A structured course designed to equip students with the confidence and tools required to solve advanced Arabic texts.

This course is for those who want to refresh and improve their knowledge of the Arabic language, bridge the gap between theory and application and develop confidence in reading advanced Arabic texts, and engage with the original sources of Islamic scholarship.

• Have you completed the ‘alimiyya course but feel that you could have worked harder at mastering the Arabic language?

• Did you graduate many years ago from an ‘alimiyya course and now feel your understanding of the Arabic texts is rusty?

• Are you currently teaching others but feel like you could improve your grasp of Arabic religious texts and enhance your teaching?

• Or have you studied Arabic at a basic or intermediate level and now want to take your studies to the next stage and start understanding advanced Arabic texts in tafsir, hadith, aqidah, fiqh, adab, and other subjects?

If you are any of the above, then Sibawayh* Program is for you. It has been carefully designed as a refresher course to help build your confidence and assist you in your studies, reading, teaching, and guiding others.

  • Dates

    The course starts on 15th September 2025

  • Course Fee

    £750.00

Instructor

 Mufti Zubair Patel
Mawlana Hilal Patel
Mawlana Nazir Faruki
Mawlana Abdullah Patel
Mawlana Imran Maljee

Duration

 2025-2026 ( 1 Year )

Course Start Date

  15th September 2025

Sessions

 On-site and Online (Recordings of the live sessions are NOT available for this course)

Timings

Monday to Wednesday

11am - 12.30 pm

Course Fee

 £750.00

This course is for those who have studied Arabic before and have some basic understanding of its grammar and vocabulary. It is not an absolute beginner course.

Students should expect to allocate 3 to 4 hours per week for preparation and homework.

*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 course

“I am very grateful to Whitethread Institute for the Sibawayh programme. It was a great refresher for Arabic grammar and it expanded my knowledge of the Arabic language, as we applied our knowledge to a range of Arabic texts. I especially enjoyed studying balagha (rhetoric), which revealed the richness and depth of Arabic as a language, especially the language of the Quran. The teachers were very supportive and encouraging and taught the lessons based on the students’ pace. As a teacher myself, this course made me feel more confident in my abilities and I was able to incorporate what I had learnt into my own teaching. Being surrounded by scholars and students at Whitethread, I felt that I was part of a community that sincerely believes, and puts into practice, the fact that further educational development of Alimiyyah graduates is necessary to make us effective teachers and leaders.”

Salma Patel, UK

“The teachers are very supportive, extremely patient and very open to any questions or challenges. The classes are very interactive, never boring. I would highly recommend this course for those who studied ‘alimiyya and had a long gap in between and would like to relearn and refresh. You are never too old to learn. I am definitely looking forward to the release of the other levels of Sibawayh to join and learn further Insha’Allah. ”

Umme-Abdullah

“​​Before I started I was scared to tackle Arabic text without harakat, but now I feel confident to pick up any Arabic book and read. My awareness of the grammar when reading new text has improved a lot, I'm not afraid to read anymore. I would recommend this course to others as it really pushes your ability and helps you gain the confidence to explore Arabic books on your own, the teachers encouragement and their passion for the language pushes you to really challenge yourself. ”

Jesmin

“Alhamdulillah, I have benefited greatly from the Sibawayh course. I enrolled in the course hoping to "fill any gaps" in my understanding of Arabic grammar, but I gained much more than that alhamdulillah. This course has made me aware of my weaknesses and has given me a chance as well as the tools to improve them. I think the small class sizes and student-centered nature of the course also contributes to this greatly. The most commendable part of this course for me has been the diversity of the content and the interdisciplinary approach the instructors employ when teaching us. This not only helped me in my reading fluency but also expanded my understanding of Arabic literature. ”

Yumna

“I am hugely grateful to Whitethread Institute for the spiritual care and companionship I was always blessed from all our respected teachers with such an auspicious year. I have hugely benefited from my teachers and will forever be in debt with the knowledge and techniques they have passed. I feel studying this course has really opened up my mind and allowed me to brush up areas I had passed through or forgotten during my alimiyyah course.This course has really made me intellectually understand various concepts of Arabic grammar. ”

Fatima Kapadia

“The teachers are super helpful and go above and beyond to support us. Overall my experience has allowed me to really excel in understanding the Arabic language with confidence.”

Nusaybah, UK

“Whitethread institute Islamic courses are an excellent and innovative approach to fill the gap and deficiencies in learning through the traditional Darse Nizami course. It is a haven for the inquisitive students of knowledge who would like to further their knowledge or refresh it, after having qualified some time ago and return to the blessed path of seeking knowledge. For me, this has been an excellent way to fill in the gaps of my current part-time Adult Alim course in the most efficient way. The teachers are well qualified and hardworking and make learning interactive as well as informative. The flexibility of online learning with recorded videos help to cater for busy working adults like me in their own times. I would highly recommend this to every seeker of knowledge.”

Faraz Imran, UK

The program will be primarily focused on helping students with difficult parts of Arabic grammar (nahw), etymology and morphology (sarf), dictionary, and lexicon usage, and then applying these skills to various Arabic texts. Students will start with some basic Arabic texts and gradually progress on to more challenging selections.

Subjects covered (subject to change)

• An overview of nahw and sarf through selections of the Ajrumiyya.

• A study of a varied selection of Arabic literature from sources such as Nafhat al-Arab, the Mukhtarat, Maqamat, Muʿallaqāt, and Diwan al-Shafi’i.

• A study of excerpts from Islamic scholarship mutun, such as Al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab (commentary of Quduri), Sharh Aqida Tahawiyya, Ihya’ Ulum al-Din, Usul al-Fiqh, and Hadith.

This course has been named after one of the leading grammarians of the Arabic language.

Sibawayh, the Famous Grammarian (d.180)

Abu Bishr ῾Amr bin ῾Uthman al-Basri was a leading grammarian of Basra. Originally from the lands of Persia, he started his studies in the field of hadith under Hammad ibn Salamah (d. 167), the great hadith scholar of Basra. His journey as a grammarian started due to an incident that took place with his teacher Hammad. Once, when reading hadith, Sibawayh made a grammatical error in the reading of the hadith. Hammad informed him of his mistake and corrected him. Upon this Sibawayh stated that he will go and seek knowledge (of grammar) until a point where no one will be able to dispute with him. Thus, he left on his journey to master the Arabic language and went on to study in the company of the greatest grammarians of his time, such as Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi. Sibawayh was a hard-working and dedicated scholar and it was during this time that he wrote his huge scholarly work ‘Al-Kitab’ which was one of the first books to be written on grammar.

He was commonly known by his nickname Sibawayh. Various interpretations have been provided regarding this nickname, with some scholars stating that it was a nickname given to him by his mother, meaning ‘the scent of apples’. Others have stated that it was due to him always having a nice smell, whilst others have said it was due to his cheeks having a similarity to fresh apples.

Sibawayh, died at a young age between 35 and 40, and is held to be of the founding fathers of Arabic grammar (may Allah have mercy on him).

Instructor(s)

Mufti Zubair Patel

Course Instructor

Mufti Zubair Patel graduated from the Alimiyya and Ifta’ at Jamiatul Ilm Wal Huda Blackburn in 2005. He subsequently was selected to teach at the same institute for 3 years. Since leaving Blackburn, He has been teaching at Imam Zakaria Academy, Forest Gate, London where he holds a senior post and is well loved by both students and teachers alike, along with teaching at Jamia Al Rawda nearby.

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