Aim

The Quran Literacy Institute aims to train students to become literate in the vast Islamic tradition, starting with the reading of the Qurʾān (Tajweed) and then extending to ḥadīth and other important disciplines within Islam. Its vision is to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western methods of learning, and to blend the contemporary with the classical approach.

Inspiration

The inspiration of our institution stems from the story of the remarkable men who were responsible for bringing the Qurʾān to us. The dominant way of reciting the Qurʾān today is the reading of Ḥafṣ on the authority of Imām ʿĀṣim. This particular chain contains lessons in resilience, connection with the Qurʾān, and the unbreakable bonds of family as well as those of the teacher-student relationship. Imām ʿĀṣim of Kūfah, the most widely followed of the ten Imāms of Qurʾānic reading, had many illustrious students of the likes of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, Sufyān al-Thawrī, Sufyān b. ʿUyaynah and others. Yet the one who transmitted his Qurʾānic legacy to posterity were none of those, but happened to be his stepson Ḥafṣ b. Sulaymān. This demonstrates the priorities of Imām Asim in tending to his family first and teaching them the Qurʾān first. The teacher of Imām ʿĀṣim in turn was the renowned Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, who sat by a single pillar in the Masjid of Kūfah for nearly seven decades teaching Qurʾān until his death. What inspired him to this prolonged service? He admitted to his students that it was what his own Qurʾān teacher ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān who related to him from his own teacher the Prophet, “The best of you are those who learn the Qurʾān and teach it to others.” This statement of the Prophet was the inspiration for the first teachers of the Qurʾān, and this is the beginning of the isnād of the Qurʾān today: the Prophet—ʿUthmān—Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān—ʿĀṣim—Ḥafṣ . . .

Our logo contains this Prophetic ḥadīth inscribed in the shape of a pillar to symbolize this story of inspiration.

Setup

The Quran Literacy Institute is a grassroots effort that emphasizes personal and direct teaching, with small student-teacher ratios, and values the need to educate our sisters at every level. All courses, offered in spring and fall semesters, are based on classical texts and offer certifications (based on Ijāzah and isnād), representing a fusion of classical and contemporary learning.

The mainstay of the institute is the Comprehensive Tajweed Seminar, which is an innovative and exhaustive approach to the entire discipline of Tajweed, based on Childrens Bequest, a text-book authored by Dr. Abu Zayd which represents the first English translation of the popular Tuḥfatul Aṭfāl poem. The seminar has trained several hundred students in Tajweed over the years. There is an active sisters Hifdh track directed by Sumara Khan which represents the first adult memorization program for sisters in the region.

The institute has been in operation for over 10 years, and numerous students, teachers as well as Imāms have received Qurʾānic Ijāzah through the program.

The Qurʾān Literacy Institute is an affiliate of the Islamic Learning Foundation (ILF), and classes and seminars are based at the 877-Why-Islam Center at 1320 Hamilton St, Somerset, NJ. All courses are backed by the Ijāzah-isnād system as well as being accredited by the Islamic University of Minnesota.