Can I learn Islam properly on my own alongside a degree?

So yeah, so I feel in many ways, you know, when you look at the tradeoff that if a person studied on their own, if they studied Arabic, let's say, when I say on their own, sorry, let me rephrase that part. If they studied independently, so let's say you studied Arabic, you got that out the way within 6 months. Um, within a year, your Arabic's good, but after 6 months, you started picking up like you started reading basic f uh basic other things.

um let's say you start like going through some of the different sciences on your own independently with teachers online. I think as you finish your let's say higher education pursuits so for you know for an uh for the sake of example let's say in this case we were going with law by the time you finish your law degree and you finish your LPC training you would be if not you I I believe as qualified as a scholar if not more from the perspective of critical thought and your kind of reach will

surpass them. There are certain places I um in the UK I feel things like um Abdul Sheh Abdul Hakim Murad's place I've heard great things about it. I think that's great. I think uh also you know reading up at that stage as you've done all the the kind of these interim books you've kind of covered them you've learned about subjects you've watched uh lectures on YouTube you've kind of you know listened to different discussions on them now what you can also start doing is uh reading up about what academics have said so sometimes these

PhD academics have really fascinating ing insights uh on Islamic things to to kind of gain a uh a much greater depth to that that area of focus. So that I would say definitely you know if you are focused on a career then go for it and you can just learn this stuff on the side. You don't need to abandon your secular studies and become a full-time Madrasa student.

If a person did want to go to Madrasa, that's sure that's good as well. But just be weary about the things I was saying about it dumbing you down. You have to do that all on your own. It will be your the onus will be on you to make sure you keep your critical faculties alive. You keep questioning and the problem is in those institutes they do bully you on many occasions. So it is hard like they will you know if they find out you question things they'll deem you a heretic.

They may even in the final years dismiss you and that would be such a a waste. Like I've known people um in Birmingham. I've known of people who reached a final year. I mean think about that. You've studied four five years whatever it is and you reach a final year and they say sorry you have a haircut with you know what is it like a fade like how I have it. This wasn't with me but it was with people reported to me.

and because you trim your beard, uh, we're not going to allow you to graduate and we're going to expel you. So, and you know, this is going on in the 21st century in the UK [laughter] by people who are born in the UK. You know, uh, the scholars who are doing this to them are Britishborn scholars. So, yeah. So I mean I'm not as you can see I do on one hand love the traditional kind of thing and but I feel that the institutes are such you know it's such a tradeoff.

Yeah. But um but if you can do it on your own it may be much better if you do go to a madrasal alhamdulillah just make sure you do all these other things on your own. You keep researching keep expanding you keep uh looking into that each genre um independently. So when you're looking at read the other names of mufas when you're looking at follow up on theul of other mhabs uh read about the lives of different scholars.

Let it come to life for you. I can't stress that enough. You know what makes it come to life for me is I read up about the people involved. I I read about the human side of them. I read about the you know when did they used to live? What did they used to do? What were who were their friends? I I will try and you know what was some weird opinions they had why did they have that weird opinion you know it's [laughter] and then when their name is mentioned they come to life for me you know when I hear the name of Ariadn Abdar Hamn these people are like they're like people that I know I it's like I know

their temperaments I know their personalities I know their you know you could tell me something and I'll I'll be like that doesn't sound like Hassam would say that you see I could be wrong but I have it's like you could tell me something about a friend of mine and I would feel that it doesn't sound like something that friend would say cuz this is how these people they have personalities you can get to know them.

So I hope that makes some sense. But it is the Madrasa system, you know, it's a shame because it's an amazing concept so poorly executed. Uh it's like it's so uh counterproductively executed. I wish that the madrasas were kind of cool and they we would have amazing Don't you think so?

would have an amazing kind of um level out there because if you think about it each year like think about the UK there must be at least 500 scholars being produced every year easily. I mean that's a very like a lowend extremely low-end I think estimation probably a thousand every year in the UK.

I mean and these most of these it's not even that they're just cannon foder that these people are just a waste. Most of them are then an impediment to to enlightened growth because they become the people that then say to this one kufur you know [laughter] it's like a cha cha you come and join that line. Yeah.