consciousness through knowledge
about baseerah institute
Baseerah Institute is a female-led Islamic institution that seeks to raise the level of female education and scholarship through the teaching and publishing of traditional or well-known texts in a subject. We offer part-time courses, various short courses and workshops throughout the year.
Baseerah Institute was founded in 2016 by Shaykhah Rukayya Samsodien, responding to a need in the community for female led scholarship and excellence run by women, for women.
Experience learning via welcomed discussions and engaging of thoughts and topical issues.
We pride ourselves in our holistic approach to imparting knowledge, and strive to foster an atmosphere of sisterhood and togetherness along with academic excellence. No prior studies of Islamic Studies is required for our courses, as we start our students from the very basics.
﴾وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ ﴿
“… And I (Allah) have not created jinn and mankind except to worship Me (alone).”
Sūrat al-Thāriyāt: 55.
BIO
Shaykhah Rukayya Samsodien completed memorisation of the Qur’ān over two years under the tutelage of the late Shaykh Mohammed Yusuf Booley. After completing memorisation, she returned to school and completed matric at Islamia College after which she commenced study in Damascus, Syria for six years. She received a diploma in Arabic Language and Islamic studies from Abū Nour Institute and continued study at Al-Fatḥ University in the faculty of Sharīʿah and holds a degree in Sharīʿah. During her stay she recited the entire Qur’ān to Shaykh Abū al- Ḥasan Muḥayyiddīn al-Kurdī in the narration of Ḥafs via the Ṭāriq of the al-Shāṭibiyyah and received sanad and ijāza therein. She acted as the former Principal and subsequently Ḥifṭḥ Consultant at JamʿEyyatul Qurrā’ Female Ḥifṭḥ Institute for seven years and lectured full-time at Dārun Naʿīm, Wynberg, for six years.
She is the director at Baseerah Institute which runs weekly classes in the sciences of Sharīʿah. Baseerah Institute is focused on supporting the already existing madāris in Cape Town by providing much needed English source books, as well as supporting the Hifth fraternity.
She has authored the following works under her Institute’s name:
- Hifth Guide: Assisting Your Loved Ones along their Hifth Journey
- Hifth Guide: An Educator’s Manual
- Al-Fiqh Al-Manhajī: The Book of Purification
- Al-Fiqh Al-Manhajī: The Book of Prayer
She is also accredited as an Arabic - English translator of the High Court of South Africa.
2-YEAR ARABIC mASTERY COURSE
Baseerah Institute is extremely excited to be launching its two -year Arabic Mastery course, the first of its kind in our community!
We aim to graduate students with a firm grasp of the Arabic Language and its workings, and so we turned to successful Arabic Language Programmes in the Middle East for inspiration.
We are privileged to be pioneering a language model which aims to:
- Build a strong foundation in the Arabic Language by studying well-known primer texts in the fundamental sciences of Grammar, Morphology and Readers
- Leave the student with a strong overview of the language sciences
- Fill in any gaps during previous learning of the Arabic language
- Apply the laws of Grammar and Morphology via practical, well-known readers
- Observe how these principles come to life in the Qur’an and Sunnah
- Implement Arabic in a fun, safe setting via interactive conversational Arabic sessions!
ARABIC COURSE MODULES
COURSE BOOKS
We will be studying the following books during our two-year Arabic journey:
- Nahw al Wadih: Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3 and Baseerah Text Book.
- Sarf: Primer Text book TBA and Baseerah Text book
- Qasas al Nabiyyin: Book 1, Book 2, Book 3 and Book 4.
- Communicative Arabic: Baseerah Spoken Arabic series and additional notes.
A closer look at each module
1. Grammar module
The focus will be multifold. Grammar itself will be the core subject, but this book is chosen particularly for its vast exposure to everyday vocabulary and sentence construction, which is of no less importance. Studying Grammar is not only about word endings, but as non-native speakers, it unlocks to us the subtle meanings of different constructions in the Arabic Language.
2. SARF MODULE
In Sarf you will study the changes nouns and verbs undergo, but more importantly, it will allow you to understand the different meanings that a word undergoes, depending on the changes in its physical make-up. Sarf is an often-neglected science, but its study is exciting and unlocks many of the gems of the Arabic Language, most especially, the Qur’an. Our teacher, Shaykh Muhammad al Mishri from Mauritania always mentions that Sarf is “the factory of words”.
At Baseerah, we endeavor to follow a Sarf Text along with our own carefully curated curriculum, designed to simplify and clarify this special branch of Arabic language learning that is known to mystify many a diligent pupil!
3. ARABIC LITERATURE
In any study of the Arabic sciences, a series of readers is needed to bring together all the sciences in a practical manner. The reading material needs to be varied to develop familiarity and competence with any genre of reading.
Some of our course readers (all of which are translated by the students themselves under the supervision of a Mu’allimah)
- Qasas al Nabiyyeen: Arabic Reader
- Risalah Rashidah: Arabic Reader
- Risalah Ja’miah: Fiqh Primer
- Selected Hadith TBA
- Translation of Selected chapters of the Qur’an TBA
Outcome of these readers:
- Comfortably, and with confidence, directly navigate the meanings of the Qur’an
- Appreciate the nuances of the Qur’an, unlocked by a deeper understanding of its language
- Safeguard yourself against errors in reading and speech
4. CONVERSATIONAL ARABIC
Break out of your shell and your comfort zone in the company of fellow sisters and learn the art of Communicative Arabic! Lessons will be practical and conversation-based, making use of Arabic video clips and daily conversational dialogue to build confidence in speaking and foster an environment of spontaneity.
ARABIC COURSE DETAILS
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
The text will be read in Arabic, translating and pointing out any relevant points of benefit in the Arabic Language. A huge focus of each book is building an armory of Arabic vocabulary. The content will then be taught and explained in detail via the English medium. Questions are welcomed at the end of every section, and students are encouraged to ask questions during class as well. We pride ourselves in our classes being interactive and encourage questions and contributions from students.
FEMALES ONLY
COURSE DETAILS
1. IN PERSON OPTION
The physical address for those attending in person is:
Masjid al Salaam (upstairs)
34 St Athans Road
Athlone
Cape Town
2. ONLINE OPTION
Classes are available via Zoom.
All classes are recorded and uploaded for student access.
3. SCHOOL SCHEDULE
This is a part-time course where we run three, 4-hour sessions per week, and runs as follows:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 8:30 am - 12:30pm.
4. START DATE, END DATE, PUBLIC HOLIDAYS & SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Start date
Our 2025 academic year starts on 3rd February 2025.
End date
Our 2025 academic year ends on 26th November.
Public and school holidays
Baseerah Institute runs according to the Western Cape school holidays and public holidays to balance school and family commitments.
Any holidays which overlap into Ramadan will be revised and announced to the students timeously.
5. REGISTRATION
Registration and monthly course fees:
Payment of registration by the 30th of November 2024 secures your seat in our program. Please be advised that the monthly course fees need to be settled in advance by the 3rd of each month. No fees payable for the month of January (2025) and December (2025).
5. PAYMENT STRUCTURE
Registration fees: R300 (South Africans and those residing within South Africa)
USD 30 (Non-South Africans residing outside SA).
Monthly course fees (February – December):
R700/USD 70 (Non-South Africans residing outside SA).
PAYMENT DETAILS
Baseerah Institute Account details
FNB: Baseerah Institute
Account no: 62897506641
Branch code: 203 109
Ref: Full Name&surname
OR
Paypal
Make payment via PayPal to: https://paypal.me/RSamsodien?locale.x=en_US
We are blessed to be able to sit at the feet of a female scholar with THIS wealth of knowledge in Quran, Arabic and all its beautifully technical parts, Fiqh, Aqeedah, Tafseer and all the Islamic Sciences and a character which blesses all the above. As much as this may sound like praise of one person, but it's an emphasis of the blessing we have in South Africa with Shaykha Rukayyah, Baseerah Institute and its values. Alhamdullilah. As women we need to equip ourselves with all the tools and guidelines from Allah and His Messenger in order to worship Allah in the manner we expected to. It's so much easier doing this from a woman.
- Fierdous Solomon
Baseerah
Institute
address
Cape Town, South Africa
phone number
+ 27 67 214 4963