Salaam
Does anyone know of any Islamic studies or Arabic courses which are *not* online and take place in Birmingham? By full time time I mean preferebly taking place *during the day* and 5x times week/ 3x week or whatever.
If you know of any institutions which offer full time courses, please share the details, jazakAllah 
As-Suffa were running full time Alim courses in the academic year just gone.
The 'European Institute' were also teaching arabic/shariah at the Bordesley/Amanah centre a few years ago. Not sure if they're still doing so.
For females too?
I'll try to look further into them, jazakAllah
EDIT: who are the European institute? Just did a google search and nothing Islam related came up
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
As far as I'm aware yes both offered courses were for sisters too.
http://www.as-suffa.org/item/full-time-aalim-course.html Seems to be for brothers only now. The part time one is definitely still available for sisters.
European Institute:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2959389.stm
http://www.eihs.org.uk/wpen/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/European-Institute-of-Human-Sciences-EIHS/225572200814523
One of the teachers (or maybe ex teachers) at the Birmingham branch: http://www.facebook.com/othmane.chouchane?sk=info
http://iesh.fr/ (might need to translate this from french)
My 2 cents: If its possible honestly just go to the European Institute HQ in France for a year. No-one speaks English there and every British student I know of who has been there has come back completely fluent (speaking and comprehension) in fusha arabic. Even the canteen people there will only speak to you in fusha arabic.
European Institute in FRANCE :O you dont wanna go there.
and As-Suffa. thats where Hummus go.
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
I know Hummus goes there and France/going out the country is out of the question anyway. Although the HQ and the place in Wales looks/sounds great.
Sorry, I'm not familiar with all the terminology - what does fusha mean? I'd Lile to leanr Quranic Arabic to understand it better and I'm guessing that isn't quranic as people don't use it in conversation any more?
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
Ignore Lilli, the institute in France is probably one of the best in the world for Arabic. Even the teachers at Madinah University recommend it strongly and the calibre of the students produced speak for themselves.
Fusha = classical/standard arabic. Used by scholars/imams/lecturers/news/al-jazeerah and all educated Arabs can understand it. On the streets they use dialects, each country has their own dialect but the common currency between all of them is fusha/modern standard arabic. Also, fusha is the language of the Quran. It is the language that will be spoken in jannah as testified by the Hadith.
If you just want to learn Quranic arabic you'd probably struggle to find a full time course that does not teach the other skills of a language i.e. speaking, writing etc remember practising the other skills of a language enhances your overall comprehension and understanding.
might actually check out that french institute. how long does it take for speak fusha? what else do you learn apart frm arabic? cost? location? or just link with all this info please.
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
Thanks for the info
Fusha is what I'm looking for, then!
I need to fine out more info about their birmingham branch, I'll probably send them an email or something as some of the links on their homepage come up with blank pages e.g the fees for the course.
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
Be warned though, the Birmingham branch is nowhere as good as the France or Wales one. If it's even still running.
I can't go out the country anyway, so it'll have to do, unless I find another place. But thanks for the warning.
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
By the way As-Suffa are excellent (maybe not so much from conversational point of view but definitely for understanding Quran/classical arabic) but from your enquiry you want full time and from the website it seems they are not offering the full time Alim course (1st year) for sisters. I would contact As-Suffa and tell them you want to do the full time Alim course. They teach the part time Alim class simultaneously to both brothers and sisters (with proper segregation) so I don't see why they can't do so for the full time course if there is enough demand. Don't underestimate what a single email can do, maybe other sisters have enquired too. As-Suffa are practical and respond to demand. My mum just finished fourth year. There are only four female students in that year but because all four wanted and could do full time Shaykh Zaheer arranged full time classes for them for all of the academic year just gone and they will continue studying full time after Ramadan going into their fifth year.
Btw by full time I mean 9am-1pm i.e. Arab world full time hours. But if you do all the homework/revision properly etc you would have your hands full anyway.
If you find you still have spare time whilst doing the full time Alim course (if they facilitate that) you can also attend Dr Surtys Quranic Arabic course every Sunday at the QAF centre in small heath.
Yes, As-Suffa are amazing, honestly! All classes are fully segregated like the brother above mentioned. Communication is made by a projector screen in the sisters class. There are many handsets, which you can talk into, and then your teacher is the only one who can hear you from the brothers side and he will respond to what you say.
At the moment, they have full time Alim sessions for brothers only, and if they have enough numbers, then only then would they introduce a sisters full time Alimah course. What seems to happen, is that many sisters enrol on the course at the beginning of the year, perhaps around 60-70, and then at the end of the year only 30-40 remain and later when it becomes slightly more demanding, the numbers get fewer. Perhaps they weren't ready for it, or they had other commitments so thats why they left the course. Just remember to always be enthusiastic and have the zeal to want to learn from such great teachers in a great environment.
If you do have any questions that you'd like to ask me, then you can do, and i'll let you know as much as i can! They also have an enrolement day on Tuesday 28th August 2012. So, they'll be sisters from each year, and you can ask them how they find it, what they study, what the workload is like, etc and they'll be more than happy to listen to your queries.
The link below shows what you'll be learning and studying in your first year only. Sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursday from 7.30 to 9.30 in the evenings.
http://www.as-suffa.org/item/the-heirs-of-the-scholars-modular-islamic-studies-course.html?category_id=371
Hi,
Couple of questions.
1) has anyone or do they know anyone that has attended the FULL time alim course at as-suffa? If so, what level are they at when they finish the first year? Can you give as much details as possible or give your contact number.
2) Is the institute at France, IESH, really that good? All I know about them is the few posts that vaguely mention them and the odd couple of times ive spoken to them on the phone.
I cant make my mind up as to which of the 2 will be more beneficial. Any help ill be appreciated. Jazakallah.
AsalaamuAlaikum brother. I would've been able to help you but i'm in the part time course and being a sister, I don't have direct contact with the brothers. But with regards to the full time Aalim course at As-Suffa Institute there is an enrolment day coming up soon. It's on Tuesday 20th August 2013 at 7.45 in the evening. I would suggest that you attend that day because the teachers and students will be able to give you an insight into what to expect. If you'd like any further information and specific details then do ring 07779 061 117 to have your questions answered inshaAllah.
Couple of questions.
1) has anyone or do they know anyone that has attended the FULL time alim course at as-suffa? If so, what level are they at when they finish the first year? Can you give as much details as possible or give your contact number.
2) Is the institute at France, IESH, really that good? All I know about them is the few posts that vaguely mention them and the odd couple of times ive spoken to them on the phone.
I cant make my mind up as to which of the 2 will be more beneficial. Any help ill be appreciated. Jazakallah.
salaam,
I know quite a few people at both As-Suffa and who attended IESH. Both are excellent, but both also teach Arabic with slightly different perspectives.
Brother it depends what your aims are. If you only have one year to spare and want to dedicate that to learning arabic, my sincere advice to you would be to do everything possible to go to IESH, and make sure to go to the main branch i.e. Chateau Chinon in France.
As-Suffa is excellent in what it sets out to do - teach classical arabic (i.e. translating classical works, minimal focus on conversation etc) but with a long term goal. They havent set up for students to leave after one year so there will be many intentional gaps.
The EISH course in France - the Arabic diploma - is a two year course, but they have set up in way that whether you attend first or second year, you will be able to leave very competent in Arabic. Yes, the EISH is really that good. They may not sound it on the phone and their general admin is a bit lacking, but once you're there you will benefit immensely. Everyone I know who has attended EISH has come out completely fluent in speaking Arabic, and if you enter the second year you will be able to translate classical texts by the end of the year i.e. texts without tashkeel. If you enter first year and complete that year you will still be fluent in conversational arabic, but your grammar and translating ability will be less.
Bear in mind most brothers from the UK who spend a year in France cram in the summer holidays so that they can enter second year and benefit from studying more advanced Arabic.
The EISH does have a four year shariah course you can attend after the diploma but that course is not so good. In that regard As-Suffa would be better to attend. Their alim course is based on the famous Dars Nizami syllabus and you will benefit much more from going to As-Suffa if you have a long term plan.
In summary:
* If you can only spare one year and can afford it (around 3k including fees, accomodation, food) - make it your mission to go to and study the second year of EISH Arabic diploma in France.
* If you have a longer 6-7 year plan to become an alim, attend As-Suffa.
You can also do both of course. If you do the one year in France, you'd probably be able to enter the 3rd or 4th year Alim course at As-Suffa, and the teachers would probably be astonished at how fluent your conversational Arabic is too.
Hope that helps. Many times I've wished and planned to go to EISH but due to various reasons I couldnt. If you can it would be a year you will never regret investing in inshAllah.
learnt something new today.
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
Jazakallah for the responses.
Inshallah I will attend the open day at as-suffa and try to gather how intense it will be. Im looking for something really intense as at my age I cant be beating around the bush and because as I'v also studied the basics of the language I dont want to go at snail pace.
Wow. do you really think after finishing the 2nd year course at IESH you could skip a few years of the aalim course?
As of right now, Im thinking that the best plan would be doing the 1 year in France, and then leaving my self open to chose which alim course to pursue. I have no limit on the time really. Just want to learn as much knowldge as possible and reform myself.
Brother umaralkhatab, the brothers you know that went to IESH, do you know what they did after they finished? Would be interesting to know. Also do you know what level you need to be at to get onto their 2nd year.
Jazakallh once again for the responses. Its helping me formulate my plan.
I think so. But its best you ask at the As-Suffa open day. Remember the first couple of years on an Alim course is basically getting to grips with Arabic. By end of second year at IESH you'll be able to read unvowelled Arabic text, be able to write essays in arabic (required for end of second year exam) and have a relatively high degree of fluency in conversational Arabic (not really required for indo-pak alim courses). If you mention all that at the As-Suffa open day they'd probably be able to give you a good idea where they'd place you. Also bear in mind in 2nd year of IESH you study subjects such as fiqh, seerah, poetry etc.
The 3 brothers I personally know who did the second year (in 2003, 2004 and 2006 respectively) worked full time when they came back due to family responsiblities etc. Two of them taught Arabic at Birmingham Cental Mosque for a while at weekends. The third also worked full time but also carried on studying, and completed the part time Alim course under Shaykh Akram Nadwi last year at the Al-Salaam Institute.
Other people who I dont know personally have gone onto study at Al-Azhar, such as the founder of IIDR, Shaykh Hasan Al-Banna and Shaykh Hammad Fahim: http://www.beyondboundaries.org.uk/speakers/item/shaykh-hammad-ur-rahman....
You can read of quite a few brothers and sisters who attended IESH and are now teaching Arabic here: http://www.theoti.org/tutors
I was told about the entrance exam a few years back when I was planning to apply. You need basic vocabulary (such as recognising synonyms such as daar and bayt), be able to put words in grammatical order e.g. rearrange a jumbled sentence into the correct fi'l-faai'l-mafool bihi order. There's also an essay question. For example the brother who I talked to simply had a picture of the kaaba and was told to write about it. He said he could only muster up a couple of lines, but he still got onto second year. He mentioned how by the end of the second year he was writing pages and pages for the end of year exams. I was also told of another brother who didnt perform well on the entrance exam and was told to do first year, but this brother was very persistent in wanting to do second year. He was allowed to do second year and did very well in the end, presumably after putting a lot of hard work in the initial stages.
I really dont think you'll have any regrets if you invest a year at IESH in France.
By the way I'm not a big fan of Ibn Jabal's 3 week intensive courses in general, because everyone forgets soon after, but in your situation it may be a good idea in terms of preparation for getting into IESH.
IESH sounds amazing!
All the best with your decisions on where to study!
Jazakallah khair for the info,
Mashallah you have given me so much information. I've already started preparing for the entrance test. At the moment im trying to get slightly larger vocab base and the basic reading translating practice. Inshallah in the next couple of weeks will add in the spoken aspect. Looking forward to it now, will definately post here and let you know when i join and what year i get into inshallah.
No worries. Btw here's a copy of the syllabus which I downloaded couple of years ago:
[URL=http://img138.imageshack.us/i/pgje.jpg/][IMG]http://img138.imageshack.us...
So did you end up going to France brother? If so, how have you found it? Would be interesting to hear...
Salam,
Does anyone know the fees for the as suffa full time course,
Jazakallah
Wa'alaikumus Salaam. It's £50 per month. They do offer discounts for students and those who are unemployed for the part time course at £35. I'm not 100% sure if that applies to the full time course aswell but I will find out for you by tomorrow inshaAllah.