Is Safar Publications the Best Quran Curriculum for Madrasahs?

Imtroduction

Safar Publications has achieved something rare in the Islamic education market: a curriculum that became the default choice for an entire national madrasah system. In the UK, the Safar Qaida is used in the majority of madrasahs and maktabs. Its Tajweed workbook sequence is the most widely recognised progression route for Quran learning in British Islamic education. And its reach has extended well beyond the UK — its materials are now used in institutions across North America, South Africa, Australia, and South Asia.

This review explains what Safar Publications actually produces, how its curriculum is structured, and where it fits best — and where it is not the strongest option.

About Safar Publications

Safar Publications is a UK-based Islamic curriculum publisher. Its materials were developed by scholars and educators with deep roots in the British Muslim community, and the curriculum reflects the needs of UK madrasahs — primarily evening and weekend maktab settings where students attend for 1–2 hours several days per week alongside their mainstream schooling.

Source: Safar Publications website; ilmify research, April 2026.

The Safar Curriculum — Two Core Tracks

Safar’s curriculum divides into two distinct but complementary tracks:

Track 1 — The Quran Programme: A structured progression from Arabic letter recognition through complete Quran recitation and advanced Tajweed. This is Safar’s strongest offering and the reason it is dominant in UK madrasahs.

Track 2 — The Islamic Studies Programme: A graded series covering Aqeedah, Fiqh, Seerah, Duas and Surahs, Hadith, and Islamic character. Designed to be taught alongside the Quran programme.

Most madrasahs adopt both tracks together. Some institutions use the Safar Quran programme with a different publisher’s Islamic Studies materials — this is common and entirely compatible.

The Quran Track in Detail

The Safar Quran programme is the most carefully constructed element of the curriculum. It moves students from zero knowledge of Arabic letters to proficient, rule-governed Quran recitation through a structured sequence of books and workbooks.

Source: Safar Publications catalogue; ilmify research, April 2026.

The Qaida’s particular strength is its incremental structure. Each new rule is introduced only after prior rules are consolidated — a principle that many competing Qaidas claim but fewer actually execute. The workbook format allows students to practise independently, which suits the maktab setting where teacher time per student is limited.

The Islamic Studies Track in Detail

Safar’s Islamic Studies series covers the core subjects across multiple levels:

The Islamic Studies series is well-structured and consistent in theological framing. Its primary limitation is depth at the upper secondary level — students who have completed the full series are well-grounded in Islamic knowledge but may need supplementary materials for advanced study.

Safar Academy and Teacher Training

Safar Academy is a related online institution that teaches the Safar curriculum online. It offers Quran, Tajweed, Islamic Studies, and Arabic through live online classes with qualified teachers.

For schools using the Safar curriculum, Safar Academy’s existence is significant for two reasons: it validates the curriculum (students learning online through the Academy use the same materials as madrasah students) and it provides a reference point for how the curriculum is intended to be taught.

Safar Publications also offers teacher training resources, including guidance on how to deliver each stage of the Qaida sequence correctly. For madrasahs, this is important — the Qaida’s effectiveness depends substantially on the teacher’s own Tajweed and their ability to correct student recitation in real time.

Theological Orientation

Safar Publications is mainstream Sunni with a Hanafi orientation in its Fiqh content and a broadly Deobandi-adjacent scholarly tradition. This makes it directly aligned with the majority of British South Asian Muslim communities that constitute the primary audience for UK madrasahs.

The materials do not engage polemically with intra-Sunni debates, but their content choices and examples reflect the mainstream Deobandi British tradition clearly enough that schools from significantly different traditions (Salafi, for example) tend to use different publishers.

Strengths

Dominant UK madrasah standard. The fact that the Safar Qaida is used in the majority of UK madrasahs means that students who transfer between madrasahs are likely to find continuity. Teachers trained in UK madrasahs are familiar with it. It has become an institutional norm.

Exceptional Quran programme structure. The Qaida through Advanced Tajweed sequence is the strongest structured English-language Quran learning programme available. Its incremental approach and workbook format suit the maktab delivery model.

Consistent theological framing. Safar’s materials are consistent across all levels in their theological approach, giving students a coherent understanding rather than encountering conflicting framings across different components.

Practical workbook format. The workbook-based delivery allows meaningful student practice and easy progress tracking — teachers can see at a glance which exercises have been completed and at what quality.

Weaknesses

Secondary-level coverage is thinner. The Islamic Studies series becomes less comprehensive at upper secondary level. Schools teaching students aged 14+ on the Safar series typically supplement with additional materials.

Limited for full-time schools wanting academic rigour. Safar is designed for the maktab context — 1–2 hours per day, supplementary to mainstream schooling. Full-time Islamic schools may find the pace and academic depth at higher levels insufficient as a sole resource.

Cultural specificity. Safar’s UK Muslim community framing, while a strength for its primary audience, can make it feel less natural for Islamic schools in North America, South Asia, or Africa where the cultural context differs.

Who Is Safar Publications Best For?

Safar Publications is the strongest choice for:

• UK madrasahs and maktabs — it is the established standard and all the network advantages (teacher familiarity, student continuity) apply
• Any institution globally wanting the best-structured English-language Qaida and Tajweed sequence
• Full-time Islamic schools in the UK using the Safar Quran programme with a complementary publisher (IQRA, An-Nasihah) for secondary Islamic Studies
• International schools serving communities with UK-educational connections

Safar is a weaker choice for:

• North American Islamic schools where IQRA International is more culturally embedded
• Schools needing a comprehensive secondary Islamic Studies programme as a sole source
• Institutions following a Salafi methodology

How It Compares to Other Publishers

Source: ilmify editorial comparison, April 2026.

Conclusion

Safar Publications occupies a unique position in the Islamic curriculum market: it has achieved network dominance in the UK madrasah sector while producing materials genuinely deserving of that position. Its Qaida and Tajweed sequence is the strongest English-language Quran learning programme available, and its Islamic Studies series provides solid, consistent coverage from beginners through secondary level.

For UK madrasahs and maktabs, it is the natural first choice. For institutions outside the UK wanting a rigorous Quran programme in English, it is worth serious consideration. For schools needing deep secondary Islamic Studies coverage as a sole resource, supplementation will be needed.

👉 See how ilmify.app tracks Safar curriculum progress across your madrasah →

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