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Hawza Ilmiyya
Preliminaries
One of the outstanding educational systems that excel in both academic and traditional Islamic sciences is the Hawza Ilmiyah at the Islamic College, also known as the Hawza Ilmiyya of England. Since its establishment, it has contributed in remarkable ways to community building and providing educational and spiritual services to the Muslim community in the UK, Europe and Internationally.
Hawza Studies is one of the Islamic College’s academic Departments which, while sharing with them their high standards of academic excellence, also differs from them in one important respect; it embodies and presents the time-honoured and long-standing ethos of traditional Hawza Ilmiyyas all around the world.
Those students who choose to study in the Hawza while receiving full training in academic writing, rational thinking, and research skills, study modules and materials and methods which are taught in the traditional Grand Islamic Seminaries. Moreover, as is the case in all well-established and historically prominent traditional Hawzas, the students in the Hawza receive a good deal of training in the Islamic way of self-development/ tazkiyah and the skills and practices necessary for those who wish to become Imams and resident ‘Alims (scholars) in Muslim faith communities in the UK and other countries in which English-speaking traditional ‘Alims are in demand.
Programmes
Hawza Ilmiya offers Full-time and Part- time Studies. A brief detail of these two types of programmes is as follows:
Full-Time Programme
The Full-time Programme is a 4-year, two semesters per year study regime. Each semester consists of 16 weeks of study. Students undertaking the full-time program are expected to attend 16+ hours per week per module.
Students who enrol in the Hawza full-time programme can apply for scholarships. The Full-time Programme graduates can continue their studies at the Islamic College’s MA Programmes.
Part-time Programme
The Part-time Programme is an extended study regime organized with regard to the modules chosen by the students in each semester. However, the students who enrol in this Programme must successfully finish the core and prerequisite modules to advance to higher domains of the Programme. The minimum weekly attendance for this Programme is 6 hours per class.
Those students of this Programme who attend 12 hours or more per week can also apply for scholarships. The fee for other students in this Programme is £120 per module per semester, plus £60 registration fee.
Pre-Hawza Studies
We also offer a Pre-Hawza Programme, whose classes are taught on Saturdays. This Programme is designed to give students an opportunity to explore key concepts relating to the field of Islamic Studies. It is suitable for those who study at A-Level and higher. There is no age limit for those who wish to enrol in this Programme.
Taster Hawza
The Hawza Taster Course is a ‘one of a kind’ Programme that allows participants to experience first-hand a variety of the topics taught in the Hawza. It is geared towards preparing the students who are interested in continuing their studies in line with the standards of traditional Hawzas.
