The Senior School

As in the Junior School, the Sacred Sciences are also integrated into our pupils’ daily school life and practice in the Senior School. Pupils recite du’a and adkhaar (supplications and invocations) from the Prophetic tradition together as part of their daily routine; they make the adhan daily and make wudhu and pray together at school. They participate in a group recitation of a portion from the Qur’an for a short period of time every day, ending their school day with this as they begin it with adkhaar. On Fridays, they also attend prayer and participate in recitations of salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad sallaAllahu alayhi wa sallim together.

Pupils also periodically engage with key books, texts, scholarly figures and notable personalities from the sacred tradition through their weekly Assembly. The Assembly acts as the cornerstone for our pupils’ progressive familiarity with the breadth of the sacred tradition and the wealth of wisdom available to them should they seek it in more depth. An engagement with key books and texts from the sacred tradition is also integrated informally into their learning of the material sciences, where references may be made to relevant texts as needed or appropriate, usually in the study of literature or history.

A highlight of our curriculum is our pupils’ study of Imam al-Nawawi’s collection of 42 Hadith. Most of our pupils complete memorising this collection of ahadith over a period of two years working progressively through it prior to beginning GCSE studies.

Pupils continue to develop their skill of Qur’anic recitation towards mastery and practice becoming entirely compliant with the rules of recitation through a selection of oft-recited portions and surahs of the Qur’an. They also work through the complete memorisation of these portions in line with the rules of recitation.

Pupils learn to understand the meanings of the Qur'an through nuance and context guided by the rich tradition of classical and modern Islamic commentary carefully curated by the teacher to provide meaningful spiritual engagement with the Quran's message in a way that helps students build a personal relationship with the words of God; and also helps them recognise that whereas God's words are perfect, human interpretation often falls short.

Pupils build upon the art of Inshad which they have acquired through the junior school and continue to develop their love for Inshad along with their repertoire of spiritual poems and styles. They practice recognising rhythm and metre and hone their skill in this. They learn how to sing lengthier core texts of the tradition of Inshad and explore some meanings of these towards the end of their study.

Pupils learn essential fiqh according to the Hanafi school in order to gain an understanding of essential practices related to worship of the Creator and interaction with the Creation. Variations in practice according to other schools of fiqh are also considered when appropriate.