1. Dr Umm Abdillāh’s Teaching Approach
Dr Umm Abdillāh’s teaching approach is friendly and informal because that is more engaging (especially for younger people), nevertheless, the body of knowledge that she’ll be covering over these two years will build a solid foundation of Islām for the rest of their lives (inshā’-Allāh)!
Note that Dr Umm Abdillāh is a tutor—so, effort and hard work will have to come from you. If you have a very busy life and schedule and cannot spare about an hour each week revising your work and completing your weekly assignments, you need to reconsider before you enrol. Having said that, if you just want to learn and benefit without taking exams at the end of the two years, you are welcome to join us!
2. Online Classroom: How it works
1. Gmail: Students will need a Gmail (Google email) account. Once you’ve set it up, please email me from the Gmail account with your full name.
2. Lesson Format: I intend to use “Google Meet” and “Google Classroom” to conduct the classes. Please take time to familiarise yourselves with both. Don’t worry too much if you cannot grasp it immediately, I will help you along.
3. Assignments: If you choose to do them, assignments will be submitted via Google Classroom.
4. Computer: Students will need to have regular access to a laptop or desktop computer for use in lessons and for submitting assignments. Students must be in a quiet space free from distractions.
5. Headphones: are mandatory so that my voice is heard by the student only. I will not accept the excuse that there are just women in the room or that earphones are unavailable/broken. If this happens, I will ask the student to leave the lesson until they have earphones/headphones.
6. Camera: Students need a camera so I can check they are engaged and paying attention to the lesson; this is also mandatory. If the camera is not switched on students will not be permitted into the lesson.
7. Questions: Students will be able to communicate with me and ask questions relevant to the class during and after the lesson (within an allotted time). Students will also have access to me via WhatsApp for occasional questions and clarifications (inshā’-Allāh). Any questions I am unable to answer I will forward to Shaikh Abu Khadeejah and although I cannot always guarantee a response, I will try my best whenever possible to get one. Parents of younger students are welcome to access and view these conversations.
8. Language: All lessons will be conducted in English, so Arabic is not a requirement.
9. Homework and assessments: Students will be assigned weekly homework tasks for all the courses on offer (to be uploaded onto online classroom) which students/parents must ensure are completed regularly to ensure progress.
10. Comprehensive study-notes/worksheets There are no audio-recordings available for those who miss a lesson. However, each lesson is coupled with comprehensive study-notes/worksheets which are available to the student in a PDF format the materials section of the Google Classroom. These will aid you in learning the relevant topics that will ensure you’ll pass the final exam at the end of the two academic years (if you have an exam), inshā’-Allāh. These class notes/study articles are also for you to revise or catch up in case you miss lessons.
11. Stay in Touch with me: Students can WhatsApp me directly or use the online classroom function (or email) if they need to contact me for any reason.
12. Work Ethic: Students should be used to studying. So, please attend on time, pay attention to the class, and take notes or make mind-maps. This will form the backbone of your work.
13. Copyrighted Material: Please make sure that you store all your study material in a single easily accessible folder. By the end of the two/three years, you will have a lot of material, inshā’-Allāh. Please do not share the material with others, it is for your use only.
3. Customer reviews
