The programme is designed to produce scholars and experts in Arabic who are committed to spiritual, moral, intellectual and creative excellence. In handling the programme, the department approaches the discipline from an Islamic perspective and emphasizes integration of knowledge by considering both the Arabic/Islamic intellectual heritage on language and modern linguistic scholarship. Modern techniques and methods of research also receive attention in the programme in order to prepare graduates who are able to face contemporary challenges.

This is a full time and a part-time programme that requires a minimum of 3 years (6 semesters) and  5 years (10 semesters) respectively to complete. The maximum period allowed for the programme is 6 years (12 semesters) for the former and 8 years (16 semesters) for the latter.

Candidates are trained in research methods, Islamisation of human knowledge and a specialised area in history to prepare them for the challenging task of producing original research in the form of a dissertation/thesis. The expected length of the dissertation/thesis is around 80,000 – 100,000 words and it must be written in Arabic. Areas in which the candidates can specialise include theoretical and applied linguistics, syntax, morphology, semantics, lexicography and translation studies.