pre-seminary program

About:

The pre-seminary program consists of a two-year curriculum where students learn how to read, write, and speak Arabic to prepare them for the seminary. Students also are introduced to the main Islamic sciences in English. The Arabic portion of the program is taught in conjunction with Maysour Institute, which is based upon the Arabic program taught at the Islamic University of Madinah.

  • Students will be given a daily schedule to help them organize their time such that they can study all the texts required.
  • Students will be given a syllabus for every course that includes a course description and a weekly breakdown of topics.
  • Courses will involve: pre-recorded lessons, live sessions, quizzes for every class, homework, papers, exams, and participation in student forums.
  • Before starting any program, all students must take the Mannerisms of Seeking Knowledge course- “Ḥilyat Ṭalib al-ʿIlm” by Bakr ʾAbū Zayd

 

    Texts:

    Year 1

    Fall 0A:

    1. Zidni-Maysur Arabic Program 0A

                a. Course 1: Arabic for Beginners

                b. Course 2: Madinah Book 1

                c. Course 3: Reading

                d.Course 4: Expression

    1. Qurʾān 0A- Memorize Juzʾ 30 Part 1
    2. Tajwīd (Qurʾanic Recitation) 0A- “Tuḥfat al-ʾAṭfāl” by Sulaymān al-Jamzūrī
    3. Fiqh (Jurisprudence) 0A- “Bidāyat al-ʿĀbid Wa Kifāyat al-Zāhid” by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʾIbn ʿAbdallah al-Baʿlī (Ḥanbalī)/ “Safīnat al-Najāh” by Sālim ʾIbn Samīr al-Ḥaḍramī (Shāfiʿī)/ “Nūr al-ʾIḍāḥ” by al-Shurunbulālī (Ḥanafī)/ “al-Murshid al-Muʿīn ʿAlā al-Ḍarūrī Min ʿUlūm al-Dīn” by ʾIbn ʿĀshir (fiqh section) (Mālikī)
    4. Tafsīr (Exegesis) 0A- al-Fātiḥah and Juzʾ ʿAmma Part 1
    5. ʿAqīdah (Creed) 0A- “Lumʿat al-ʾIʿtiqād” by ʾIbn Qudāmah, “ʾUṣūl al-Sunnah” by ʾAḥmad ʾibn Ḥanbal

    Spring 0B:

    1. Zidni-Maysur Arabic Program 0B

                  a. Course 1: Madinah Book 2

                  b. Course 2: Reading

                  c. Course 3: Expression-

                  d. Course 4: Arabic from Fiqh

                  e. Course 5: Dictation

                  f. Course 6: Arabic from Ḥadīth

                  g. Course 7: Arabic from Stories of the Prophets

    1. Qurʾān 0B- Memorize Juzʾ 30 Part 2
    2. Sīrah (Prophetic Biography) 0B- “al-ʾUrjūzah al-Mīʾiyyah Fī Dhikr Ḥāl ʾAshraf al-Bariyyah” by ʾIbn ʾAbī al-ʿIz
    3. Tazkīyah (Purification of the Heart) 0B- “Mukhtaṣar Minhāj al-Qāṣidīn” by ʾIbn Qudāmah
    4. Tafsīr (Exegesis) 0B- al-Fātiḥah and Juzʾ ʿAmma Part 2
    5. ʾUṣūl al-Ḥadīth (Principles of Prophetic Tradition) 0B- “al-Bayqūniyyah” by ʿUmar/Ṭaha al-Bayqūnī, “al-Tadhkirah Fī ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth” by ʾIbn al-Mulaqqin

    Year 2

    Fall 0C:

    1. Zidni-Maysur Arabic Program 0C

                  a. Madinah Book 3

                  b. Reading

                  c. Expression

                  d. Arabic from Fiqh

                  e. Dictation

                  f. Arabic from Ḥadīth

                  g. Arabic from Theology

    1. Qurʾān 0C- Memorize Juzʾ 29 Part 1
    2. ʾUṣūl al-Fiqh (Legal Theory) 0C- “al-Waraqāt” by al-Juwaynī
    3. Ḥadīth (Prophetic Tradition) 0C- “al-ʾArbaʿīn al-Nawawiyyah” by ʿAbū Zakariyyā al-Nawawī Part 1
    4. ʿUṣūl al-Tafsīr (Principles of Exegesis) 0C- “Muqaddimah Fī ʿUlūm al-Tafsīr” by ʾIbn Taymiyyah
    5. Tafsīr (Exegesis) 0C- Juzʾ ʿAmma Part 3

    Spring 0D:

    1. Zidni-Maysur Arabic Program 0D

                  a. Madinah Book 3

                  b. Reading

                  c. Expression

                  d. Arabic from Exegesis

                   f. Arabic from Theology

    1. Qurʾān 0D- Memorize Juzʾ 29 Part 2
    2. Ḥadīth (Prophetic Tradition) 0D- “al-ʾArbaʿīn al-Nawawiyyah” by ʿAbū Zakariyyā al-Nawawī Part 2
    3. Naḥw (Grammar) 0D- “al-ʾĀjurūmiyyah” by ʾIbn ʾĀjurrūm al-Ṣanhājī
    4. Tafsīr (Exegesis) 0D- Juzʾ ʿAmma Part 4
    5. ʿAqīdah (Creed) 0D- “al-Ḥāʾiyyah” by ʾIbn ʾAbī Dāwūd