Certificate in Islamic Studies
Eighteen months of Saturdays. Eight sciences. Arabic throughout.
A structured, part-time foundation in the Islamic sciences, taught in English over eight semesters — with Arabic running through every one of them.
S$420to secure your place · S$2,020 in total
- Duration18 months, part-time8 semesters
- ScheduleSaturdays, 2:00–5:30pm (Singapore time)
- DeliveryHybrid — on-site at the academy and live on Zoom. Every session recorded.
- Next intakeSaturday 24 October 2026Applications open
Most of us learned to recite before we learned to understand. We can finish a sūrah without knowing what we just said, and we take our fiqh from whoever the algorithm put in front of us that morning. This programme is the ordered alternative: one science at a time, in the sequence the tradition itself teaches them, from teachers who are certified to teach them.
What changes
What you will be able to do
Not a syllabus — four things you will be able to do by the end.
Read the Qur'an with understanding
Move from reciting the words to following the meaning — and knowing why a verse says what it says.
Know where a ruling comes from
Trace a fiqh position back to its evidence, so you can weigh what you are told instead of collecting verdicts.
Meet Arabic on its own terms
Arabic in every one of the eight semesters, until the language stops being a wall and starts being a door.
Teach what you know at home
Answer your children properly — and tell them where the answer comes from. For many parents, that is the whole reason to begin.
The curriculum
Eight semesters, one science at a time
Taught in the order the tradition teaches them — each one resting on the one before.
Semester 1
فقه
Fiqh
Islamic law
How an act of worship is actually performed, and on what basis. Purification, prayer, fasting, zakāt — done correctly and understood, not merely copied.
Semester 2
عقيدة
ʿAqīdah
Creed
What a Muslim believes, stated precisely: the oneness of Allah, prophethood, the unseen, and the boundaries that keep belief sound.
Semester 3
حديث
Ḥadīth
Prophetic tradition
How the words of the Prophet ﷺ reached us, how a narration is judged sound or weak, and why that judgement is a science rather than an opinion.
Semester 4
سيرة
Sīrah
Prophetic biography
The life of the Prophet ﷺ read as it was lived — in sequence, in context, and with the decisions he faced made visible.
Semester 5
علوم القرآن
ʿUlūm al-Qur'ān
Sciences of the Qur'an
How the Qur'an was revealed, collected and preserved; what makes a verse Makkan or Madinan; and the tools scholars use to read it responsibly.
Semester 6
أخلاق
Akhlāq
Character
The inward work: sincerity, patience, restraint of the tongue. The part of the dīn that shows up in how you treat people on a bad day.
Semester 7
تجويد
Tajwīd
Qur'anic recitation
The rules that govern recitation — articulation, elongation, the points of the letters — applied until they become how you read rather than what you remember.
Semester 8
تفسير
Tafsīr
Qur'anic exegesis
Sustained reading of the Book with the commentators, bringing together everything the previous seven semesters built.
العربية
And Arabic in every one of the eight.
Not a module you take once and finish. Arabic runs alongside every semester of the programme, from the alphabet you arrive with to reading a text on its own terms.
Practicalities
What it costs, and who it is for
No hidden figures, and no arithmetic required to work out what you owe this month.
Entry requirements
- 16 years of age or older
- Able to converse and study in English
- Able to recognise the Arabic alphabet
75% minimum attendance, mandatory. Sessions are recorded, but recordings do not substitute for attendance.
62 Changi Road #03-02, Singapore 419713
Payment due before 17 October 2026.
Fees
What it costs, in full
- RegistrationOne-time, on acceptance
- S$150
- AdministrationOne-time
- S$70
- Monthly course feeFor 18 months
- S$100/mo
Due before you start
S$420
Registration + administration + your first two months
Total across the whole programmeS$2,020
The academy's terms are strict, and we would rather you knew now. Withdrawal or expulsion — whether before the programme commences or after the first 14 days — does not entitle you to a refund, and the academy may charge the full tuition. Please be confident of the commitment before you pay.
Certification
What you graduate with
Teachers on MUIS's register, a certificate organised with the IIUM Centre for Continuing Education, and a transcript with a mark for every subject — each stated exactly as the documents state it.
Every class is taught by ARS-certified asatizah
Every one of our teachers is certified under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme — the register of Islamic religious teachers maintained by MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. It is a regulated credential, and you can check it.
Organised with the IIUM Centre for Continuing Education
A Certificate of Completion, organised by the IIUM Centre for Continuing Education together with Al Misbah Academy, and signed by both.
It is a certificate of completed training, not a university degree, and not a government-regulated qualification. It does not by itself qualify you to give fatwā or hold a scholarly post.
You graduate with a real transcript
Not just a certificate. Graduates receive an academic transcript: a mark for every subject, an overall grade point average, and a letter grade on a published scale — signed by the academy and by the IIUM Centre for Continuing Education.
Where it leads
A beginning, not a finish line
Eighteen months gives you an ordered foundation in the Islamic sciences — and a record of it. Here is where students take both.
Into the Diploma in Syariah Studies
The academy's most advanced programme — three and a half years, twenty-eight subjects — asks for a certificate in Islamic studies as its preferred preparation. This is that certificate.
See the DiplomaInto whatever you apply for next
Your transcript records eighteen months of examined study, subject by subject. Put it in front of a university, a masjid committee or an employer, anywhere sustained commitment counts. Each institution decides for itself what weight to give it — so ask them, and show them the transcript.
Into your own home
For a parent, perhaps the return that matters most: being the one in the family who can answer the question properly — and explain where the answer comes from.
Enrolment
Five steps, and you know all of them now
Nothing about enrolling here should be a surprise. This is the whole process, including the deadline and the money.
Start your applicationApply
Fill in the application form. Nothing to upload, no documents needed yet — it takes a few minutes.
You are not committing to anything at this stage.
We send you a Letter of Offer
If your application is successful, the academy issues a Letter of Offer and a tuition statement.
The offer is valid for 20 days from the date it is issued.
Return both, signed
Send back the signed Letter of Offer and tuition statement, together with your supporting documents.
This is the point at which we need paperwork from you.
Pay to secure your place
S$420 before 17 October 2026. PayNow, bank transfer, cheque or cash.
Payment details come with your Letter of Offer — never by email from the website.
Classes begin
Saturday 24 October 2026, 2:00pm. On-site at 62 Changi Road, or live on Zoom.
Every session is recorded, so a missed Saturday is not a lost one.
Questions
The things people actually ask
Every session is recorded and made available to you, so a missed Saturday is not a lost one. That said, attendance is capped at a 75% minimum requirement — the recordings are there to help you catch up, not to replace being in the room.