Sarf-o-Nahv is taught one-to-one online by Shaykh Hafiz Muddassir, a graduate of Tanzeem ul Madaris Ahl-e-Sunnat (Pakistan) with more than ten years teaching these books. The course covers sarf (morphology: how word forms change) and nahv (syntax: how sentences fit together), taught from the standard texts with drilling.

It suits students who need the two grammar sciences of the madrasa curriculum properly. Students should have basic Arabic reading; no prior grammar assumed before starting. The outcome to aim at is the grammatical engine that makes every classical book readable. Classes run live in English, Urdu, Hindi or Arabic, scheduled around the student’s own timezone, with the pace set by the student rather than a class average. Fees are quoted per student rather than published, because the honest figure depends on the level and how many classes a week. Taught through English with an MPhil linguist’s toolkit, which turns out to be the clearest way into a system usually taught only in Urdu.

What does this course cover?

Sarf-o-Nahv covers sarf (morphology: how word forms change) and nahv (syntax: how sentences fit together), taught from the standard texts with drilling.

The aim is specific rather than general: the grammatical engine that makes every classical book readable. That is the standard a student is measured against, not hours attended or pages turned.

Taught through English with an MPhil linguist’s toolkit, which turns out to be the clearest way into a system usually taught only in Urdu.

Who is this course for?

This course suits students who need the two grammar sciences of the madrasa curriculum properly.

Before starting, a student needs basic Arabic reading; no prior grammar assumed. Where that is uncertain, the first conversation establishes it rather than assuming, because starting at the wrong level is the most reliable way to waste a term.

Students join at every age. What matters is the actual level, which is assessed rather than taken on trust.

One-to-one or group classes?

Both are taught. A one-to-one class belongs entirely to one student, so the pace follows them and every error is corrected at the moment it happens. A small group class puts a few students at a matched level together, which costs less per student and suits siblings or friends studying alongside each other.

The honest trade is attention against company. One-to-one surfaces a weakness within minutes; in a group it can take a few sessions. Some students, particularly younger ones, work harder with peers in the room and would drift in a solo class.

Which suits a given student is decided in the first conversation rather than assumed, and it can change later. Sessions run on whatever video platform the family already uses.

Why is study in English so hard to find?

Almost all Dars e Nizami teaching worldwide happens in Urdu, because that is the language of the institutions that carry the tradition and of the commentaries built around it. That works perfectly for students raised in Urdu-speaking households.

It works badly for the generation raised in Toronto, Birmingham, Sydney or Chicago. Those students are often fluent in English, functional in conversational Urdu or Punjabi, and unable to follow a technical grammar lesson in either. The curriculum is not too difficult for them; the medium is.

Teaching the same books through English removes that barrier without diluting anything. This page covers this in detail.

How long does it take?

There is no fixed number of weeks, and any teacher quoting one without meeting the student is guessing. Pace depends on prior knowledge, how many classes a week, and how much practice happens between them.

Two or three classes a week with consistent practice moves faster than five classes with none. Consistency beats intensity across every course on this site.

After a few classes the teacher can give a realistic estimate for that particular student, which is worth more than an average.

Who teaches these classes?

Shaykh Hafiz Muddassir completed the full Dars e Nizami curriculum under Tanzeem ul Madaris Ahl-e-Sunnat (Pakistan), and has taught its books for more than ten years. He also holds an MA in English, an MA in English Linguistics and an MPhil in English.

That second half is the unusual part. Classical training and a linguistics background rarely sit in the same person, and together they make it possible to teach *sarf* (Arabic morphology) or *mantiq* (classical logic) in English, Urdu, Hindi and Arabic, choosing whichever the student actually thinks in.

Classes run one-to-one or in small groups, whichever suits the student.

How does scheduling work across timezones?

Classes are arranged around the student’s local clock. Teaching hours stretch across the day precisely so that a student in California, London or Melbourne is not forced into an unusable slot.

In practice this means after-school classes for children, and evening or early-morning sessions for working adults. British and European students have the easiest overlap; American and Canadian students are taught in their evenings, which fall in the teacher’s early morning.

This page sets out the workable windows by region.

What do classes cost?

Fees are quoted for each student rather than published as a price list, because the honest figure depends on the course, how many classes a week and the level involved. A child taking two Qaida sessions weekly and an adult reading advanced Arabic texts are not the same commitment.

For general context rather than as a quotation: Across online Islamic academies generally, tuition is priced either per class hour or as a monthly block of two to five classes a week, and one-to-one teaching costs more than group classes because the hour belongs to one student. Local currency, timezone and class length all shift the picture, which is why a real number needs the real details.

Message the student’s age, level and how often you would like to study, and you will get a straight answer for that situation. This page covers the question in more detail.

How do you start?

The first step is a conversation, not a payment. Send a message describing the student, their level and what you want them to reach, and you will get an assessment of where they should actually begin.

A trial class follows if it makes sense. It exists so the student and teacher can meet, so the level can be checked properly rather than assumed, and so the family can judge the teaching style before committing.

If a different course would serve the student better, you will be told that. This page explains what happens in a trial.

Adult learners

Adult students arrive with a specific frustration: they can recite the Quran fluently and have no idea what it says. The route out of that is translation and grammar rather than more recitation.

Time is usually their constraint rather than capacity. Two well-protected sessions a week with short daily practice produces real progress within months, and that is a realistic commitment for someone working full time.

Nobody is asked to begin further along than they are, and nobody is made to feel late.

Can sisters study these courses?

Yes. Sisters study the same curriculum one-to-one from home, at whatever pace their week allows, through the six-year course.

The two barriers sisters most often report are travel and mixed classes. Online one-to-one removes both, which is why the format has changed access to classical study more for women than for anyone else.

Scheduling is arranged around household and work commitments rather than fixed institutional hours, and it moves when those commitments move.

Is online teaching as good as in person?

For one-to-one instruction, the honest answer is that the difference is small and sometimes runs the other way. What matters pedagogically is a teacher hearing the student and correcting them immediately, and a video call carries that intact.

What online cannot replace is the atmosphere of a full-time institution: the company of other students, the discipline of a daily schedule, and the incidental learning that happens outside class. For a student who can attend one properly, that is a genuine advantage.

Most families reading this cannot. The realistic comparison is not online against a darul uloom, it is online against a weekly local class taught in a language the child does not follow.

Measuring progress

The test is always performance rather than exposure. A student who has sat through a book and cannot read a line of it unaided has not covered it, whatever the register says.

Short checks happen every session, because revision is the first thing in every class. Larger checks happen when a text is finished, by asking the student to explain rather than recite.

This page explains what parents are told and when.

Practical requirements

Nothing unusual. A laptop, tablet or phone with a working microphone, and a corner of the house without a television in it.

For younger children a parent nearby for the first few sessions helps, mostly to settle the routine rather than to supervise the content.

Where connections are unreliable, classes can run audio-only without much loss for recitation work, though text reading benefits from a shared screen.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to know Urdu to take this course?

No. Classes are taught in English, Urdu, Hindi or Arabic, and you choose. Teaching the classical material through English is the reason many students abroad come here in the first place.

What if the student is at a different level than expected?

The starting point is assessed in the first conversation and confirmed in a trial class. If the student needs to begin earlier in the sequence, you will be told that plainly.

Are classes recorded?

No. Classes are live, whether one-to-one or in a small group. The value is a teacher correcting the student in the moment, which a recording cannot do.

How many classes a week are needed?

Commonly two to five for language and memorisation work, fewer for adults reading a single text. What matters more is consistency between classes.

Can classes pause for exams or travel?

Yes. The schedule is adjusted by message rather than through a booking system with penalty windows.

Last reviewed 29 July 2026 by Shaykh Hafiz Muddassir.

Sarf-o-Nahv