Extra benefit if you want to apply to Medina University!
Assalaamu alaikum
It there is anyone who would like to apply to the Islamic University of Madinah, all they need to do is send their papers to my Address in Madinah and I will personally hand it in. however, I don’t want to un-necessarily get anyone’s hopes up, as getting into the Islamic University of Madinah is purely down to Allaah’s Qadr. Some have got in without even one letter of recommendation and not even knowing what soorah al’faatihah is (like one Chinese brother who was in my class when I first got here) and some people try year after year with a folder full of letters of recommendation, and they don’t get in. It is just down to Allaah’s Qadr and then ones Du’aa. One should take the necessary means for a du’aa to be answered and I personally advise that one should try at least once to stand in prayer during the night and ask Allaah during the last third of the night for the tawfeeq to be allowed to study in the Islamic University of Madinah.
So after one has taken the most important means to get into the Islamic University of Madinah (ie to ask Allaah) the most effective secondary means of getting in is letters of recommendation. I have personally sat down and spoken to those who accept applications and they have told me that the likes of shaykh Suaib Hasan of Masjid Tawheed, London, and the ‘Jam’iyyah ahl al.Hadeeth’ are known to them and hold a heavy weight when it comes to choosing those who will be accepted. Also, Shaykh Ahmad Uwais is also well known to those who deal with the acceptance of students however from what I have heard he has left London and gone back to Somalia. However, if one can somehow get a letter of recommendation from him when he visits England, then that would be excellent.
After that, all one needs to do is download the application form here =>
http://www.iu.edu.sa/admissionform.doc
And post it to me at:
Jamah Tucker
Islamic University of Madinah
PO Box 10133
Madinah, Saudi Arabia
Below is some extra criteria that the University looks out for and I have added some extra comments to explain some of the points and to highlight others.
And finally, I have spoken to those in charge of new applications today and I explained to them my course and what I would be teaching over the summer holidays. I was told by the administration that as I am a student at the Islamic university I can give those students who study with Arabic-courses.com a letter of recommendation and this will aid the applicant in the acceptance process and also priority is given to applicants who have a good grasp of the Arabic language both spoken and written. So due to this we will now be offering a written letter of recommendations to all those who complete the Arabic courses with us. Also, if after the course one would like to personally apply to the Islamic University of Madinah and have a formal interview, then we will be happy to take them to the University and show them where to go.
Jazaakallahu khairan for your time.
Assalaamu alaikum
• General Criteria:
• An applicant should be a Muslim, of good moral character.
• He should pledge to abide by the rules and regulations.
• He should be medically fit.
What they mean here is that the applicant should not have any contiguous diseases like AIDS as they will send you back.
• He has to pass any test or interview to be held by the concern authorities.
Ie, it is best to come to Saudi and make a formal application where they will interview you and so on, however they will still accept applications without that interview. Although a formal application would help.
• The school certificate presented by the applicant should have an equation with the university.
To put a long story short, for those applying from England, it should be GCSEs. They don’t care about anything other than GCSEs. I even asked them if one could hand in their A-levels, or Degree and they said no, they want GCSEs. GNVQs and NVQs are not accepted.
• An applicant should be wholly devoted to the course of study he is to be enrolled in.
• The applicant should meet any other requirements set by the university council at the time of applying for admission.
• Condition of Admission to University- Levels stage:
• An applicant should be a holder of general certificate of secondary education or its equivalent from any of the kingdom's secondary schools, or from abroad.
Like I said above, GCSEs are enough.
• Not more then 5 years should have passed since the applicant obtained the general certificate of secondary education or its equivalent.
This rule is VERY important as they will outright reject anyone who has left secondary school more than 5 years ago. So in short, I am sorry to say that those who have just finished their degree cant apply.
• An applicant should get the approval of his employer in case he is working with a government dept. or the private sector.
• He should not have been dismissed from another University on disciplinary or educational grounds .
• The scholarship applicant should not exceed the age of 25 years.
It should be noted that this rule only applies if one has just finished his GCSEs when he was 20! So nobody should use this as their guideline and everyone should just remember that if one has left his GCSEs more than 5 years ago, then they wont accept their application.
• An applicant seeking admission to the faculty of Holy Quran, should have memorized the whole of the Holy Quran.
i.e before they start their studies, and not when they apply. So if someone is applying and they have 10 Juzz left to complete the Qur’aan, they can still apply as the task of specifying a particular faculty only applies once one has been accepted and arrives in Saudi Arabia.
• Condition of Admission for secondary and intermediate Stage:
• An applicant should be able to read the Holy Quran perfectly well.
This is not true. They may specify this for applicants from Arab countries but most students (if not all) from the west get in and they can’t read the Qur’aan properly at all, not even slightly. However it does help, but they won’t reject you solely due to this.
• He should be a holder of middle school certificate, if he intends to join the secondary stage.
They use the American system, so they have secondary school for three years and College for 3 years unlike us in the UK who have 5 years secondary and 2 in college. So when they say ‘intermediate stage’ they mean secondary school, and ‘secondary stage’ refers to college.
• He should be a holder of primary school certificate, if he intends to join the intermediate stage.
• The age limit for a secondary stage applicant is 20 years; and for intermediate stage applicant 18 years.
• Instructions and Directions .
1. The Islamic University includes the following faculties:
o The Faculty of Holy Quran and Islamic studies.
o The Faculty of Hadith and Islamic studies
o The Faculty of Shari'a.
o The Faculty of Da'wa and Usul-ud-Din, i.e. <<Islamic Call and Theology>>.
o The Faculty of Arabic Language.
2. All documents presented to the University should be attested by the Foreign Ministry of the applicant's country, together with the Saudi Arabian Embassy in that country. In case of non-availability of a Saudi diplomatic representative in that country, then the attestation of any authority recognised by the University will be accepted.
3. A certified Arabic translation of all documents should be provided by the applicants in case these documents are written in a language other then Arabic.
This is not necessary to apply and NOBODY does this. This is only important for those who get accepted. So once you get here, there is a section in the University for the Translations of documents and its free.
4. Only duly attested documents will be accepted.
5. In case of applying by mail, certified Photostat copies of the documents may initially be sufficient, provided the originals will be submitted upon the applicant's arrival at the University.
6. The University is not bound to return Photostat copies presented by the applicant.
The university won’t return anything, so whatever you give make sure it is not the originals
7. If some documents proves to have been tempered with, the applicant's acceptance will be cancelled, all the money paid to him will be returned, and he will have to go back home at his own expanse.
8. The submission of documents to the University does not make any obligations on the part of the University to accept the applicant unless he is so notified in writing.
9. The Arabic language is the medium of instruction at the Islamic University, and the University retains the right to determine the educational standard of the accepted candidate upon his arrival as per University regulations.
i.e, if you need to learn Arabic, they will direct you to the Arabic institute before you go to the uni.
10. The applicant should provide his permanent home addresses and his full name (at least triple)
It is important to know that things here are done according to Islamic traditions, so dates are in hijri, and people are defined by their name, their fathers name and their grandfather’s name. That is what is meant by ‘at least triple’. So when applying, write your name, your fathers name, your grandfathers name and then your family name.
11. Priority will be given to applicants having good command of Arabic Language, both written and spoken.
12. Applicants may apply for admission for all stages in the period between October, and January 20, each year.
This means that after the 20th January you can still hand your papers in but you will not get accepted the next academic year, but rather the next one. So for example, you handed in your papers in feb 2007, the earliest you can get in would be sep 2008.
Before anyone sends me any of their applications, they HAVE to have the following.
You must send the following documents with your application form:
1. The original of the last educational certificate.
i.e, a copy of your GCSEs as A-level and a degree are not accepted.
2. A statement of marks and grades secured in the last school year.
On the application form itself.
3. A character certificate from a reliable source.
This would be any letter of Recommendation. Those who attend my course will get one from us.
4. A birth certificate from reliable source.
5. A medical certificate from a reliable source testifying that the applicant is physically fit, with good eyesight, and is free from any infectious diseases.
This is necessary upon being accepted, and it is better to have it upon application. If you can just get a doctors certificate or even a signed paper that says that you are fit and healthy then that is enough.
6. Six resent photographs (size 4*6).
7. A letter of introduction issued by an Islamic institution in the applicant's country of residence or by two Muslim personalities well known to the university, testifying that the applicant practices religious devotions regularly, and adheres to high Islamic morals.
This is the same as number 3 and Allaah knows why they made it two separate categories.
All my above comments were written based upon the ‘reality’ of the admissions process as the Islamic University of Madinah would ‘like’ to be a University of rules and regulations and have the staff that listen and obey those rules, but the reality is often the opposite.
May Allaah make all of your efforts to learn Islaam a successful one.
Assalaamu alaikum
http://alfitrah.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1992
