What the Foundation Diploma is
The idea is simple. Most of us finished madrasah able to read the Qur'an, and then stopped. The years that follow — sixth form, university, work, family — are the years in which a Muslim decides who they are, and they are the years we are given the least. This page sets out what the year involves.
Who it is for
Brothers and sisters aged 16 or over on 1 September 2026, with no upper age limit: sixth-formers, university students, working professionals and parents study in one cohort. The only entry requirement is that you can read the Qur'an fluently in Arabic script; you do not need to know Arabic already. A short conversation with the teacher comes before a place is confirmed.
Students aged 16 and 17 join with written parental consent; their parents are told of every absence and receive the programme's safeguarding statement before the first session. Sessions on personal fiqh are taught separately to brothers and sisters.
What a week looks like
Class is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 8.00–9.00pm. Monday is always Arabic. Tuesday alternates between ʿaqīdah and fiqh; Wednesday alternates between fiqh and tafsīr, and six times a year becomes a Leadership Lab. Each hour has the same shape (from the third term, Wednesdays open instead with the students' five-minute talks): a student opens with the adhkār and the register; ten minutes of tasmīʿ, in which the week's memorisation — including two or three of the Forty Ḥadīth — is heard back; then the text itself, read in Arabic, translated, explained through its commentary and its evidences examined.
At home the programme asks for 45–60 minutes of directed study a day: memorisation, Arabic exercises and one short written task a week, which once a term becomes a structured essay. Explanation in class is in English; the texts and their evidences are in Arabic. In Ramaḍān (8 February – 5 March 2027) the three evenings become one weekly tafsīr circle, on a day and time announced in January.
The books
Every core text is a short, recognised matn of the Madinah curriculum — sound, provable, and short enough to carry in memory for life.
ʿAqīdah — al-Uṣūl ath-Thalāthah wa-Adillatuhā, al-Qawāʿid al-Arbaʿ and Nawāqiḍ al-Islām by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, memorised in Arabic with every point paired to its proof.
Fiqh — al-Fiqh al-Muyassar fī Ḍawʾ al-Kitāb wa-s-Sunnah (King Fahd Complex, Madinah), the spine of the year, one session every week: purification and prayer complete, the essentials of fasting before Ramaḍān, and funerals, each ruling with its evidence.
Ḥadīth — al-Arbaʿūn an-Nawawiyyah, the Forty of Imām an-Nawawī, memorised in full through the weekly tasmīʿ slot.
Tafsīr — Mukhtaṣar Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr on al-Fātiḥah and the whole of Juzʾ ʿAmma.
Arabic — Arabic Course for English-Speaking Students, Book 1 (Madinah Book 1) by Dr V. Abdur Rahim, then an introduction to al-Ājurrūmiyyah.
Leadership — selected chapters of Ḥilyat Ṭālib al-ʿIlm, sīrah case studies from ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm, and the character chapters of Riyāḍ aṣ-Ṣāliḥīn.
The class book bundle is supplied at cost; its price is announced before the programme starts. Several of the texts are also freely available online.
How it is assessed, and what the award is
Six components make up the year's mark: tasmīʿ, the oral memorisation of the three creed texts and the Forty (20%); termly examinations in ʿaqīdah, fiqh and tafsīr with a practical prayer assessment (25%); the Arabic Level 1 written and oral examinations (20%); written coursework, marked with feedback (15%); a portfolio of the five-minute talk delivered, the weeks spent leading the class, the record of service to the masjid and the capstone role (10%); and attendance and conduct, with 90% attendance expected (10%). Distinction is 80% and above, Merit 65%, Pass 50%, and the memorisation component must be passed in every case.
Students who sit and pass the end-of-year examinations are awarded the Foundation Diploma in Islamic Studies at Pass, Merit or Distinction, naming the texts completed and the Arabic level reached; those who recite the three creed texts and the Forty in full also receive the Ḥāfiẓ al-Mutūn endorsement. A student who does not enter for the examinations receives a transcript of the year's study and marks instead.
The Foundation Diploma is the College's own award. The College is independent: the award is not a regulated qualification, is not accredited, and carries no university credit. The College was founded in Leicester in October 2025 and is not registered with the Office for Students. The year is designed, sized and assessed to UK higher-study conventions — about 380–400 notional learning hours at the foundation stage — and our accreditation roadmap is public: we claim no stage before it is reached.
Fees
Tuition is £40 a month for the eleven months from September 2026 to July 2027: £440 for the year. The end-of-year examination fee is £50, paid in the summer term when you enter; sitting is optional, but the Diploma is awarded only to students who sit and pass, and the fee is refunded in full if you withdraw before sitting. The full year including the Diploma examination is therefore £490, plus the class book bundle at cost.
There is no enrolment fee and no other charges. Payment is expected by bank standing order; the College never takes card details by phone. A 14-day cooling-off period applies, and a student who withdraws owes nothing beyond the month in progress. The Terms of Enrolment, Fees & Refunds policy and Privacy Notice are published at theiic.uk/en/policies.
How to apply
Apply online at [theiic.uk/taseel/apply](/en/taseel/apply). The form takes about ten minutes and asks who you are, how you read the Qur'an, why you want to join and — for under-18s — a parent's details and consent. We then arrange a short conversation with the teacher, and if the fit is right you receive an offer with the standing-order details. Applying costs nothing, and there is no cap on numbers.
To ask a question first, call 07436 436363 or email info@theiic.uk. The prospectus can be downloaded as a PDF from the diploma page at theiic.uk/taseel, and the full session-by-session syllabus is published at the full syllabus (PDF).
Where it is
Masjid Fida, 9 Osmaston Road, Leicester LE5 5JN — Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 8–9pm. Telephone 07436 436363; email info@theiic.uk.
Every session is in person at the masjid, in the east of Leicester in Stoneygate ward; the diploma page has a Get directions link that opens the address in Google Maps. The masjid is the venue partner; the College is responsible for the programme, its fees, your data and the award.
Coming from the surrounding towns
Because the sessions are in person three evenings a week, the programme suits people who can travel to east Leicester on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings — from across the city, the Leicestershire towns and the neighbouring counties. Applicants from Oadby, Wigston, Loughborough, Market Harborough, Hinckley, Melton Mowbray and Coalville, and from Nottingham, Derby, Northampton, Nuneaton and Rugby, are welcome on the same terms as anyone in the city.
We do not publish journey times; they depend on where you start and how you travel. Use the directions link on the diploma page for a route from your own door, and if you are unsure whether the journey is realistic three evenings a week, call and talk it through before you apply.
Questions people ask
- Do I need to know Arabic before I start?
- No. You need to read the Qur'an fluently in Arabic script; the grammar and vocabulary are taught from the first week using Madinah Book 1, and by July you sit the Arabic Level 1 examinations.
- Is it only for young people?
- No. Anyone aged 16 or over on 1 September 2026 may apply, with no upper age limit.
- What if I have to miss sessions?
- We expect 90% attendance, because every text is finished this year. If you miss a session, the week's memorisation and written task still stand and the teacher will tell you what to catch up. A paper missed through illness is sat within a fortnight.
- Is the Foundation Diploma accredited?
- No. The Foundation Diploma is the College's own award: it is not a regulated qualification, it is not accredited, and it carries no university credit — the full statement of its status is in the award section above. It names the texts completed and the Arabic level reached, and our public roadmap sets out what we will claim only when it is reached.
- Can I do the year without sitting the examination?
- Yes. The £50 examination is optional. A student who does not enter receives a transcript of the year's study and marks; the Diploma is awarded only to students who sit and pass.
- Who teaches, and who hears a complaint?
- Ustādh Emran Ahmed, founder of the College, teaches every strand himself. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq at-Turkmānī, the Academic Lead, oversees the curriculum and — independent of the teaching — hears complaints and academic appeals.