<p>What is a 'Good Muslim': <em>Discovering Islam's Spiritual Code</em></p> <p>We like to call people a 'good Muslim' or a 'bad Muslim' but who actually decides?</p> <p>Is it based on what Muslims say, on Muslim culture? Or is it based on the Shari'ah or scholars, or the example of the Prophet (S) or the Qur'an? If it's the Qur'an, then which bits?</p> <p>If you enjoyed this module please consider <em>Tajdid & The Imams </em> next...</p> <hr /> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>ISB's Classical to Contemporary Curriculum</strong></p> <p>This ambitious curriculum journeys through profound ideas on the questions of our time: exploring how we should define our understanding and priorities to best fulfil our purpose. At various points the curriculum will examine our attitudes, fiqh, culture and language in relation of our context today.</p> <p>Students can expect to develop a deep understanding of our faith, society, culture and greater confidence in how to live our faith naturally and positively, with relevance to our modern lives, here in the West.</p> <p>To access the complete videos and related content please visit www.youtube.com/BritIslam/playlists</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Course Details</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <p>This short course has essentially two parts. The first part asks the searching question, "Who defines Islam?" This is a question of essentialism, and whilst on the face of it, the answer seems simple, there are in fact many layers and complexities to the answer. <p>The question could be simplified down to, "What defines a good Muslim?" We delve into reasons why it is not what Muslims say, nor what scholars say, and why it is even difficult to find the answer in the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH), leaving us to ultimately derive the answer from the Qur'an itself.</p> <p>The second section of the course describes how these core teachings can be extracted from the Qur'an, and how they are inspiring, ethical, surprisingly simple, easy to grasp and easy to share. Finally, we discuss the wider implications of this discovery on our understanding of ethics and humanity.</p> <p>We will show how a good Muslim would have to be a good human - and conversely, why a bad human can never be a 'good' Muslim.</p> <p>We will also ask how it is that many of the teachings of our 'Spiritual Code' are universal and cherished and practiced by people of many religions or even those not belonging to any religion. What then, are the ramifications of this discovery on how we relate to other communities?</p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><hr /> <p><strong>Course Instructor </strong>- Dr Rizwan Syed </p> <p><strong>Dr Rizwan Syed</strong> is a longstanding member of initially, the Young Muslims UK and later, the Islamic Society of Britain, where he has held numerous posts, including currently, Lead of Tarbiyah for ISB (Development & Education). He was course organiser for the advanced level Summer Islamic Studies Residential courses for some years and teaches in a number of study circles as well as recently, being the lead teacher at the ISB Classical to Contemporary e-circles. He is also a mentor for ISB Campus.</p> <p>Dr Rizwan has been studying and teaching Islam at a lay level since his late teens, developing interests in comparative religion, usul al hadith, usul al fiqh and history. He is particularly concerned with the challenge of how to make core Islamic teachings relevant to our contemporary context.</p> <p>He is also a GP with interests in training, mentoring and musculoskeletal medicine.</p>

<p><strong>Gender Ethics and Law</strong></p> <p>This detailed, eye-opening course explores gender as it relates to scripture and context, starting from the creation story, how the Qur'an describes men and women and proceeds to the lessons we can learn for today. </p> <p>Discover the inspiring gender verses that establish Islam's ethical pillars, including:</p> <p>•The Marital Union <br />•Spirituality and Agency<br />•The Prophet’s Community <br />•The Qur'an addressing women<br />•The Quran and Sahabiyat</p> <p>The second module compares ethics with law and covering history, feminism, patriarchy, and diversity in interpretation of Quranic terms.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Once you have enjoyed completing this module, please consider the module 'International relations and human rights' next...</em></p> <hr /> <p><strong>ISB's Classical to Contemporary Curriculum</strong></p> <p>This ambitious curriculum journeys through profound ideas on the questions of our time: exploring how we should define our understanding and priorities to best fulfil our purpose. At various points the curriculum will examine our attitudes, fiqh, culture and language in relation of our context today.</p> <p>Students can expect to develop a deep understanding of our faith, society, culture and greater confidence in how to live our faith naturally and positively, with relevance to our modern lives, here in the West.</p> <p>To access the complete videos and related content please visit www.youtube.com/BritIslam/playlists</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <hr /> <p><strong>Course Details</strong></p> <p>This course will cover key concepts such as the creation story, men and women as allies and istikhlaf/ being successors with lessons for us today.</p> <p>Let’s discuss how women really find navigating mosques and Muslim spaces?</p> <p>How valued do women really feel in the contributions they make; are their opinions heard, reflected upon and respected?</p> <p>How can we, as men and women, be better allies?</p> <p>What are the 10 beautiful, inspiring Quranic ethical pillars of a healthy marriage?</p> <p>A look at some key women in The Quran.</p> <p>This course will look at:</p> <ul> <li>What was the situation in other civilisations eg Byzantine and Sassanid?</li> <li>A look at the verses on libas</li> <li>A look at Surah 4:34. What does it mean that men are qawammun in relation to women?</li> <li>How do we interpret the rest of the verse?</li> <li>How is divorce mentioned in The Quran?</li> <li>A glimpse at spirituality and agency.</li> </ul> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><hr /> <p><strong>Course Instructors </strong>- Dr Sara Saigol with contribution from Dr Rizwan Syed</p> <p><strong>Dr Sara Saigol</strong> graduated from The University of Birmingham Medical School and has since settled and works in South Manchester. She has been involved with various organisations in a voluntary capacity and this includes Young Muslims and the Islamic Society of Britain for almost three decades. Sara is a public speaker and writer and has recently developed a blog on faith in Britain.</p> <p>Sara developed ISB campus since the Living Islam Festival in 2016 and has overseen its growth into the primary project of the Islamic Society of Britain. She continues as Lead Mentor for ISB Campus and is active in the pastoral care and development of policies to protect young people.</p> <p>Dr Sara has many academic interests and leads two regular study circles for young people. Sara has been speaking in schools for many years and has developed an educational service for Schools on Islam as well as spearheading numerous projects that are offshoots from ISB Campus. </p> <p>Sara Saigol is married with three children and is a General Medical Practitioner.</p> <p> </p>