The Hundred of
Al-Baqarah

Living In a Time of Disorientation

“Disorientation” is the word that describes the times we live in. People feel out of place in themselves, their own skins, in their marriages, in their family homes, their own nation and even in their own religion. Every time the world seems to make sense, a heightened sense of awareness awakens us to the fact that what we thought was clear is not as straightforward as expected. People we follow for ten years ago regress to a position we left ten years ago. We barely have a grasp of whether we live on the precipice of victory, or in the trough of a hundred years of decline -or even at the last grains of the sand timer of human history. From day to day, we could sense we live in either time. The comfort of certainty takes on a new form of panic in uncertainty. For many, their thinking about life’s purpose is saddled by the pursuit of wealth within a culture of economic activity that veils them cowering to the constant threat of poverty. As Muslims we were taught when we were children, that all complexities stem from the foundations, the basics. As we grew older, the foundations were deemed too obvious and too uniformed, typical and similar to others, so many strayed after having overlooked the Quran in search of difference. Others doubted the status quo after seeing on TV screens barefooted children, faces laden with ash, children who walked the streets in front of demolished homes, neither they nor we could understand why this was happening to us. Some amongst the Ummah intuited that there was more to Islam and similarly overlooked the Quran in search for something different. What has happened to our Ummah that we make the same mistakes of ‘Ifraat & Tafreet’ from negligence to excessiveness in our affairs?

– Ustadh Moinul Abu Hamza

 

A short prologue about the tragic story of Banu Israel.

“Disorientation” is the word that describes the times we live in. People feel out of place in themselves, their own skins, in their marriages, in their family homes, their own nation and even in their own religion. Every time the world seems to make sense, a heightened sense of awareness awakens us to the fact that what we thought was clear is not as straightforward as expected. People we follow for ten years ago regress to a position we left ten years ago. We barely have a grasp of whether we live on the precipice of victory, or in the trough of a hundred years of decline -or even at the last grains of the sand timer of human history. From day to day, we could sense we live in either time. The comfort of certainty takes on a new form of panic in uncertainty. For many, their thinking about life’s purpose is saddled by the pursuit of wealth within a culture of economic activity that veils them cowering to the constant threat of poverty. As Muslims we were taught when we were children, that all complexities stem from the foundations, the basics. As we grew older, the foundations were deemed too obvious and too uniformed, typical and similar to others, so many strayed after having overlooked the Quran in search of difference. Others doubted the status quo after seeing on TV screens barefooted children, faces laden with ash, children who walked the streets in front of demolished homes, neither they nor we could understand why this was happening to us. Some amongst the Ummah intuited that there was more to Islam and similarly overlooked the Quran in search for something different. What has happened to our Ummah that we make the same mistakes of ‘Ifraat & Tafreet’ from negligence to excessiveness in our affairs?

The extremes we could fall into and the corrections that needed to be made both by one’s heart and hands was intricately shown in the Quran. The lived reality of these trials to find that balance was illustrated in the story of the Children Of Israil. It was reported Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: “You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah’s Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words)” those before you”? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)?”

Indeed the foundation is as preliminary and essential as a foundation is to any tall and mighty building we see piercing the sky. Much of it cannot be seen, but its fruits are many. The foundations are easier to understand but harder to embed in our hearts. We are now enrolling for one of the most relevant, motivating and clarifying stories of the Quran in our times. Allah (swa) has delivered us a whole nation to examine and study how exactly the deviations occur when manifested in a flesh and blood human experience. Indeed, we supplicate to Allah (swa) with hopeful intensity and dedicated perpetuity to ‘guide us to the straight path and not of those whose anger is upon them’. We say this because we know that we will become disorientated and lose sight of what’s important like many have done before.

Al-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz ‘The future belongs to those who prepare for it today”

Come and learn about the past Ummah to learn about yourself, your community, the role of Islamic movements and the road ahead for the final Ummah.

– Ustadh Moinul Abu Hamza

Course Outline:

This is a weekly study of the Quran set up from the grassroots of the community.

The study will include a direct translation and explanation in English. The format of these Halaqaat will be a pure process between myself, a mushaf and fellow students. In a typical lesson I will read the Ayaat in Arabic then translate and discuss the central ideas found in these passages in relation to life’s affairs in light of classical and contemporary commentaries.

Course Aims:

-To taste the miraculous and inimitable beauty in the language and meanings in the Quran
-To gain an overall understanding of the Quran Al-Kareem in its themes and narratives
-To build a conceptual framework of Islam which allows one to see the internal consistency and coherence of the Quran
-Learn ahkam related to personal, family affairs under the wider framework of working to revive our Ummah
-Gain a familiarity and basic level of knowledge of word usage, grammar and sentence structure of the Quran.
-Understand the Quran from the perspective of an idea and method
-Develop critical thinking by studying the answers provided by Western materialistic creeds and systems through the lens of the Quran
-Train you to have balance between family, community life and the Dawah.
-Study various ahadith in detail in relation to the ayaat of Quran.
-Since we’ll have some overview of the Quran we will gain a brief overview of how Usuli principles were derived from the Quran

Course Length:

Each lesson will be 1hr to 1h:30mins in length. There will be a time during for Q&A towards the end. We are hoping we can cover front to back of the Quran but we want to make clear, there can be a temporary or even a permanent cancellation depending on other extenuating factors.

Course Outcome:

-Every student gains a framework from which they can approach the Quran on practical level that is built on a sound basis.
-Students of knowledge and duaat will learn the breadth and limitations one has when taking general lessons from the Quran.
-I also hope the younger generation see this work and appreciate how necessary it is to reverse engineer concepts of Islam back to the Quran and Sunnah and thereby building a closeness with Allah (SWT) and taking this approach forward as a result.

COURSE Y1: AL-BAQARA – THE HUNDRED OF AL-BAQARAH COURSE OUTLINE:

TERM 1

TERM 1 WEEK 1: The Concept of Madinah & The Nation State
1- Madinan and Makkan Surahs
2- The addressees of Madani verses
3- The Renaissance
4- The Reformation
5- The Enlightenment
6- The Industrial Revolution
7- The difference between progress and revival
Instructor: Br. Shahid Rupon is a student of Arabic and Usul ul Fiqh. He graduated History and Arabic at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

TERM 1 WEEK 2:
1- Clearing before adorning Takhliyyah qabla at-Tahliyyah
2- Mukhaatabun-naas ‘alaa Qadri ‘uqoolihim
3- Summary of last week
4- Fada’il of Surah al-Baqarah:
5- Location and Compilation of Surah Al-Baqarah:
6- Thematic Structure of Surah Al-Baqarah
7- The Detailed Structure of Surah Al-Baqarah

TERM 1 WEEK 3:
1- Recitation of Al-Baqarah
2- Hadith: The Intelligent Person
3- Themes and Structure
4- ALM – brief introduction to Muhkaam & Mutashaabihaat
5- The Huroof Al-Muqatta’aat (The disjointed letters)
6- Tafseer of ALM via Sabr and Taqseem (A deductive process)

TERM 1 WEEK 4:
1- Hadith on beneficial knowledge
2- The Hadith of non-beneficial knowledge
3- Types of Openings in The Quran
4- Overview of the Broken/Disjointed letters
5- Continuing The Sabr & Taqseem of the Broken Letters

TERM 2

TERM 2 WEEK 1:
1- The need for Adab in our times
2- ’This’ or ‘that’ book in your hands or in the heavens?
3- The perfect and complete book
4- Laa Rayba Feehi – Healthy and unhealthy doubt. Ilm, Dhann, Shak, Rayb

TERM 2 WEEK 2:
1- Laa Rayba Feehi and removing preconceived notions
2- The need for Guidance (Huda)
3- Qualities of Human beings to be Muttaqoon
4- The Mantuq and Mafhoom of Muttaqoon

TERM 2 WEEK 3:
1- Naseeha patience in seeking knowledge
2- Linking to the ‘Concept of Madinah’ with Hudan and Muttaqi
3- Qualities of Human beings to be Muttaqoon
4- Definition of Imaan (Belief) and Ghayb (Unseen)
5- Inferring things beyond the sensed world

TERM 2 WEEK 4:
1- Imaan bil-Ghayb The potency of belief in the Unseen that makes Human beings Transcend
2- The difference between Iman and Shariah
3- The importance of Salah being connected to Iman

TERM 3

TERM 3 Week 1:
0- Introduction the mechanics of Nifaaq
1- The difference between Iman and Shariah
2- The importance of Salah being connected to Iman
3- Zakaat and the basics of economic theory in a single ayah
4- The Quranic narrative started before the Quran
5- Yaqeen & the Akhirah perspective
6- Overview of all Balāghi (Rhetorical) devices for the Muflihoon (successful one)

TERM 3 Week 2:
0- Introduction: Building a Quranic Generation
1- Outcome of differentiating between Iman and Sharia
2- Linguistic Feature: of Singular, Duals and Plural
3- Rizq and Infaaq and the basics of economic theory in a single ayah
4- The Quranic narrative started before the Quran
5- Yaqeen & the Akhirah perspective
6- Overview of all Balāghi (Rhetorical) devices for the Muflihoon (successful one)

TERM 3 Week 3:
0- Introduction: Building a Quranic Generation
1- Who are the ‘they’ who disbelieve
2-Al-Kufr linguistic roots of Ka-Fa-Ra and the effect of “Inna”
3-Kuffaar are inverse of the traits of the Muttaqeen
4- Warning (Indhaar) to Mankind and the Kuffār

TERM 3 Week 4:
0- Introduction: Basic lines of Iman and Kufr are a source of confusion & Hadith on taking friends
1- Supporting the Prophet (pbuh) and censure of the Kafir
2- Al-Kufr regarding the legal (shar’i) meaning of a Kaafir
3- Al-Kufr in regards to actions
4- The legal framework of Shariah is concern with the apparent
5- Al-Kufr and the ‘Concept of Madinah’, citizenship and the Islamic constitution of the future.
6- Balagha: Hearts, Hearing and Sight sentence structure and word usage.

TERM 3 Week 5:
0- Aims of TQI and Nasiha for Ramadan
1- A seal over hearts: Between predestination and free will (The Majaz & Haqiqi)
2- Al-Kufr in relation to the ruling system
3- Al-Kufr and the ruler and ‘kufr doona kufr’
4- The third archetype: Three types of Al-Munafiqoon
5- An-Nifaq from the “Power Perspective”
6- An-Nifaaq & the private and public Muslim

TERM 4

TERM 4 WEEK 1:
Introduction to Uloom Al-Tafsir based on Ustadh Saffaruk’s paper: Qur’an Methodologies of Abu Bakr al-Jassas -A Case-Study into Understanding Tafsir.
Instructor: S. Z. Chowdhury: BA, AKC in Philosophy, MA, MPhil PHD. Currently doing a PHD specialising in Khurāsānian Sufism.

TERM 4 WEEK 2:
0- Conceptual Frameworks
1- A legal definition of Quran
2- Sealed eyes and covered hearts
3- The eloquence and penetrative meaning of Min-An-Naas
4- A discussion of An-Nifaq from the “Power Perspective”
5- An-Nifaaq & the Private and public Muslim & Identity Politics
6- Modern day pitfalls of iNfaaq and cases studies

TERM 4 WEEK 3:
1- Descriptions of Minor and Major Nifaaq (Ayah 8)
2- The harmony (insijaam) of the Islamic Shakhsiyyah compared to the Disbeliever and Munaafiq (Ayah 8)
3- Internal and external influencers of Nifaaq (Ayah 9)
4- Rewiring the sincere/hypocritical mind of the Social Justice Activist and Treating self deception (Ayah 9)

TERM 4 WEEK 4:
1- The Islamic Activist & Alertness to Deviation and Compromise (Ayah 9)
2- Diseased Hearts: A spiritual Disease (ayah 10)
3- They perceive not, so they know not (Ayah 11-13)
4- Profitless sale leading to bankruptcy (14-16)
5- To not benefit from Islam leads to Nifaaq (17-20)
6- The mental landscapes of fire and rain (19-20)

Moinul Abu Hamza travelled with his wife and son to live in Egypt and study Arabic full time. Upon their return, they embarked on an Islamic scholarship under the tutelage of Shaykh Akram Nadwi which then led them to travel to Makkah, Madinah, Rabat and Fez to attain numerous Ijazaat for themselves and their children alongside the Shahadah Al-Alimiyyah (licence in Islamic Scholarship) which includes advanced Arabic Grammar.

Who is this course for?

This course is ideal for all of the family, from parents to Hifdh students, students of knowledge in Alimiyyah and diploma courses and invaluable for duaat of all levels.

Spaces are limited:

Brothers: There are only 50 seats in the brothers classroom. Seats will be reserved on a first come first serve basis. My regular students of two years get first priority. There is space for another 10 brothers to stand.

Sisters: There are 50 seats for sisters. Ustadha Nasima Umm Hamza (my wife) will also be there to conduct the interactive sessions after.

Recording and Live Streaming:

There will be recordings which will be uploaded every quarterly period. Live-streaming is only limited to the students who have already applied who either live outside of London or are sisters with children who may not be able to attend.

Fees

Course fees are £100 for 10 weeks for either online or onsite access.

To pay via bank transfer please email us info@thequran.institute

If you want to pay and register immediately, click on this link: https://bit.ly/2ZQCyZl