Fellowship
Level of Ijtihād and Deep Specialization
Program aim: To move the student from solid mastery of communal‑obligation knowledge to deep specialization and partial or focused ijtihād, by intensifying work on sources and methods and integrating them with relevant rational and applied disciplines.
Advanced Qur’an and Hadith
Advanced tafsīr: methodologies of major exegetes and legal verses in the Qur’an
Higher Qur’anic studies: maqāṣid al‑Qur’an, thematic structures, and contemporary approaches to tafsīr
Advanced hadith studies: hidden defects, reconciling variant narrations, and directing apparent conflicts
Extended takhrīj projects on selected fiqh chapters, linking hadith evidence to contemporary questions
Advanced Fiqh and Usūl
Advanced usūl al‑fiqh: objectives of the law, public interest, blocking the means, custom, and other secondary proofs
Advanced legal maxims with extensive case applications
Contemporary legal questions and fatwa studies in worship, finance, family, governance, medicine, and more
Craft of iftāʾ: conditions and ethics of issuing fatwa, structure of written responses, managing disagreement
Legal disputation and writing: producing research papers and structured legal opinions
Theology and Sects/Worldviews
Advanced Sunni theology: early formulations and later systematic works
Theological disputation with philosophical and modern ideological trends
Study of religions and sects (classical “sects and denominations” plus modern ideologies and spiritualities)
A focused research project on a contemporary theological or intellectual question
Rational and Applied Disciplines in Service of Ijtihād
Logic and tools for analyzing arguments
Key currents in philosophy relevant to questions of God, knowledge, ethics, and the human being
Introduction to law (constitutional, civil, criminal, or comparative, depending on track)
Introduction to economics and finance, linked to Islamic economic and financial jurisprudence
Introduction to medicine and bioethics at a level sufficient to engage juristic questions
Applied mathematics and astronomy as needed for worship timing, inheritance, and related issues
Introduction to media and public discourse studies
Management, entrepreneurship, and leadership: running scholarly and community institutions, strategic thinking, and governance
Spiritual Formation at the Level of Leadership
Tailored tazkiya programs for leaders: self‑accounting, managing visibility and authority, ethics of public disagreement
Ongoing spiritual and intellectual supervision tied to each fellow’s research and service portfolio
Applied Research and Community Impact (Capstone)
Major fellowship project: a thesis, research series, or applied program in a defined area (e.g., financial law, public policy, medical ethics, family law, educational reform)
Research colloquia to present and critique works in progress
Teaching and supervision responsibilities with Apprenticeship students
Structured collaboration with universities or research centers (co‑taught seminars, joint research, or policy engagement)
