For young muslims aged 11+
Arkaan Youth Academy is an online Islamic education programme designed to help young Muslims develop knowledge, conviction, character and confidence while navigating the realities of life in the West today.
We go beyond simply teaching students what Islam says.
Students are encouraged to ask questions, examine evidence, understand Islamic sources and apply what they learn to real situations so that Islam becomes something they understand and live, not simply something they are told.
Growing up Muslim today comes with questions and challenges that cannot always be answered by simply memorising information.
Young Muslims encounter different ideas about religion, morality, identity, relationships, social media, mental wellbeing and what it means to live a successful life.
They need an Islamic education that helps them engage with those questions intelligently and confidently.
Arkaan Youth Academy aims to develop students who can:
Build a stronger understanding of the Qur'an, Sunnah and essential Islamic principles.
Ask meaningful questions, examine arguments and distinguish reliable information from misinformation.
Take Islamic guidance beyond the classroom and apply it to everyday decisions, relationships and challenges.
Build qualities such as sincerity, courage, patience, empathy and self-control.
Engage confidently with the world around them without compromising their Islamic identity.
Develop the ability to articulate what they believe and why they believe it.
Arkaan Youth Academy is built around short, focused modules.
Each module explores a particular area of Islamic knowledge through a combination of:
Learn → Discuss → Apply → Reflect
The aim is not to turn students into passive listeners.
They should leave each session having thought about something, discussed something and taken something into their own lives.
Sessions take place live on Zoom rather than being simply pre-recorded lessons.
Students can participate in discussions, respond to questions and engage directly with the teacher.
Recordings, slides and handouts are also provided so that students can revisit what they have studied.
The Academy has been designed around several broad areas of Islamic education.
These are curriculum domains rather than a fixed sequence of six courses.
As the Academy develops, individual modules within each area will continue to be added and refined.
The Academy is not built around a rigid three-year syllabus.
Instead, the curriculum will develop progressively as the Academy grows.
Students may encounter different modules within the same area over time, allowing them to revisit important themes at a deeper level.
For example:
Prophetic Wisdom 1 → Prophetic Wisdom 2 → Prophetic Wisdom 3
The same principle applies across the other curriculum areas.
This allows Arkaan to respond to the needs of its students rather than pretending that every aspect of the curriculum can be perfectly mapped out years in advance.
The roadmap below is therefore subject to change.
Our model is designed for Muslim young people aged 11 and above.
Individual modules may have additional suitability guidance depending on their content. Please click on them for more information
How do we take the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ and apply it to the world we actually live in?
Click here to download the 2026/2027 Study programme
Students will also have the opportunity to memorise selected ahadith studied during the module.
Learning should not stop when the Zoom session ends.
Guidance on career transitions, job search strategies, and skill enhancement.
Every module includes the following ...
Arkaan is not intended to be another place where young people simply sit and listen to a lecture.
Nor is it designed to replace the traditional study of Islam.
Instead, it aims to provide something young Muslims particularly need:
A space to learn Islam seriously while engaging honestly with the world around them
Students are encouraged to ask questions.
They are encouraged to think.
They are encouraged to challenge ideas respectfully.
And they are encouraged to take what they learn beyond the screen.
The goal is not merely more information.
It is better understanding, stronger conviction and better action.
Aqeel Mahmood graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah, specialising in Shari’ah, in 2011.
During his studies in Madinah, he studied under scholars including Shaykh ʿAbd al-Muḥsin al-ʿAbbād and others. He also completed Qur’an memorisation and obtained an ijazah.
He has more than a decade of experience in Islamic education and da’wah, including teaching children and young people and working within secondary education.
The Academy is designed for Muslim young people aged 11 and above.
Individual modules may have additional suitability guidance depending on their content.
No.
Individual modules are designed to be accessible to students joining the Academy at different points.
However, students who continue with the Academy will gradually build on what they have previously studied.
Arkaan Youth Academy is an online Islamic education programme with a different emphasis.
Rather than following a traditional madrassah timetable, modules focus on specific areas of knowledge and their application to contemporary life.
Yes.
The Academy is built around live, interactive Zoom sessions.
Sessions are recorded so that students can catch up afterwards.
Students are nevertheless encouraged to attend live whenever possible because discussion and participation are an important part of the Academy.
The Academy is not designed around large amounts of traditional homework.
Instead, students may receive practical activities, reflection tasks and weekly Arkaan Missions connected to what they have learned.
No.
Selected hadith memorisation is an optional part of the programme.
The emphasis is on understanding, discussion and application rather than conventional examinations.
Students may nevertheless be asked to demonstrate their understanding through discussion, activities and practical application.
Every student who completes a module receives a Certificate of Completion.
Higher levels of recognition may be awarded based on attendance, participation, contribution and engagement with module activities, including optional hadith memorisation where applicable.
Yes!
Students do not need to be advanced students of Islamic studies.
What matters most is a willingness to learn, participate and think.
No.
Teaching is combined with questions, discussion, activities, examples and reflection.
Students are expected to participate rather than simply watch.
Give them the opportunity to understand their faith, ask questions, develop their character and learn how to live Islam confidently in the world around them.
Places are limited to ensure that live sessions remain interactive and students have the opportunity to participate.
