Essentials of Islam Course (Foundational)
The tradition of Islam, as delivered to us by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, has always furthered itself through the prophetic method of teaching and learning, heart to heart, from teacher to student. The very essence of our practice relies on sound understanding to guide our belief and acts of worship, drawing us closer to our Creator. There is no shortage of evidence that in today’s world, we are suffering profound deficiencies in our comprehension of the Prophetic Way, but by the grace and permission of Allah, for every ailment, there exists a cure and this cure is knowledge of faith.
The Essentials of Islam Course is designed to walk students through that which is considered obligatory knowledge for all Muslims to understand and implement. We have also added an elective component in order to contextualize Islam as a complex system of living, passed down through oral and written tradition. It is imperative that students take advantage of attending all the classes; however, there are selective classes as well.
Foundational Courses
![All Foundational Classes [Shamā'il 102, Fiqh 102, Aqīdah 102]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d5c9ccd82cb3e0001da8600/5e3b75dd-4f9d-46de-9795-e26a8c49decb/EIC+Winter+Quarter+2025.jpg)
Program Overview
Every Sunday from 9:00AM – 12:05PM
10 sessions total
Cordoba Academy
3210 200th PI SW
Lynnwood, WA 98036
Required books can be bought online. Links to the books are provided below and PDFs will be made available when possible.
Certificate of Completion given to proficient students who complete all requirements—get a passing grade in attendance and participation for Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters.
Intention
![Shamā'il 102 (Muhammad ﷺ - His Character & Beauty) [Sun 9AM-9:55AM]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d5c9ccd82cb3e0001da8600/b62df7d0-64d1-4bfc-9444-b05dbdacfc5d/EIC+Winter+Quarter+2025.jpg)
Shamā’il (Characteristics of the Prophet ﷺ) 9:00 - 9:55am
The Shamā'il is the study of the blessed personality of the Prophet ﷺ. It’s study remains an important parallel to the Sīrah, the historical account of his blessed life, as it explicates what he looked like, how he interacted and treated his family and companions, and most importantly, how he lived his daily life as described by the fortunate eyes that witnessed him. Many have authored works on the subject, but this class will examine a famous depiction of the Mercy to Mankind ﷺ, the renowned Wasā'il al Wusūl ilā Shamā'il al Rasūl Muhammad His Character and Beauty by Shaykh Yusuf Nabahani.
"The best way to approach studying the Prophet's life is through the lens of his character traits. In this work, Shaykh Yusuf al-Nabahani masterfully weaves the longstanding Shamā'il tradition into an accessible read that combines both the erudition of a scholar and the love of a mystic. The auspicious arrival of this work in English is a blessing the magnitude of which cannot be expressed in words - and what a better a translator to present it than Sidi Abdul Aziz Suraqah." - Yahya Rhodus
Instructor: Shaykh Umair Ahmad. Required textbook: Muhammad His Character & Beauty: Wasa'il al Wusul ila Shama'il al Rasul by Shaykh Yusuf Nabahani.
Instructor
Required textbook
Muhammad ﷺ: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings. Inner Traditions: 2006
Islamic Jurisprudence (Hanafi or Shafi’i) 10:05am – 11am
Traditionally, after learning the fundamentals of belief, students engage in studies of Jurisprudence or Fiqh. Choosing a school from where one can reference a consistent methodology based on how legal rulings are extracted from the Qur’an and Sunnah is always considered more a matter of access to a teacher and less between selecting a specific madhhab as all four are considered valid. Although, living in the West in some ways has allowed greater choice due to the diversity of the Muslim community, access to qualified scholarship is often a barrier. The Mihraab Foundation is able to offer students a choice between studying the Qur’an and Sunnah as interpreted by either the Hanafi School or the Shafi’i School. The names of the various schools are unimportant; critical is implementing an acceptable practice, based on consistent parameters as developed by thousands of scholars for well over a millennium.
Instructors
Shaykh Syed Umair Ahmad for Hanafi Fiqh.
Shaykh Qasim Hatem for Shafi’i Fiqh.
Required Textbook
Ascent to Felicity (Maraqi `I-Sadat) by Abu `I-Ikhlas al-Sharunbulali, translated by Faraz A. Khan. White Thread Press: 2010. for Hanafi Fiqh.
Al-Mukhtasar al-Saghir by `Abd Allah b. `Abd al-Rahman BaFadl, translated by Abu Malik al-Azhari. Mihrab Publishing: 2014. for Shafi’i Fiqh.
Recommended Resources
Islamic Creed (Al-Tahawi) 11:10am – 12:05pm
More than any other science, Creed or `Aqidah, is most foundational, and unfortunately, the least understood. In order to facilitate any religious practice, one must understand to whom that practice is devoted, in other words, “Who are you and who is your Lord?” What does the religion of Islam say about the fundamental questions of existence? How do we relate to God? What is Divine Predestination and can it be reconciled with the concept of free will? How do we understand the Word of God, the Qur’an? What of the Prophets and the fall of Iblis? In addition to these topics, several others will be addressed to cultivate a solid understanding of what belief entails.
Instructor
Required Textbook
The Creed of Imam Al-Tahawi by Imam Abu Ja’far al-Ṭaḥawi, translated by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. Sandala Books: 2009.