Madrassa in Karachi

[abdul_rehman]

Assalam Walaikum

I'm trying to obtain information to study in Karachi with my wife. For married couples U have heard mostly about two places: Banori town and Darul Uloom Karachi. Is there any other one's which are better than these or these are the best ones for married students? If these two are the best ones, then which one is better in them.*

I would love to know if there is anyone on Sunni forum who studies there? So I can directly take info from them.

[London786]

personal opinion is send your wife to jamia aisha sidiqah in karachi and you go to ibn abbas in karachi. They have very good arabic language courses etc and a unique syllabus. Thereafter you can decide to go elsewhere if you want to...

[abdul_rehman]

You are right, but it is 9 years course. I was even telling my mother about their school yesterday. But the problem is, my parents think I'm working to go to south Africa for 5 years. I'm trying to persuade them for Karachi(as it's their home town) and I will Inshallah be able to pull 6 years. Any more suggestions?

[adidas]

hmmm difficult choice.

if your wife is interested in studying too, you'll have to consider some other factors as well. many madrasas that are considered top-notch for alim studies are only so for males. their female departments are generally lacking.

for the record, most madrasas for females in pakistan follow one of two curriculums.

1. the vast majority follow wifaq-ul-madaris's course. it's a four year course which is pretty watered down compared to the male equivalent. arabic is taught only to the extent that one can read it and understand the qur'an and hadith, speaking arabic isn't covered. all subjects are taught in urdu. the only books in fiqh that are taught are qudoori and the first vol of hidaya. etc.

2. then there are arabic medium madrasas, following madrasa ayesha's curriculum (with slight variations since there is no standardizing board, unlike wifaq). the pattern is the same however: 6 years, with the first three concentrating on intense arabic. writing/reading/speaking. the rest of the three years cover other subjects, most of which also are taught in arabic. more fiqh/usul, etc are covered. some also cover the entire sahihul bukhari (something which although is default in male madrasas, is very rare in female madrasas. in daura females are generally only taught selected chapters from all the books.)

both darul uloom karachi and binori town use the wifaq curriculum. thus the main advantage for females in those two schools is studying under some senior scholars in the final two years. darul uloom karachi has an extra year though, in which they cover some books not covered by wifaq like the second volume of hidaya.

but between the two, i'd say binori town is better for females.
darul uloom karachi is located in a corner of karachi and most, if not all, the students in the female section come from the neighborhoods nearby, which are mostly slums compared to main karachi. they generally haven't studied past 10th grade and know minimial of any English. having classmates of a very different background can have a negative affect. i don't think they have any foreign students in banat presently. also the admission process in darul uloom karachi (for both males and females) requires a lot of hassle and paperwork. you need a lot of patience to go through it.

binori town is located in the center of karachi and people from all over karachi attend. it is common to have students that have university degrees, etc. thus the classroom environment is little more intellectual. they also are foreign students in the banaat section as well.

darul uloom karachi, though, has undoubtedly the prettiest campus in all of karachi. even most universities here aren't as well-designed as DUK. they also have on-campus housing, something i believe binori town doesn't. these factors make DUK a tempting option still. they also have a quite a few foreign students in the males section.

as far as madrasa ayesha and ibn abbas go, they have the best curriculum for arabic. ayesha is the top madrasa for females all around, but other madrasas beat ibn abbas in fiqh and other studies.
they are also popular among foreigners. ibn abbas's course might be the longest, but since DUK and binori town have an eight year course, it's not that longer.

you can try to minimize the number of years by combining the early years though. this generally allows you to save about two or three years. i know people who've done that but im not sure how easy it is.

the only madrasa in karachi that I know that has a six year course for males is Jamia Binoria in SITE area. their course for foreigners is six years, and Arabic is emphasized. standards aren't known to be too high tho. but at the end of the day, it's in the student's hand how much too benefit. a serious student at not-so-high-standards madrasa can end up more successful than a lazy one at a top notch madrasa.

jamia binoria's course for females though has good standards. it follows the madrasa ayesha pattern. strong arabic. more fiqh than wifaq. but since it's located in a corner of karachi, you'll have the same problem here is with DUK, most female students come from the slum-like neighborhoods nearby. but since its one of the few madrasas for females in karachi that offer boarding there are people from other parts of karachi and pakistan as well as other countries.
jamia binoria also has on-campus housing and they're generally very accommodating towards foreigners.

oh and another thing to note: many female madrasas have rules against married students. they might be more lenient towards foreigners but you should make sure before hand.

all in all, if you have family in karachi, studying in karachi is definitely something you should try to pursue. pakistan might be a third world country, but i still believe its easier to travel here than to a western country where you do not have any family or acquaintances. also living in a muslim majority country for a change gives you quite a new and exciting experience.
it's not all easy of course and there will be many hardships along the way but it is worth it.

if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.
wsalams.

[abdul_rehman]

hmmm difficult choice.

if your wife is interested in studying too, you'll have to consider some other factors as well. many madrasas that are considered top-notch for alim studies are only so for males. their female departments are generally lacking.

for the record, most madrasas for females in pakistan follow one of two curriculums.

1. the vast majority follow wifaq-ul-madaris's course. it's a four year course which is pretty watered down compared to the male equivalent. arabic is taught only to the extent that one can read it and understand the qur'an and hadith, speaking arabic isn't covered. all subjects are taught in urdu. the only books in fiqh that are taught are qudoori and the first vol of hidaya. etc.

2. then there are arabic medium madrasas, following madrasa ayesha's curriculum (with slight variations since there is no standardizing board, unlike wifaq). the pattern is the same however: 6 years, with the first three concentrating on intense arabic. writing/reading/speaking. the rest of the three years cover other subjects, most of which also are taught in arabic. more fiqh/usul, etc are covered. some also cover the entire sahihul bukhari (something which although is default in male madrasas, is very rare in female madrasas. in daura females are generally only taught selected chapters from all the books.)

both darul uloom karachi and binori town use the wifaq curriculum. thus the main advantage for females in those two schools is studying under some senior scholars in the final two years. darul uloom karachi has an extra year though, in which they cover some books not covered by wifaq like the second volume of hidaya.

but between the two, i'd say binori town is better for females.
darul uloom karachi is located in a corner of karachi and most, if not all, the students in the female section come from the neighborhoods nearby, which are mostly slums compared to main karachi. they generally haven't studied past 10th grade and know minimial of any English. having classmates of a very different background can have a negative affect. i don't think they have any foreign students in banat presently. also the admission process in darul uloom karachi (for both males and females) requires a lot of hassle and paperwork. you need a lot of patience to go through it.

binori town is located in the center of karachi and people from all over karachi attend. it is common to have students that have university degrees, etc. thus the classroom environment is little more intellectual. they also are foreign students in the banaat section as well.

darul uloom karachi, though, has undoubtedly the prettiest campus in all of karachi. even most universities here aren't as well-designed as DUK. they also have on-campus housing, something i believe binori town doesn't. these factors make DUK a tempting option still. they also have a quite a few foreign students in the males section.

as far as madrasa ayesha and ibn abbas go, they have the best curriculum for arabic. ayesha is the top madrasa for females all around, but other madrasas beat ibn abbas in fiqh and other studies.
they are also popular among foreigners. ibn abbas's course might be the longest, but since DUK and binori town have an eight year course, it's not that longer.

you can try to minimize the number of years by combining the early years though. this generally allows you to save about two or three years. i know people who've done that but im not sure how easy it is.

the only madrasa in karachi that I know that has a six year course for males is Jamia Binoria in SITE area. their course for foreigners is six years, and Arabic is emphasized. standards aren't known to be too high tho. but at the end of the day, it's in the student's hand how much too benefit. a serious student at not-so-high-standards madrasa can end up more successful than a lazy one at a top notch madrasa.

jamia binoria's course for females though has good standards. it follows the madrasa ayesha pattern. strong arabic. more fiqh than wifaq. but since it's located in a corner of karachi, you'll have the same problem here is with DUK, most female students come from the slum-like neighborhoods nearby. but since its one of the few madrasas for females in karachi that offer boarding there are people from other parts of karachi and pakistan as well as other countries.
jamia binoria also has on-campus housing and they're generally very accommodating towards foreigners.

oh and another thing to note: many female madrasas have rules against married students. they might be more lenient towards foreigners but you should make sure before hand.

all in all, if you have family in karachi, studying in karachi is definitely something you should try to pursue. pakistan might be a third world country, but i still believe its easier to travel here than to a western country where you do not have any family or acquaintances. also living in a muslim majority country for a change gives you quite a new and exciting experience.
it's not all easy of course and there will be many hardships along the way but it is worth it.

if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.
wsalams.

Thanks for taking out so much time in replying. I learned many new things in your reply.

Wow the only 6 years is in Jamia Banoria SITE. I'm sure what you get in 8 yrs can not be like 6 years. In Banori SITE what do they leave out to make it two years less? *I saw there website is very detailed but offcourse I can't find out what's missing. I have heard from people here(in US) about their female madrassa is very good, specially they completely teach in Arabic. Is that how it is in male too? When you say that male standard is not that good, what that means? Are teachers not qualified enough? Also, do they have the same teaching style or books as DU Karachi or Ibn Abaas?


I didn't understand the part of "you can try to minimize the number of years by combining the early years though. this generally allows you to save about two or three years. i know people who've done that but im not sure how easy it is.". Can you please explain how is it possible to save some years?

Sorry I have many questions in this reply. Last one, as you have so many information of Karachi madrassa, are you located in Karachi too? Just curious.

[adidas]

i'm not entirely sure what books are omitted to make it into six years. but rest assured many of the books taught in the eight years aren't considered absolutely necessary, so it is possible to cut two years and not miss anything of major importance.
they do teach the boys in arabic too. i'm not sure to what extent, but the six year course is supposed to be arabic medium.

hmm by standards, i meant more their reputation amongst madrasas in karachi. most people here do not think highly of the banin section of jamia binoria. (in america it is still respected though i believe)

if you look at this year's results of wifaq's examinations for final year students you could see the difference:

out of the 209 registered students in jamia binoria, 193 passed, and only two passed with "mumtaz" (equivalent of A) most were jayyid (think of that as C). 92% pass rate.
darul uloom karachi had 414 students, of which 404 passed, that's more than 97% passing. also, the majority of students got at least jayyid jiddan (B) and there were a LOT of mumtazs too.
in binori town 564 out of 591 passed. 95% pass rate. but again most students got at least jayyid jiddan with many getting mumtaz.

[all these results are available on wifaqul madaris's website http://www.wifaqulmadaris.org
(nataij > madrasa gazette > code for binoria is 02721, DUK is 01877 and binori town is 03401.)]
not sure why there's such a difference in results, but that does point to something.

as far as the teachers at jamia binoria go, some are very very experienced and dedicated mashallah. some aren't as so. but that's the case with other madaris too.
not sure of the differences in books in the madrasas, but they all should be roughly similar. teaching style is probably also similar. ibn abbas might be different though.

as far as the minimizing thing i was mentioning, some madrasas offer foreigners and older students something called mutafarriqat in which you're allowed to take classes of different years instead, thereby completing two years or so in one. (the last year of course cannot be combined with any other) for example, I know someone who after completing second year in DUK, spent the next year taking some classes of third and some of fourth. the next year, he took some fifth year classes and some sixth. seventh year cannot be combined with eight so those two were done separately in their entirety. so that cut down a total of two years.

this process though requires one to maintain a certain grade average and also requires getting approval from teachers etc. getting approved can take a few months even and its not guaranteed, but if done, it's really worth it.

this too would mean not studying all the books taught, but if you have limited time it's not too bad.

yes i'm currently in karachi.

[abdul_rehman]

Wow that's a very big difference that there are only 2 students passing with A comparing to many of DUK & Banori town. May be it's the students not the teachers, what do u say? Still, *that's a big difference though.

Are these yearly exams like board exams of matric & Inter exams, and what does these grades help in future? I mean if u have good grades in master exams than you get a better job("people thinking"), what is the benefit in these grades?

I emailed Jamia Banoria like 10 days ago but didn't get a reply, and I was trying to call them yesterday but it wasn't connecting. On their website they have these number to contact:*

JAMIA BINORIA S.I.T.E.,
NEAR S.I.T.E., POLICE STATION
KARACHI - SINDH
PAKISTAN.
Phone Numbers:
92-21-2560300
92-21-2560400
92-21-2575588
92-21-2575599


These numbers have only 7 digits, but mostly Pakistan numbers are 8 digits, can you confirm me their numbers please? Also, do you know if there any married couple who lives there?

[naav]

I'm from the UK. I'm of Pakistani origin. I've got an overseas identity card. However, I don't know urdu.

1. Is there somewhere I can study in Lahore or Karachi where I can get clean accomodation inside the madrasah?

2. Are the madaaaris effected by rationing of electricity? Do they have ACs inside the dormitories?

3. Where could I learn urdu in Karach or Lahore before enrolling?

[SBQ]

Assalam Walaikum

I'm trying to obtain information to study in Karachi with my wife. For married couples U have heard mostly about two places: Banori town and Darul Uloom Karachi. Is there any other one's which are better than these or these are the best ones for married students? If these two are the best ones, then which one is better in them.*

I would love to know if there is anyone on Sunni forum who studies there? So I can directly take info from them.

Wassalam,

Zaynab Academy Karachi offers courses on Classical Islamic Learning and Spirituality for women and girls in the mornings as well as in the evenings. Many married women, who also have commitments at home, are studying at the Academy. Please visit http://www.zaynabacademy.org for futher details.

[abdul_rehman]

I'm from the UK. I'm of Pakistani origin. I've got an overseas identity card. However, I don't know urdu.

1. Is there somewhere I can study in Lahore or Karachi where I can get clean accomodation inside the madrasah?

2. Are the madaaaris effected by rationing of electricity? Do they have ACs inside the dormitories?

3. Where could I learn urdu in Karach or Lahore before enrolling?

Bro as far as I know, if u know either Urdu, English or Arabic, you are fine in most of the madaris. I have these there few links which I read and found very beneficial, may be it may answers some of your queries.

DU Karachi(teachers like Mufi taqi Uslami and Mufti Rafi Usmami
www.darululoomkhi.edu.pk

Karachi banori town(Jamia banoria)
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...ears-1-2-amp-3
http://www.binoria.org/academics/foreign.htm

Ibn Abbas 9 year aalim course. 3years only Arabic. All course in Arabic
(http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...abbas-(karachi))

Just one more thing, in UK you have Dewsbury madrassa too, I suggest u look into it too.