The Advanced Islamic Studies (AIS) program is a rigorous three-year curriculum building on the Diploma in Islamic Studies. Students engage deeply with Tafsir of the entire Quran, the major Hadith collections, Islamic Legal Theory, Kalām, Classical Arabic, and the broader Islamic intellectual tradition under traditionally trained scholars. Open to both brothers and sisters, the program is held in-person at the Kufah Campus at the Islamic Society of New Tampa (ISONET).
Apply NowDiploma in Islamic Studies (DIS) Required
The AIS program requires completion of the Kufah Institute Diploma in Islamic Studies, or equivalent foundational coursework as assessed by the faculty. Students who have studied elsewhere may contact support@kufah.org to discuss placement.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Sat (Track B) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | Track A
Hadith 200B
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif
9:00 – 9:50 am
|
Track A
Islamic Spirituality: From Classical Texts to Reflective Tradition
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed
9:00 – 10:10 am
|
Track A
Hadith 200B
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif
9:00 – 9:50 am
|
Track B
Arabic 201
MenShaykh Ahyan Yoonas
WomenUstadha Shazia Ahmad
8:30 – 9:20 am
Track B
9:30 – 10:30 am
Fall History of Islamic Scholarship Shaykh Raiyaan Atif & Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed Spring Usul al-Tafsir Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed Track B
Al-Ghazali: Revival, Reform, and the Engagement with Knowledge
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed
10:40 – 11:50 am
Track B
Hadith 200A
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif
12:00 – 12:50 pm
|
|
| 10:00 AM | Track A
Tafsir Juz 6–10
Shaykh Ahyan Yoonas
10:00 – 11:00 am
|
Track A
Arabic 200
MenShaykh Ahyan Yoonas
WomenʿĀlimah Amera Khanum
10:20 – 11:10 am
|
Track A
Tafsir Juz 6–10
Shaykh Ahyan Yoonas
10:00 – 11:00 am
|
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| 11:00 AM | Track A
11:20 am – 12:20 pm
Fall Sirah Studies Shaykh Raiyaan Atif & ʿĀlimah Ambareen Khan Spring Sahaba Shaykh Raiyaan Atif & ʿĀlimah Ambareen Khan |
Track A
Ulum al-Quran
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif
11:10 am – 12:00 pm
|
Track A
Authority of the Sunnah
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif
11:10 am – 12:00 pm
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| Evening (Track B) | |||||
| 6:00 PM | Track B
Arabic 201
MenShaykh Ahyan Yoonas
WomenUstadha Shazia Ahmad
6:00 – 6:50 pm
|
Track B
Arabic 201
MenShaykh Ahyan Yoonas
WomenUstadha Shazia Ahmad
6:00 – 6:50 pm
|
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| 7:05 PM | Track B
Tafsir Juz 1–5
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed
7:05 – 8:05 pm
|
Track B
Tafsir Juz 1–5
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed
7:05 – 8:05 pm
|
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| 8:20 PM | Track B
Hadith 200A
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif
8:20 – 9:10 pm
|
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| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Sat (Track B) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | Track A
Arabic 201
9:00 – 9:50 am
|
Track A
Arabic 201
9:00 – 9:50 am
|
Track A
Arabic 201
9:00 – 9:50 am
|
Track B
Hadith 200B
8:30 – 9:20 am
Track B
9:30 – 10:30 am
Fall Sirah Studies Spring Sahaba Track B
Islamic Spirituality: From Classical Texts to Reflective Tradition
10:40 – 11:50 am
Track B
Arabic 202
12:00 – 12:50 pm
|
|
| 10:00 AM | Track A
Tafsir Juz 1–5
10:00 – 11:00 am
|
Track A
Al-Ghazali: Revival, Reform, and the Engagement with Knowledge
10:00 – 11:10 am
|
Track A
Tafsir Juz 1–5
10:00 – 11:00 am
|
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| 11:00 AM | Track A
Hadith 200A
11:10 am – 12:00 pm
|
Track A
11:20 am – 12:20 pm
Fall History of Islamic Scholarship Spring Usul al-Tafsir |
Track A
Hadith 200A
11:10 am – 12:00 pm
|
||
| Evening (Track B) | |||||
| 6:00 PM | Track B
Authority of the Sunnah
6:00 – 6:50 pm
|
Track B
Ulum al-Quran
6:00 – 6:50 pm
|
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| 7:05 PM | Track B
Tafsir Juz 6–10
7:05 – 8:05 pm
|
Track B
Tafsir Juz 6–10
7:05 – 8:05 pm
|
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| 8:20 PM | Track B
Hadith 200B
8:20 – 9:10 pm
|
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Arabic 201 — Men: Sh. Ahyan Yoonas · Women: Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed was born and raised in Manhattan. While at college at the University of Chicago, he turned to religion, and in 1999, he left America to spend twenty years abroad. He pursued the classical disciplines of Islamic learning, becoming a traditionally trained Islamic scholar, receiving the ʿĀlimiyyah and Takhassus fi’l-Fiqh degrees. He then served as an instructor and guide to university students and professionals in Pakistan, England, and South Africa. From 2005–2013, he was a professor of Islamic Thought and Intellectual History at leading universities in Pakistan, including LUMS and AKU. In 2017, he returned to academia to pursue a PhD in Islamic Intellectual History at the University of Oxford. From 2020–2023, he held research fellowships in Islamic philosophy at Princeton University and Yale University. His talks are available at: Islamic Spirituality YouTube Channel.
Shaykh Ahyan Yoonas
Shaykh Mohammad Ahyan Yoonas is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, where he began his Islamic education by completing Ḥifẓ at Masjid Omar bin Abdul Aziz. He pursued his ʿĀlimiyyah studies at Tibyan Seminary and later at DarusSalam Seminary, from which he graduated in 2023. He subsequently earned a Master’s degree in Islamic Texts with a concentration in Islamic Law from Zaytuna College, where he authored his thesis titled “Critically Speaking: Early Matn Criticism in the Ḥanafī Madhhab from Shaybānī to Ṭaḥāwī.” His intellectual interests center on Uṣūl al-Fiqh, Kalām, Philosophy, and the broader landscape of Islamic Intellectual History.
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif
Shaykh Raiyaan Atif was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed the memorization of the Holy Qur’an at a young age. Thereafter, he began his ʿĀlimiyyah studies locally at Georgia Islamic Institute, continuing at Tibyaan Seminary, and finally completing the 7 year curriculum at DarusSalam Seminary. He subsequently pursued a Master’s Degree in Islamic Education at the University of Warwick while continuing classes in Hadith and Tafsir at his alma mater. Finally, he travelled to Istanbul, Türkiye where he spent two years pursuing specialized training in the field of Hadith and tahqiq (manuscript research and editing).
Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Ali Ismail
Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Ali Ismail was raised in Florida and studied at USF, where he served as MSA president. He began Islamic studies while pursuing medical school and radiology residency at Ohio State University. He studied the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum through multiple institutes and graduated from Jamia Falah Darayn in Dayton, OH in 2024. He is now an Assistant Professor at OSU and an Abdominal Radiologist.
ʿĀlimah Dr. Ambareen Khan
Raised in Philadelphia, ʿĀlimah Dr. Ambareen Khan studied at Villanova University and completed medical school and anesthesiology residency at Drexel University. While balancing motherhood and medicine, she pursued tajwīd in 2015 and completed her Alimah degree from Zaynab Institute in 2024. She resides in Tampa, FL.
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, and tafsir with private teachers and Arabic at Damascus University. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences with local and travelling scholars. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
We are committed to ensuring that financial hardship does not prevent anyone from studying at Kufah. Students are encouraged to contribute whatever they can, but payment is not required if unable. This financial aid process is based on trust (amānah) and does not involve any financial checks or assessments.
What enrollment options are available?
- Join as a Full-Time student taking both tracks (complete AIS Year 1 in one academic year)
- Enroll in a Half-Time track: Weekdays (Track A) or Evening & Weekend (Track B) to complete AIS Year 1 in two academic years.
- Select individual courses from either or both tracks (maximum of 2 per semester), as a part-time student (for credit) or an auditor (noncredit). If you would like to sign up for more than 2 standalone classes and not enroll in a specific track, please email support@kufah.org to schedule an academic advising appointment