Course Title: Great Books of Islamic Law - Reading the Classics of Sunni Legal Thought

Course Overview:

Great Books of Islamic Law is a guided reading of the classics of Sunni legal thought. Many students know the rulings of a madhhab without ever having read the books in which jurists argued for them. This course offers that opportunity. Moving chronologically, students read Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Ibn Ḥazm, al-Ghazālī, Ibn Rushd, al-Nawawī, Ibn Taymiyyah, and al-Shāṭibī in their own works, while encountering the legal thought of Abū Ḥanīfa and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal through the early transmission of their schools. Each session is devoted to one jurist. It opens with the historical setting and the debates the jurist inherited, then turns to the text itself so that students see legal reasoning at work. Read in sequence, these books show the madhhabs taking shape and legal theory developing as jurists debated the place of analogy and the purposes of the Sharīʿah. The course is an initiation into that tradition. Students leave knowing its major books and the disagreements that connect them, able to follow a juristic argument and to keep reading the classical legal literature on their own.

Who Should Enroll: Ideal for advanced students of Islamic studies, seminary learners, and lifelong seekers.

Recommended Background:
 • Prior study in Islamic or Religious Studies (ʿĀlimiyyah program, university coursework, or sustained self-study with recognized scholars)
 • Relevant academic training in philosophy, political science, history, anthropology, or related fields
 • Ability to read and engage with advanced academic texts in English

Date: December 7, 2025 - February 14, 2026

Day: Every Monday

Time: 6:30-8:00 PM

Location: IOK  CHESS Campus (3201 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768) and ONLINE Via Zoom

Course Duration: 9 Sessions

Format: Weekly in-person or online lectures, interactive discussions with readings, and assignments.

Instructor: Shaykh Omar Qureshi, PhD in Religion, University of Southern California

Dr. Omar Qureshi was born and raised in Southern California and comes from a distinguished family of Subcontinent ulama from the city of Tonk, such as Haydar Hasan Khan, Mahmoud Hasan Khan, and Wali Hasan Khan. After earning his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Qureshi traveled to Damascus, Syria where he spent three years (2008-2011) building a foundation in Arabic and Islamic sciences at Abu Noor University. He then enrolled at Cairo’s al-Azhar University (2011-2016), graduating from the Shari'ah College and receiving licenses (ijazat) to teach various Islamic sciences from numerous scholars. He then pursued his doctorate at the University of Southern California’s School of Religion (2016-2025). Specializing in Islamic intellectual history, Western philosophy, politics, and social theory, his research focused on the evolution of the Hanafi legal tradition, highlighting its dynamism and methods of continuity. After completing the PhD, Shaykh Omar began working on a monograph centered on the works of the Hanafi mufti Muhammad Amin Ibn 'Abidin and the societal role of fatwas. He is a full-time seminary instructor Institute of Knowledge Seminary. In addition to his legal scholarship, Professor Qureshi is also engaged in Quranic studies, writing an exegesis of selected verses from the Meccan and Medinan periods of revelation.

Enroll now! Join us on this transformative journey into the heart of the Islamic intellectual tradition and its relevance for today.

Cost: $300

If you are auditing, the class will be $200. Please email rsohail@instituteofknowledge.com to pay for the course. Please note that you may attend lectures and participate in discussions. You will not receive any assignments, grading, or credential for this course. It is ideal for personal enrichment and flexible learning.

Please note that this course is NON-REFUNDABLE and will close 2 weeks after the course ends.