Gender Participation
1
%
Male Students
1
%
Female Students
"And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread (of night).”
The inspiration of the name Whitethread Institute is taken from verse 2:187 of the Glorious Qur’an. It expresses hope for a new dawn with better days to come and longing for much needed illumination in our daily lives and in our world through our scholars.
Summary
The Institute started running courses in September 2017 with four courses running throughout the first year and now in our fourth year we are able to run 7 full time courses and a number of short courses during the academic year.
Whitethread recently acquired Rayyan Institute and have setup 2 new projects; The Fatwa Centre and Menstrual Matters with a dedicated website for each of the projects.
Whitethread Institute is undergoing a restructure to run each of the projects under the name of Whitethread, which will allow the institute to reach out to a wider audience and carry out a greater service to the community.
Full Time Courses
Over the four years, the institute has ran 7 full time courses
Ifta’ Specialisation Program
this is a two year specialisation program in Islamic Jurisprudence and the art of researching and writing legal edicts (fatāwa). Our cohort have written almost 1000 legal edicts each, and have achieved numerous other feats. Please see section three for a more detailed description.
Advanced Islamic Jurisprudence Program
this is a one-year program aimed at developing an advanced understanding of Islamic Jurisprudence and the confidence to deal with everyday queries. Subjects studied in this course include a study of some of the advanced chapters of Maydānī’s ‘Al-Lubāb Sharḥ al-Kitāb’, usūl al-fiqh, the evidences of the Ḥanafī school and a range of pertinent contemporary fatwas. 45 students have participated in this course over the three years.
Islamic Theology ('Aqidah) and Philosophy Program
this is a one-year program equipping candidates with a comprehensive understanding of Islamic theological beliefs and creed (‘aqida) and the Western Intellectual tradition. This course aims to train candidates to deal with the major theological and ideological challenges of the modern world, such as atheism and liberalism. 47 Students have participated in this course over the three years.
Advanced Qur'an Study and Tafsir Program
A one-year course with two main objectives: to provide students with an overview of the classical material on the Qur’ān and critically analyse orientalist engagements with the Qur’ān. Candidates are also introduced to the major debates and discussion within ‘ulūm al-Qur’ān texts and analyse the concept of the inmitability of the Qur’ān (i‘jaz al-Qur’an) through a study of its language, style and structure. 37 participated in this course.
Sibawayh Arabic Refresher Program
this is a new one-year program launched in the current year. The aim of the program is to equip students with the necessary tools and confidence to solve complicated Arabic texts. The Sibawayh Program was initially planned as a refresher course for ‘alimiyya graduates who may have lost touch with their Arabic since graduation. This year, 54 participated in this course over the two years it has been running.
Light of Knowledge Program
a two-year (non-advanced) program offering a platform for non-‘alimiyya women who cannot commit to a full-time ‘alima program to further their Islamic knowledge and master the basics. Subjects studied in this course include Qur’an and tajwīd, ḥadith, ‘aqīda, fiqh and purification of the heart. 23 students have participated in this course.
Short Courses
Over the four years, the institute has ran four short courses, some of which have been replicated numerous times across the four years
Crisis In Faith: Learn to deal with Controversial Issues in Islam
this course aims to deal with the controversial and taboo questions concerning Islam within the modern world. These include the belief in God against Atheism, questions about gender and sexuality as well as questions about the Prophet Muḥammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the broader Islamic tradition. A total of 292 students took part in this course.
Mastering the Fiqh of Menstruation
this six-week program aimed to equip students with a mastery over the fiqh of menstruation by reading and analysing Ibn ‘Abidīn al-Shāmi’s commentary of Birgivi’s Manual ‘Dukhr al-Muta’ahhilīn’. The aim of this course is to empower female scholars and others to be specialists in this field. A total of 162 students participated in this program.
Global Reach
Our student body represents twenty-eight countries, spanning six continents, many of whom benefit from our courses online. Some of these countries include;
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Burma
- Kenya
- South Africa
Student Participation
The Institute was founded upon the aim to fill a void in the British Muslim community by providing postgraduate courses for candidates who have completed the ‘alimiyya studies. Due to Allah’s infinite grace, we were able to far exceed our objectives by attracting an international student body.
We have had 238 students enrolled in our full-time courses over the three years. In our two shorter courses – ‘“Controversial” Questions Concerning Islam’ and ‘Detailed Fiqh of Menstruation’, we attracted 292 and 162 students respectively. Our student body represents twenty-eight countries, spanning six continents, many of whom benefit from our courses online. Some of these countries include America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Burma, Kenya and Venezuela to name a few.
Significantly, a large proportion of our students are those already involved in teaching and da’wah in their respective communities as they are graduates of the ‘alimiyya program. Moreover, 60% of our student-body are female students.
Ifta' Specialisation Program
Alhamdulillah, this year also marks the graduation of the first cohort of our flagship program – the ‘Ifta specialisation Program’ (takhaṣuṣ fi ’l-iftā’ wa ’l-fiqh). Our Ifta’ students have worked tirelessly over the past two years, writing approximately 1000 fatwas during this time. Alongside their fatwas, the students have written two extended essays of up to 5,000 words each. Over the forthcoming months some will be edited and published as original or supplementary contributions to academic discussions.
Furthermore, our students have also produced several research drafts for two consecutive fiqh conferences held by the Jami’at Ulama-i-Hind. This year, two students accompanied Mufti Abdur-Rahman to attend the 2019 conference, held in Delhi. The contributions of our students were greatly appreciated by the delegates, such that some of the senior scholars of Darul Ulum Deoband and other seminaries commented that people benefited greatly from their presence.
Our students also benefited from several senior muftis and other scholars who visited Whitethread Institute for guest lectures. Mufti Taqī ‘Uthmānī visited in April 2018 to conduct a highly specialised workshop on the principles of the ifta’ process. This was an exclusive by invitation only program and was attended by about fifty of the top scholars of the UK. Muftī Salmān Manṣūrpūrī of Madrasa Shahi Muradabad delivered the innaugral ifta’ lecture on Al-Ashbah wa ’l-Naza’ir, and Muftī Ashfāq Kazi of the Jama Masjid Bombay delivered a lecture on the typology and rigours of the ifta’ research process, especially in contemporary times. Moreover, Muftī Sarfaraz Muḥammad from the Fiqh Council Birmingham (FCB) delivered a series of lectures to the students on Islamic Dietary Fiqh and Bioethics. Students also twice spend a prolonged period of time with Mufti Ṭāhir Gahaziabadi, the Head Muftī of Maẓāhir al-‘Ulūm Saharanpur and senior advisor to the institute, who supervised their fatwaresearch and writing for a week in March 2018 and then again in April 2019.
The unique feature of our program is that successful candidates are not licensed as muftis, until they are able to demonstrate consistent work within the field of jurisprudence and fatwa for three additional years after the completion of the two-year course. Consequently, they are also required to write a thesis of up to 20,000 words on a topic within their field of specialisation within six months of completion of the classes. The areas of specialisation include but are not limited to: Integration and Citizenship, Islamic Medical and Bioethics, Islamic Family Law, Islamic Finance and Islamic Dietary Law to name a few.
Notable Guests
There have been several other notable guests who have visited the Institute. The students were blessed with the precense of HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muḥammad of Jordan in 2018 who offered his advice on the direction of Muslim scholarship in the modern world. He also donated the bulk of our library books to date. The students of the Institute were also offered similar advice by Mawlānā Maḥmūd Madanī (India) and Mawlānā Ebrahim Bham (South Africa), both of whom are Presidents of the Councils of Islamic Scholars (Jami’at al-‘Ulama’) in their respective countries. Professor Salman Bdour, President of the World Islamic Sciences and Education University (WISE), Amman Jordan visited and spoke to the students about studies at WISE and their processes. Professor Ataullah Siddiqui of the Markfield Institute of Higher Education delivered a presentation on “Islamic Scholarhsip in the West” which was highly beneficial for the students.
Attracting Interest from Different Organisations
The vision of Whitethread Insititute and the impact of our work has attracted interest from several different organisations.
In a conference on “Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities” hosted by Cardiff University, our founder and dean, Dr Mufti Abdur-Rahman Mangera, was invited to deliver a presentation about Whitethread Institute titled ‘Marrying Text with Context.’ Mufti Abdur-Rahman articulated the aims and objectives of Whitethread, highlighting how the institute is poised to develop a succession of tradition scholars with contextual insight into the Islamic sciences. The lecture was very well-received and sparked interesting conversations about the Institute.
We have also attracted media interest, such as a request from the biggest broadcaster in Britain to interview and shadow one of our female students for an upcoming production about Muslims in Britain. This did not go ahead as planned, but nonetheless shows that the Institute is being recognised by many.
Goals for the New Year
The vision of Whitethread Insititute and the impact of our work has attracted interest from several different organisations.
In a conference on “Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities” hosted by Cardiff University, our founder and dean, Dr Mufti Abdur-Rahman Mangera, was invited to deliver a presentation about Whitethread Institute titled ‘Marrying Text with Context.’ Mufti Abdur-Rahman articulated the aims and objectives of Whitethread, highlighting how the institute is poised to develop a succession of tradition scholars with contextual insight into the Islamic sciences. The lecture was very well-received and sparked interesting conversations about the Institute.
We have also attracted media interest, such as a request from the biggest broadcaster in Britain to interview and shadow one of our female students for an upcoming production about Muslims in Britain. This did not go ahead as planned, but nonetheless shows that the Institute is being recognised by many.
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