Salaam alaikum, and thank you for your question.

Alhamdulillah, it’s great to hear that you are enthusiastic about wanting to study more in-depth about Islam.

The possibilities for getting an Islamic education have widened tremendously in this modern era. Thanks to advanced transportation methods, people can travel all over the world in a matter of hours to obtain knowledge.

For those who are not able to travel or be physically present at learning sessions, the lessons can come to them through the Internet. This really is amazing! It is also especially beneficial for people who have historically been (and still are, unfortunately) marginalized and prevented from seeking Islamic knowledge, particularly women, disabled people, and people with limited finances.

A very well-known and highly respected free online resource is SeekersHub. They offer classes on a wide variety of topics, from the basics to fiqh to societal issues to madhab-specific guidance.

Some of the courses require registration and are only available at certain times, but there are other courses that can be downloaded immediately and taken anytime. Most of the teachers of these classes are men, but there are some women who teach as well.

Another free online program is the Maryam Institute. They offer an alimah program (a rigorous program that includes Arabic texts), a fundamentals program (for more basic knowledge), and a Qur’an program (a three-year course that goes over tafsir of the whole Qur’an).

With the exception of one class and one teacher, every class is open only to women, and all the teachers are women. Taking classes with programs like these is a way to support female scholarship.

Finally, even if you decide not to pursue courses with multiple online meetings, there are many other ways to gain Islamic knowledge online. Some mosques and Islamic centers offer livestreaming of their khutbahs or halaqas so that everyone can benefit from them.

These mosques include the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center which publishes their weekly khutbahs and livestreams halaqas on their website and on their Facebook page, the Islamic Center of Southern California, which also posts their khutbahs and halaqas on their website and Facebook page, and the Ta’leef Collective, which has a special focus on converts and new Muslims.