Al-Mahdi Institute

How do mystics know what they claim to know? 🤔

There's only a week to go until our upcoming conference on 'Ways of Knowing in Sufism,' and we're excited to welcome a diverse range of leading scholars to explore one of the most profound questions in Islamic thought: the nature of mystical knowledge itself.

From kashf (unveiling) and ilhām (inspiration) to visions of the Prophet, the soul, and the heart, the Conference examines how Sufi traditions have understood knowing, certainty, and spiritual authority, and what that means for us today.

🗓️ 1–2 June 2026 at Al-Mahdi Institute

📖 View Conference Programme: ami.is/ims-pdf

🎟️ Find out more or register now: ami.is/ims-conf

🌙 Eid al-Adha Programme at Al-Mahdi Institute!

We are delighted to invite you and your family to join us for our Eid Programme and Lunch at AMI on Wednesday, 27th May 2026 at 11:00 AM (BST).

The programme will be led by Shaykh Arif Abdulhussain, followed by lunch and kids' entertainment, including a bouncy castle.

🗓️ Wednesday, 27th May 2026 from 11:00AM (BST)

🔗 Can’t join in person? Stream it live: https://ami.is/eid26

On behalf of everyone at Al-Mahdi Institute, we wish you and your loved ones a blessed and joyous Eid. 🌙

How can an Imam fulfil the religious and political functions of the Imamate while remaining in occultation (ghayba)?

Join us on Wednesday, 3rd June 2026 at 3PM (BST) as Professor Hashem Morvarid from Trinity University explores this long-standing debate.

Twelver Shīʿī theology defines the Imamate in terms of religious and political leadership - roles that seem to require public presence. Drawing on the Qurʾān's treatment of moral evil in Q 2:30–33, Professor Morvarid advances an understudied account in which the imam serves as God's moral reason for preserving humankind in existence — a role that can be fulfilled even by a hidden imam.

🗓 Wednesday, 3rd June 2026 from 3:00–4:30pm (BST)

📍 Join us in person at Al-Mahdi Institute or online (no registration needed for in-person attendance)

💻 Find out more or register to join online: ami.is/seminar-hm

📌 Seminar Cancelled!

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, our upcoming research seminar with Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla, titled "To be a (Decolonial) Muslim Settler: Critical Reflections in Comparative Liberation Theology," will no longer be taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, 19th May 2026.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. A new date and time will be confirmed in due course, and we look forward to your attendance then.

Thank you for your understanding. 🌿

📢 Applications are now open for the Postgraduate Diploma in Islamic Studies (PGDip.) 2026–27!

Have you ever wanted to engage seriously with the Islamic seminary (ḥawza) tradition but felt held back by time, work, or the need to learn Arabic first?

The PGDip. at Al-Mahdi Institute brings the heart of the seminary tradition into a flexible, online programme, taught entirely in English, with just 3 hours of live teaching per week.

✅ Two 12-week terms (30 Sept 2026 – 9 May 2027)
✅ Four core modules: Theology, Philosophy & Mysticism, Comparative Legal Theories, Qur'an & Ḥadīth
✅ Pathway to a fully-funded MA in Islamic Studies with the University of Birmingham
✅ Scholarships of up to 90% available on academic merit

⚠️ Places and funding are limited. Apply early to secure your place and be considered for financial support.

📖 Read Programme Prospectus: ami.is/pdis-pdf

🔗 Find out more or apply now: ami.is/pdis

AMI is delighted to open registration for the Islamic Mysticism and Spirituality Conference on "Ways of Knowing in Sufism: Epistemology, Authority, and Contemporary Implications" to be held on 1–2 June 2026.

Over two days, the conference will examine Sufi ways of knowing —unveiling, tasting, inspiration, and presential knowledge—through rigorous interdisciplinary inquiry, drawing on classical Islamic thought, philosophy, history, and the study of religious experience. The conference moves from classical debates and the philosophical systematisation of kashf, to questions of scholarly authority, and the contemporary implications for modern Islamic theology and reform.

📖 View Conference Programme: ami.is/ims-pdf

🔗 Find out more or register now at ami.is/ims-conf

What does it mean to seek liberation on land that was taken from someone else? 🌍

Join us at AMI for a thought-provoking research seminar with Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla from The University of Edinburgh, on "To be a (Decolonial) Muslim Settler: Critical Reflections in Comparative Liberation Theology."

Dr Rahemtulla places Islamic Liberation Theology in conversation with Indigenous critiques from Turtle Island (North America), re-reading the Exodus paradigm, asking what the Qur'an really says about the conquest of Canaan, and confronting the moral problem of settler colonialism for Muslims who are not the colonised, but are themselves living on colonised land.

🗓 Tuesday, 19th May 2026 from 3:00–4:30pm (BST)
📍 Join us in person or online
🔗 Find out more or register to join online: ami.is/seminar-sr

(Registration is not required for in-person attendance)

📣 Just 2 days to go! Join us this Wednesday for our research seminar with Professor William Gallois (University of Exeter) on Modern Islamic Art.

Did Islamic art really stagnate in the modern era, or did it quietly transform in response to colonisation, shifting craft traditions, and new global influences?

Professor Gallois challenges a long-held assumption and introduces a rich body of late-19th and early-20th century Islamic visual cultures that scholars, students, and believers alike can learn from.

🗓 Wednesday, 29th April 2026 from 3:00–4:30pm (BST)
📍 Join us in person at AMI or online
🔗 Find out more or register now: ami.is/seminar-msc

(Registration is not required for in-person attendance)