FAQs
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
About Siddeeqa Institute
Q. Where is Siddeeqa Institute based?
A. Siddeeqa Institute is a division of Siddeeqa Trust, which is registered in the United Kingdom with the UK Charity Commission. However, we are currently offering our services purely online, for students in the UK and worldwide.
Q: Is Siddeeqa Institute affiliated with any other organization?
A. We are not affiliated with any other online institute, on-site madrasa, or examination board.
Q: What sect does Siddeeqa Institute follow?
A: The founders and teachers of Siddeeqa Institute are committed Sunnis who consider the ulema of Deoband as their intellectual forefathers in recent times. We adhere to a madhab-based approach to fiqh and offer Hanafi, Shafi’i and Maliki fiqh tracts to our students. We have great reverence for those of the mashaikh of tasawwuf who adhere strictly to the shari’ah and sunnah.
Q: Is the five-year course the same as an “‘Alima” course?
A: In some countries, there are central madrasa boards, such as the Wifaq al-Madaris al-‘Arabiyah’ in Pakistan, that issue the official “‘Alima” certification after centralized examinations. There, any degree awarded by other than these boards is not considered a formal “‘Alima” degree. However, in countries of the world where there are no central boards that issue the ‘Alima degree after standardized examinations, every on-site and online madrassah has its own version of the ‘alimiyyah program based on the Dars-e-Nizami (usually very similar to each other) and issues its own degree, and they recognize the ‘Alima degrees awarded by other similar institutes.
Alhamdulillah, our curriculum and methodology are comparable to what is taught in reputable womens’ madrasas around the world, and our emphasis on the practical implementation of concepts, especially in teaching fiqh and Arabic, and on the tarbiyah and personality development of our students sets us apart from even institutes offering the formal ‘Alima degree.
Q: What curriculum does Siddeeqa Institute follow?
A. The Five-Year Traditional Islamic Education (‘Alima) Program is based on the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum that was first introduced in traditional institutes of Islamic learning in India in the 18th century. This curriculum gained immense acceptance and has, since its inception, been taught throughout South Asia and all over the world, educating millions of seekers of knowledge in the traditional Islamic sciences. Our five-year Traditional Islamic Education program is a shorter version of the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum, tailored to the needs of women today. We offer this course online, in English and Urdu.
Q: Do we get a certificate for participation in Siddeeqa Institute courses?
A: A certificate of completion from Siddeeqa Institute will be awarded upon successful completion of all the requirements of the five-year Traditional Islamic Education program or flexible Essential Islamic Education program. Certificates may also be awarded for some short courses; this information will be provided in the advertisement for the particular course.
Q: Is the Siddeeqa Institute certificate recognized by other institutes?
A: In recent years our graduates have gotten admission in takhassus (specialization) programs in several different institutes and have done outstandingly well in them, and have also been given teaching positions in other reputable institutes online and onsite. However, in countries like Pakistan where only a central board issued degree is recognized, it may be difficult to find a teaching position in an onsite madrasa.
Financial Matters
Q: What are the charges for Siddeeqa Institute courses?
A: All our courses are free of cost.
Q: How does Siddeeqa Institute cover its expenses?
A: Siddeeqa Institute covers its expenses, including salaries of teachers and staff members and payments for our online learning platform, entirely with voluntary contributions from students and well-wishers.
Q: How can we contribute to Siddeeqa Institute?
A: You may contribute to Siddeeqa Institute via bank transfer, PayPal or online payment through our Donate page. Please email us at siddeeqa.institute@gmail.com to inquire about our bank account details.
Q: Does Siddeeqa Institute accept zakat?
A: Siddeeqa Institute does not use zakat money for its own expenses. However, we accept zakat money to pass on to our deserving students and teachers and to other needy individuals who meet the zakat eligibility criteria. When making a payment in lieu of zakat online or via bank transfer, please clearly mention “zakat” as the purpose or inform us otherwise of your intention.
Technical Matters
Q: How are the sessions conducted?
A: All our sessions are conducted live via Google Meet. Our longer programs are managed via Google Classroom while for the shorter courses links for classes are shared with the students in the respective Whatsapp groups.
Q: Can I join classes using a phone or is a laptop required?
A: You can join our sessions through a phone with a strong Internet connection.
Q: What if I cannot hear the speaker clearly?
A: If your audio is breaking up, write down “voice breaking” or “no audio” in the chat. If the same message is sent by others this indicates a problem with the speaker’s connection, and she will try to fix it. However, if other participants respond with “voice clear” in the chat, that means the problem is at your end. Sometimes logging out and then joining again helps, and this may need to be done a few times. However, if the problem persists to the extent that you cannot understand what the speaker is saying, it might be advisable to leave the session and listen to the recording later.
Q: Will we be able to see the speaker?
A: All teachers have their cameras off throughout the sessions. You will only be able to hear them and see the whiteboard, book or slides displayed on the screen.
Q: Will students be able to see or hear each other?
A: Students are required to keep their cameras and microphones off at all times, and all communication must be through the chat box. Sometimes a teacher may ask a student to open her mic to ask or answer a question, but never the camera.
Q: What if I miss a live session?
A: Recordings are available for all our live sessions and are uploaded within a few hours after the live sessions end.
Q: How are exams conducted?
A: Exams are made available to the students according to a pre-set exam schedule that is shared with them well ahead of time. They have a 48-hour window within which to submit each exam, during this period they can attempt the exam at any time. Our examination system is based entirely on trust and there is no live monitoring of the students as they attempt the exam. However, answers are carefully scrutinized for plagiarism, and students found to have cheated are immediately expelled. Students can pre-pone the exams or ask for extensions if this is direly needed.
Admission Information
Q: How do I find out about the courses being offered?
A: The best way is to join our “Announcements” WhatsApp group, which is where we share posters of all our upcoming events. In this group only admin can post so there will be no unnecessary disturbance.
Alternatively, you could keep checking our website; the slider on the main page will display teasers for upcoming and ongoing courses; if you click on a teaser, you will be taken to the full poster for that event.
You can also follow us on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) to remain updated about our offerings.
Q: How old is Siddeeqa Institute?
A: Siddeeqa Institute was founded in the year 2013.
Q: How do I join Siddeeqa Institute courses, workshops, or lectures?
A: For our longer courses (such as our five-year course, our Essentials course and our Qur’anic Arabic course), when admissions open, the Course Registration Form will be made available in the “Admissions” section on our website. You can fill out the form, selecting whichever course you are interested in joining. Once your admission is processed, you will be added to a WhatsApp group and further details and joining instructions are shared there.
For our shorter courses, workshops and lectures, a WhatsApp contact number will be provided on the relevant posters. By sending a message to that number, you will be added to the WhatsApp group for the course and further details and joining instructions will be shared in that group.
Q: What are the prerequisites for your courses?
A. The prerequisite for the five-year Traditional Islamic Education Program, the flexible Essential Islamic Education Course and the Qur’anic Arabic Course are the ability to read the Qur’an and write Arabic words. For women who need help in this regard, we offer courses in Qur’an Reading and Arabic Writing over the summer prior to the start of the aforementioned courses.
We also require students pursuing these courses in English to have a strong command of English grammar. Prospective students whose English language skills are not up to the mark but who are fluent in Urdu are advised to take up these courses in Urdu instead. The prerequisite for the same courses in Urdu is the ability to read and write Urdu. If your Urdu comprehension and ability to speak Urdu is good enough but you are unable to read and/or write it, we offer Urdu reading and writing classes in the summer prior to the start of our courses.
Q: Can a student transfer to your ‘Alima course from another institute?
A: It is possible for a student to switch to our ‘Alima course from another institute. In this case, she must provide details of the subjects, books and topics that she has studied, and also submit reports from previous years if they are available. We reserve the right to give the applicant admission in whatever year or semester we think she is best suited for, even if that means she will have to repeat a year or semester.
Q: What if I am unable to handle the course load?
A: In both the ‘Alima course and the Essentials course, students have the option of studying part-time. In the ‘Alima course, this means that in both semesters of any given academic year they take less than the full load of subjects in consultation with the assigned coordinator. Then at the start of the next academic year they re-enroll in the same level to complete the remaining subjects. Hence they cover one year worth of subjects in two years.
In the Essentials course students are free to take as few or as many subjects as they can manage, even if it is just one subject per semester. Whenever they complete all the course requirements, the course is considered concluded, even if it takes them years to do this. They may also join this course only as a listener, in which case they do not have the pressure of assignments and exams, though we advise that they join as a regular student.
Miscellaneous
Q: Do we need to purchase the books we will be using for our course?
A: PDFs of all the required books are available online at the beginning of each semester. However, students are required to purchase those books that have copyrights and are in print. If they are unable to buy any book locally or are unable to have it shipped to them if purchased online, they can purchase it online and have it shipped to someone they know, and continue to use the PDF in its place.
Q: What is the difference between the Urdu and English ‘Alima courses?
A: The only difference between the two is in the medium of instruction and the language of the non-Arabic texts. Students should opt for the language they are most proficient in.