Within the Academic Program, Classical Arabic refers primarily to the language of the Qur’an, and secondarily to the various texts and works that are directly inspired by both its form and content. Students receive direct exposure to Islamic legal, theological|philosophical and mystical texts from the classical and medieval periods.
The first three levels are foundational in that they focus on “linguistic mobility”, meaning equipping a student with the necessary skills in grammar, morphology, and rhetoric (nahw, sarf, and balagha), and to excel in the reading, understanding, analyzing, translating, and interpreting of classical texts. This is in addition to basic, “Classic 4” skills development of listening, reading, speaking, writing, necessary for advanced-intermediate fluency.
Levels 4 and 5 represent a unique milestone in the student’s Arabic development and a transition from learning the language to using it as a tool to access classical texts. These courses are comprised of rotating special studies modules focusing on both classical and contemporary subject matter. Among these mini-modules (usually each two-weeks in length) are Scriptural Exegesis, Poetry (pre-Islamic and classical), Psychology, Literary Criticism, Islamic History, Theology, Prophetic History, Speech Presentation (Khutba), and Terminology of Sacred Law and Hadith (narratives of the Prophetic, Islamic period). The books are identical to those used by native-Arab universities, which itself is evidence of the advanced level reached by Qasid students after 15 short months, for those who come with absolutely no knowledge of the language. Those who have a previous background in Arabic will likely complete the program in even less time.