Level: One

Instructors: Ustadh Tabraze Azam & Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Course Overview

Allah Most High says, “I have not created jinn-kind nor mankind for any purpose other than to worship Me.” (Qur’an, 51:56) Take this course to get comprehensive and knowledge-based answers to all of the questions that you are likely to face in your worship

Allah Most High, all in light of a formal textbook of in Hanafi law that students like you have used for centuries. This course covers the detailed rules of Purification, Prayer, Fasting, Zakat, and Hajj. This course is taught according to the Hanafi school. If you would like to learn it according to the Shafi’i school, take this course instead.

About the Text

This course is an explanation of Ascent to Felicity (Maraqi al-Sa‘adat) a concise primer on the rules of worship, slaughtering, sacrifice, and hunting according to by a leading authority of the Hanafi school, Abul Ikhlas Hasan al-Shurunbulali (d. 1069 ).

The author is best known for his more detailed introduction to the rules of worship, Nur al-Idah, and its detailed commentary, Maraqi al-Falah, which are both an essential part of every traditional syllabus in Hanafi jurisprudence. Ustadh Tabaraze Azam comments on the back cover of the book’s translation that it is “an excellent primer in Islamic beliefs and worship. . . more useful as a first complete text for those seeking understanding of the fiqh of worship than the more commonly-studied Nur al-Idah.”

Who is This Course For?

• The Absolute Essentials of Islam (Hanafi) course is a pre-requisite for this course

• Those who have taken The Absolute Essentials of Islam (Hanafi) course

• Any student who wants to take level two courses in Islamic Studies Curriculum 

Learning Outcomes

• Understand slavehood to Allah Most High and why it is important

• Learn the rules of purification and prayer that you are likely to encounter in your daily life

• Memorize the most important rules of wudu, ghusl, prayer, fasting, zakat, and Hajj

• Appreciate the rigour of the science of Sacred Law (fiqh)

Course Outline

Lesson 1

1A: Introduction to Sacred Law (fiqh) and Imam Abu Hanifa

1B: Introduction to the Author & Text

1C: Water (miya)

1D: The Ritual Ablution (wudu)

1E: The Ritual Bath (ghusl)

1F: The Dry Ablution (tayammum)

Lesson 2

2A: Wiping over Footgear (khuffayn)

2B: Wiping over Bandages (jaba’ir)

2C: Menstruation (hayd), Post-Natal Bleeding (nifas) & Irregular Bleeding (istihada)

Lesson 3

3A: Filth (najasa)

3B: Wells (abar)

3C: Leftover Water (as’ar)

3D: Cleaning after Relieving Oneself (istinja’)

Lesson 4

4A: Prayer Times (awqat al-salat)

4B: The Call to Prayer (adhan)

Lesson 5

5A: The Conditions (shara’it) of the Prayer

5B: The Integrals (arkan) of the Prayer

5C: The Necessary Actions (wajibat) of the Prayer

5D: The Sunna Actions of the Prayer

5E: The Proper Manners (adab) of the Prayer

5F: The Supplications (ad‘iya) of the Prayer

Lesson 6

6A: The Invalidators (mufsidat) of the Prayer

6B: The Disliked (makruhat) Actions of the Prayer

6C: The Permitted (mubah) Actions of the Prayer

6D: Breaking (qat‘) & Abandoning (tark) the Prayer

Lesson 7

7A: Praying on a Riding Mount (dabba)

7B: The Traveller’s Prayer (salat al-musafir)

7C: The Sick Person’s Prayer (salat al-marid)

7D: Being Absolved of the Obligation of Prayer & Lifting One’s Dues (isqat)

Lesson 8

8A: The Witr Prayer

8B: The Sunna Prayers

8C: The Night Prayers of Ramadan (salat al-tarawih)

8D: Prayer inside the Ka‘ba

Lesson 9

9A: The Makeup Prayer (qada’ al-fawa’it)

9B: The Congregational Prayer (salat al-jama‘a)

9C: The Prostration of Forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw)

Lesson 10

10A: The Prostration of Recitation (sajda al-tilawa)

10B: The Prostration of Gratitude (sajda al-shukr)

10C: The Friday Prayer (salat al-jumu‘a)

Lesson 11

11A: The ‘Eid Prayer

11B: The Eclipse Prayer (salat al-kusuf/al-khusuf)

11C: The Rain Prayer (salat al-istisqa’)

11D: The Prayer of Fear (salat al-khawf)

Lesson 12

12A: The Funeral Prayer (salat al-janaza)

12B: The Burial (al-dafan)

12C: The Rulings of Martyrs (shuhada’)

Lesson 13

13A: Fasting: Definition, Types & Intentions

13B: Sighting the Crescent (ru’yat al-hilal)

13C: Things that Invalidate the Fast (mufsidat al-sawm)

Lesson 14

14A: The Permitted & The Disliked (mubahat/makruhat)

14B: Exemptions (‘awarid) from Fasting

14C: The Spiritual Retreat (i‘tikaf)

Lesson 15

15: Zakat: Definition, Nisab & Calculation

Lesson 16

16A: Eligible Recipients of Zakat (masarif al-zakat)

16B:  Charity at the End of Ramadan (sadaqat al-fitr)

Lesson 17

17A: Hajj: Definition, Integrals & Necessary Acts

17B: The Conditions (shurut) which Obligate Hajj

Lesson 18

18: The State of Pilgrim Sanctity (ihram)

Lesson 19

19A: The Hajj Described: Arrival in Makka

19B: The Hajj Described: Days 8, 9 & 10 of Dhu’l Hijja

19C: The Hajj Described: Days 11, 12 & 13 of Dhu’l Hijja

Lesson 20

20: The Lesser Pilgrimage (‘umra)

Lesson 21

21A: Expiations for Ihram & Rite Violations (jinayat)

21B: Expiations for Hunting Violations (jinayat)

Lesson 22

22: The Ritual Sacrifice of ‘Eid al-Adha (udhiya/qurbani)

Lesson 23

23A: Ritually Slaughtered Animals (dhaba’ih)

23B: Animals unlawful for Consumption

Lesson 24

24: Hunting (sayd)

About the Instructor

Ustadh Tabraze Azam was born and raised in Ipswich, a small town on the east coast of England. He memorized the Qur’an in his youth and has led congregations in tarawih prayers at home and abroad. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Management from the University of Leicester, serving as the head of the university’s Islamic Society. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Amman, Jordan, to study the Islamic sciences full-time with a variety of distinguished traditional scholars. He is now an experienced teacher himself, answering religious questions regularly, and teaching students of knowledge privately and online. Presently, he is pursuing advanced studies and specialization in Amman where he resides with his wife and children.