Salam,

Sisters Information on Ummul Qura University in Makkah:



As salaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. I’ve sought permission to share some sister to sister advice concerning Ummul Quraa University. We’d like to stress that our sister in the deen is not a representative for the university. Her answers are based off of what she knows as a current student. Her answers were not verified by any faculty member of the school. Ummul Quraa’s rules and regulations are subject to change. May Allaah bless her and her family in their studies and allow them to be a benefit to the Ummah, aameen.
An excerpt regarding the permissibility of sisters “travelling” from Jeddah to Makkah is forthcoming. I hope this is of some benefit to you In Shaa Allaah.
Haneefah
KSA
BTW, the questioner is not me (smiles)….really - it’s not.


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Questioner: Can I live in Jeddah with my mahram and still attend the school?
Sure. There are a lot of students who travel back and forth to the University from Jeddah. There is even a group of students from the Language Institute who all live in Jeddah with their families (their parents) and they carpool together everyday.


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Questioner: Overall, how much would you recommend Umm Al-Qura and how do you like going there?

Alhamdulillah, the University for me has been a beautiful experience. It is, no doubt, A LOT of work, and is very challenging. The Language Institute here is thought to be the most challenging in the Kingdom. I recommend Umm Al Qura to anyone who has the capability and the urge to be a student of knowledge. The life of a student isn’t for everyone. There have been many families who’ve started, but for different reasons were’nt able to finish. There have been many students who’ve failed for various reasons. The Language Institute doesn’t start from “alif baa”. A potential student should come into the institute and at least know how to read ‘Arabic- even if its a slow pace. The curriculum is not impossible, but it definitely takes hard work.

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Questioner: How far is it from the Haram?

The school is in a section of Makkah called Az-Zaahir. It’s about 5-7 mins away (by car) from the Haram on a normal day.


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Questioner: Jazakum Allahu khayran, mashaAllah very thorough. I just want to clarify my mahram: I live in the United States but my grandfather and my materal uncles live in Jeddah and inshaAllah I am going to live with them. Will this be acceptable?

That’s fine maa shaa Allah. The only question would be would you have an iqaamah (residency) through your relatives, or would you want an iqaamah from the school? It might be to your advantage to have one through your relatives to start out with, then switch over to the school. Maybe you should look into seeing if they can add you onto theirs…that might be quicker than waiting for the school..especially since your mahram wouldn’t be attending with you. Wallahu ‘Alam.

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Questioner: The application process:
You can go to Bakkah.net they have everything you need to know. If you don’t have 1 of the required documents they won’t accept your application plain and simple. They won’t even consider it beacuse it’s incomplete. You have to straighten out your situation before applying.




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Questioner: After the Language Institute, does a student automatically get accepted into the Islamic Sciences Department? So they have an Uloom al-Hadeeth major/school? Barak Allahu feekum.

No, after the language program only a selected few are accepted into the actual Univeristy. 1) You have to have an accumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher- nothing less than mumtaaz (some students have been accepted w/an overall jayd jiddan), 2) your mahram has to still be present, 3) you also have to take an entrance exam. There are other rules that apply but these 3 seem to be the most important as far as women are concerned from what I’ve seen, Wallahu Alam. The University does have a Kitaab was Sunnah department, in which Uloomul Hadeeth is studied in depth.

Sahar Gordon
Sharee’ah Student- Umm Al-Qura University
Makkah, KSA