2011 Toronto-based 6-Month Intensive. Start-date: January 3, 2011.

As the language in which the sacred Quran was revealed, and in which the majority of Islamic scholarship is conducted, Arabic occupies a very special and beloved position in the very soul of the Ummah. It is both the language in which we pray to our Creator and the gateway to the knowledge that enables us to properly fulfill our duties as Muslims. Thus it is a great honor that The Toronto Shariah Program is blessed to re-offer in the first half of 2011 a 6-month “Arabic Intensive Program” in the sciences related to the Arabic language using a classical approach emphasizing Sarf (Arabic Morphology), Nahw (Arabic Syntax), and Balagha (Arabic Rhetoric) with a view towards getting students reading vowel-less classical text in the very second month of the program.

Target Audience

Although anybody is welcome to join, the intensive nature and timeframe are particularly aimed at university and high-school graduates who have not yet committed to full-time responsibilities, and wish to take this opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the Arabic language via a methodology used by scholars for centuries. Our primary goal is to give students enrolled in the 6-month intensive the complete offering at Shariah Program - nothing short of total proficiency in the Arabic language. In other words, students finishing this program will cover the entire syllabus of our popular online classes which is routinely covered over the course of 2 years.

Arabic Course Content and Methodology

In the first 2 months, the majority of the time will be spent on Nahw and Sarf and reading/vocabulary sessions, with a small (20%) component comprising of composition exercises. The teaching methodology emphasizes class participation and oral recitation of what is learnt in order to truly master the subject matter and ensure that nobody falls behind.

In the advanced stages of the program, having taken the students through 3 of the 5 levels of Sayid Abul Hasan Ali an-Nadwi’s ‘Stories of the Prophets’, students will have the opportunity to read and decipher certain classical Arabic texts in their original Arabic. Needless to say, ALL the concepts discussed in the grammar and morphology lessons will be thoroughly reinforced through the medium of these reading sessions. The amount of material covered will be staggering. They will have studied works by authors such as Imam al-Ghazali and major works of Tafsir such as al-Baydhawi, and Abu Sa'ood.

Only the most challenging texts are chosen in order to build within students extremely strong deciphering capabilities. For instance, in the final 2 months of the program, the entire 'Ilm al-Ma'ani section from at-Taftazani's Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani (roughly 200 pages) will have been covered, with the students primarily preparing and reading the text in front of the teacher on a daily basis. For this to occur in the 5th month of any course is entirely unheard of, even in traditional madrasas. Due to the tremendous commitment required by this 6-month program, we have not re-offered it for the last 5 years. After a lot of deliberation and by popular demand, however, Shariah Program's offering of the 6-month intensive will recommence in January 2011. The program is being announced well in advance in order to ensure that interested applicants have sufficient time to make preparations. Please listen to this 21-minute Audio Introduction to learn more about the goals and methodology of the program.

Materials covered include:

Nahw (Arabic Grammar)

• The 3 types of words: Ism, Fi'il, Harf and their sub-categories
• Very clear introduction to grammatical states
• The 4 cases (Raf', Nasb, Jarr, Jazm)
• Jumla Ismiyyah and Jumla Fi'liyyah
• Declinable and Indeclinable (Mu'rab and Mabni) nouns and verbs
• The 22 positions of nouns in a sentence
• Sentence analysis ('Irab)
• The governing agents and their effects
• 16 types of Mu'rab nouns and their 9 methods of reflection
• Nawaasikh al-Ibtidaa (agents which cancel the Ismiyyah sentence such as:
• Kaana and its sisters
• Inna and its sisters
• The 'Laa' of class negation
• Nested structures and dependant clauses
• Prepositional phrases and adverbial clauses

Sarf (Arabic Morphology)

• Verb conjugation: Past (Maadi), Present/Future (Mudhari') in Jazm, Nasb, Raf', active/passive (Ma'roof/Majhool), Nun of emphasis (heavy/ light), 'Amr and Nahi
• Derived nouns such as:
• the active and passive participles, the noun of instrument, the dharf of place and time and the superlative
• Triliteral verbs (base/ increased), Quadriliteral verbs (base/ increased)
• Irregular verbs (mahmooz, mithal, ajwaf, naqis)
• The 5 regulations that govern the mahmooz
• The 25 rules of weak letters

Balagha (Arabic Rhetoric)

• Fasaha in the word, sentence and speaker
• Balagha in the speech, and in the speaker
• The states of al-isnad al-khabari
• The states of the subject, such as mention/ omission, definite/ indefinite, brought forward/ delayed
• The states of the predicate
• The states of the associates of verbs (objects, prepositional phrases and adverbial structures)
• Confinement and restriction
• Fasl and Wasl (joining independent clauses with conjunctions, or forgoing such joining)
• al-insha at-talabi (commands, prohibitions, interrogative sentences, etc.)
• Metaphors and metonymies
• Thorough application of the above through Qur'anic verses
• Embelishments (al-badee')

Registration

Interested applicants are required to submit a $200 CAD deposit to secure their seat. This amount will later be applied to their first month's fees. Please Contact Us with any questions. Space is very limited (18-24 seats total) and applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. All applicants for the 2011 Six Month Intensive are being provided with premium access to all content (audio recordings, notes and slides) on our message-board free of charge for two months. This will help you prepare before attending the intensive and maximize your benefit, Allah willing. Please Click here to proceed to the registration instructions page.