Advance Islamic Studies focuses on the three most important points in understanding the Islamic resources. These Islamic resources are:

• The Holy Qur’an
• The narrations of the Prophet (S) and his Purified Household (a.s.) (These narrations are studied in-depth to ensure accuracy.)
• The use of logical methodology with an open-mind.

There are laws which govern and regulate every type of system. Islam is a religious system. Therefore, there are laws in Islam which address the aspects of the life of a Muslim.  These laws may be religious, economical, social, political, judicial, or pertaining to any other aspects. All of these laws form an Islamic legislation or legal system called the shari’ah’.  As within any legal system, these laws are regarded at the highest level within a community.  Thus, the learning of these laws is regarded very highly in the educational system of an intellectual society.

A campus or seminary for higher studies of Islamic law in the Shia educational system is called Hawza.  These higher levels of study are called Hawza studies.  Primarily, Hawza studies used to focus on the study of jurisprudence or deducing the Islamic laws.  However, in the last era, the Hawza studies began to include studies of other Islamic sciences, such as theology and philosophy.

Once a student reaches the level of understanding the procedure for deducing laws, or is able to analyze the Islamic resources properly and in-depth, then he becomes qualified to continue further in Jurisprudence in order to become a supreme judge or a jurist (mujtahid)).  Such a student may also choose to continue further research in any of the other Islamic sciences in order to become a Shia Muslim theologian, an ideologist, a moralist, or an interpreter of the Holy Qur’an and narrations of the Prophet (S) and his purified household (a.s.).

The timeframe for the advanced Islamic Studies can be divided into three levels:

• The first level is called the level of Muqadimaat in which a student studies the introductory level courses. The timeframe for this level averages from four to five years. At this level, a student becomes qualified to preach and teach as an orator.

• The second level is called the level of Sutooh in which a student learns more laws and practices more logical methodologies. The timeframe for this level averages from five to six years until he becomes an Aalim or a scholar.  At this level, a student becomes qualified to practice the procedure of deducing the laws. Such practice does not have any end or limit, so if the teacher of this student or scholars who possess great experience can verify that he has reached the level of perfection in deducing the laws from its resources properly and in-depth, then they declare this student to be a Mujtahid or a jurist. There is no set timeframe to reach this level after having finished the upper level studies. Rather, it depends on the intelligence of the student. With this said, the average timeframe usually entails at least ten to fifteen years of practice in deducing the laws from the resources.

• The third level and final level is when the student is known in the community to be an Ayatollah/Mujtahid. This level requires a timeframe of about twenty to twenty five years of hard study, dedication and practice in order to reach the level of Ijtihaad or deduction. or a

These studies originally were taught in the Arabic language because the resources of Islamic education were written in the Arabic language.  Later, as different nations began to enter the circle of Islam, the emphasis was, and still is, to learn the Arabic language first, but many institutes started to provide introductory courses in native languages such as Persian and Urdu.  Due to various challenges and many circumstances in the West which prevent students from traveling to Middle East or from learning Arabic, it became a very important necessity to provide such introductory courses in English.  Such courses include teaching students the Arabic language along with the Arabic grammar as explained in the English language.

In order to fulfill such an important necessity, several religious organizations in the west started programs, and among these programs was the program offered by Hawza studies of AlQaem (a.j.) known as the Alqaem Institute.  This institute is based in the United States of America.

The Alqaem Institue currently provides core Hawza courses by one of the three methods:

• Regular weekly classes such as those offered in Dearborn, Michigan.
• Regular online web-based classes
• Community Lectures intended for the general benefit of the Muslims
  
• Temporary mobile “crash courses” where a teacher from the Institute travels to different states and cities to provide such courses.

These courses are challenging and require proper allocated time and dedication as well as regular consistency.  Only students who can meet these challenges obtain success by attending these courses regularly with sincerity, hard work, and dedication. For this reason, the average number of properly educated scholars is very low.

Many youth of the coming generations are suffering from lack of proper Islamic education, and this is due to a lack of proper scholars.  Therefore, we encourage every sincere youth to come forth and strive for this type of higher Islamic education so that the coming generations can have a better Islamic awareness.

If our male and female youth cannot completely dedicate to only the religious field and would like to study in dual fields, then they may follow the example of Avicenna, the great Muslim scientist who was a scholar, a philosopher, and a medical specialist. If our youth can combine both religious and non-religious Islamic education, that would be recomended.  However, if the youth want to solely specialize in the religious field, then that would be more optimal.

Finally, it is very important to know that Hawza studies focus on creating an open-minded student aside from any kind of influence or pressure of a political, ethnical, or national nature. For this reason, most of the strong Hawza studies are achieved by avoiding attachments to any particular political groups, organizations, or countries. The focus of the student’s education should be to seek the nearness of Allah [swt] and to serve our beloved Alqaem Al Mahdi, the 12th Imam [aj] only.  This isn’t to say that being affiliated with politics or any political parties is forbidden, but rather the aim of Hawza studies for centuries has always been to keep it free from any political agendas, associations or campaigns.