GCSE Islamic Studies (Fast Track)

LIMITED PLACES

Empowering Future Generations through Islamic Studies GCSE

– Starting June 2024.
– The GCSE is accredited by the Cambridge Assessment Board, part of the University of Cambridge.
– A new fast track 16 month GCSE course delivered online 2 hours a week.
– Taught by a team of experienced teachers and support staff delivering a unique curriculum tailor made for the challenges of the current age.

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Enrol Now for June 2024 Entry

Gain an extra GCSE qualification: This a fantastic opportunity for students to gain an extra GCSE as well studying Islam with only a two-hour weekly commitment.

Are you looking for a way to enrich your children’s Islamic studies education? Do you want them to learn from qualified teachers who understand the contemporary issues facing Muslims today? If so, you might be interested in our Islamic studies GCSE. This program offers high quality instruction taking in to account the challenges of the modern world.

Our curriculum is designed to help your children develop a strong Islamic identity by learning a range of relevant topics related to their faith, as well as how to respond to the challenges of living in a society which is increasingly atheist and hostile to traditional religious values.

Example of supplementary interactive learning materials

It can be difficult to understand what interactive learning material is, to help explain please take a look at this resource about common errors in prayer which we provide as supplementary learning material.

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online learning

The Benefits of Studying with Us Online

Our expert tuition of Islamic Studies is the superior solution
for many families for the following reasons:

  • Save time and money: access from the comfort of your home and fit in with your busy schedules.

  • Not just a lecture: teachers will employ a range of interactive learning activities to help facilitate students to pay attention.

  • 2 hours of study time per week, consisting of a 1.5-2 hour lesson with weekly marked assessment.
  • Detailed reports of student assessments as the course progresses.

Course Outline

1. Major themes of the Qur’an
Three groups of passages are set for close study. These relate to the themes of: God in himself and God’s relationship with the created world God’s Messengers.
Students will explore:
– the major theme or themes of the Qur’an that appear in each passage, and
– the importance of these themes in the lives of Muslims today.
Students will study the passages in a recognised English translation, but with reference to the original Arabic text.

2. The history and importance of the Qur’an
– the revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet between the years 610 and 632
– the account of the compilation of the Qur’an under the Rightly Guided Caliphs
– the major themes of the Qur’an as contained both in the passages set for special study and in other similar passages
– the use of the Qur’an in legal thinking, and its relationship with the Hadiths, consensus (ijma‘ ) and analogy (qiyas)
– its significance as the basis of all thought and action in Islam.

3. The life and importance of the Prophet Muhammad
– the main events of the Prophet’s life from his birth to his call to prophethood
– the main events of his activities in Makka and his experiences with his opponents
– the main events of his activities in Madina, his leadership of the community there and his conflicts with the Makkans and others
his actions and character
– the importance of his actions as examples for Muslim individuals in their personal conduct and relations with others including women and non-Muslims
– the importance of his actions as examples for Muslim communities in their relations with other states
– his significance as Seal of the Prophets and last Messenger of God.

4. The first Islamic community
– the Prophet’s wives
– his descendants, including his children, grandchildren and the direct line recognised among Shi‘a Muslims as Imams
– his leading Companions, including the Ten Blessed Companions, his Scribes, the major characters who surrounded him in his ministry, the Emigrants and Helpers, and the four Rightly Guided Caliphs during his lifetime. (Note that the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs’ rules after the time of the Prophet is included in the syllabus under Paper 2.)

PAPER 2
1. Major teachings in the Hadiths of the Prophet
Two groups of passages are set for close study. These relate to: individual conduct and life in the community. Students will study the teachings contained in each passage about what Muslims should believe and how they should act. Students will study the passages with reference to the original Arabic text as well as the English translation. In the examination, passages will be set in both Arabic and English.

2. The history and importance of the Hadiths
– the history of the compilation of the Hadiths
– the earliest collections
– the main musnad and musannaf collections
– the main compilers and their activities
– the methods based on examination of the chain of transmitters (isnad) and the text (matn) of a Hadith to test the reliability of the Hadith
– the main features of the six collections of Sunni Hadiths and the four collections of Shi‘a Hadiths
– the major themes of the Hadiths as these are contained both in the passages set for special study and in other similar passages
– their use in legal thinking, and their relationship with the Qur’an, consensus (ijma‘) and analogy (qiyas)
– their significance in thought and action in Islam.

3. The period of rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and their importance as leaders
– the main events of the rules of the four Caliphs
– their policies in maintaining and expanding the state
– their approaches to leading the community
– their main achievements
– the main difficulties they encountered
– their significance as examples of leadership
– the importance of their rules as models for government today
– their importance as examples for Muslim communities in their relations with other states.

4. The Articles of Faith and the Pillars of Islam
Students will study the Six Articles of Faith: God, including what Muslims believe about him; angels, their nature and duties; books, their contents and purpose; prophets, their character and function; God’s predestination and decree, its meaning and significance; Resurrection and the last day, the main events and its significance.

And the Five Pillars of Islam: the declaration of faith, shahada, including the significance of what it contains; prayer, salat, including preparations, its performance and importance, congregational prayers on Fridays and festivals, times of prayer, the place of prayer, private prayer, delayed prayer; alms-giving, zakat, how it is performed and its significance in the community; asting, sawm, including the way it is observed, its significance and those exempted; pilgrimage, hajj, including the main observances involved and their significance.

A section on Jihad in its range of meanings, physical, mental and spiritual.

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FAQ – Your Questions & Our Answers

Correct, this course is only delivered online, so you will need to have a laptop and good internet connection.

We have an excellent and very experienced team of teachers, all of whom have extensive knowledge of the education sector and children, combined with a sound understanding of Islamic studies. Please take a look at their biographies on this page.

The classes will be delivered on a Monday evening 6.30 – 8.30 pm UK time. If there is sufficient demand an additional class may be added on another weekday evening.
The live class will be 1.5-2 hours long with an assessment task each week.
Attendance of the live class is necessary. Recordings will be made available but only for review purposes.
The fast track course will run for 60 weeks.

Yes! we have our own learning portal which all learners will have access to. Important information will be uploaded there along with additional learning materials.

For younger learners it is essential that the learning is engaging and that they are involved all the way through the lesson and not just listening to a lecture for an hour. We will therefore be using the best technology tools to ensure all learners are engaged.

Our lead instructors are parents and have children in the education system in the West. They also have experience of society through professional work and are able to bring all of these experiences to the crafting and delivery of sound educational provision.

Yes most certainly! We have already delivered in person a program responding to atheist objections to Islam and a course for teenage Muslim girls. It is essential that any program equips learners with the necessary tools to navigate the complexities of the modern age.

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The Teaching Team

Saleh Abu Hashim was born and raised in the UK and studied Social Sciences, IT and Education at university up to postgraduate level. His first serious exposure to traditional scholarship was when he attended the month long Rihla course held in the UK in the summer of 1997. Shortly thereafter he spent a year in the Middle East where he studied Arabic at the University of Jordan between 1998-1999. He also spent four years working in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, during which he read with some scholars in his free time.

He is a also a qualified secondary school teacher and has taught ICT and Social Sciences at secondary school level, as well as working on an education reform project for the Abu Dhabi Education Council for 3 years.

He has completed the study of basic texts in: Arabic grammar, Hanafi & Hanbali fiqh, Usul al Fiqh, Hadith, Mustalah al-Hadith and Aqidah with scholars based in the UK, as well as from Mauritania, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

He currently resides in the United Kingdom with his family and works in a field unrelated to Islamic Studies.

Ustadha Saira is a qualified pharmacist and a secondary school science teacher. She has a passion for Islamic education and has attended a number of courses in Islamic studies. She is a mother of three children and has extensive experience of challenges facing young people.

She currently works as a part time community pharmacist and academic co-ordinator and teacher for primary level Islamic Studies for a large masjid near London.

We have an assistant instructor who will be supporting the educational delivery to learners. They are trained educators with a background in Arabic language and Islamic learning, and also have extensive professional experience.

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Fees
£60

Per month for 16 months

The total cost of the 16 month GCSE course is £900 inclusive of learning materials. Exam fees are to be paid by learners.

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