Academic Programs

Students will learn and apply major principles for reading the Qur’aan, gradually increasing in proficiency until they are able to recite from the mus-haf smoothly and independently. The base for this curriculum is the classical text Al Qaa’idatun Nooraaniyyah and The Bridge Between the Qaa’idah and the Qur’aan. It has two phases or sections:

Phase 1: Al Qaa’idatun Nooraaniyyah Text

• Identify the 28 letters in their original, beginning, middle, and end formations
• Identify and read words with the three major diacritical marks
• Identify and read words with the Noonation marks
• Identify and read words with the three long vowels
• Identify and read words with Sukoon
• Identify and read words with Shaddah
• Identify and read words with Laam At-Ta’reef

Phase 2: The Bridge Between the Qaa’idah and the Qur’aan Text

• Implement the rules of idghaam and ikhfaa’
• Implement the rules of reciting Lafdhul Jalalah
• Identify over 100 sight words in the Qur’aan
• Read the Qur’aan at least once from cover to cover

Students will be grouped according to age in this course and are required to take the beginner’s memorization course (see below) in tandem with this level.

This course is for children ages 9+ who are strong independent reciters of the Qur’aan. Students will learn points of articulation of the letters and core Tajweed rules following the
“Tajweed Rules of the Qur’aan” series by Kareema Carol Czerepinski. It is a minimum one-year program with the lessons divided as follows:

● Understand and discuss principles of Tajweed
● Identify and apply the points of articulation of the letters
● Identify and implement the characteristics of the letters
● Identify and implement the rules of saakin letters
● Identify and implement the rules of lengthening
● Identify and implement the rules of velarization
● Identify and implement the rules of the connecting letter hamzah.

Students are required to take the beginner or intermediate memorization course (see below) in tandem with this level. Students who successfully pass this course will be promoted to join Island courses that offer Ijaazah in classical Tajweed texts such as Tuhfatul Atfaal and Al Jazariyyah or, depending on the age and performance of the student, begin studies in the senior divisions.

This course is designed for sisters who are strong independent reciters of the Qur’aan, with minimum knowledge of Tajweed. Students will learn points of articulation of the letters and core Tajweed rules following the “Tajweed Rules of the Qur’aan” series by Kareema Carol Czerepinski. It is a minimum one-year program with the sections divided as follows:

Phase 1: Tajweed Book 1, and Selections from Book 2

• Understand and discuss principles of Tajweed
• Identify and apply the points of articulation of the letters
• Identify and implement the rules of saakin letters
• Identify and implement the rules of lengthening
• Ability to discuss the rankings of nasalization
• Identify and implement the characteristics of the letters

Phase 2: Tajweed Book 3, and Selections from Book 2

• Identify and implement the rules of velarization
• Identify and implement the rules of the connecting letter hamzah
• Identify and implement the rules of stopping/starting
• Identify and implement the rules for stopping at the ends of words
• Identify special words and implement their rules
• Identify and understand words when written joined vs. separately
• Identify and understand words written with a female taa or an open taa

Students are required to take the beginner or intermediate memorization course (see below) in tandem with this level. Students must successfully pass phase 1 to be promoted for phase 2 or the Level 1: Makhaarij and Sifaat course (see below).

This course is designed for sisters who are strong independent reciters of the Qur’aan and have a background in tajweed study. Students will use the UMMI curriculum to study the science of the points of articulation along with their characteristics, building on previous studies. It is a minimum one year program aimed at further developing the students knowledge base and assisting them in:

• Understanding and discussing the schools of thought concerning the makharij
• Understanding the mechanisms of each letter
• Identifying and applying principles in regards to characteristics of the letters 

Students are required to take the beginner or intermediate memorization course (see below) in tandem with this level. Students must successfully pass this level to be promoted to Level 2: Ahkaam Al Sawaakin and Ahkaamul Madd course.

This course is designed for sisters who are strong independent reciters of the Qur’aan and have a background in tajweed study. Students will use the UMMI curriculum to assist them in understanding scholarly discussions in regards to letters with sukoon and lengthenings, building on previous studies. It is a minimum one year program aimed at further developing the students knowledge base and assisting them in:

• Understanding and discussing the mechanisms in regards to noon saakinah
• Understanding and discussing the mechanisms in regards to meem saakinah
• Understanding and discussing the mechanisms in regards to laam saakinah
• Understanding letter relationships in light of principles regarding sukoon and harakah.
• Understanding and discussing schools of thoughts in regards to lengthenings 

Students are required to take the beginner or intermediate memorization course (see below) in tandem with this level. Students must successfully pass this level to be promoted to Level 3: Al Ziyaadah course. 

This course is designed for sisters who are strong independent reciters of the Qur’aan and have a background in tajweed study. Students will use the UMMI curriculum to assist them in understanding scholarly discussions in regards to velarization, stops and starts, and the connecting hamzah, building on previous studies. It is a minimum one-year program aimed at further developing the students knowledge base and assisting them in: 

• Understanding and discussing the schools of thoughts in regards to velarization
• Understanding and discussing the schools of thoughts in regards to velarization of the letter ر
• Understanding and discussing the schools of thoughts in regards to velarization of the letter ل
• Understanding and applying rules in regards to appropriate stops and starts.
• Understanding the schools of thought and applying rules in regards to stopping on the ends of words.
• Understanding and applying grammatical principles in regards to the connecting hamzah
• Understanding and applying principles in regards to words written separately or joined
• Understanding and applying principles in regards to words written with a ت or ة 

Students are required to take the beginner or intermediate memorization course (see below) in tandem with this level. Students who successfully pass this course will be promoted to join Island courses that offer ijaazah in classical tajweed texts such as Tuhfatul Atfaal and Al Jazariyyah. 

This course is for sisters who are not yet proficient readers and or unable to memorize independently. These are private, 30 minute sessions. and are a requirement for Nooraaniyyah or tajweed courses. These sessions may also be registered for independently unless otherwise indicated. There are two sections: 

Phase 1: Total Beginner 

This targets sisters who are unable to read independently and thus require coaching in the recitation. In these 30-minute sessions, students will be assisted in reading and memorizing a short surah or several lines from Juz amma until they reach the level of proficiency required to do so independently. Students in this phase must also be enrolled in the Nooraaniyyah program. 

Phase 2: Novice Reciter 

This targets sisters who are able to read independently however have obvious mistakes in the recitation and or are unable to memorize more than a half page (7 lines) per session. In these 30-minute sessions, students will be assisted in improving their recitation and building their ability to memorize at least a page per session. Students may enroll in this phase independently.

This course is for proficient readers who are able to memorize independently. Students will receive customized assignments to monitor their progress while memorizing the entire Qur’aan in addition to a strong focus on pronunciation during the session. These are private, 30 minute sessions. and are a requirement for all tajweed courses. These sessions may also be registered for independently unless otherwise indicated. 

This course is designed for sisters who have completed the memorization of the Qur’aan. It is a one-on-one session during which the student recites the entire Qur’aan from memory to her instructor. The instructor focuses on perfecting the student’s recitation to the utmost, eliminating the minutest mistakes in pronunciation as well as nurturing the student’s ability to teach the Qur’aan typically by studying the classical texts Tuhfatul Atfaal and Al Jazariyyah, depending on the level of the student. This process may take a minimum of one year and or several recitations before the student has fully mastered the proper recitation. At the end of this level, students will graduate from the academy with 

• Ijaazah or full certification in the recitation of Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim with the chain going back to the prophet sallallaahu alaihi wasallam
• Ijaazah in the classical tajweed text Tuhfatul Atfaal with the chain back to its author
• Ijaazah in the classical tajweed text Al Jazariyyah with the chain back to its author

This course is designed for sisters who are interested in attaining proficiency in the recitation without the requirement of complete hifdh. It is a one-on-one session during which the student recites the entire Qur’aan  to her instructor from the beginning to end while focusing on improving her recitation.

This process may take a minimum of one year and or several recitations however at the end of this level, students will achieve "Shahaadah Al Ijaadah" or a certificate of excellence indicating that she has recited the Qur'aan from start to finish satisfactorily and with a comprehensive understanding of the rules of tajweed.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, this certificate will not include the sanad (chain back to the prophet sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) as this is reserved for ijaazah students only. 

This is a boys only program for students ages 7+. Both private and island Courses are offered.

Private Qur’aan: This course is for proficient readers who can memorize independently and follows UMMI's regular semester (September to May). Students will receive customized assignments to monitor their progress while memorizing the entire Qur’aan in addition to a strong focus on pronunciation during the session. Further customizations, such as discussions on tajweed may also be made.

These are private, 30-minute sessions and for students who wish to enroll in more than one session per week, an extra fee of $25 will be added for every additional session. (See Payment Policy and Tuition Calendar.)

Juz Amma Island (coming soon!—see “The Island Program" description below): Students 7+ who can read from the mus-haf  at variant levels of proficiency will improve and or complete their memorization of Juz Amma in a group setting. Mini Tajweed lessons will also be given focusing on:

1. Rulings of Noon Sakinah
2. Rulings of Meem Sakinah
3. Rulings of Laam Sakinah
4. Rulings of Madd
5. Rulings of Like Letters

Depth of discussion will target each group’s collective level followed by a practice session that will aid in improving pronunciation of select chapters in the mus-haf.  Memorization will be assigned based off of what was practiced in the lesson and or the student’s individual level and recited to the instructor the following session, be’ithnillaah.

Course Duration: Six weeks

Capacity: 5-7 students