This 14-week course will introduce the students to the essential concepts, major thinkers' terminologies, texts, methodologies, and debates within the Western and Islamic intellectual tradition with reference to questions about God’s nature and His attributes.

The course will explore some of the major debates revolving around the essential attributes of God such as omnipotence, omniscience, divine morality and divine will. The course will also explore the intricate discussions on the problem of evil and as well as sociological and psychological perspectives on the concept and utility of religion. Divine hiddenness and the nature of non-belief will be elaborated upon too. The aforementioned themes will be approached in a comparative framework crossing between Western and Islamic intellectual traditions.

Exploring the Nature of God

 Introduction into the Divine Attributes pt 1
Introduction into the Divine Attributes pt 2
Divine Omnipotence: Paradox of the Stone
Divine Omniscience: Paradoxes and free-will pt 1
Divine Omniscience: Paradoxes and free-will pt 2
Divine Morality: Is God Moral? Pt 1
Divine Morality: Is God Moral? Pt 2
The Problem of Evil: Logical and Evidential pt 1
The Problem of Evil: Logical and Evidential pt 2
The Problem of Divine Hiddenness and Non-Belief
God and Psychology
God and Sociology
Summary and Extended Q+A

  • Dates

    The course starts in February 2023

  • Online

    A mix of Pre-Recordings & Live Sessions

  • Course Fee

    £159.00

Instructor

 Ustad Imran Iqbal
Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury

Duration

 14 Week Course

Course Start Date

 February 2023

Sessions

 Online (Mix of Pre-Recordings & Live Sessions)

Timings


 Drip Content. The sessions are released to the students weekly

Course Fee

 £159.00

*Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained within this course is correct at the time of publication. Courses are subject to ongoing development which could necessitate cancellation of, or alteration to, the advertised courses.

What our students say about the program

“… Before partaking in the course I was wary of studying philosophy since I have heard negative feedback on it…However, Alhamdulillah through the guidance of amazing and inspirational teachers I was able to appreciate works of philosophy and can now clearly see the foundation of ideas and how philosophical arguments regarding epistemology and even the metaphysics arose.”

Sumaiya Hossain UK

“The theology course isn’t only recommended but in my honest opinion mandatory for every graduate of any Darul Uloom institute. Especially in contemporary times where so many Muslims are confused and challenged with regards to the orthodox Sunni approach to theology. The teachers for both the theology and faith foundation classes will always try to ensure students understand everything properly and will never shy away from taking questions.””

Asad Ahmed, UK

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Instructor(s)

Ustad Imran Iqbal

Instructor

After initially completing his Masters degree in Engineering (MEng) at Queen Mary University (University of London) went on to diversify his academic background by pursuing an MA from SOAS (University of London) in Near and Middle Eastern Studies and another from Birkbeck College (University of London) in Philosophy with his thesis written on Imam al-Ghazali’s view on scientific knowledge and causality. He has also pursued classical Islamic knowledge by studying under a number of local Ulama in London and concentrating on basic Islamic sciences such as Ilm al-Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Ulum al-Hadith, Aqida and Ilm al-Kalam. His areas of interest include: Islamic philosophy and theology, Islamic legal theory, Islamic history of ‘ideas’, philosophy of science and the scientific method, epistemology and metaphysics in Western and Islamic thought. He has a number of published book reviews in specialist academic journals and is currently pursuing a research project tentatively titled, ‘Trajectories in Islamic theological dispute’. He is also a qualified teacher of Physics and Critical Thinking.

Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury

Instructor

Studied Philosophy as an undergraduate at Kings College London after which he travelled to Cairo to study the Islamic studies curriculum at al-Azhar university, focussing on Islamic law. He also studied extensively in private with a number of scholars with a keen interest in Arabic tafsir (exegesis) and balagha (rhetoric). He returned to the UK where he completed his MA in Islamic studies with distinction at SOAS thereafter taking up his doctoral studies on the life and work of the great khurasanian Sufi and hadith specialist Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (d. 412/1021). His PhD was published in 2018 by Equinox Publishing. Currently, he is pursuing studies in philosophical theology and Sufism with a forthcoming publication on the problem of evil within Islamic thought (AUC Press). He is a professional translator, teacher and examiner as well as curriculum consultant for GCSE, A-Level and the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Are there any live sessions?

    All the sessions are live and available on-site and online.

  • Are we allowed to share the course with our partners or siblings?

    We expect all students who pay for the course to have explicit use of the content and should not be shared, therefore if your partner or spouse wants to take the whole course, then we would advise purchasing the course, if you want to make them aware of some snippets or questions which are relevant to them, then that is fine, everything in the resources section are available for free and can be shared.

  • Do we have lifetime access to the recordings?

    Unfortunately, all our sessions are copyright of Whitethread Institute, therefore students are not allowed to save, record or recreate the content of the sessions as the content is constantly updated. We do provide resources that are free to download or share.

  • Are there any funding opportunities for this course?

    Students can apply for zakat or sponsorship opportunities, for further details, please contact [email protected]

Why Study at Whitethread Institute?

  • Great studying environment

  • Interactive discussions between students and teachers

  • High level discussions where teachers are open to questions and do not shy away from sensitive or controversial issues

  • Comfortable studying environment

  • In depth coverage of topics

  • Deep understanding of the nuances of fiqh

  • Experienced and knowledgeable teachers

  • Students guided throughout their studies

  • All lessons taught in a practical manner relevant to current times