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The ‘Amīmiyya Seminars: Critical Readings of Classical Islamic Texts

The Iqbal Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam is proud to host the annual ‘Amīmiyya Seminars, named after Muftī al-Diyār al-Benghāliyya ‘Amīm al-Iḥsān (d. 1394/1974), which pulls together syllabi from the maḥḍaras of West Africa and the Dars-i-Nizāmi of the Indian Subcontinent. Primers within each of the foundational Islamic sciences are taught in translation. This is a unique opportunity for students of Islamic Studies, as well as other Arabists from within the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies and beyond to experience a teaching method which is normally only ever accessible at elite religious institutions. This year's seminars will run throughout semester 2 and will be a wonderful opportunity to develop skills in the reading of medieval/classical Arabic texts. The seminars are aimed at Level 2 and Level 3 students although students from other levels are welcome if they possess the requisite language skills. Selected readings of the texts below will be covered. These seminars are delivered by Dr Tajul Islam and supported by other Centre members. For more information, please contact Dr Tajul Islam (t.islam@leeds.ac.uk).

The Curriculum

Arabic (Naḥw wa Ṣarf)

  • 1: Grammar: Naẓm al-Ājrūmiyya of ‘Ubayd Rabbihi al-Shinqīṭī
  • 2: Morphology: Lāmiyyat al-Af’āl of Badr al-Dīn ibn Mālik
  • 3: Rhetoric: Mi’at al-Macānī wa l-Bayān of Ibn al-Shuḥna
  • 4: Prosody: Al-Rāmiza of Ḍiyā’ al-Dīn al-Khazrajī

Law (Fiqh)

  • 1: Jurisprudence: Kifāyat al-Ghulām of ‘Abd al-Ghanī al-Nāblusī
  • 2: Legal Theory: Mukhtaṣar al-Manār of Ṭāha al-Kawrānī
  • 3: Jurisprudential Maxims: Mukhtaṣar al-Farā’id al-Bahīyya of Abū l-Qāsim al-Ahdal
  • 4: Fatwa:’Uqūd Rasm al-Muftī of Ibn ‘Ābidīn

Theology (cAqīda)

  • 1: Māturidite creed: Bad’ al-Amālī of al-Farghānī

Philosophy (Falsafa wa Kalām)

  • 1: Logic: Al-Sullam of al-Akhḍarī

Qur’ān (cUlūm al-Qur’ān wa Tafsīr)

  • 1: Tajwīd: Tuḥfat al-Aṭfāl of al-Jamzūrī
  • 2: Exegesis: Al-Zamzamī fī al-Tafsīr of ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Zamzamī

Ḥadīth (Muṣṭalaḥ)

  • 1: Nomenclature: Al-Bayqūniyya of al-Bayqūnī

History (Ta’rīkh)

  • 1: Prophetic biography: Al-Mī’iyya of Abū al-‘Izz al-Ḥanafī

Sufism (Taṣawwuf)

•   1: Mysticism: Al-Nuqāya of Muhammad al-Khaṭīb