IMAGINE a course that you only have to attend once a week, for one year, yet empowers you with the fundamentals of Islamic knowledge. At the very least, it leaves you with the basics which will suffice you for the rest of your life. But, if you also wish to pursue further Islamic studies then it is the ideal course for you.
Commencing in February 2019, The Shaykh Abadi Institute will offer this unique course at Auwal Masjid, in Bo-Kaap.
At The Shaykh Abadi Institute, we designed this course aimed at answering many basic yet pertinent questions. Currently, our community boasts a number of impressive programmes where various Islamic texts are studied and analysed in depth.
While these offerings are impressive and necessary, understanding the basics can easily be lost upon the student. We recognise that many people might have had their last exposure to Islamic studies at primary or high school.
Therefore, answering these basic, unanswered questions is a must; more so, in an age where religion has taken a back seat in many of our lives, and our sense of connection to and confidence in Islam has waned. This has resulted in many being unable to assert an Islamic identity or confidently represent Islam.
To fill this gap in our community, The Shaykh Abadi Institute is offering an original and innovative course ready to answer those basic questions and cultivate a confident Islamic identity.
Our study approach is absolutely unique as the prophetic history forms the core subject of our curriculum. More interestingly, it is also used as the method of instruction to study the traditional sciences of Islamic belief, jurisprudence and ethics.
Think about it. All our tenets of faith, laws of jurisprudence and ethics were conveyed by the Messenger, peace be upon him, and are therefore embedded in the Prophetic history. Thus, it stands to reason that if we wish to address the basics, we need to go to the point from which the basics emerged. That point is the Prophetic history.
A bonus offering will be expert training in eloquent Arabic expression to develop a heightened level of confidence in Arabic reading. Through learning how to express the daily prayers and forms of remembrance correctly, it will immediately impact the learners’ quality of worship and devotion.
At its heart, The Shaykh Abadi Institute strives to preserve our heritage for a brighter future.
We recognise that, in the Cape, our heritage is a result of dedicated efforts to build a future for Islam, in spite of the challenging circumstances our forefathers faced. They dedicated their lives to preserving the Islamic legacy of which they were products so that the generations that followed would continue to walk in the footsteps of Islam which they walked.
In this spirit, Auwal Masjid has chosen to name the institute after one of our local heroes and legends, Shaikh Muhammad Salih Abadi. He was a man who dedicated his life to the preservation of Islam and the message of the Holy Quran.
This year marks 20 years since his passing. He was not blessed with offspring of his own but had many students who filled this space during his lifetime. The Shaykh Abadi Institute is hereby launched to keep his legacy alive in the broader community.
He was a man who lived a strict life, following the way of the Prophet, peace be upon him, with firm conviction in his belief, adhering to the laws of Islam and known to have had an exemplary character.
Shaikh Muhammad Salih Abadi embodied the main features of our course and, through it, we endeavour to restore our Islamic legacy which inspired our forefathers at the Cape to preserve and leave behind the ‘living (Islamic) heritage’ we enjoy today.
For any inquiries and to register for this exciting and innovative course, please email us at sh.abadi.inst@gmail.com or send a whatsapp message to 0792795049.
Do not hesitate. Take the step. Develop yourself. Learn all the fundamentals of your religion, once and for all, and equip yourself with the tools to express yourself confidently, with informed knowledge. There is no time like now!
Issued by the Darul Ubayy Centre
This article was published in the February 2019 edition of Muslim Views.
