Our Islamic foundation course is specifically designed to compliment the Buddy Program. It is an introduction to studying the Islamic Sciences in the traditional method and is intended to give the participants/students a greater insight into the beliefs and practices of Muslims and Islam. It is divided up into two sections; one relating to what Muslims believe and the other relating to Muslim practice.
Module One - The Faith
This module covers the six pillars of faith that are a requirement of all Muslims. It is intended to give more clarification on why Muslims believe what they believe. The Islamic faith encourages Muslims to ask questions and with this in mind, this module has been prepared to answer all the common question with regards to religious doctrine and remove any doubt or misconceptions. The module outline is given below:
Session 1) Getting to know each other; Welcoming students; Module Outline; Brief talk on the obligation to know Allah
Session 2) Importance of La illaha ilAllah; Origin of our belief in Allah
Session 3) Proof of God’s existence; The essential attribute of God; Intro to Divinity
Session 4) What God isn’t (Negating attributes); Brief explanation of the impossibilities for God
Session 5) What is necessary for God (Entitative attributes); Life, Power, Knowledge and Will
Session 6) Entitative attributes; Hearing, Seeing and Speech; Summary of Divinity
Session 7) Belief in the Prophets and Messengers; One Message; Elite 25
Session 8) Belief in the Angels; 10 named angels; and belief in the Divine Books; Finality of Qur’an
Session 9) Belief in the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter; Points of interest
Session 10) Belief in Destiny and the Divine Decree; Types of Destiny; The Divine secret
Session 11) The Prophet Muhammad; His rank and station with God and the creation; The merits of praising him
Session 12) Correcting mistakes; repentance; merits of the remembrance of Allah
Module Two - The Pillars
This module covers the five pillars of Islam. It’s sole purpose is to provide an insight into the practices of Muslims and give an explanation of why these practices have been necessitated. It will cover some of the very foundations of Islamic practice that every Muslim must familiarise themselves with. The module outline is given below:
Session 1) Welcome back; module outline; Brief explanation of the 5 pillars
Session 2) The Shahaadah (declaration of faith); Importance of La ilaha ilAllah as well as Muhammad RasulAllah;
Session 3) The Shahaadah (declaration of faith); Importance in accepting the Oneness of God (Tawhid)
Session 4) The Prayer; its importance; What should be your primary focus in the prayer and how to increase concentration
Session 5) The Prayer; The conditions, recommendations and what invalidates it; how to perform the prayer
Session 6) The Prayer; recap of how to perform the prayer; Importance of recitation of Qur’an; Etiquettes with the Qur’an
Session 7) Zakat (Charity); It’s purpose; Eligibility pertaining to giving and receiving; Test of faith
Session 8) Fasting; The purpose of fasting; a summary of its rulings; The different levels of fasting
Session 9) Hajj (The pilgrimage); When it is required; Journey of a lifetime; The different levels of hajj
Session 10) Acts of Worship; What necessitates an act of worship; Developing a relationship with God; inward and outward forms of worship; sign of acceptance
Session 11) Challenges and the Devil; Why life is such a challenge; How to overcome life’s tests; Who is the Devil?
Session 12) The perfect example; Following the Prophet Muhammad; What is his sunnah; Closing summary of the 5 pillars
