jawharat al-Tawḥīd by Imām Laqqānī, with commentary, Shaykh Ṣāliḥ Ghursī’s notes, and additional reflections by Shaykh Hamza Karamali. Topics include metaphysics, epistemology, the Existence of God, and divine attributes.
Arabic – Qasas al-Nabiyyīn & Beyond – Continued study of Stories of the Prophets, further grammatical and morphological study, and supplemental texts such as Ayyuhā al-Walad by Imām Ghazālī. Students also progress to a grammatical analysis Juzʾ ʿAmma.
Fiqh of Worship & Transactions – Continuing with Kifāyat al-Mubtadiʾ, students complete the remaining chapters on worship, followed by the fiqh of buying and selling (Bayʿ), including contemporary topics like Islamic banking and finance.
40 Ḥadīth & Spirituality – Memorisation and study of the Arbaʿīn Nawawī, as well as excerpts from Minhāj al-ʿĀbidīn by Imām Ghazālī and Risālat al-Akhlāq Shaykh Iji, focusing on ethics and spiritual development.
Year 4
Advanced ʿAqīdah (continued) – Exploring prophetology, eschatology, the mission of the Messenger ﷺ, and the relationship between Islam and politics and governance.
Uṣūl Ḥadīth – Study of the Bayqūniyya poem on hadith principles with commentary.
Arabic – Study of ʿAwāmil of Birgiwi in grammar, continued analysis of Qurʾān from Juzʾ ʿAmma, with a progression onto grammatical analysis of Sūrat Yā-Sīn.
Spirituality – A reading and study of the Hikma of ibn Ata Illah Al Askandari
Fiqh – Advanced Topics – Continuing with Kifāyat al-Mubtadiʾ, covering governance, inheritance, and issues of global conflicts, framed constructively and contextually.
FTA Plus Advanced Programme:
Year 1:
Arabic Morphology (Ṣarf): Tahdhīb Taṣrīf al-ʿIzzī
Grammatical Analysis: of Qurʾān with linguistic commentary
Arabic Reading & Comprehension
Hanafi Fiqh: Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī (Arabic reading)
Hanafi Legal Theory: Mabādiʾ al-Uṣūl by Muftī Palanpuri (Arabic reading)