## Enrolment options

### Course Overview

The Art of Logic is a necessary tool for any serious study of the traditional sciences. A correct understanding of the embedded reasoning and argumentations within works of Theology and Fiqh without a solid grasp of Logic is virtually impossible. Without the Art of Logic readers of traditional texts and students of traditional sciences cannot trust their understanding of what they study and read. This course provides students of knowledge with all the necessary concepts and rules of Logic that are necessary for their studies. It covers all the essential topics of Formal Logic as summarized by one of the most prominent Philosophers and Logicians in the Islamic Tradition, Imam Athir al-Din al-Abhari.

Isaghuji by Imam Athir al-Din al-Abhari (d. 663 A.H. / 1265 C.E.) is the most popular foundational logic primer in traditional Islamic schools (madrasas). It provides students with the necessary basic principles and introduces them to the key terminologies and methodologies of Logic. Isaghuji continued to attract teachers and students since it was written until today. It received a wide and favorable reception from scholars and elicited numerous commentaries and super-commentaries, perhaps more than any other Logic primer in the Islamci tradition.

Athir al-Din al-Abhari (d. 663 A.H. / 1265 C.E.) is famous as a philosopher, logician, and astronomer, but he was also a scholar of Islamic Theology (kalam) and Sacred Legal Theory (usul al-fiqh). His primer on Logic is his most famous work, studied in religious seminaries all over the Islamic world ever since it was written all the way down to the present day. His contributions to Islamic Philosophy were also widely acknowledged and were given large attention by philosophers and theologians, especially his primer Hidayat al-Hikmah, which was an official textbook for Islamic Philosophy since it was authored.

### Who Is This Course For?

• This course is specifically aimed towards students of Sacred Sciences, and more broadly towards students, teachers and educators of other fields of knowledge.

• This is a Level Two course, but beginners are also welcome.

• This course can also be taken by anyone who is interested in reasoning and argumentation, thinking skills, deep-reading and communications of ideas.

### Learning Outcomes

• distinguish concepts and claims.

• analyze forms of reasoning and deduction.

• analyze definitions and descriptions of concepts.

• analyze proofs for claims and arguments.

• classify proofs and argumentations.

• differentiate between validity and soundness of arguments.

### Course Outline

Lesson 1: Introduction to Logic

Lesson 2: Types of Signification

Lesson 3: Universals and Particulars

Lesson 4: Five Universals

Lesson 5: Definitions and Descriptions

Lesson 6: Types of Propositions:

Lesson 8: Rules of Conversion

Lesson 9: Conjugate Syllogisms (Part One)

Lesson 10: Conjugate Syllogisms (Part Two)

Lesson 11: Interpellative Syllogisms and Introducing Material Logic

Lesson 12: Material Logic and Conclusion

### Study Effort

Weekly hours recommended: 3 hours.

Recommended reading/ Supplementary texts: Introduction to Classical Logic by Scott Sullivan. Socratic Logic by Peter Kreeft

Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary is a researcher in Islamic intellectual history and a teacher of Islamic traditional sciences. He’s currently a teacher of Hadith, Usul, Logic, and Kalam at Rawdatul-Naim under the supervision of Habib Ali al-Jifri; and at Madyafat Shaykh Ismail Sadiq al-Adawi (RA), a prominent learning center by al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. Shaykh Ahmed studied Anthropology at American University in Cairo and received his training in Leadership Communication from Tulane University and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is also a life-long learner. He holds a diversified portfolio of almost 50 certificates in a variety of subjects – extending from Teaching Character and Clinical Psychology of Children and Young People to Complexity Theory, Model Thinking, and Conflict Analysis.

Shaykh Ahmed began his journey of studying traditional sciences about 20 years ago. In addition to studying with scholars from al-Azhar, he had the privilege of studying with visiting scholars from Algeria and India in a one-on-one format and was thus given an exceptional opportunity to study and discuss various advanced-level texts, over a long period of time. Shaykh Ahmed has more than 70 Ijazas from scholars from all over the Muslim world.

Besides a number of forthcoming edited works in Islamic pedagogy, linguistics, and Hanafi Usul, Shaykh Ahmed has authored ‘Ruh al-Ilm’ – a treatise in the art of scientific investigation, based on a survey of roughly 200 traditional Islamic texts. This work has been endorsed by Dr. Jamal Faraq, the Dean of Islamic Dawah College at al-Azhar University and Dr. Ahmed Mamduh, the Chair of Division of Research at Dar al-Iftaa’ al-Masriyah.

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Short Intro: This course is an introduction to the rules of Logic. It covers all the essential topics of formal Logic as summarized by one of the most prominent philosophers and logicians in the Islamic tradition, Imam Athir al-Din al-Abhari.
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Weightage: 1
Skill Level: Beginner
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