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MFAS Baccalauréat 2016-2017
Baccalauréat Timetable 2016-17
MFAS Baccalauréat
The MFAS Baccalauréat 2016-2017, which begins in September 2016, introduces the student to all the key elements of MFAS modules from the two programmes, General Muslim Studies & Civilisation and Society. Two important foundational elements are necessary:
The student is expected to be engaged with the Book of Allah, and it is highly recommended that in addition to their regular reading they be in a process of memorising it. In this respect, it is expected that the student will be familiar with, or have memorised, Surah Yasin, Surat al-Waqi‘a, Surat al-Mulk and the Last Hizb of Qur’an. In addition to the regular recitation of Qur’an in the mosque, the student will be helped by the imams of the mosque in their recitation and understanding.
The seminal work of Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi has proved foundational for the work of MFAS and is required study for the Baccalauréat, examining as it does key concepts of the usul al-fiqh as well as both of the history of the salaf and of the later generations right up until the ‘modern’ era. Indeed many of the core concerns of MFAS are touched on and illuminated there.
a. The History of the Khalifas, b. The Madhhabs of Islam, c. Early Madīnah and d. MFAS Residentials and
a. The Politics of Power, b. Technique and Science, c. Society Through Literature, d. The Question Concerning Economics and e. The Question Concerning Education
These are augmented by dedicated units on:
a careful study of the nature of language, its different elements and how it works.
comprising:
a. A general introduction to and overview of the Arabic language;
b. Arabic vocabulary along with word morphology (ṣarf) based on the very vocabulary that most Muslims already possess without realising it, concentrating in particular on the Arabic vocabulary of the preamble and concluding du‘ā of an ordinary khuṭbah and proceeding to the vocabulary of the last ḥizb of Qur’ān;
c. Arabic syntax, but focussing in particular on getting the student speaking and writing Arabic using the vocabulary they have already learnt;
d. Exposure to great works of Arabic literature, in particular the poetry, such as the the Du‘ā an-Nāṣirī, the Munfarijah of Ibn an-Naḥawī, aQaṣīdah al-Burdah and al-Ḥamziyyah of al-Buṣayrī, nd other classics, while at the same time, learning the naghamāt of Muslim samā‘. The whole will be supplemented by attendance at the conversation club of the Dar Harun Language Centre, which will focus on conversational Arabic led by native speakers.
5. Mu‘āmalāt – Ordinary Transactions – of the sharī‘ah
in which we study:
a. Mu‘āmalāt – The Way Forward, a lecture by Dr. Riyad Asvat FFAS and
b. Aḥkām as-Sūq – Rulings on the Market – by Yaḥyā ibn ‘Umar al-Andalūsī, widely regarded as the earliest work devoted to the topic, and
c. Order and Location – What Can We Do? by Abū Bakr Rieger FFAS and Chancellor of MFAS
from which the student will not take away a detailed technical mastery of the subject, but a coherent understanding of both the traditional mu‘āmalāt and their place in Muslim society, as well as the nature of the order based on usurious modalities, and the beginnings of the steps out of the disaster that is the ‘modern’ age.
The teaching takes the form of interactive tutorials that are dependent on the student having already read the relevant papers or viewed the appropriate video materials, to which they will have been provided access in advance.
The student should expect to learn to articulate, both orally and in writing, a coherent narrative of the world today and the factors that make it as it is. Men should also aspire to be able to deliver a khutbah if called upon to do so, and all students should be prepared to conduct a circle of study.
Assessment will be based on attendance at and participation in the requisite sessions, as well as assignments, both oral and written, to be completed at the end of the year. Although the student ought to master the lecture material, it is not intended that they merely reproduce it. Tutors will expect them to have developed the capacity and confidence to present what they themselves have understood.
Requirements for attendance at the MFAS Baccalauréat are a clear intention and commitment to study, which will involve a continuous determination to complete the core reading requirements, any recommended further reading, to participate in practical exercises and learning activities, and to engage tutors and fellow students convivially in the regular discussions and conversations intended to facilitate a sound grasp of unfamiliar concepts and enable clear sense to be made of the various issues under examination.
Registration
For all enquiries contact the Registrar or phone: +44(0)203-239 0603. There are a limited number of sponsored places. There are discounts for MFAS Subscriber Members and others, and payment may be made by instalments.
Or pay the fees (£540) here:
