Current Dars-e-Nizami:

The curriculum of almost all religious schools in India and Pakistan is based on Dars-e-Nizami, and the foundational books of various sciences and arts in this system remain the same as in the old Dars-e-Nizami. However, keeping in view the changing circumstances and contemporary demands, reforms, amendments, and additions in the curriculum continue to take place. The current curriculum spans eight years. During these eight years, about sixty books on subjects like grammar (Sarf), syntax (Nahw), rhetoric (Balaghat), literature (Adab), logic (Mantiq), philosophy (Falsafa), theology (Kalam), jurisprudence (Fiqh), principles of jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh), Quranic exegesis (Tafsir), Hadith, and principles of Hadith (Usul al-Hadith) are taught in most madrassas. Jamia Siddiqiya has introduced some useful and modern reforms in this curriculum, adding some other sciences that were not previously part of it. The details of these reforms will appear in the coming pages.

Before this eight-year curriculum, students go through an initial phase known as the "I‘dadiyah" or "intermediate" stage, which lasts three years. During this stage, subjects from grades six to eight, such as Urdu, Mathematics, Science, English, and basic Arabic and Persian books, are taught. Including these three years, the total curriculum duration in madrassas is eleven years. In some madrassas, the duration of the preliminary stages is four years. The period for memorizing the Quran is not included in this. Additionally, after graduation, the period for specialization and advanced studies is separate.

Features of Dars-e-Nizami:

This curriculum includes authoritative and selected books on religious sciences, which, if studied with diligence and interest, lead to strong academic proficiency and depth in religious knowledge.

Religious sciences are divided into two types:

1. Uloom-e-Aliyah (Higher Sciences): These are the sciences that are religious and legal necessities for Muslims, such as the Quran, Hadith, and Fiqh, along with their related disciplines.
2. Uloom-e-Aliyah (Supporting Sciences): These are the sciences that are essential or helpful for understanding the Quran, Hadith, and Fiqh, such as grammar (Sarf), syntax (Nahw), rhetoric (Balaghat), and literature (Adab). Dars-e-Nizami includes different stages to develop proficiency in both types of sciences. Important books on these disciplines have been included in the curriculum, and although one does not gain complete mastery of every book in these subjects, the foundational principles, key issues, and some specifics of each field are well understood. A student of this curriculum, having studied any subject in these disciplines, can independently read and understand or teach further texts in that field due to their familiarity with its specific style and rules.

Benefits:

Almost all the religious services rendered through renowned religious institutions in India and Pakistan, as well as the notable scholarly, reformative, preaching, and political figures produced, are the result of graduates from Dars-e-Nizami. Today, a vast network of madrassas, universities, preaching groups, and religious movements exists across the world, which are, in essence, the fruits of Dars-e-Nizami. This curriculum has provided the Islamic world with thousands, even millions, of scholars, jurists, Hadith experts, writers, judges, muftis, pious worshippers, and zealous preachers. The results of this system include numerous religious movements that promote Islamic sciences globally. During British rule in India, it was this curriculum and its madrassas that upheld the flickering light of Islamic teachings. Even today, in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and many other Islamic countries, this curriculum continues to fulfill the religious needs of the Muslim Ummah.

Details of the Eight-Year Curriculum:

The eight-year Dars-e-Nizami curriculum has been divided into four stages, each lasting two years. Under the Wifaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia, exams are held for all stages except for the first, and successful students receive certificates for each stage. These certificates are academically recognized.

1. Sanawiyah Amah (Secondary Level): Equivalent to matriculation.
2. Sanawiyah Khasah (Specialized Secondary Level): Equivalent to intermediate (duration of two years).
3. Aliah Stage: Equivalent to a BA degree (duration of two years).
4. Alamiyah Stage: Equivalent to an MA degree (duration of two years).

The aforementioned certificates are approved by the federal Ministry of Education. Based on these certificates, many scholars have won elections and reached national and provincial assemblies and the Senate. Some madrassa graduates serve as teachers in schools, professors, and lecturers in colleges and universities based on these qualifications.

At Jamia Siddiqiya, the educational system includes memorization of the Quran, Tajweed, and all eight stages of Dars-e-Nizami up to the Daurah-e-Hadith. Important and necessary additions, initiatives, and reforms have been implemented in the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum, which have proven to be extremely beneficial. These reforms were made in the areas of curriculum management, training, and organizational aspects with the goal of making students well-versed in religious sciences, knowledgeable, and organized scholars. The aim is not only to ensure that they lead their own lives according to Islamic principles but also to become exemplary guides for others and instill in them a sense of patriotism so that after graduation, they can serve the country and nation with unity, free from sectarianism, and present the best image of Islam and Pakistan domestically and abroad.