There are currently three English-language classes taught weekly in the Islamic intellectual tradition. Prospective students should email classes AT asublimeway DOT com to enquire about joining them. They’ll then get a WhatsApp group invitation, and a number to send their full names to, and how they came across the class. The group will be how class times and details are sent out.
Generally speaking, they’re usually in person – but at present, they will be done via Zoom or some other online application – more information will be given in the WhatsApp group.
Information on the instructor for those interested may be found here.
The classes are as follows:
- “Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din” (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) of Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, the renowned ‘Proof of Islam’. We will be using a summary (mukhtasar) that is reported to have been compiled by the Imam himself, aptly translated by Hajj Marwan Khalaf. The class aims to acquaint an English-speaking readership with the al-Ghazali’s magnum opus, which has been regarded as one of the most important writings of the Islamic tradition for nine hundred years.
—– - “Islam and Secularism” of the contemporary Malaysian polymath, Professor S. M. Naquib al-Attas. This is one of Professor al-Attas’ most famous works. His work has been taught in the West at the Zaytuna College of Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Dr Hatem Bazian in California; and the Cambridge Muslim College of Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad. The text is in English.
—– - Risalat al-Jami’a (“The Encompassing Epistle”) of Imam Ahmad b. Zayn al-Habshi, the famous primer in the Tarimi curriculum. It is a summary of the most essential aspects of the personally obligatory aspects of belief, practice and spiritual orientation, and has been used all around the world for centuries, particularly in Yemen, Southeast Asia, east Africa, and southern Africa. The text is in Arabic with English translation.