- What an ijazah actually is — and what it is not
- Types of ijazah, and which one we grant
- Entry requirements: who is accepted, who is asked to wait
- The five stages, from entrance test to written document
- How long it honestly takes
- Pricing — and why this track costs more
- Six checks that expose a worthless certificate
- How to start
If you have memorised the Qur'an — or you are close — the natural next question is how to have that memorisation witnessed by someone whose own recitation was witnessed, in a chain that does not break until it reaches the Prophet ﷺ. That witnessing, written down, is an ijazah. Everything else is stationery.
This page is written for three people: the hafiz who wants his recitation certified, the teacher who is asked for his sanad before he is hired, and the parent whose child has just completed the memorisation and who wants something more durable than a ceremony. It gives you the requirements, the stages, an honest timeline and the actual price — not "contact us for details".
What an ijazah actually is — and what it is not
An ijazah is a written permission, granted by a teacher who himself holds one, allowing you to teach the Qur'an the way you recited it to him — after you have recited the entire Qur'an to him, continuously and correctly. The document then names you, names him, and lists the teachers before him one by one, back to the Prophet ﷺ.
| Document | What it actually proves | Contains a chain? |
|---|---|---|
| Ijazah with a connected sanad | You recited the whole Qur'an to a certified teacher, who then authorised you to teach it | Yes — named, teacher by teacher |
| Hifz completion certificate | You finished memorising somewhere | No |
| Tajweed course certificate | You studied the rules theoretically | No |
| Certificate of attendance | You attended | No |
This is why an ijazah cannot be earned by a course, however long; nor by a written exam; nor by sending recorded audio and receiving a designed PDF in return. It is earned by reciting — live, in full, to a person.
Types of ijazah, and which one we grant
| Type | What it is | Do we offer it? |
|---|---|---|
| Hafs from Asim, via al-Shatibiyyah | The recitation most of the Muslim world reads today — the printed Madinah mushaf | Yes — this is our declared track |
| The Ten Qira'at (minor or major) | Combining the mass-transmitted readings with their variant routes | Ask our sanad committee before enrolling — we do not advertise what we cannot guarantee we can teach |
| Another riwayah (Warsh, Qalun, al-Duri…) | A mass-transmitted reading other than Hafs | Same — ask first |
| "Memorisation ijazah" without permission to teach | Proof of memorisation only | We do not issue it. An ijazah here is permission to teach, or it is nothing |
Ask any institution for this level of specificity before you pay. A page promising "Ijazah in the Ten Qira'at online in six months" without naming the sheikh you will recite to is selling a title, not a chain.
Entry requirements: who is accepted, who is asked to wait
This is a track for proving, not for learning. So it begins with an explicit entrance test:
| Requirement | How it is assessed | If not yet met |
|---|---|---|
| The entire Qur'an memorised | Random prompts from scattered juz': a place is opened, you continue | You are directed to the memorisation track until it is complete |
| Control of the mutashabihat | Verses that resemble each other in wording but differ in order | A revision plan before recitation opens |
| Tajweed mastered in performance | In your actual recitation, not as theory questions | Correction lessons precede the recitation |
| Sound articulation points | Specific letters: ḍād, ẓāʾ, qāf, ṭāʾ, dhāl | Targeted makharij training first |
| A schedule you can actually keep | Consistency — interrupted recitation does not mature | Deferred until your schedule settles |
There is no shame in being asked to wait. Someone who begins the full recitation unprepared spends months repeating the same pages and often concludes that an ijazah is beyond him — when in truth he simply started too early.
The five stages, from entrance test to written document
| # | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Entrance test | One lesson measuring memorisation, control and performance. The outcome: begin reciting, or do correction work first |
| 2 | Performance correction | Articulation, letter qualities, stopping and starting points — the things that otherwise derail the recitation later |
| 3 | Continuous recitation | From al-Fatihah to al-Nas in consecutive portions, corrected in place rather than after the lesson |
| 4 | Final examination | Random testing after completion, before a teacher other than the one who taught you |
| 5 | Issuing the ijazah | The document is written in your name with your teacher's chain and recorded with the sanad committee |
Stage four is what separates a serious institution from a decorative one. A teacher who has heard you a hundred times starts to hear what he expects rather than what you say, and subtle errors slip past. Being examined by someone else is not extra strictness — it is what gives the certificate meaning.
How long it honestly takes
Nobody can promise you a date, because the duration follows your accuracy, not our calendar. But the arithmetic is public: the Qur'an is sixty ahzab, and a sixty-minute lesson typically covers one to two of them depending on how often you are stopped for correction.
| Package (lessons/month) | Lessons per week | Estimated monthly portion | Full recitation, approx. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 lessons · 60 min | Two | 8 – 12 ahzab | 6 – 8 months |
| 12 lessons · 60 min | Three | 12 – 18 ahzab | 4 – 5 months |
| 16 lessons · 60 min | Four | 16 – 24 ahzab | 3 – 4 months |
These cover the recitation itself. They do not include a correction phase if you need one, and they stretch if you are stopped often. Anyone who gives you a fixed date before hearing you recite once is selling, not teaching.
A practical note: a thirty-minute lesson does not work for this. Between settling in, correction and repetition, a third of the time is gone, leaving too little for a continuous portion. Sixty-minute lessons are the norm on this track, and our smallest package is 8 lessons per month.
Pricing — and why this track costs more
The ijazah track is priced on our highest tier — the same published tier as for non-Arabic speakers, not a separate negotiable list:
Ijazah track — packages
| Package | Lessons / month | 30-minute lesson | 60-minute lesson | Per lesson (60 min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuity | 8 | $50 | $100 | $12.50 |
| Excellence | 12 | $72 | $144 | $12 |
| Distinction | 16 | $91 | $182 | $11.38 |
The smallest package available is 8 lessons per month (two per week). These are the same prices published on the packages page and the same ones charged — this table is generated from the pricing engine when the page loads.
Why the highest tier? Because certifying is not teaching. In a memorisation lesson a student recites a page and the teacher explains a rule. In certification, a certified sheikh sits for a full hour doing nothing but listening and correcting your performance letter by letter — and only someone who himself holds a verified chain may do it. The number of people qualified for that is far smaller than the number qualified to teach memorisation, and their hours are finite.
Family discounts apply here as elsewhere, and the prices above are the same ones published on our packages page and the same ones charged — this table is generated from the pricing engine when the page loads, so it can never fall out of date.
Six checks that expose a worthless certificate
- The name of the sheikh you will recite to — now, before paying. An institution that will not name him until after you enrol is selling you an unknown.
- His own chain, written and readable. Not the phrase "connected sanad", but actual names in sequence. Ours are published on the academic council page.
- Is the complete recitation required? Anyone certifying you on a portion, or on recordings you send, is giving you paper.
- Is there an examination by someone other than your teacher? Without it, the judgement rests on familiarity.
- What does the document contain? Your full name, the riwayah and the route, the date the recitation was completed, the sheikh's name and chain, and his own handwriting and seal. A document without a written chain is not an ijazah.
- A guaranteed duration before anyone has heard you? A sales signal, not a teaching one.
How to start
Start with a free trial lesson. On this track it functions as a miniature entrance test: the sheikh hears you recite and tells you plainly where you stand — ready to begin, in need of correction first, or not yet finished memorising. Then you decide.
Next step: book a free trial lesson and mention in the notes that you want the ijazah track, so that a certified sheikh is assigned to you rather than a memorisation teacher.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an ijazah obtained online as valid as one obtained in person?
What matters in an ijazah is the reciting and the hearing, not the room. Live audio recitation is genuine reciting and hearing, and many certified teachers work this way today; the document carries the same chain. What weakens an ijazah is leniency in the recitation itself — someone certified on a portion, or on recordings, holds an incomplete ijazah whether it was issued in person or remotely.
Can I get an ijazah if I have not memorised the whole Qur'an?
No. An ijazah is permission to teach, granted after reciting the Qur'an in full. If your memorisation is incomplete you are directed to the memorisation track until it is done, then you take the entrance test. Any institution that certifies you on less is handing you paper, not a chain.
How much does the ijazah track cost?
There is no lump-sum "ijazah fee". It is lesson packages like any other track, priced on our highest published tier — the same one published for non-Arabic speakers. The full table is on this page and on the packages page. The smallest package is eight lessons per month.
Do you grant ijazah in the Ten Qira'at?
Our declared track is Hafs from Asim via al-Shatibiyyah. Other readings and the Ten Qira'at are referred to the sanad committee before enrolment — we do not advertise what we cannot guarantee we can teach.
Are there female teachers for sisters?
Yes, with the same qualification and the same chain. A sister recites to a certified female teacher and her ijazah is issued with her teacher's chain.
I live in Europe or North America. Are the timings workable?
Yes. Lessons are scheduled in your local time, and the ijazah track is mostly taken by adults, which makes evening and early-morning slots easier to place than children's after-school hours. Your local time is what you will see on every reminder.