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2013-2014

What Your Child Will Study At Zaytoon Academy | 2013-2014

ZAYTOON

ACADEMY

EVENING

MADRASSAH

SYLLABUS

Zaytoon Academy Educational Trust

23 Arden Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6AP

0121 572 7086

www.zaytoonacademy.co.uk

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Qaidah At Zaytoon Academy, every student

will be required to study our Qaidah

thoroughly which will equip them with

the knowledge and capability of

reading the Qur’an with fluency &

Tajweed. Studying the Qaidah is in

reality studying the Qur’an therefore

your child will be studying how to read

the Qur’an from day one at Zaytoon

Academy.

There are certain reasons why we

teach from a particular Qaidah.

Please read and understand the

features of the Qaidah we use below:

Complete syllabus

Reciting the Qur’an correctly involves many elements that are beyond the

remit of a Qaidah: students require much practice to build their fluency, as

well as time to learn and implement the complex rules of Tajweed. At

Zaytoon Academy, we have kept the Qaidah an independent publication at

the same time as integrating it into to a comprehensive syllabus which takes

a student from his introduction to the sounds of Arabic letters, all the way

through to expert recitation. By doing this, teachers, parents and students are

able to keep a holistic view of progress and ensure no aspect is neglected

Logical sequence

The ability to recite the Qur’an is dependent on several individual skills; for

example, the ability to recognise joined letters, the ability to regulate the

length of each vowel, and so on. In our analysis of other available Qaidahs,

we noticed that most of them contain gaps where certain key elements

have not been covered formally and students are expected to guess or

understand themselves. Sometimes, the logical sequence of this learning has

also been ignored with some elements being presented in inappropriate

places. Sometimes, examples contain concepts and elements which have

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not yet introduced to the students

causing confusion and obstacles for

the students.

To solve this, each level in the Qaidah

is a gradual and logical progression

from the previous one. An effort has

been made to fill any gaps in that

exist in other Qaidah’s, as well as

trying to not allow any elements not

yet formally covered into the

examples. To add to this, students are

given mixed exercises at the end of

each level, to revise and recap

everything they have learned

previously.

Marking code

Inevitably, students make mistakes

when they are learning and when

they read to the teacher, but the types of mistakes made are vast and

varying. The Qaidah has been divided according to the common mistakes

into six categories. A certain letter denotes each of these mistake categories.

A key for the mistakes is printed on the bottom of each study-page and a

chapter with instructions on using the code included at the beginning of the

Qaidah. By using this code, students, teacher and parents can be reminded

of what type of mistake was made in a particular word or letter.

Diary

It is well-known that learning to read the Qur’an is a practical matter with

limited theoretical elements. Therefore, the more practice a student makes,

the better his recitation will be and the faster he will progress. To monitor the

student’s practice, a diary section has been incorporated with each page

where parents can record how much practice the student has made

throughout the week. Ample space has also been given for parents or

teachers to make notes.

Keeping track of a students’ progress is also essential for all involved so

spaces have been allocated for teachers to write the homework, due-date

and note when the student had passed.

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Checklist

To help parents, teachers and students keep track of progress; there is a

checklist at the end of each level, listing what skills have been covered so far.

This helps to maintain an informed approach to the study of the Qaidah and

helps avoid students merely making their way through with no consciousness

of the aims and objectives behind what they are doing. This also serves as an

aid to teacher, parents and examiner who may listen to the student read.

Quranic script

There are several prints of the Qur’an based on the narration of Imām Ḥafs

from Imām ʿĀsim –may Allah (swt) have mercy on both. One of the most

popular, globally, is the 13-line print which is most common amongst Muslims

who do not speak Arabic, due to the simplicity and clarity of the script, as

well as certain phonetic marks to aid those unfamiliar with Arabic grammar.

The print is known as the Taj Company print as they are believed to be the

original commissioners of the transcription. It is also referred to as the South

African Qur’an due to the Waterval Institute’s reprinting and vast distribution

in the Western world.

We chose this script, as have many other Qaidah’s. A problem faced in this

regard, however, is that a computer font is usually used to compose the

Qaidah or a calligrapher is assigned to transcribe all the examples.

At Zaytoon Academy, we have tried both methods in the past but have

found that neither prepares the students properly to read Qur’anic script

because of the nuances in the calligraphy. Therefore, we decided to use the

actual hand-written words from the 13-Line Qur’an – may Allah (swt) reward

all those involved in its transcription.

Quranic examples

The words in the Qur’an are Allah’s words. Not only does that make their

recitation more rewarding in the hereafter, but we also believe they have a

positive impact on the student’s learning and progress; Allah (swt) has said,

We have made the Qur’an easy to remember… (54:40) In most other

Qaidahs, we found that many words had crept in which were no to be found

in the Qur’an. This is by no means incorrect, but the words of the Qur’an will

always hold superiority.

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Some Qaidah’s have tried to use examples only from the Qur’an but have

either not found enough examples for the students to master the level, or

they have had to make slight alterations to the writing to make it fit the level.

For example, sometimes people have written a standing kasrah instead of a

Yā, or taken a word written together in

the Qur’an and omitted part of it.

We were not content with all of the

above-mentioned, so we carried out a

comprehensive survey of the Qur’an,

to the best of our abilities, combining

direct human efforts and modern

technological aids, to find ample

examples from the Qur’an for each

level. We then arranged the examples

so they progress from the easiest to the

most difficult, taking into consideration

the number of letters or words in the

examples as well as the weight and

difficulty of the letters.

Other considerations have also been

taken, like not allowing too many

examples to follow a single vocal

pattern to avoid students guessing the

pronunciation of an example based on

the last one, when they are supposed

to work out each example separately. Occasionally, we have removed the

Wāw of ʿaṭf from the beginning of some individual words.

Detailed letter recognition

As the Qur’anic script is hand-written, the same letter has been written in

many different ways for style and variation. Many teachers have observed

that children often find it difficult to recognise these various forms and styles

when they eventually read the Qur’an, if not in the Qaidah itself. To tackle

this, we have added a level, Advanced Letter Recognition, in which each

method of writing is introduced separately with Qur’anic examples. Graphics,

where necessary, have been used to break down the writing. This is one of

the unique and effective additions to the Qaidah we teach at Zaytoon

Academy.

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Tajweed

At Zaytoon Academy a great deal of importance is given to the correct

recital of the Quran. The first

stage of this is learning how to

read the Arabic script; this is

done by means of teaching the

Arabic alphabets and rules of

basic reading in the Qaidah.

Over our years of experience in

teaching this we have found

the need to develop our own

Qaidah which would suit the

needs of students whose

mother tongue is English.

Every care is taken to explain to

the students each stage of

reading with the aim of

completing the Qaidah on

average within two years. After

completion of the Qaidah the

students progress to Juz ‘Amma

and then the beginning of the

Quran. During these last two

stages the more complex rules

of reading, Tajweed are taught.

A student completing their time

at Zaytoon Academy would

attain a very high standard of Tajweed unparalleled by many other students.

After completing the Qaidah, our students will go further to study the Tajweed

book which will cover the rules of Tajweed according to levels.

The Qaidah will cover Level 1 until Level 13 and thereafter the Tajweed book

will cover Level 14 until Level 24.

The progress of every child is monitored regularly and once a child has

completed a level by his or her teacher, a senior teacher will test the child.

Upon passing the test the child will be able to progress onto the next level.

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Islamic Studies The Islamic Studies syllabus at Zaytoon Academy includes episodes from

stories of the Prophets to 21st Century life. They have been shaped not only

with an Islamic Theory and Modern Educational input, but importantly

practical feedback from teachers and students across the UK.

Content is tried and tested – developed with both teacher and student input.

Care has been taken to make sure content is appropriate for each age

group.

Content follows a cumulative knowledge path way, building core blocks

which are reinforced and developed in substance and depth as each year

progresses.

Stories and Qur’anic narratives are written with explicit lessons in mind that

relate to daily life and aim to build a child’s character.

Content is illustrated and full of colour.

Books contain both practical and text based lessons.

In this subject many important fields of Islam are taught, such as:

o Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence, the rules we follow in Islam

o Aqidah (Islamic belief)

o Sirah (The biography of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)

o Islamic history, spanning all the previous Prophets sent before, peace be

upon them.

o Aadab (Islamic manners)

These topics are not only taught in a classical way but their contemporary

application and implications are covered. This makes the study of Islamic

studies at Zaytoon Academy a subject that is very relevant to our students in

their everyday lives. Our aim is develop our students into rightly guided

Muslims who will benefit themselves, families and the wider community.

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Memorisation

At Zaytoon Academy, we have a gradual step-by-step programme whereby

all our students progress to memorise the kalimahs, masnoon duaas for

various occasions and surahs of the Qur’an.

There are different targets set for children of different ages and also a diary to

track and check progress by parents and teachers.

Students are tested after every surah and dua by a senior member of staff to

check for errors, and their progress is tracked throughout the year. The

emphasis is really on quality of recitation and not quantity.

Once memorised, students are taught the equivalent English translation,

practical demonstration of Wudhu, salah, azaan, janazah etc followed by

every-day duas and the 40 ahadith of Imam an-Nawawi for advanced

students.

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Arabic Qur’anic Arabic The classical Arabic language is the key to having a better

understanding of the Quran. It has been too often been neglected, but at

Zaytoon Academy we have recognised its importance and we have a

complete Arabic course which is taught to all students from class 1 onwards.

Starting from the basics of reading, writing, speaking and understanding

Arabic, spanning up to the more intricate rules of grammar, our course is

under continuous development. It will eventually give the student an insight

to the meaning and translation of the Quran.

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Spiritual Tarbiyah

Tarbiyah is an important component of the Zaytoon Academy Madrassah

Syllabus. Although, we aspire to excel in educational achievement, we

believe this is a by product where through verbal and visual communication

and positive role models we aim to facilitate a positive change within our

students, a change which reflects the sublime conduct and deeds of our

Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihe wasallam.

Through the year, students will study a well -organised holistic self - disciplinary

programme, the intended outcome of which is to support students towards

becoming practising Muslims.

This spiritual Tarbiyah course will be covered throughout the year under the

supervision of the class teachers during lessons and assemblies.

The Spiritual Tarbiyah Course will include monitoring of Fardh salah

punctuality, daily Qur’an recitation, reading of morning & evening duas and

azkaar, inculcating a habit of Sadaqah and Nafl salah, practising the Sunnah

and etiquettes of eating, sleeping, dressing, social conduct, cleanliness and

more.

Also an effort to highlight the evil effect and harms of lying, swearing,

backbiting, name calling, mockery, jealousy, hatred, pride, theft etc and

working towards abstaining from such evil traits.

The Spiritual Tarbiyah component of our syllabus will also instil within your child

the love for Almighty Allah, the love for Rasulullah sallallahu alaihe wasallam

and the love of the Sahaba radiallahu anhum and the importance of

selecting them as role models.

Students will be motivated to work for the aakhirah (hereafter) and that our

aim and objective in life is to attain the pleasure of Almighty Allah and his

everlasting Paradise.

Special emphasis will be laid on developing good character and akhlaq by

reminding each other of the most noble and beautiful conduct and

character of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihe wasallam.

We urge parents that you encourage and monitor your child whilst at home

to continue practicing the spiritual Tarbiyah course.

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