Top of Page
Welcome to the Australian Students at Madinah University (ASMU) website. Our objective here is to help current and future students who aim to study or complete studies within Madinah at the Islamic University. May Allah put blessings and barakah in this website and bless those who paved the way before it came into existence - from them much information has been taken and collated here.
Please Note: This website is not an official website of the university. This page is run by current Australian students and was last updated: June 2023.
For people who are thinking of studying at the university, please read below in regards to what the university has to offer you. For people who are applying to the university, you may find assistance in the Prospective Students section. For those students who have been recently accepted into the university, please see the Accepted Students section.
The university provides two years worth of education in the Arabic language for those students who do not read or write Arabic, however if a student currently can read or write Arabic, but is not confident in studying in the language, the student can do all or part of the Arabic course.
As stated, the course runs over two years which is four semesters, each semester a higher degree of the language is taught. For the student that is planning to learn the language for the first time, it is highly suggested that you study the alphabet and try and get a general understanding of the basics before even attending the first lesson. This is because the teachers will speak Arabic only, even when explaining - this may seem a bit daunting, but they do understand that they are talking to beginners, and will often explain slowly and try to make use of some visual aids. However, all the teachers will assume the student has undertaken or has a general understanding of the basics, such as knowing the alphabet and being able to speak and understand basic sentences.
For the student that wishes to simply brush-up on their language skills, it is recommended that you download the Madinah Arabic books from this website then try to gauge your current level. Once you understand what level you are currently at, you can speak with the university during enrolment (this happens on-campus after you have been accepted and have travelled to Madinah), and tell them which level of Arabic you wish to begin with. This will shorten the amount of time you spend in the Arabic language faculty, which will help you to delve into Islamic Studies quicker.
The university offers studies in five different faculties, each of which specialises in a certain field. The syllabus of each faculty also contains some foundation-building subjects such as Fiqh, Quran, Hadith, etc. These subjects can be found across all five faculties, with each faculty then adding on and expanding on its own area of focus. The faculties are:
The Faculty of Shariah covers a wide range of units although it mainly focuses on Fiqh (Jurisprudence), Usool Ul-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence), Fara’idh (the Islamic laws of inheritence) and al-Qawa’id al-Fiqhiya (the principles of fiqh).
The Faculty of Dawah and Usool al-Deen covers a wide range of units although it mainly focuses on Tawheed (Islamic monotheism), Seerah and Tareekh (The biography of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and Islamic History).
The Faculty of Hadith covers a wide range of units although it mainly focuses on Hadith and its associated sciences, such as, Mustalah al-Hadith (Terminology of Hadith), 'Ilm Al Rijaal (Science of the narrators of Hadith), Takhreej (Extracting Hadith from its sources) and Kutubb al-Sunnah (The books of Hadith).
The Faculty of Quran covers a wide range of units although it mainly focuses on the Quran and its associated sciences, such as, al-Qira’at al-‘Ashr (The ten readings of the Quran), al-Tafseer al-Tahleeli (analytical interpretation of the Quran) and ‘Uloom al-Quran (the sciences of the Quran).
The Faculty of Lugha covers a wide range of units although it mainly focuses on Nahw (Arabic grammar), Sarf (Arabic morphology), Balaagha (Arabic eleoquence/rhetoric), Adab (prose and poetry) and ‘Ilm al-Dalala (semantics).
Study at the Islamic University is done solely based on scholarship. There are no paid-spaces in the Islamic departments, and thus, the only option of studying at the university is to apply and get accepted for a full-length scholarship. Beware though, this scholarship will be revoked if you are unable to pass for two semesters in a row.
Also see the cost of study section in the F.A.Q. Cost of Study
The university provides a modest living allowance to its students, which is usually enough to just get by. As a student you are given 840riyal a month (based on Hijri calendar). The Australian dollar can usually buy between 2.8 & 3.2 Saudi Riyal. Out of these living expense, you are required to pay for your own food (although there is a cheap option listed below) and pay for books (beginners level Arabic books are free, faculty books need to be purchased). For the first couple of months after you arrive you will not receive any money as you are still being registered into the system. After you have been registered, you will be able to collect your monthly allowance near the end of the Hijri month from either the beginners Arabic school (for students of the school) or from your faculty department. After perhaps four months or so after you have been enrolled in the university, you will should eventually receive a bank card, through which your monthly allowance will be forwarded - thus eliminating the need to line up for the allowance each month. This bank account is strictly limited to withdrawing, preventing you from all other forms of banking such as depositing or transferring. If you want a bank account to do more than just withdraw from, you will need to open a second bank account with one of the many banks available in Saudi Arabia - but that is a whole other issue.
The university helps students with a cheap option for food. While many students still prefer to eat from other sources, the university mess-hall is an extremely affordable option to students who aren't fussy with food. Students who first enter the University are provided a ticket which allows them to eat for free for the first few days or for the first month. After this period you are required to purchase monthly tickets for the mess-hall. The complete package is about 90riyals, which is breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole month. This however can be slightly modified each time you purchase your tickets. You can specify to purchase either one meal, two meals or all three meals, depending on your preferences. For example, if you are someone who frequently skips lunch, then you can purchase breakfast and dinner tickets only, or if you only want dinner, then you can purchase dinner tickets only. Ticket prices are calculated for the month like so:
Free housing is provided for students of the university. Depending on what is available when you arrive, you should either be provided a place on or off-campus. These accommodations are modest at best, and you should not have high expectations of them. The best housing available is a single room with a 3/4 partition down the middle and an Air-conditioner. On each side is a bed, a closet and a desk. There are many other rooms on-campus that have four - six people in a single room (depending on the size of the room). Typically, older building have more people per room than the newer buildings. Another thing to note is if you wish to add anything to your room, eg. a fan, a carpet, washing machine, etc. you will have to purchase them yourself, thus, it is important to determine how much money to bring with you when coming for the first time.
The university provides a free ticket for the student to travel to Madinah the first time they come, and thereafter a free return ticket can be granted every summer holiday. The summer holiday is within the winter for Australia, as we are in the southern hemisphere. A ticket will only be provided to the student during the summer break if the student agrees to travel during the break, thus it is possible to stay in Saudi Arabia during the summer break, if you wish to do so.
To live and travel within the checkpoints in Saudi Arabia, you either need a Saudi Passport, Visa or Residency Permit. A visa is issued to new students entering the country, however once this visa expires the only way to remain within the country is to have a residency permit. This is provided by the university and must be renewed approximately every two years. You will receive the permit a few weeks after you arrive at the university and successfully enrol. Until you receive the Residency Permit, you are not permitted to travel outside of Madinah, and if you are caught doing so, you may be deported back to your country.
A hospital is situated within the campus grounds. There are doctors ranging from general practitioners to dentists. So long as you have your student card and are enrolled in the university, you are able to make use of the medical services and the prescribed medication, free of charge. You will have to visit this hospital when you first arrive at the university as you will have to perform a medical check-up before you enrol in studies.
There are many conditions that must be satisfied before being considered as a potential student, some of which include:
Must be 25 years of age or under. (In very rare circumstances, students SLIGHTLY over this age MAY be considered.)
Must have completed High School
Must have a High School certificate and transcript
Must have a Passport
Must have a Birth Certificate
5 Years should not have passed since completing your high school degree. (if you have been in uni during this period you may still want to apply and attach your university certificate/transcript as it may be taken into consideration.)
For any more detailed questions on this topic, please search for your question in the F.A.Q before trying to contact us. Answers
Please note there are limited spaces per country, so even if you apply, you may never get in. Take this into consideration before you make any life decisions. And remember to do Istikhara before doing anything!