An English-language Islamic residential course for men and mature, responsible boys aged 12 and above. Fathers and sons are welcome.
A 14-day Islamic residential course at Firm Foundations, Oasis Tighmert, Morocco.
Why the course exists
The Knowledge Residential is built on a simple order: learn what Allah requires, then live it — for fourteen days, in company, without the usual distractions.
The five daily prayers are not fitted around the timetable; the timetable is built around them, and what is studied in the late morning is practised the same afternoon. Discipline comes from the shape of the day rather than from slogans — a fixed rising time, shared meals, shared rooms, a lights-out that is actually enforced — and brotherhood is what forms in between.
“Fourteen days is long enough to change how you spend a day, and short enough to give to it.”
The fourteen days
The Qur’an and four foundational texts, taught in English at a pace that works for beginners and still asks something of students who have studied before. Two hours of memorisation in the morning, three classes before Dhuhr, and a further sitting after Isha.
What is studied
The five prayers in congregation at the mosque across the road, morning and evening adhkar, a fixed rising time and a fixed lights out. Students who do not yet know how to perform wudu or salah are taught properly, from the beginning, without fuss.
The daily rhythm
Shared rooms, shared meals, and two weekends away from the oasis — the coast at Sidi Ourzeg, the markets at Guelmim, the rock art at Taghjijt. The experiences support the study; they do not replace it.
What the weekends holdThe syllabus
Everything is taught in English. The Qur’an takes the first and last sittings of every day; four foundational texts fill the late morning.
The Qur’an sits at the centre of the fourteen days. Memorisation is taken in two dedicated sittings each day — the long morning session after the first breakfast, and again in the evening after Isha — with recitation and correction throughout.
Studied as a daily class on the foundation of belief — what it means to worship Allah alone, and how that understanding shapes everything else a Muslim does.
A short, foundational text covering the three questions every person is asked. Taken step by step so that students who are new to Islamic study can follow it comfortably.
Beginners
A good number of students arrive without Arabic, and some arrive without yet knowing how to pray. That is expected, and it is planned for.
Islamic learning can begin at any stage in life. Nobody here should feel embarrassed about beginning with the foundations — that is precisely what this course is named for. Students who already have some Islamic knowledge will find the texts and the memorisation sessions demanding in their own right.
How beginners are taught to read, pray and keep upA weekday
The venue
Classes are held at Firm Foundations, the centre it rents in Ait Bookoo for the year — a walled courtyard with four classrooms off it, a kitchen, and the village mosque directly across the road.
Firm Foundations is still building out its wider programme — it currently runs Qur’an memorisation classes for local boys, and The Knowledge Residential is the English-language course held there, a short walk from the mosque where the five daily prayers are prayed in congregation.
Province of Guelmim Oued Noun
A date-palm oasis set between two small mountain ranges, about fifteen to twenty minutes from Guelmim.
A deep ridge — the oued — runs the length of the village, and a spring runs through it. Water is carried out to the farms along open channels called masraf, which thread between garden walls built from the same earth as the houses. Guelmim is commonly known as the Gateway to the Sahara. You will pass through it for the markets and the road to the coast, but the course itself is out here, in the oasis.
Ait Bookoo Oasis Tighmert Guelmim Oued Noun Morocco
Where you will stay, and how to get here
The weekends
The weekends are part of the course, not an add-on to it. They exist so that fourteen days of study are lived rather than only sat through — shared food, shared work and shared travel with the same group you study with. What follows is the pool of things a weekend can include; the organiser sets which of these happen, and in what order, for your specific block.
Full board
Full-board shared accommodation in a traditional Moroccan rammed-earth home in Oasis Tighmert, rented by Firm Foundations for the year. Rooms accommodate two, three or four people depending on the size of the room. Accommodation is shared throughout.
Each attendee is given a mattress, a blanket, a pillow and bed linen. Some weekend accommodation on the coast is in tents or chalets rather than in the house.
Meals are included throughout: morning refreshments, a second traditional beldi breakfast at Firm Foundations, tajine or couscous at lunch and again at supper, the Friday-night BBQ, the beach BBQ, and the farewell braai. Meals bought independently from restaurants in Guelmim or Sidi Ifni are not included — bring appropriate pocket money.
Accommodation, food and travel in full
Upcoming
Each block runs for 14 days, Monday to Sunday, with limited places. The programme is identical in all three — the practical difference is what your flights will cost.
£580
approx. $780 / €680
50% deposit (£290) to book
This block falls in the peak holiday travel period. The course fee is the same as every other block, but flights are likely to cost you more — book early if you choose it.
£580
approx. $780 / €680
50% deposit (£290) to book
£580
approx. $780 / €680
50% deposit (£290) to book
Who runs it
The Knowledge Residential is organised by Firm Foundations, and held at the centre it rents in Ait Bookoo, Oasis Tighmert for the year.
Founder & Program Manager
First point of contact for enquiries, arrival and attendance questions.
The Knowledge Residential · 14-day Islamic residential course
Fourteen days of Qur’an, foundational texts, the five daily prayers and shared life in Oasis Tighmert. Choose a block, check availability, and ask whatever you still need to know.
Sending an enquiry does not confirm a booking. Places are limited each block and must be confirmed by the organiser. Students under 18 must be accompanied by their father or a guardian for the whole course. Please speak to the Founder & Program Manager before booking so the arrangements can be confirmed.