I am 20 years old and in my third year of my alim course.
Alhumdulillah I have made it this far with the blessing of Allah and insha-allah will finish with the blessing of Allah.
There’s nothing more pleasing than knowing what is needed from us as Muslims directly from the sources the Quran and Sunnah, and helping others to do the same.
It all starts from an intention which could even be typing in alim online on the internet but it is the best thing anyone could do for a better Islamic day to day life and to know how to get closer to Allah (swt) and his prophet (saw) for a better day to day hereafter.
My name is Abdul Baasit, I am 20 years old. I am a university student and I am also currently taking part in the aalim course being run at Lantern of knowledge (Siraj ul Uloom). I started the course 2 years ago when I was in my second year of college and ever since then I have never regretted it. Before joining, I searched for many aalim courses but because this one was the closest one to me and it was part-time I chose this one.
The alim course has enhanced my knowledge of Islam and has given me a deeper understanding and insight to the laws and beauty of the Quran. This knowledge has helped me a lot in dealing with day to day situations where confusion occurs amongst the common people with regards to matters of deen and fiqh.
Not only that but the love for Allah and His beloved Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam has also increased through the studying of hadeeth with ulama.
I believe that such benefits cannot be gained through any other way, apart from being taught directly from a scholar himself. Reading books is one thing but having that teacher there to explain it to you and add any other relevant knowledge that can apply to it as well is what really does help.
A lot of people may assume that this course is painstakingly hard and that they wont be able to cope. If you can make the hours that are in place then all it takes is one or two hours outside of class to quickly go over what you have learnt.
If this course is taken seriously by a person and effort is made to fit it in, then I am confident that Allah Ta’ala will grant that person the ability to manage and to stay on top of his work. It has been done and it can be done
but like with all things valuable it may take a little bit of a sacrifice.
Below is a post from Mohammad who is a 2nd year student…
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
I am a student at college and I also study part time at jamia sirajul uloom.
Before I started I was looking for an aalim course which was as close as possible to the course taught in full time darul ulooms.
Because this darul uloom was the closest, I went down to have a look and was given a few weeks trial period to decide if I wanted to continue there.
Now I am in my 2nd year and am more than satisfied with the standards of the darul uloom and will be looking to complete the course here.
After seeing other part time courses I haven’t found a part time alim course in London which makes full use of the few hours we have as well as Jamia sirajul uloom.
I recommend this darul uloom to anyone who is looking to study the course locally and those people who can’t attend full time.
Kathir bin Qays (he is a taabi’ee – a taabi’ee is one who saw a Sahabi in a state of Islam and also died as a Muslim) relates: “I was sitting in the musjid of Damascus with Hadrat Abu Darda radiallahu anhu.
A person came to Hadrat Abu Darda radiallahu anhu and said: “O Abu Darda, I have left Madinah and come to you so that I may learn a particular Hadith from you.
I have been given to understand that you have heard this Hadith from Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I have not come to you for any other purpose.” Hadrat Abu Darda replied: “Without doubt, I have heard Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam saying: “Whoever takes a path seeking knowledge therein, Allah Ta’ala will make easy for him, a path to jannah.
The angels, out of happiness, will place down their wings for the seeker of knowledge (laying down the wings is out of humility for the seeker of knowledge.
Or it means that they have kindness and mercy for the seeker of knowledge, the result of which is making dua for his success. This is a sign that the person is accepted in the eyes of Allah because angels are sinless and are the special servants of Allah.
To be accepted by the angels is like being accepted by Allah Ta’ala because your friend’s friend is also your friend) and whatever is in the heavens and the earth seek forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge (that is they seek forgiveness for his sins) and even the fish in the sea seek forgiveness for him.
It is apparent that the disbelievers and the shayateen are not included among those who seek forgiveness, because they do not deserve this bounty.
If they disobey the Creator, how can they have good relations with the friends of the Creator? This is something that is obvious, therefore it was not mentioned in the Hadith. The Ulama say that it refers to all animals and not only fish.
Fish have been specifically mentioned because water comes into existence through the barakah of the ulama and it is also the source of life, and we also know that fish are dependent on water.
The superiority of an aalim over an aabid (worshipper) is like the superiority of the fourteenth moon over all the stars. In other words, it is as if the aalim is the fourteenth moon and the worshiper is like the stars.
The aalim is likened to the moon of the fourteenth night which illuminates the entire universe. Because the benefit of knowledge extends to others as well, and the entire universe is illuminated with this knowledge, he has therefore been likened to the moon of the fourteenth night. As for the worshiper, his benefit is restricted to himself. Others cannot benefit from him. He has therefore been compared to the stars.
One can argue that by looking at the aabid one also yearns to do Ibaadat and that through the blessings of his Ibaadat, the mercy of Allah descends on the people. And in the same way, the land is also illuminated by the stars.
Then the answer to all this is that all these benefits are nothing compared to the benefits of the aalim and the moon. In fact, they are not even worthy of consideration.
Aalim in this context refers to that person who knows more than the
basic tenets (such as salaat, fasting, etc.) of Islam while an aabid refers to that worshipper who has a basic knowledge of Deen and occupies himself in Ibaadat and is not inclined towards intellectual pursuits. It does not refer to an ignorant worshipper because what Ibaadat can he make, and how can his Ibaadat be correct? It is therefore necessary for the aabid to have a
basic knowledge of the Deen.
There is no doubt that the Ulama are the inheritors of the Prophets. We know that they did not leave behind any dinars or dirhams (i.e. they did not make anyone inheritors of worldly possessions). They did not leave behind any inheritance besides knowledge. So the one who acquires this knowledge has in fact acquired a lot of good.
(This Hadith has been quoted from Mishkaat and narrated by Imam
Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Abu Daud and Daarimi).
Hope this gives you a deeper appreciate for seeking knowledge.
Inshallah, if you undertake an alim course with the correct intentions, you will be witness to the rewards mentioned above.
Everyday we hear Quran and Hadith lectures/taaleem at our local masjids and yet, we wish we could understand it better.
Then again, some of us have a different agenda. Some of us wish to gain thawab by propagating the deen of Allah to others with a deeper understanding.
The worst intention to undertake an aalim course is fame. Doing it for this reason will possibly see you being thrown into the fire pit, head first, according to the famous hadith.
But if you do have the right intention, then it’s definitely commendable and also important that you get started.
There are many, many benefits to becoming an aalim. The most obvious benefit is the ability to understand the Quran and Hadith in its original language. This allows you to gain a better understanding without needing to consult an alim on a regular basis.
Furthermore, Fiqh is an important science of Islam and one which has the most controversy in certain areas.
If one had the knowledge of the 4 aimmah and their ijtihaad, then he could apply his fiqh knowledge practically throughout his life as well as others around him.
If you had a question about salah or marriage, who do you turn to? A Doctor? Of course not. You’d refer the question to an expert in this field and this would be an alim.
You’d listen to him and take his advice because he would be speaking from the quran and hadith.
Similarly, when you undertake an alim course, you will be in that position where you can research and find answers to questions asked by the common man.
Darul Uloom literally means ‘House/Place of Knowledge’.
The term is synonymous with aalim courses as these houses of knowledge are used specifically for this purpose and possibly Hifz classes as well.
The bigger Darul Ulooms also have sleeping/boarding facilities. This means that the student spends his entire day, every day, in the much needed Islamic environment.
This in itself is a great benefit to becoming an alim.
Starting an alim course without the proper environment will not be conducive to achieving the benefits of Ilm.
In such an environment, students can help each other and help is always at hand when needed. It brings solidarity and brotherhood amongst the students and this is the backbone of the Islamic scholarly way of life.
If you can’t attend a full time aalim course at a darul uloom, you can always take a part time alim course with one of the smaller institutions.
I will recommend one to you at a later date.
Here’s a video I chose just to illustrate the benefits of classical aalim course education in a Darul Uloom.
There is a great draw to taking an alim course online.
In fact, more people search for this than any other method of becoming an aalim.
The question is, how can anyone even fathom becoming an alim online?
My view is, it’s practically impossible to become a full alim with any course on the net.
It just wont work! For starters, alim courses last from between 5 years to a period of up to 8 years depending on what’s included. The normal period is 6 years.
In addition, you need student-teacher interaction to be able to receive that spiritual enlightenment whilst learning. Although this point seems small, it’s actually one of the biggest, but unless you’re spiritually inclined, you won’t understand the importance of this.
Trust me on this point. You need to have a teacher in front of you to become a good alim. There’s no way you can learn the arabic language, complete the rules of fiqh, learn volumes of fiqh and hadith and learn the quranic translation along with scholarly opinions if you don’t have a teacher in front of you.
Furthermore, you can ask questions and receive answers in a way that you wouldn’t be able to do online.
An alim course online may serve part of a full alim class but definitely not all of it. You may be able to do the beginning parts such as learning basic arabic (Sarf and Nahwa) but I don’t see it progressing past the third year, if that.
No, you definitely need to be with a teacher, even if you do it part time, like I do.
Even missing a single lesson with the benefits of a teacher is a great catastrophe to a true student of Ilm.
Imam Abu Yusuf (student of Imam Abu Hanifa RA) purposely missed the funeral of a member of his family (his son, I think), because he was in the middle of a dars (lesson/class) at that time. The dars was more important to him than the burial of a family member.
So if you’re looking to becoming an alim online, you should know that you wont be taking an alim course as such. It’s better to call it an Islamic course. It just can’t be classified as an alim course which our ulama take 6 years to complete normally.
The normal aalim courses taken in Darul Uloom’s around the world follow the Nizami Silsila which is a specific type of syllabus. This syllabus cannot be taken online, not even if you had mic, speakers and video.
Instead of taking an alim course online, re-think your strategy and consider the darul uloom I have recommended in my topmost post and in the sidebar.
If you feel differently to the statements above, please leave your comments below.
This is intended to serve the needs of fellow students looking to take-up studies with an approved aalim course or even a part time alim course.
Inshallah, I will be posting information which will benefit everyone concerned and hopefully, you will be able to make an informed decision by the time I have finished writing my experiences and recommendations.
I will be using the term ‘alim’ and ‘aalim’. They mean the same thing but are spelt differently.
