Class notes, cheat sheets, and reviews for the Islamic sciences
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Welcome to my free online notes documenting my journey through the traditional Islamic sciences. The intent of this site is to provide structured, accessible notes and eventually downloadable references for anyone walking a similar path, whether you are studying formally under a teacher or attending circles at your local mosque.
The model for this site is Paul's Online Notes. I found it in college while working through Calculus and Differential Equations, and kept coming back to it for years afterward. What made it useful was not just the content but the approach. I really liked the clear explanations, well organized topics, and a site that felt like it was written by someone who actually wanted you to understand. I hope to do something similar with my website.
The teachers who shaped me, in particular Sidi Shaykh Abdullahi Ahmed, Sidi Shaykh Muhammad al-Maliki, and Sidi Shaykh Mahdi Lock embodied the Sunnah in the way they walked into a room, in the way they treated people, and in the light with which they spoke about the Prophet, peace be upon him. What I have benefited most from them is a deep respect for classical scholarship and a sense of just how much has been preserved and passed down with care.
At present the notes cover Arabic Syntax and Morphology, Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Ash'ari Aqidah, and Hadith, with practice problems and i'rab exercises throughout the Arabic sections. I would like to thank in advance anyone who writes in with corrections. If you find an error, please let me know and I can go ahead and make the appropriate change.
All courses include notes and downloadable PDFs once a section is sufficiently complete. Arabic sections include i'rab practice sets. Fiqh and Usul sections include worked examples where relevant.
CHEAT SHEETS AND TABLES
Al-Ajrumiyyah Review Sheet - a Paul's Online Notes style review sheet covering the matn section by section.
Al-Ajrumiyyah Two Column Cheat Sheet - the same material condensed onto a two column quick reference sheet.
Taharah Quick Reference - the rulings on water, najasah, wudu, and ghusl condensed onto a single sheet.
Al-Waraqat Terms Sheet - every technical term from al-Waraqat with its definition, one line each.
The Divine Attributes Chart - the necessary, impossible, and permissible attributes of Allah and the Messengers laid out in table form.
Mustalah al-Hadith Terms Sheet - the core vocabulary of hadith terminology, sahih through mawdu', condensed onto a single sheet.
Tajwid Rules Chart - the rules of noon sakinah and tanwin, and the makharij, laid out for quick reference.
See the full Cheat Sheets and Tables page for everything currently available, sorted by class.
CLASS NOTES
Each class below has a set of notes, and where available a cheat sheet and a review section. The classes are organized the way I am actually studying them, book by book, so the order within a class matters more than the order of the classes themselves.