The internet has revolutionized the field of communication. With its advent, the concepts of space and time have become immaterial as far as transmission of knowledge is concerned. The number of people to which data can be transmitted is incredible. The speed even more so.
    Realizing this opportunity, the Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences has embarked upon a program to disseminate Islamic education through the internet. It is the first effort of its kind that has originated in Pakistan in the field of religious education. Initially, this course is being offered free of charge. To help us disseminate the course, we would welcome any donations. People may also help the cause of this course by introducing it among their friends.
    The course can be accessed at http://online.almawrid.edu.pk. Following is a detailed introduction to the first internet course Al-Mawrid has just launched:

I Objective
    To introduce the participants to some important areas of study regarding the Qur’an. They will study in detail the view of the classical scholars and the developments made in these areas by some contemporary scholars.
    Two important features of the course are:
    1. The course has no time bar. A person can go through this course at his own pace.
    2. The course is entirely in English and presupposes almost no knowledge of Arabic or any other language.

II Brief Outline
    The course consists of 6 modules comprising a total of 20 Readings. Following is a brief outline of the course. (For a detailed outline see below).
 

Module	No. of Readings
1. Revelation of the Qur’an 2. History of the Qur’an 3. Theme of the Qur’an 4. Arrangement of the Qur’an 5. Language of the Qur’an 6. Interpreting the Qur’an	2 5 2 2 4 5

III Methodology
    1. Once a participant has registered by filling the application form, he shall receive a confirmation email in the next twenty-four hours.
    2. The participant can then go to the members area by using his user name and password and access the course readings. The section marked ‘Content with Arabic Texts’ contains the original Arabic texts of the verses of the Qur’an, of the Ahadith and of various source books in Arabic. The section marked ‘Content without Arabic Texts’ contains the translations of all these Arabic texts. Participants can use either or both of these sections and are advised to take a print out of each reading they use.
    (Participants who intend to use the section ‘Content with Arabic Text’ must download Arabic fonts. These fonts are provided under the ‘Software Requirements’ section below.)
    3. While going through a reading, a participant can ask any question from the instructor of the course via email regarding the reading he is studying.
    4. Once the participant has gone through the reading, he will be required to take a quiz concerning the specific reading he has finished.
    5. He can then go on to the next reading and the whole process will be repeated until he has gone through all the readings and their related quizzes.
    6. At the completion of the whole course, the participant would be required to take a comprehensive exam concerning the whole course.

IV Grading and Evaluation
    The overall marks shall be calculated as per the following proportion:
 
 

Quizzes (total 20)  =	60 %
Final Exam =	40 %

    Students shall be evaluated according to the following grade standards:
 
 

Marks	Grade
90% and above 85-89 %  80-84 %  75-79 %  70-74 %  65-69 %  60-65 % below 60%	A+ A B+ B C+ C D+ D (Fail)

V Certificate
    A candidate will be awarded a certificate of participation depicting the total marks obtained and the overall grade achieved at the completion of the course. Candidates who earn an A+ grade shall be awarded a merit certificate.

VI Software Requirements
    Following are the software requirements of this course, the links of which are provided at the site:

    1. Netscape (6.0) or Explorer (4.0 and above)
    2. Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0
    3. Arabic Fonts (in case Arabic texts are to be accessed)
 
 

Module  1

    Section I: Pre-Revelatory Guidance

    Section II: Brief History of Revelation
         i. Scriptures and Practices
         ii. Need for a Final Revelation
                  a. Originals do not Survive
                  b. Alteration in the Contents
                  c. Completion of Guidance
                  d. Abolition of Certain Directives

    Section III: Qur’an — The Final Revelation
        i. Name of the Qur’an
        ii. Name of the Surahs
        iii. Means of Revelation
        iv. The First Revelation
        v. The Qur’an addresses the Mind

    Appendix
        Name of the Surahs -- The Huruf-i-Muqatta‘at
 

Module  2

    Section I: Phases of Collection
        i. Under the Prophet (sws)
        ii. Under Abu Bakr (rta)
        iii. Under ‘Uthman (rta)

    Section II: Some Related Issues
        i. The Extraneous Verses
        ii. The Seven Ahruf
        iii. The Variant Readings
 

    Section I: Collection in the Light of the Qur’an

    Section II: A Critique of the Classical View
        i. The Collection under Abu Bakr (rta)
        ii. The Collection under ‘Uthman (rta)
        iii. The Extraneous Verses
        iv. The Seven Ahruf
        v. The Variant Readings

    Section I: Transmission of Texts
        i. Person-to-Person Transmission
            a. General Introduction
                    1. Information on Narrators
                    2. Continuity
                    3. Verbal Coincidence
            b. Degree of Authenticity
       ii. Generation-to-Generation Transmission
            a. General Introduction
            b. Degree of Authenticity

    Section II: The Case of the Holy Qur’an

Appendices
        Appendix A: The Controversial Personality of Zuhri
        Appendix B: View of the Orientalists
        Appendix C: A Comment on Some Dissenting Views
 

Module  3:

    Section I: Indhar of Muhammad (sws)
        i Theme Statement
        ii. The Indhar of Rusul
             a. The Propagation Phase
             b. The Acquittal Phase
             c. The Judgement Phase
        iii. Details of Muhammad’s (sws) Indhar
            a. The Propagation Phase
            b. The Acquittal Phase
            c. The Judgement Phase
                 1. The Reward
                        a. For the Muslims
                 2. The Punishment
                        a. For the Idolaters
                        b. For the People of the Book
                        c. For the Hypocrites

    Section II: Extension of Muhammad’s Indhar

    Appendices
        Appendix A: Indhar of Noah (sws)
        Appendix B: Fate of some Nations who denied their Rusul
 

Module  4

    Section I: Divisions of the Qur’an
        i. Initial Format
                a. Verses
                b. Surahs
       ii. Later Format
                a.  Divisions regarding the Meaning
                b. Divisions regarding Memorization

    Section II: Nazm (Order and Arrangement)
        i. The Advocates
                a. Nazm as ‘Word Meaning Relationship’
                b. Nazm as ‘Linear Connection’
       ii. The Adversaries

    Section III: Makkan and Madinan Division

    Section I: General Introduction to the Qur’anic Nazm

    Section II: Group Nazm
        i. Description
        ii. Features
                a. Central Theme
                b. Description of the Prophetic Mission
                c. Makkan and Madinan Surahs
                d. Surah Pairs
                        1. Brevity and Detail
                        2. Principle and Illustration
                        3. Different Types of Evidence
                        4. Unity of Opposites
                        5. Premise and Conclusion
       iii. Sequence

    Section III: Surah Nazm
        i. Central Theme
        ii. Subdivisions
        iii. Progression
                a. Parallelism
                b. Affinity
                c. Parables
                d. Parenthetical Sentences
                e. Reminder and Admonition
  f. Return to the Origin

Appendices
        Appendix A: Nazm of Group II
        Appendix B: Nazm of Surah Nisa
        Appendix C: View of the Orientalists
 

Module  5

    Section I: Sources of the Language
        i. The Qur’an
        ii. Ahadith and Athar
        iii. Classical Arabic

    Section II: Some Features of the Qur’anic Style
        i. Address (Khitab)
                a. Multiple Addressees
                b. Shift in Address
                c. Indirect Address
         ii. Parenthetic Sentences (Jumuluh Mu‘taradah)
        iii. Insertion (Tadmin)
        iv. Gradations in the Verb (Madariju’l-Af‘al)
                a. Expressing Intention
                b. Expressing Result
                c. Expressing Completeness
                d. Expressing Permanence
        v. Oaths (Aqsam)

                a. Basic Statement
                b. Examples

                a. Critique of the Classical View
                b. Basic Statement
                c. Examples

        vi. Specific Connotation (Takhsis)

    Section III: Diction of the Qur’an
        i. Word Choice
        ii. The Pictorial Element
        iii. Humour, Satire and Irony
        iv. Wordplay and Ambiguity
        v. Narrative
        vi. Dialogue
        vii: Characterization
 

Module  6

    Section I: Tafsir bi’l-Riwayah
         i. Methodology
                a. Through the Qur’an
                        1. Brevity and Detail
                        2. General and Specific

                b. Through the Prophet (sws)
                       1. Explaining Words
                       2. Explaining Directives
                       3. Adding to the Qur’an
                       4. Asbabu’l-Nuzul

                c. Through the Companions
                d. Through the Tabi‘un
                      1. The Makkan Group
                      2. The Madinan Group
                      3. The Iraqi Group
        ii. Historical Development
                a. The 1st  Period: Oral Transmission
                b. The 2nd Period: Chapters in Hadith Books
                c. The 3rd Period: Independent Tafsir Works
                d. The 4th Period: Specialized Tafsir Works
        iii. Important Works
                a. Tafsir Tabari
                b. Tafsir Ibn Kathir

    Section II: Tafsir bi’l-Ra’ay
        i. General Introduction
                a. Definition
                b. Its Advocates
                c. Its Adversaries
                d. The Middle View
                      1. Mahmud (Commendable)
                      2. Madhmum (Condemnable)

        ii. Important Works
                a. Tafsir Kashshaf
                b. Tafsir Kabir
 

    Section I: Authority of the Qur’an
  
    Section II: The Direct Sources
        i. Parallels of the Qur’an
        ii. Language of the Qur’an
        iii. Context of the Qur’an
        iv. Theme of the Qur’an
  
    Section III: The Helpful Sources
        i. Ahadith and Athar
        ii. The Major Commentaries
        iii. The Previous Scriptures
        iv.  Historical Facts and Details
  
    Appendices
        Appendix A: The Isra’iliyat
        Appendix B: Ahadith  cannot Abrogate the Qur’an
        Appendix C: Difference between Hadith and Sunnah