Suhba Essentials

There are seven Core Knowledge modules that provide necessary, beneficial and practical knowledge for Muslims living in modern times.

Each module is a total of ten hours, or two hours a week for four to five weeks.

They are:

1. Tazkiya al-Nafs (Purification of the Self)
2. Usul al-Fiqh wa al-Maqasid (Legal Theory and the Objectives of the Law)
3. al-Haqiqa al-Muhammadiyya (On the Realities of the Messenger ﷺ)
4. Tafsir (Qur’anic Exegesis)
5. ’Aqida (Islamic Theology)
6. Hadith (Prophetic Tradition)
7. The inner and Outer Dimensions of the Fiqh (Law) of Worship

The aim of the F&P class is to contextualize the class material, listen to summary-reflections from students, and learn and gradually practice a daily litany of devotional remembrance.

The F&P class is weekly for an hour.

In the Journey Through the Qur’an, Shaykh Mokhtar shares timeless Qur’anic spiritual wisdoms that give us purpose and direction in in our day-to-day life. This is followed by the Family Remembrance Circle where we read the Qur’an and the evening remembrance (dhikr) together, and listen to spiritual poetry.

This is weekly for 1.5 hours.

There are seven Advanced Elective modules which correspond to the themes of the seven Core modules.

Each module is a total of ten hours, or two hours a week for four to five weeks.

They are:

1. Divine Mindfulness (Muraqaba)
2. The Ethics of Disagreement
3. The Virtues of Sending Blessings upon the Messenger ﷺ
4. The Principles of Exegesis
5. A Study of al-Fiqh al-Akbar by Imam Abu Hanifa
6. The Historicity and Preservation of Hadith

7. The History of Islam through the Abbasid Caliphate

One-on-one mentoring sessions are available throughout the year with teachers and staff.

In every module, there will be a general fellowship check-in session with one of the teachers for both brothers and sisters, as well as a session dedicated only for sisters.

Applied-Learning Seminars are a series of innovative, practical seminars on eight themes that apply Islam’s rational and spiritual principles to specific life challenges.

The eight themes are:

1. Growth and Productivity
2. Setting the Record Straight
3. Family and Youth
4. Education and History
5. Society and Technology
6. Art and Aesthetics
7. Activism and Politics
8. Travel and Nature

Potential topics include:

1. Why and How to learn: A Framework for True Islamic Education

2. Wa al-’Asr: Principles of Time Management

3. A Strong Mu’min: The Sunna of Exercise and Nutrition

4. The Rites of Passage into Manhood and Womanhood

5. Marriage: A Union of Souls

6. Sacred Resonances: Islam, Nature and the Environment

7. Inviting to an Inhabited House: Principles of Da‘wa

Everyone. The Essentials program offers three flexible learning streams. One can be a self-paced/audit student and take any course, anytime, without evaluation. Or a student may enroll in one of two certification tracks with evaluation requirements.

The program commitment depends on which stream a student chooses. Overall the time commitment may range between 4 hours per month to 8 hours per week.

Yes, commitment and maturity. Younger students — such as teenagers —who fulfil this criteria may enroll.

There are no mandatory prerequisites. A student may do whichever course he or she likes (if not seeking certification).

Yes, many. The Essentials program is a combination of knowledge, action, fellowship and applied learning. And each field of the four above has multiple ways to realize its objectives.

Each module contains a summary of decades of study of countless classical and modern texts. The intent of the Essentials program is not to restrict the student to one text per course, but for the student to acquire essential knowledge necessary for intellectual and spiritual development in a modern context. That said, many modules will provide core and supplementary readings.

Yes, if you wish to pursue a certification stream. You will need to attend or watch the courses, complete weekly summaries, and pass the assessments. You may pursue a certificate for the Core modules only or both the Core and Advances modules.

The fiqh module will likely be taught through one madhhab with select discussion of other views.

Committed, actively engaged students will continue to have access to the class recordings, through our course platform, at the close of the academic year for as long as the Essentials program exists in an online format.

This on-demand version of the course will include the class recordings and will not include student support and access to various live, interactive elements — which will cease at the close of the yearly program.

Suhba Essentials is a standalone foundational program. But, Suhba Essentials is also the first year of the five-year Suhba Seminary Program as well. For more information on the Suhba Seminary, please click here: www.suhbaseminary.com.

Orientation: Sunday, October 6th, 2024

First class: Monday, October 7th, 2024

Final session: Sunday, June 15th, 2025

Dates to be announced shortly

Classes will be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning.

The weekly Core Module and the Advanced Elective classes will mostly be taught live. Other live classes will include: the Fellowship & Practice (FP) class, the Weekly Remembrance Sessions, the Mentoring Sessions, and the Applied Learning Seminars (ALS).

Recordings of live sessions will be posted between 2-3 days after the conclusion of live sessions.

Students will also have access to:

• One-on-one mentoring with the teachers

• The ability to send class-related and general life questions or ask them live to the teachers

• Access to a reflection group with their fellow students and teachers

Access to a brothers or sisters Suhba group.

All classes are recorded and made available on the Suhba Essentials course page for students to watch and review the material at their convenience.

Recorded classes will be posted between 2-3 days after the live class.

In-person attendance (from abroad or those living in Istanbul) will be subject to space availability and an additional On-Site Application process.

Students may attend the live current year Core Module or Advanced Elective classes, the Weekly Remembrance sessions, and other on-site activities that take place throughout the year.

More details coming soon.

October 6th, 2024

$2500

The Suhba Essentials Application Form includes the option to request sponsorship, ie: financial aid, Please click here

No student will be rejected on the basis of financial reasons.

Full refunds will be provided to those that request it up until after the first class on October 7th, 2024. No refunds will be provided thereafter.

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Yes. The tuition for the first student registering from a given household is $2,500 USD. Each additional student registering from the same household is an additional $500 USD until a cap of $4,000 USD is reached for 4+ students from a single household.