Background
A ḥadīth informs us that the knowledge of Islam will be carried in every successive generation by the upright. Their primary function will be to, “repudiate the interpolation of zealots, the distortions of the people of falsehood, and the (mis)interpretations of the ignorant.” As such, beginning in the first century AH, divine providence had it that the Muslim community at large would produce a generation of keenly devoted scholars for the sake of preserving their sacred tradition. This tradition continued unabated in every successive generation throughout the Muslim lands until the advent of colonialism in the 1500s. Muslims were stripped of their political powers and religious guidance was mostly relegated to the Muslim conscious. Under these newly orchestrated non-Muslim polities, Muslim scholars would now serve as unofficial conduits through which religious guidelines of the Sharīʿah would be sought.
In this regard, Muslims in the Cape enjoy the good fortune of having inherited a rich, diverse, and beautifully tolerant manifestation of Islam. From Java to Dehli, the spiritual and intellectual legacies of the likes of Tuan Yusuf (d. 1699) of Makassar and Shah Waliullah (d. 1762) of Delhi have beautifully intertwined in the Cape, creating a dynamic synergy of Sunnī traditionalism unlike any other. The keystone behind these great traditions comes from the little-known Ḥijāzī madrasah of Ibrahim ibn al-Ḥasan al-Kūrānī (d. 1690) and his son, Abū Ṭāhir al-Kūrānī (d. 1733).
In continuing with these inherited traditions, The Imām Kūrānī Institute of Islamic Studies strives to preserve and transmit the sacred Islamic sciences through the development and cultivation of the next generation of Muslim scholars via a traditional pedagogy of Islamic learning.
Our Vision
Our Vision
Our vision is a world where the sacred Islamic tradition is recognised as a sustainable response to the complex challenges of the modern world.
