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These are the opinions of our students. We have not added anything, honest . . .
"The Ibn Jabal course has exceeded my expectations many times over. I would recommend it to anyone who is serious and committed about learning Arabic. This course does not purport to teach you everything you need to know about the language. It serves to provide a solid foundation of basic Arabic grammar, which one can build upon after the course. Self-study is an integral part of the course as consolidation of class material is essential. The approach taken is to throw students into the deep end, but fear not, there is a teacher cum lifeguard who will help keep you afloat and teach you how to swim."
Nur Azreen Abdul Manap, Easter 2004
Economics and Management, Keble College, Oxford University
Currently reading Msc Accounting and Finance, London School of Economics
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"This is an excellent Arabic course. The qualities that set it apart from other courses are the fast pace, very high expectations and the great sense of support and encouragement from the teacher and other students. If the words 'rigorous' and 'thorough' seem attractive to you, and you love the Arabic language, add 'exhilarating ' and 'challenging' and you would have some idea of the inspiring nature of this course."
Aziza Spiker, Easter 2004
Currently reading MA Islamic Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies, London
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"I found this course to be intense but immensely rewarding. It's not for the faint hearted; however, it is by no means impossible. I found the support from both classmates and the teacher very motivating and encouraging and am thankful to Allah for the opportunity to study the course. I aim to insha Allah consolidate my learning thus far and continue to learn this beautiful language."
Imran Ahmed, Easter 2004
Read MSc Analysis Design and Management of Information systems
London School of Economics
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"Fast paced and comprehensive. The part time course is not for the faint hearted or those with little will power. Having said that if you stick through the initial mental blocks, vocab lists and verb drills (Salman - these will probably stick with me for life!) you will undoubtedly bear fruitful rewards. The material was logically presented, enthusiastically yet patiently taught and liberally sprinkled with anecdotes and good humour. We were fortunate to be surrounded by mutually supportive students all focused on a common goal. Definitely recommended."
Matiur Choudhury, Easter 2004
Read Econoimics, London School of Economics
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"A challenging course - but it is amazing what you can learn in a short time if you put the effort in. The materials are clear. Teaching is done in a student friendly way. What more can you ask?"
Hussain Shefaar, Easter 2004
Read LLB Law, Middlesex University
PGCE, Institute of Education
Hussain is the founder, headmaster and teacher of Adam Primary School (It's very good, my niece and nephew go there - Salman)
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"I just wanted to thank you for teaching us something which is and will inshallah benefit us for more than just our lifetimes. You asked for comments: I don't know what to say. I have heard about students and their teachers who when sitting together with sincerity in their hearts and great aspirations have achieved much in short spaces of time. There is no doubt that a combination of sincerity, excellent teaching materials, a well devised course and aspirations of both teacher and students has brought about 'intellectual openings' for us all and we have gone away with a grasp of the language which seems too good to be true for just 15 lessons. In fact I would say, without exaggeration that it is nothing short of miraculous!
The foundations you have built for us have left us with the ability to start working things out for ourselves. I never could have expected this from a short course.
May Allah reward you and keep you teaching."
Munawar Karim, Easter 2004
LLB (Hons) Law and Japanese, MA Modern History
Currently reading Law, BPP Law School, London
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"Alhamdulilah the Ibn Jabal course was the best Arabic course I've been to. The reasons for this were: high level of student-teacher interaction; structured course based on textbook; strong emphasis on grammar with regular drilling; regular tests; regular homework; many references to Qur'an / Islam . . . your actual method of teaching the grammar was v good - drills, anecdotes, examples, it really sunk in. Well that's all I can think of right now!! pls keep us all in your duas esp. during hajj."
Dr. Umbreen Hussain, Summer 2003
Umbreen read Medicine at Kings College, London
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"A demanding 3 weeks of intensive study in which you will learn a lot. The trick is to keep up the practice when you leave! An enjoyable experience with good student-teacher relationships and spirit of camaraderie."
Sahel Mughal, Summer 2001
Currently finalist Law and German Law undergraduate
St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University
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"Thank Allah for blessing me with the opportunity to learn something of this beautiful language. I think the Ibn Jabal course is a fantastic opportunity to gain a solid foundation on which to build future studies of the language, and certainly the most productive way one could look to study Arabic if they could only afford to spend a couple of weeks. For those who wish to go abroad and maybe continue their studies for several months then such a course is an invaluable prerequisite.
I'll admit, the course wasn't easy, but those who put a lot in really benefited.
After completing the basic grammar course I went to continue my studies in Yemen for a year. On my return I was even given the opportunity to teach a few classes during the summer course.
May Allah reward the organisers and teachers for their continuing efforts."
Arsalan Obaidullah, Summer 2001
Read Economics at University College London
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"A very intensive Arabic course. That was what I had heard of Ibn Jabal prior to attending and to be honest, that was exactly what I was looking for. Other courses I had attended or heard of seemed to move too slowly and little real progress was made. Ibn Jabal was the complete opposite. True, it is hard. You need to set 3 weeks out of your life to do it! But the rewards are there. It's a great introduction to Arabic, though I would suggest that some familiarity with the language and its grammar will be helpful. Ibn Jabal was the first real step onto my path as an Arabist. After the course I went to Egypt for a couple of months, my studies there being greatly aided by what I had learnt at Ibn Jabal.
I very highly recommend this course to you. I feel that at some point in the course of your Arabic studies, you just have to do it! However be warned, it is tough and requires real commitment! "
Faraz Mir, Summer 2003
Read IT at Imperial College, London
Currently working at an IT consulting company
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"Ibn Jabal was the second Arabic course that I had done. I found I learnt more in the first three days with Ibn Jabal than I learnt in an entire month in my other course. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a great introduction to Arabic grammar and thinks they can keep up with the pace - whether you want to go study Arabic abroad afterwards or you want to start understanding the Qur'an."
Majid Islam, Summer 2003
Reading Biochemical Engineering at University College London
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"I joined the Ibn-Jabal course having just completed my first year of my Economics degree at UCL. I wanted to learn enough Arabic in order to understand the Qur'aan better and also for it to serve as a foundation in learning other Islamic Sciences. The 3-week intensive course far exceeded my expectations. We had been taught most of the basics of the Arabic grammar including all the verb conjugations (sarf) and, for the first time, I was able to start making and translating Arabic sentences on my own. Reading the Qur'aan became more inspiring as I was able to contemplate more on the verses. Three years on, having completed the second part of the course and spent 3 months in Damascus, I am now able to read and understand Arabic texts, books of hadith, and poems with the help of a dictionary. The noble teachers and my fellow course-mates were all very kind and always ready to help. I would surely recommend the Ibn-Jabal course to anyone who is seriously dedicated to learning the Arabic language."
Jubril Alao, Summer 2001
Read Economics at University College London
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"I found the Ibn Jabal Arabic course superb. I benefited greatly from the simple delivery of otherwise complicated grammatical rules by tutors who have a wealth of experience in this field. At best, a student will become proficient in the language. At worst, they will be able to read and speak at a basic level. This is the best crash course I have been to. It has wholly changed my life. I advise all those who genuinely seek to have a good command of the language of the quran and hadith to take this course."
Faisal Goni, Summer 2001
Third year medic at King's College, London
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"I found the course very useful and have found that it is a good basis for further study. I do feel however that on occasion the pace was rather fast. On the whole I found the course very beneficial."
Naveed Mir, Summer 2003
Read law at Brunel University
Currently a primary school teacher
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"This course was the best language course I have undertaken, although it is definitely not for the faint-hearted! Having been through a university degree, I think this is the most intensive work I have ever done. The course gives you enough background and a 'big picture' of Arabic grammar so that you can follow the book yourself or go to another country to consolidate what you have learned. I can now understand much more of the Qur'an than I could previously and even get the gist of many conversations."
Zeeshan Alam, Summer 2003
Read IT at Imperial College, London
Currently working at an IT consulting company
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"A well structured fast paced course prepared by enthusiastic teachers, willing to spend all their efforts in seeing their students advance. Carefully laid out, each lesson is enjoyable, well taught and keenly studied, equipping you with a good level of Arabic after the three weeks. I would not hesitate to recommend Ibn Jabal."
Dr. Yasmin Razzak
Yasmin did Level 1 (Summer 2001) and Level 2 (Summer 2003)
Read Medicine at Imperial College, London
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"Prior to attending the Ibn Jabal course in the summer of 2002 I had been fortunate to already have had a good grounding in the basics of the Arabic language. These previous studies ranged from evening classes to summer courses in England and a few weeks in Damascus. The course therefore served as an intensive and comprehensive revision opportunity but also allowed me to develop skills in areas where I was weakest, such as increasingly complex sentence construction through focused tasks as well as short written and oral presentation opportunities. It also allowed me to broadened my exposure to the different genres of Arabic, through looking at modern texts, poetry, stories, speeches, songs, traditional religious texts and the ingredients on the side of an Arab juice carton!
The course was well organised and very thorough, gruelling almost :-). Despite formal teaching ending at midday the course is defiantly not something you can regard as 'part-time; especially for someone with little or no background in Arabic - midnight calls to friends to check over homework answers will become a regular feature of the course!
The targets set for your competency once the course is over can seem daunting and unrealistic at first. However if you are willing to put in the commitment on your side, know that teachers will not disappoint you. Our teacher was himself not a native Arab and therefore was well aware of areas of difficulty that students might encounter and how to tackle them. This coupled with his evident passion for Arabic and unique teaching style made the whole course thoroughly enjoyable and beneficial.
Since the course, I have had little opportunity to continue studies in England. However during the summer I was fortunate enough to return to Damascus and managed to impress my Arabic teacher there with a particular grammatical technicality I'd learnt during the Ibn Jabal course - and he was a hard teacher to impress!!
I would highly recommend the course to all students wanting to begin or even consolidate their Arabic studies"
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Shamaila Akram, Summer 2002 (Level 2)
Read MSci. Chemistry with Mathematics, University College London
PGCE Secondary Science, Kings College London
Currently teaching science at an inner city secondary school
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