Safar Abridged Qa'idah

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Safar Abridged Qa'idah

At Safar Academy we use our own, unique Qāʿidah compiled by our Development Team which is now taught in many Madrassah’s across the UK. This Qāʿidah draws from numerous other Qāʿidahs from around the world and contains many new, innovative features based on years of collective experience gained by teaching students at Safar Academy.

In this abridged version of our Complete Qāʿidah we have kept most of the unique strengths of the Complete Qāʿidah and presented it in a shorter and smaller size.

Unique Features

We found that most other Qāʿidahs do not have any chaptering or breakdown of learning objectives. The students, and sometimes teachers, progress from one exercise to another without realising what the goals behind them were. This lack of breakdown of objective is also unhealthy for the student’s morale as they have no short-term targets to work towards and can lose motivation. Therefore, the Safar Qāʿidah has been divided into several sections with each being called a level. In each level, a new skill or topic will be introduced and covered. The level system has proved to be very effective in motivating students.

In selecting examples for each exercise, certain considerations have been taken, like not allowing too many examples to follow a single vocal pattern. This is to avoid students guessing the pronunciation of an example based on the last one, when they are supposed to work out each example separately.

We have also tried to make sure that not a single example contains any elements that they have not yet covered. For example, no examples will have fatḥahs until fatḥah has been formerly introduced. Likewise, examples containing ikhfā have been left out until the student has learned about ikhfā, and so on.

We then arranged the examples in each exercise so they progress from the easiest to the most difficult, taking into consideration the number of letters or words in the examples as well as the weight and difficulty of the letters.

A complete overview of the Qāʿidah and the Learn to Read Series can be found here.

The differences between the Abridged Qāʿidah and the Complete Qāʿidah can be viewed here.

Quranic Examples

The words in the Qur’an are Allah’s (swt) words. This not only makes their recitation more rewarding in the hereafter, but we also believe they have a positive impact on the student’s learning and progress; Allah (Swt) has said, We have made the Qur’an easy to remember… (54:40) In most other Qāʿidahs, we found that many words had crept in which were not found in the Qur’an. This is by no means incorrect, but the words of the Qur’an will always hold superiority.

Some Qāʿidahs have tried to use examples only from the Qur’an but have either not found enough examples for the students to master the level, or they have had to make slight alterations to the writing to make it fit the level. For example, sometimes people have written a standing kasrah instead of a Yā, or taken a word written together in the Qur’an and omitted part of it.

We were not content with all of the above-mentioned, so we carried out a comprehensive survey of the Qur’an, to the best of our abilities, combining direct human efforts and modern technological aids, to find ample examples from the Qur’an for each level.
Occasionally, we have removed the Wāw of from the beginning of some individual words, but have not made any other changes to the text.

Complete Syllabus

Reciting the Qur’an correctly involves many elements that are beyond the remit of a Qāʿidah: students require much practice to build their fluency, as well as time to learn and implement the complex rules of Tajweed. At Safar, we have kept the Qāʿidah as an independent publication at the same time as integrating it into to a comprehensive syllabus that takes a student from his introduction to the sounds of Arabic letters, all the way through to expert recitation. By doing this, teachers, parents and students are able to keep a holistic view of progress and ensure no aspect is neglected.

Complete and Logical sequence

The ability to recite the Qur’an is dependent on several individual skills; for example, the ability to recognise joined letters, the ability to regulate the length of each vowel, and so on. In our analysis of other available Qāʿidahs, we noticed that most of them contain gaps where certain key elements have not been covered formally and students are expected to guess or understand themselves. Sometimes, the logical sequence of this learning has also been ignored with some elements being presented in inappropriate places. Sometimes, examples contain concepts and elements which have not yet introduced to the students causing confusion and obstacles for the students.

To solve this, each level in the Safar Qāʿidah is a gradual and logical progression from the previous one. An effort has been made to fill any gaps in that exist in other Qāʿidahs, as well as trying to not allow any elements not yet formally covered into the examples. To add to this, students are given mixed exercises at the end of each level, to revise and recap everything they have learned previously.

About The Authors

Shaykh Hasan Ali

Shaykh Hasan Ali graduated in 1997 as a scholar/’alim in Islamic Education and then gained a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology at the Institute of Education (University of London). He became the Imam of London Islamic Cultural Society (LICS) mosque in North London (www.lics.info), where he founded Safar Academy, enrolling a handful of students who went on to become teachers and lead staff. He also worked at the Brondesbury College for Boys as the Head of Islamic Studies and Imam. After several flourishing years there, he joined Ebrahim College where he taught several subjects, after which he devoted all his time to the development of Safar Academy and Safar Publications. Today, Safar has five branches around the southeast of the UK with over 90 staff and 700+ students.

Hashim Uddin

Part of the Safar family for almost 20 years, Hashim started his Safar journey as one of the first 5 students in 1998. Many years later, Hashim is now the Amir of North Finchley.

Hashim has a passion for teaching and completed a PGCE at the ‘Institute of Education’ in Business Economics (2009). He completed ‘The teaching leaders programme’ in 2016 and is currently a ‘Head of Department’ at a state school. Hashim is also an examiner with AQA and has been an active member of the teacher training team since its inception.

Editor and Ilustrator

Muhammed Tufail

Muhammed has a background in Islamic Studies and currently works as a researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies, working on a project on Muslims in Britain. He has been an editor and developer for the Safar Islamic Studies curriculum since 2013 and has delivered several teacher development programs based on his background in teaching Islamic Studies both at a maktab level as well as to teenagers and adults.

Maulana Muhi Uddin

Muhiuddin memorised the Quran, completed the Alimiyyah course and gained Ijazah in the 10 Qiraa’aat from the Institute of Islamic education in Dewsbury. He has taught Tajwid and Arabic Grammar at Ebrahim College before becoming an Imam and head-teacher of a weekend Islamic supplementary school. He has been working with Safar since 2012 and is the editor of the Learn to Read Series and the Learn by Heart Series. Most recently, Muhiuddin has also received Ijazah in the recitation of Imam Asim from Qari Basheer Siddique al-Madani and continues to train under the Shaykh.

About Safar Publications

Safar Publications is part of Safar Academy Trust, an Islamic supplementary school with branches across the South East of the UK founded by Shaykh Hasan Ali in 1998. Safar Publications is a growing publishing arm of the trust, and through this dedicated and distinct service, we aim to create the best and most innovative tools to meet the learning needs of today’s students, particularly in Islamic education.

Safar Publications has developed and honed its curriculum over the last 20 years. The curriculum is structured into four distinct syllabuses, all aimed at giving learners a firm foundation in their Quranic reading and understanding, Islamic knowledge, spiritual development and grasping the Arabic language. Our curriculum includes Qāidah, Tajwid, Juz Amma (Learn to Read Series), Duas and Surahs (Learn by Heart Series), Islamic Studies (Learn about Islam Series) and Arabic (Learn Arabic Series) related publications. All our publications contain many innovative features and interconnections, to ensure students learn in an engaging, steady and coherent fashion.

Safar publications are based on traditional Islamic sources and understanding and are also shaped by effective educational theories and practices. Most importantly, they are a result of practical feedback from students and teachers across the world, including our very own staff and students at Safar Academy. One of our core values is seeking perfection and quality; because of this, our curriculum and comprehensive support services are continually improved and refined, ensuring that we stay ahead of the curve and meet the needs of learners and educators in today’s ever-changing world.

Our curriculum and extensive teacher support services privilege the art of learning and teaching in a holistic, contextual and student-centred manner. Furthermore, the curriculum includes the learning of key Muslim values, skills and attitudes, such as God-consciousness, respect, tolerance and mercy for all life. It also aims to give learners the skills to live and build healthy relationships with others in furthering the common good. Through such a values-based approach, learners can grow to realize their full potential and play an active role as Muslims in their communities and wider society.