Ilm-e-Hadith 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 hadith terminology, how narrations were graded and transmitted, and guided reading from the standard collections.

It suits students ready for the sciences around the Prophet’s ﷺ words and actions. Students should have sound Arabic reading or concurrent grammar study before starting. The outcome to aim at is reading a hadith with its chain and grading in view, rather than as a floating quotation. 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. Every narration studied is cited to its collection, and that discipline is itself part of what the course teaches.

What does this course cover?

Ilm-e-Hadith covers hadith terminology, how narrations were graded and transmitted, and guided reading from the standard collections.

The aim is specific rather than general: reading a hadith with its chain and grading in view, rather than as a floating quotation. That is the standard a student is measured against, not hours attended or pages turned.

Every narration studied is cited to its collection, and that discipline is itself part of what the course teaches.

Who is this course for?

This course suits students ready for the sciences around the Prophet’s ﷺ words and actions.

Before starting, a student needs sound Arabic reading or concurrent grammar study. 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.

What a class looks like

A session opens with revision of the previous lesson, moves to new material, and closes by setting specific practice before the next class. For memorisation students the three-part structure of new lesson, recent revision and long-term revision runs every session.

In a one-to-one class the whole hour follows one student. In a small group each student reads aloud and is corrected in turn, which adds the useful pressure of being heard by peers.

Class length and frequency are set to suit the student, commonly two to five sessions a week for language or memorisation work, fewer for adults reading a single text.

Studying without Urdu

A common assumption is that classical Islamic study requires Urdu first. It does not. Urdu is the medium most teaching happens in, not a component of the sciences themselves.

The books are Arabic. The commentary tradition is largely Arabic and Urdu. A teacher fluent in English can carry that content across directly, and a teacher with formal training in linguistics can do it precisely.

See studying without Urdu for how this works in practice.

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.

Teaching background

Shaykh Hafiz Muddassir studied the classical curriculum the traditional way, through Tanzeem ul Madaris Ahl-e-Sunnat (Pakistan), and has spent more than ten years teaching it.

He also completed an MA in English, an MA in English Linguistics and an MPhil in English, which is why the same classical material can be delivered in English at full depth rather than in a simplified version.

Instruction is available in English, Urdu, Hindi and Arabic.

Timezones

The practical question for every family abroad is whether a workable slot exists at all. It generally does, because teaching hours are deliberately spread rather than confined to Pakistani office hours.

Australian students have it easiest, since their evenings are the teacher’s afternoon. UK and European evenings overlap comfortably. North American evenings map to early morning in Pakistan, a window kept open for exactly that reason.

Daylight saving shifts are handled by adjusting the slot rather than leaving families to work it out.

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.

Getting started

Begin with a message rather than a booking form. Age, current level, preferred language of instruction and rough availability are enough for a useful reply.

Level assessment matters more than most families expect. Students frequently arrive believing they are ready for a text they cannot yet parse, and starting them there wastes months. An honest starting point is worth more than a flattering one.

A trial class confirms the assessment in practice before anything is agreed.

Growing up Muslim outside a Muslim country

Second-generation students occupy an awkward position: fluent in the language of their country, partly fluent in their parents’ language, and rarely literate in either at the level classical study demands.

That is not a deficiency in the student. It is a mismatch between how the tradition is transmitted and where these families now live, and it is solvable by changing the medium rather than the content.

This page addresses this directly.

Straight answers

Fees are quoted rather than published because the honest number depends on details this page does not know. Any site showing one figure for every student is averaging rather than answering.

Timelines are estimated after meeting the student, not before. A teacher promising a fixed number of months to a stranger is guessing.

Where a different teacher, a different course or a local option would serve a student better, saying so costs one enquiry and keeps the advice worth having.

How does the classical method actually work?

Madrasa teaching has a shape that has survived centuries because it works, and almost none of it depends on buildings. A student reads aloud, the teacher corrects at the exact word where the reasoning failed, and the student explains back what they understood.

That third step is the one modern courses drop. Recognition is not comprehension, and a student who nods through an explanation can rarely reproduce it an hour later. Being asked to explain the passage back exposes the gap immediately.

The method transfers to a video call intact, because the essential part was never the room. What it will not survive is being turned into recorded lectures, since the correction loop disappears with the teacher.

Placing a student correctly

A short conversation and a trial class settle it. The teacher asks the student to demonstrate rather than describe, because describing your own level is genuinely difficult and most people get it wrong in one direction or the other.

Where a student needs to go back a stage, that is said plainly and with a reason attached. It is not a judgement on the student; gaps usually come from how they were taught rather than from ability.

The upside of correct placement is that progress becomes visible quickly, which is what keeps a student studying.

Why consistency beats intensity

Two classes a week with daily practice between them outpaces five classes with none. That holds across every course taught here, and it surprises families who assume more hours automatically means faster progress.

Memorisation and grammar both depend on frequent recall rather than total exposure. A student who revises for fifteen minutes each day retains far more than one who does two hours on a Sunday, because retrieval is what strengthens memory, not reading.

Long gaps are the real enemy. A month away undoes more hifz than most families expect, which is why the schedule is built around what a student can actually sustain rather than what looks ambitious in week one.

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.

Ilm-e-Hadith explained