Courses

Our courses

Several options to learn Arabic and study the Qur’an according to your availability — group classes or private lessons, online.

All our classes are taught in French and are open to students of any mother tongue who can follow a lesson in French; the Qur’anic Arabic Textbook is available in English for independent study.

The courses offered by the Institut Imtiyaz are open to anyone wishing to learn Qur’anic Arabic — or build on the basics they already have — in a demanding, lively and welcoming environment. Our teaching draws on a method developed over more than twenty years of classroom experience, in which the Qur’anic text is placed at the heart of learning from the very first session. Group classes allow you to benefit from a collective dynamic and to exchange with other students, while individual formats offer support fully tailored to your pace and goals.

Our teaching formats

All our courses are taught live online, by interactive videoconference, which allows us to welcome students from across France, Europe and beyond, without any break in continuity. Private lessons are also offered on request, for personalised support: tailored progression, flexible scheduling, focused work on the points that give you trouble. Lastly, intensive workshops are organised occasionally during the summer, for those who wish to advance quickly over a few concentrated days. Whatever the format, you benefit from the same pedagogical support and the same resources (audio files, worksheets, answer keys).

Who are these courses for?

Our courses are open to absolute beginners — no prerequisite is required for the first-year cycle apart from prior knowledge of the alphabet (an alternative pathway is provided for non-literate students). They also welcome independent learners looking for a structured framework, who want to break through the ceiling one quickly reaches when studying alone, and intermediate students who wish to consolidate their grammar before tackling more demanding texts. Teachers in training, who wish to discover our method in order to teach it themselves, are also welcome. Courses are aimed primarily at adults and teenagers.

All our courses are mixed (men and women study together). For those who, surprisingly, are still surprised by this, see our article here: Gender Mixing in Early Islam.

Our classroom approach

The founding principle of our method is to make the Qur’anic text the starting point of learning, not its endpoint. From the very first lessons, students encounter words and verses they can understand. The vocabulary is composed almost exclusively of Qur’anic roots. Four skills are developed in parallel: listening, reading, speaking and writing. The dialogues that close each unit address the maqâṣid of the Qur’an — the essential Qur’anic purposes — so that linguistic learning is articulated with an understanding of the message. Each session combines grammar, vocabulary, oral and written activities, and the close reading of verses. Teachers have access to a detailed pedagogical thread and to interactive supports that bring sessions to life.

How a session unfolds

Each session lasts an hour and a half and is held by video conference, in groups of six to nine students. The teacher alternates grammar, vocabulary and speaking practice, so that nobody stays a spectator for more than a few minutes.

Each unit opens with a “proverbial” Qur’anic passage, chosen for its linguistic reach as much as for its meaning, and closes with a dialogue devoted to the maqâsid — the essential Qur’anic purposes. In between: five lessons, a summary memo and a written assignment corrected by the teacher.

Between sessions, expect regular but reasonable personal work: rereading the memo, self-correcting exercises and listening to the audio recordings.

Fees and formats

The online group course is the main format: one weekly session of an hour and a half, in groups of six to nine students, at €225 per semester. It follows the complete cycle of the method, from level A1.1 (Volume 1) to level B1 (Volume 3).

Private lessons suit those whose schedule matches no group, or who wish to work on a specific point. They take place in the morning or the afternoon, at €50 per hour.

Intensive summer courses, held occasionally, allow rapid progress over a few concentrated days.

The calendar, the timetable of each group and the registration details are on the registration page.

What is included

Registration gives access to all the resources that accompany the method:

• the audio recordings for every lesson;
• the grammar summary memos, unit by unit;
• the answer keys to every exercise;
• the interactive “Safar” materials for speaking practice;
• the revision app, offered to enrolled students;
• for teachers in training, additional teaching files.

Pace, calendar and registration

Volume 1 corresponds to two years of study, with 1.5 to 2 hours of weekly class accompanied by reasonable personal work. The programme covers the 60 lessons of Volume 1 (10 teaching units + 2 review units), with an intermediate test at the end of the first semester, an end-of-first-year test, and a final test after Unit 10. Each unit concludes with a review memo and a written assignment. To register: the dates of the next intake, the group timetable, the fee and the registration details are published on the registration page. Tafsîr courses are temporarily suspended; their return is planned in shâ’ Allâh.

Go further

To learn more about the method that underpins our courses, see our Qur’anic Arabic page and the presentation of the new method (2026 edition). For the teaching offered by our founder in modern Arabic at the IFAGE in Geneva — outside the framework of the Institut Imtiyaz — please see the section « Courses Outside Institut » at the top of this page.