Isnad Academy Podcast

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  She Qualified in Damascus Through Dua | Shaykhah Ruqayyah Samsodien | Rooted Ep 9 18.09.2026 1ч 23мин

  Shaykhah Ruqayyah Samsodien flew to Damascus at eighteen and hung a sign around her neck in the dormitory that read, in bubble letters, "I don't speak English" — so that nobody would speak to her in it, and she would be forced into Arabic.She came home an alimah.In this episode of ROOTED, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick sits with one of the very few fully qualified female scholars in South Africa: a hafizah at thirteen, the only girl in a full-time class at a time when that was not done; a graduate of Abu al-Nur and of al-Fath University in Damascus, where she sat before Shaykh Muhammad Sa'id Ramadan al-Buti (Allah have mercy on him) and Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi; a student of Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Muhy al-Din al-Kurdi, from whom she took her ijazah in the Quran directly; and today the director of Baseerah Institute in Cape Town.We trace the whole road: her mother's dua in 1984 for a child who would carry the Quran; the afternoon in 1996 when Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf Booley called her parents in; fifteen juz in the first year; Damascus, the dormitory, the matrons, and a wish made as a child at the grave of Abu al-Darda (Allah be pleased with him) that was answered on a cobblestone road; being called in to the Muslim Judicial Council before coming home and told not to try to change Cape Town in one go; and the Mauritanian mahdarah that now sits with her students in Arabic.Her chain, from Al-Tanzil's Database of Sanad Holders, is drawn on screen: from Ibrahim al-Ubaydi down through the Hulwanis and Shaykhah Anisah Mayyas to her.And the line the episode closes on, to every girl who never thought this was open to her: "But now the road is open. We have paved the way. It's now only for you to take it, in sha Allah."ROOTED is Isnad Academy's interview series on how authentic Islamic knowledge is transmitted — teacher to student, in an unbroken chain back to the Prophet ﷺ — and why that matters in an age of unvetted online content.▶ Join our school community: https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/about▶ Support our work: https://payf.st/sfr4x▶ Podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/isnad-academy▶ ROOTED, the full series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf_aPJtuAk9c▶ Website: https://isnadacademy.comCHAPTERS0:00 Cold open — "I don't speak English"0:26 Salam, and who she is3:18 Shaykhah or Muallimah? The title question5:18 Her mother's dua, 19845:54 The afternoon Shaykh Booley called her parents in8:32 The only girl in a full-time class12:25 Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf Booley17:30 Fifteen juz, and the simplicity of that time21:12 Damascus at eighteen — and the sign around her neck22:52 Fusha, ammiyyah, and learning to speak24:32 al-Fath University, and Shaykh al-Buti31:56 Abu al-Darda and the cobblestone road34:16 Damascus now, and what the people need43:16 The dorm, the matrons, the discipline45:27 "You're the only one who knows who they are"47:30 Called in to the MJC before coming home49:20 The ijazah, from Shaykh Muhy al-Din al-Kurdi50:30 Jamiyyat al-Qurra and Dar al-Naim51:20 Shaykh al-Mishri and the Mauritanian mahdarah53:00 Baseerah Institute56:50 What the women are studying now59:10 Islamia, the imtihan, and the overseas option1:02:30 What is being lost1:07:30 Her ijazat and her shuyukh1:09:10 The Damascus teachers1:10:30 Sayyid Ahmad al-Kaf and the Yemeni line1:11:30 Shaykh Hasan al-Khadim1:14:26 Taking directly from the scholars1:16:12 The noor that comes with it1:20:15 To the girl who never thought she could1:21:20 Imam Shafi'i: "he narrated to us"1:22:30 "Now the road is open"Terms explained on screen: hifz, huffaz, juz, ijazah, isnad, sanad, qurra, tajwid, fusha, ammiyyah, nahw, sarf, muallimah, shaykhah, alimah, mahdarah, talaqqi, takhrij, amanah ilmiyyah, and more.Sources shown on screen: Al-Tanzil Institute, Database of Sanad Holders: Cape Town (10th print, 2021), p.62 and p.216; Imam Shafi'i's verse as given by Ibn Kathir in al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya.#Rooted #IsnadAcademy #Isnad #CapeTown #Damascus #Ulama #FemaleScholars #IslamicScholarship #Hifz #Ijazah #BaseerahInstitute #Syria #Mauritania
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  One of the Shortest Chains to Sahih al-Bukhari in the World | Mawlana Ashraf Lamara | Rooted Ep. 8 11.09.2026 1ч

  Mawlana Ashraf Lamara holds one of the shortest chains of transmission to Sahih al-Bukhari in the world — four links to Shah Waliullah al-Dihlawi — and until last year almost nobody outside a handful of scholars knew it.In this episode of Rooted, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick sits with one of Cape Town's senior ulama: a founding teacher of Qaasimul Uloom, who has taught there since its first day in 1998; former imam of Lost City (Tafelsig) and Montrose Park in Mitchells Plain; founder of the Darul Furqan hifz programme; and a student of the legendary Mawlana Qasim Sema of Darul Uloom Newcastle.We trace the whole journey: a Tabligh household in Hanover Park, memorising Qur'an at Mia's Farm at thirteen, Darul Uloom Newcastle in 1987, the teachers who shaped him, the Dawrah year, and how Mawlana Sema's Bukhari teacher at Dabhel — a scholar already in his nineties — handed down a chain that runs through Fadl al-Rahman Ganj Muradabadi, the last living student of Shah Abdul Aziz. Both of Mawlana Sema's sanads appear on screen, read from his own handwriting and from Mawlana Lamara's ijazah.And the reason it matters now, in his words: "Today it's not about what is being said. Today you have to focus on who said it. Seeing is no more believing — and hearing has always been deceiving."Rooted is Isnad Academy's interview series on how authentic Islamic knowledge is transmitted — teacher to student, in an unbroken chain back to the Prophet ﷺ — and why that matters in an age of unvetted online content.▶ Join our school community: [https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/about] Support our work: [https://payf.st/sfr4x]Podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/isnad-academyhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf_aPJtuAk9cKey terms explained on screen in this episode: sanad, isnad, samāʿ, ijāzah, ʿuluww al-isnād (the "high" chain), Dawrat al-Hadith, Dars-e-Nizami, takrār and mutālaʿah, and more.Sources shown on screen: Mawlana Qasim Sema's handwritten sanad (Darul Uloom Newcastle); the Qaasimul Uloom ijazah for the narration of Sahih al-Bukhari (2024); Sahih al-Bukhari 71; al-Baqarah 2:132.#Rooted #IsnadAcademy #Isnad #Hadith #SahihBukhari #CapeTown #Ulama #IslamicScholarship #QaasimulUloom #DarulUloomNewcastle0:00 Seeing is no more believing0:26 Welcome — one of our senior ulama1:27 The seed: a Tabligh home in Hanover Park5:24 Mia's Farm at thirteen8:03 Arriving at Darul Uloom Newcastle9:51 A naughty boy, a serious student13:24 Mawlana Sema and the teachers who shaped him15:58 The Dawrah year: reading the Six Books21:11 The shortest sanad to Sahih al-Bukhari28:00 Passing the sanad on: England, Karabogha, Peshawar30:53 A year in Jamaat, then home34:18 Founding Qaasimul Uloom37:10 What to expect when you walk in40:29 What is isnad — and why it matters in the age of AI43:26 Students, phones and lost istiʿdād46:48 What gives him hope49:05 Advice to young ulama: find a mentor51:35 Darul Furqan: sixteen years without a hafiz55:02 A final word to the Ummah58:35 Closing du'a
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  “You Don’t Worship the Teacher” | Mawlana Zakariyah Philander | ROOTED Ep. 7 04.09.2026 1ч 55мин

  When I was eleven years old, I walked into an afternoon madrasa in Retreat, and the man at the front of that room was the first qualified Islamic scholar I ever had as a teacher. He is the reason I wanted to become an alim. He is the reason I found Darun Na’im. And when I wanted to leave school in Grade 10 to study full-time, he and my father sat down together and decided I would finish school first.In this episode of ROOTED, I sit across from my own teacher, Mawlana Zakariyah Philander, and ask him for the whole journey.He tells it plainly: walking to the masjid in a kufi as a teenager while his friends went to school, and the neighbours asking what he thought he was doing. Every application to Medina, Makkah and Malaysia coming back closed. Resigning his job, fixing the radiator on his Honda, driving 1,500 kilometres alone to Darul Uloom Newcastle — and being turned away at the door, twice, before they let him in. Six years later, he took his sanad of Bukhari from the same man who turned him away.Then, the part that matters most to this series. What a teacher carries that a page cannot. Why the tradition insists you sit at someone’s feet. What the student who understood none of it still walks away with. And why, in his words, you must never make an idol of the man who taught you.ROOTED is the Isnad Academy series where we sit with the scholars of South Africa and trace how knowledge actually travelled — from a teacher, to a student, to you.— CHAPTERS —0:00 The athar of the exchange0:28 Welcome: a link in my own chain4:03 Retreat: a madrasa before there was a masjid7:16 His father, and his first teacher8:15 Was there a moment you decided?10:38 Walking to the masjid in a kufi14:25 The gems who told us there was more17:42 His teachers, one by one21:47 Medina, Makkah, Malaysia: every door closed23:03 Leaving the job, driving to Newcastle24:40 And he dismissed the letter27:24 Deoband: humility before knowledge30:04 The dawra, and what it does to a person32:20 Teachers who disagreed with each other34:29 How he came to Darun Naim40:44 You have to be able to teach children43:34 Darun Naim when it was a novel idea52:39 Where the contextual reading came from57:46 Guardrails for a young scholar1:04:14 What the communities taught him1:12:59 Two kinds of scholar1:14:32 Learning from a screen: what is lost1:18:20 A transference of light1:24:44 Never make an idol of a teacher1:30:34 The tradition and the academy1:38:59 What does a grounded scholar have to fear?1:44:45 To an eleven-year-old walking in1:46:31 Consumer, or architect1:51:04 Where to find him— MAWLANA ZAKARIYAH PHILANDER —Author of The Story of the Qur’an: Recounting the First 13 Years of Revelation.Khatib, Masjid, corner Victoria Road and 7th Avenue, Grassy Park.Equilibrium Elementary — equilibriumelementary.com— ISNAD ACADEMY —Join our school community: [https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/about]Support our work: [https://payf.st/sfr4x]Podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/isnad-academyHosted by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick.#ROOTED #IsnadAcademy #IslamicScholarship #CapeTown #Isnad
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  A Child of the Jamaat | Prof. Farid Esack on Being a Muslim in South Africa (Part 1) 04.09.2026 1ч 10мин

  Long before he was a professor, before the struggle, before the academy — Farid Esack was a boy in Bontheuwel raised by a single mother, and a child of the Tablighi Jamaat.In this first sitting of a new series from Isnad Academy, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick sits with Professor Farid Esack — his own Master's supervisor — to trace a life: the Group Areas Act and a move from Wynberg, a mother who stood at the window until her last son came home, the Jamaat that saw value in people the world had written off, the years in the madrasa in Karachi, and what a classically trained student carries into the modern academy.This is not a debate. It is a sitting about life and what it means to be a Muslim in South Africa.We speak plainly in this conversation about the tension between the traditional madrasa and the Western academy — including Professor Esack's own striking words about it. Shaykh Irshaad and Professor Esack come from different worlds of learning and do not agree on everything. You do not have to agree with a man on everything to sit with him, to learn from his life, and to honour what he has carried.⚠️ PART 2 is coming: the return to South Africa, his years in the Muslim Judicial Council, the Call of Islam and the UDF struggle years, and the open letter to the Palestinian people that today stands painted across the separation wall.CHAPTERS0:00 Cold open0:29 Introduction2:13 South African Muslim, or Muslim in South Africa?7:59 Bontheuwel — and "that must be Upper Bontheuwel"8:41 Weinberg, the Group Areas Act, and the move to Bontheuwel13:16 A mother, six boys, and the window15:48 The debt to women you can never repay20:03 A child of the Tablighi Jamaat25:59 "Join the Tabligh, see the Republic"28:39 The adab of the Jamaat: a grain of rice, and shura33:18 Returning to the markas where nobody knows him36:14 How the Jamaat sent him to Pakistan42:07 Entering the Darul Uloom in Karachi47:34 The dandruff story, and how we judge people52:34 What the madrasa years left him57:02 Knowledge is sacred: paper, marginalia, and awe1:00:31 "Are you schizophrenic, or a munafiq?"1:01:30 The academy and the tradition: what each gets wrong1:07:24 The problem with the maqasid turn1:08:58 Senior scholars in Istanbul say the same1:09:31 Closing, and what comes in Part 2ABOUT THE GUESTProfessor Farid Esack is a South African scholar of Islam, a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, and one of the most widely read Muslim academic voices from this country. Formed in the Tablighi Jamaat and trained in the dars-i-nizami in Karachi before completing his doctoral work abroad, he served the Muslim Judicial Council and later held national office in the democratic South Africa.ABOUT THE HOSTShaykh Irshaad Sedick is a Cape Town–based Islamic scholar in the Shafi'i school, a hadith specialist, and the founder of Isnad Academy. He teaches full-time with SeekersGuidance.JOIN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY → [https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/about]SUPPORT OUR WORK → [https://payf.st/sfr4x]Isnad Academy connects the global Muslim community to authenticated Islamic scholarship — live teaching, recorded courses, and conversations like this one.#FaridEsack #IslamInSouthAfrica #IsnadAcademy #CapeTown #TablighiJamaat #IslamicScholarship
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  He Knew Every Hafiz in Cape Town | Imam Fuad Samaai | Rooted Ep. 6 28.08.2026 1ч 44мин

  In the 1960s, thirty-four men in the whole of Cape Town carried the Quran in their hearts, and Imam Fuad Samaai knew every one of them by name.“The chain is made in the maktab, or it is not made at all.”In 1973 he was one of eight students in the first intake of South Africa’s first Darul Uloom, in Newcastle. There, Mawlana Qasim Sema (Allah have mercy on him) gave him the instruction that set the course of his life: the chain of transmission (isnad) begins in the maktab, the children’s Quran school, so give your life to that. Fifty years later, two thousand children and dozens of teachers sit in his care.In this episode of Rooted, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick asks him the question few have asked: Did it work? And does a chain of transmission still mean anything in a world where anyone with a phone can claim to know?What follows is living memory, the huffaz of District Six and the respect they showed one another, Imaam Naeim Moerat (Allah have mercy on him) still teaching children at his bedside at ninety-four, the majlis of Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda (Allah have mercy on him), and the friendship of Mufti Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), whose students he addresses directly at the close.If this conversation benefits you, share it with someone who needs it.Join our school community: [https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/about] Support our work: [https://payf.st/sfr4x]Chapters:0:00 The Attitude We Teach Our Children0:38 Thirty-Four Huffaz — Meet Imam Fuad Samaai2:47 Does the Chain Still Mean Anything?3:14 Newcastle, and Mawlana Qasim Sema's Instruction7:24 "Like a Washing Machine" — What a Darul Uloom Is For11:27 The Huffaz of 1960s Cape Town14:22 Hifz Then and Now — the Missing Link21:09 When a Hafiz Walked into a Room23:58 Imaam Naeim Moerat — Seventy Years of Teaching31:07 Newcastle 1973 — the Treasure Lesson35:02 The Mufti's Method — Fatwas and Memory44:39 Four to Six Hours of Reading, Every Day45:47 The Barakah of a Physical Kitab49:56 The Maktab Mission, Fifty Years On55:49 One Syllabus for Twelve Towns59:23 Do We Value Islamic Education?1:02:17 The Finance Trap and the Teacher's Sacrifice1:11:51 The Names History Must Remember1:24:45 In the Majlis of the Great Ulama1:31:03 Mufti Taha Karaan and Advice to His Students1:41:33 Become a Uniting Force — At Least TeachRooted is the interview series of Isnad Academy. Its premise is simple: authentic Islamic knowledge is carried by an unbroken chain, from teacher to student, back to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).#Rooted #IsnadAcademy #CapeTownLearn authentic islam from qualified scholars: https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/aboutRooted podcast, Isnad Academy, Imam Fuad Samaai, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick, Cape Town huffaz, maktab education, madrasah, Darul Uloom Newcastle, Mawlana Qasim Sema, Mufti Taha Karaan, isnad, hifz, Quran memorisation, Islamic scholarship South Africa, Cape Town ulama
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  He Left a Maths Career for the Deen | Mawlana Zakariyya Harnekar | ROOTED Ep. 5 21.08.2026 1ч 18мин

  He had top marks, a UCT mathematics degree, and lucrative bursary offers on the table — a clear road to actuarial science and comfortable money. He walked away from all of it, into the Darul Uloom of Mufti Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), and says he would make that decision "every single day of my life again."In this episode of ROOTED, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick sits down with his former student, travel companion, and close friend Mawlana Zakariyya Harnekar — graduate of Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah, MJC executive and fatwa department researcher, and teacher at the Qurani Institute and Mizan Institute — for a conversation inside the chain: what it costs to choose ilm over income, who Mufti Taha Karaan was when the cameras were off, and what it takes to carry a teacher's legacy.ROOTED traces the chains that connect our community to the Prophet ﷺ — because knowledge without isnad is information; knowledge through isnad is inheritance.🎓 JOIN THE ISNAD ACADEMY COMMUNITY (FREE): [https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/about]Membership is free and includes our free Umrah course. You will also be able to purchase the Blissful Bonds premarital course.🤲 Support this work: [https://payf.st/sfr4x]Subscribe, and share this episode with one person who needs it. Make dua for us.Institutions mentioned:Darun Naim - darun-naim.co.zaMizan Institute — mizan.co.zaKurani Institute — kurani.org.zaDar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah (DUAI) — duai.org.zaSeekersGuidance — seekersguidance.org00:00 "I would make that decision every single day"00:15 Welcome to ROOTED: a conversation inside the chain03:09 The road not taken: a maths degree or the deen08:34 What the Darun Na'im years do to a person10:49 His mother's advice: university first14:34 His father's advice: shoulder the responsibility16:40 Choosing maths & stats — and the MSA years18:20 Arriving in Strand: meeting Mufti Taha Karaan21:51 The Pelican Park walk: "You only start learning when you start teaching"24:59 "I don't feel like I gave up anything"28:27 Join the Isnad Academy community28:58 Does the maths ever leave you? Logic and usul al-fiqh32:20 What really happens inside an Islamic seminary35:22 Mufti Taha Karaan: the man behind the mind44:50 The Goudini dictation story49:32 Weeping over the names of Badr51:32 Carrying the legacy after his passing58:30 Teaching Qur'an to dentists and grandmothers59:51 Inside the MJC01:05:05 Women, youth, and identity01:07:08 His primary concerns for the Ummah01:12:12 Advice to a matric student: deen or degree?01:14:25 Where to start studying in Cape Town01:17:39 Closing duas
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  Be a Seeker, and Remain a Seeker — Shaykh Riyad Walls' Journey to Knowledge | ROOTED (Ep 4 Part 2) 31.07.2026 1ч 16мин

  When Tony embraced Islam, he lost his business, his friends, and, for a time, his family. In Part 2 of his conversation on ROOTED, Shaykh Riyad Walls tells the story of what came next: the journey into sacred knowledge. From his wife teaching him alif-bā, to selling his beloved hi-fi to pay the rent, to walking a Long Street that was once lined with bookshops, to the hadith that lit the fire in him, "whoever walks the path of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him the path to Jannah."Along the way: his father’s reconciliation in a hospital bed, the two kinds of divine guidance, the travelator as a picture of staying on the path, the teachers of Dar al-Arqam who carried him, and the dream of studying in the city of Fes that sets up Part 3.A story for every seeker, convert or raised-Muslim, that being guided is a choice you keep making.ROOTED is a series from Isnad Academy following the pursuit of sacred knowledge through the unbroken chain of transmission, the isnād that connects us, teacher to student, back to the Prophet ﷺ.This is Part 2 of three. In Part 3: the travels, the trials on the path of knowledge, and the road to the mimbar.🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss Part 3.#ROOTED #IsnadAcademy #CapeTown #Islam #ConvertStory #SeekingKnowledge00:00 "Allah took it all away — so I could focus on the one thing He gave me"00:45 Welcome back to ROOTED02:14 The convert's different path to knowledge02:56 "I embraced Islam and got the girl as a bonus"04:41 Losing the business, the friends, the family10:27 When my father found out14:32 The hospital: "he was proud of what I'd become"17:10 "Good luck" — the tests every believer faces18:15 The gateway to the path of knowledge20:48 Married, and the move to Cravenby22:58 Selling the hi-fi: give something up for Allah25:46 Long Street, when it was a street of bookshops32:22 The two kinds of guidance34:45 "This religion speaks about everything" — and istinja44:55 "I love you for the sake of Allah"47:26 The travelator: staying on the path51:36 The book that lit the fire: Ihyā Ulūm al-Dīn52:32 "Whoever walks the path of knowledge…"55:15 Muhammad Karim and the sponsorship to study57:08 ICOSA, Dar al-Arqam, and choosing a path58:14 My teachers01:00:52 Voice of the Cape and the door to Medina01:03:24 "My first achievement" — first in class01:06:28 Bursting to travel: the city of Fes01:08:28 Al-Qarawiyyin, Fatima al-Fihri and the old way of learning01:11:54 "Be a seeker, and remain a seeker"01:13:29 The four types of people in knowledge01:15:02 "Above every knower is the All-Knowing"01:16:00 The cliffhanger: setting out for MoroccoCorrection: Mawlay Idris I was a descendant of Sayyiduna Hasan ibn Ali (Ahl al-Bayt), not of the Umayyads.
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  It's Not What I Did — The Conversion of Shaykh Riyad Walls | ROOTED Ep. 4 24.07.2026 1ч 18мин

  Three generations after his great-grandfather arrived in the Cape as a color-sergeant in a British punitive expedition, Shaykh Riyad Walls walked into a home in Cape Town and took his shahada. In this episode of ROOTED, he tells the story of how he came to Islam, the Rastafarian who handed him a book on the life of the Prophet ﷺ, the warmth of the Muslims of Heideveld, the men in white on the steps at Llandudno, and the single sentence that sums up his guidance: “It's not what I did, it’s what I didn't do.”Along the way: growing up "a confused Christian" in apartheid Cape Town, the shield of taqwa in a pie shop in Steenberg, the koesister as a portrait of the Cape Muslim community, the closure of the Tana Baru, and the tests that came the moment he said I believe.ROOTED is a podcast series from Isnad Academy following the pursuit of sacred knowledge through the unbroken chain of transmission — the isnād that connects us, teacher to student, back to the Prophet ﷺ.This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. In Part 2, Shaykh Riyad shares his journey into sacred knowledge.🔔 Subscribe for Part 2 and the rest of the ROOTED series.#ROOTED #IsnadAcademy #CapeTown #Islam #ConvertStory #Seerah00:00 "It's not what I did, it's what I didn't do"00:30 Welcome to ROOTED & the one-sentence question01:49 Allah opened the door — I didn't hesitate03:33 Farouk Musqat, the Rastafarian who gave him the book04:35 The Steenberg screen-printing factory06:14 First encounter with Muslims07:24 What apartheid kept apart09:37 "Were you devout?" — a confused Christian13:24 Sunday school & the stories of the Prophets16:22 The pie shop: the shield of taqwa19:00 The warmth of Heideveld19:50 In defence of the koesister22:09 A polyglot lineage: his wife's family24:57 Salah in the factory28:51 Tartib: why the Cape scholars held the line29:36 Surviving the Dutch: the Van Diemen plakkaat33:44 His great-grandfather & the 91st Highlanders35:48 The Tana Baru uprising, 188638:01 "Allah took from his back" — never lose hope39:33 The road to the Shahada40:55 "I was spiritually blind for 18 years"43:09 The night he asked: who is Allah, who is Muhammad?45:00 Words with a frequency: salam, mashaAllah48:14 Tawheed: finding the channel51:14 The men in white on the Llandudno steps57:00 George Bernard Shaw & the Orientalists59:38 "I didn't want to be like them"01:00:16 Choosing Islam — and tartib again01:03:34 Don't delay the Shahada01:04:14 Choosing the name Riyad01:05:59 The Shahada, at last01:06:45 "You were not yet Shaykh Riyad Walls"01:08:28 "Islam is perfect, the Muslims are not"01:10:43 Embracing Islam during the Gulf War01:12:19 Fired for wearing the kufi01:13:37 Junaid Senekal & "good luck"01:15:01 "If you say 'I believe,' you will be tested"01:15:40 His mother: "Tony, if you're happy, I'm happy"01:17:31 The cliffhanger: the quest for knowledge
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  SUMUD | They Survived Apartheid Prison. They Said Israel Was Worse. 11.06.2026 1ч 24мин

  Two men from the Cape who once stood against apartheid boarded a boat for Gaza. They were seized in international waters, held in an Israeli prison, and sent home. This is their witness.Former Ambassador Faizel Moosa and Mogamed Faeek Ariefdien sailed with the Global Sumud Flotilla on its Spring 2026 mission. In this Strong Believer special they sit with Shaykh Irshaad Sedick and tell the story the headlines could not carry. The decision to go and what it cost their families. The interception at sea. The brutality of the prison ships and Ktziot detention. The salah led under a rifle. The shouts they sent through the prison walls so the Palestinians inside would know they were not alone. And what sumud and sabr came to mean once they had paid for them in their own bodies.The boat was stopped. The witness was not.Guests:Former Ambassador Faizel Moosa, humanitarian, struggle veteran, son of the late Judge Essa Moosa.Mogamed Faeek Ariefdien, Cape Town stalwart of the anti apartheid struggle.Host: Shaykh Irshaad Sedick, Isnad Academy.⚠️ This episode contains accounts of violence and abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.#Sumud #Gaza #Palestine #GlobalSumudFlotilla #Flotilla #CapeTown #StrongBeliever #Sabr #FreePalestine #icjosh Chapter markers00:00 Cold open: human trafficked in a container00:57 Sumud and sabr: the opening03:01 Meet the guests04:53 Why we went: aid for the children06:17 The 10,000 still behind: leaving the Palestinians in prison07:21 Change it with the hand: the hadith that frames the episode09:38 Raising the world's awareness12:33 We stood on the holy grounds: redefining success14:33 The power of dua in the cell15:53 Was it a failure? Hudaybiyya and Fath Mubina17:03 The decision: getting your affairs in order19:46 Apartheid and Gaza: the same and not the same21:43 On the boat: the spirit of the convoy25:53 Dawah at sea: salah under a rifle33:35 Shot on deck while his family watched live37:08 The prison ships: containers, stun grenades, rubber bullets41:00 Singled out as South African: the ICJ in the interrogation43:00 Banu Nadir: destroyed by their own hands50:19 Even the babies are terrorists51:31 Whatever your passport says, you are Palestinian54:09 The container, the boots, and the last kick of a dying horse58:43 In the belly of the beast01:00:17 Let them hear that we are here01:02:14 Refusing to scream01:03:50 What will you tell Allah?01:05:33 Cyprus, the Western Cape, and the exit strategy01:07:48 What you can do: Coke, coal, and the West01:08:20 Wake up, Cape Town01:11:25 The land convoy and the silence of Muslim states01:14:36 Why I sail: I should have gone sooner01:18:55 Seeing injustice at home01:21:39 Closing: Surah al Nisa and a dua
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  Rooted - Episode 3 He Doesn't Go By Sheikh | Hafiz Raees Mohamad 05.06.2026 1ч 18мин

  In a time when anyone can upload an Islamic video and call themselves a scholar, Islam has always been carried differently — from teacher to student, across generations, all the way back to the Prophet ﷺ. That chain has a name: isnād.ROOTED is Isnad Academy's flagship interview series. Conversations with South Africa's qualified Islamic scholars — the people who went to the source and came home. Rooted in tradition. Routed through the chain.Our third guest carries the chain quietly. Hafiz Raees Mohamad memorised the Qur'an as a child, walked out of grade five to do it, and later travelled to Tareem, Yemen — where he studied at Dar al-Mustafa under the supervision of Habib Umar bin Hafiz. He is the author of The Road to Tareem, a book endorsed by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller as "a real gem." He holds a postgraduate diploma and MBA from Henley Business School, serves in an executive role at Old Mutual Investment Group, and is currently pursuing a PhD enhancing Michael Porter's strategy models using prophetic strategy.He answers to "Brother," not "Sheikh." That is the conversation.In this episode we cover:Why a Hafiz of the Qur'an and a Dar al-Mustafa graduate refuses the title of SheikhArriving in Yemen during civil war with no Arabic, no contacts, and one return ticketWhat twelve months in Dar al-Mustafa actually feels like from the insideThe morning Habib Umar told him "I think you're ready to leave"Writing The Road to Tareem and the Uber ride that started itWhy he came home without the turban, the lexicon, or the performanceHow prophetic strategy outperforms corporate strategy in real boardroomsThe Mawlid in Madinah that proved Tareem travels with youAdvice for the young brother in Cape Town who wants the knowledge but not the costumeIsnad Academy hosts South African qualified scholars and provides professionally recorded courses for the global Muslim community. Subscribe to stay connected to the chain.00:00 — Opening: To Be Rooted, To Be Routed00:43 — Introducing Hafiz Raees Mohamad02:01 — Why "Brother" and Not "Sheikh"04:08 — Who is Raees Mohamad in His Own Words06:07 — The Decision to Go to Tareem08:49 — Survival: Arriving in Yemen at Civil War14:05 — The First Two Months Felt Like Two Years18:21 — Writing The Road to Tareem21:55 — "I Want to Come Home" — The Call to His Mother26:39 — Speaking Arabic at the Mawlid27:39 — Breakfast with Habib Umar31:01 — "I Think You're Ready to Leave"32:14 — What Tareem Actually Did For Him33:55 — The Scholar Who Becomes a Businessman38:21 — When Your Non-Muslim Boss Asks If You Made Salah45:25 — Advice to a Freshly-Returned Graduate49:13 — The Community's Traditional IQ Has Risen52:54 — Tareem Without the Turban56:20 — What He Holds On To, Privately01:00:39 — The Spirituality of Tareem01:02:16 — The Madinah Mawlid: Tareem Travels With You01:05:53 — For a Young Person Considering Tareem01:08:31 — Quickfire Round01:09:56 — Advice to the Brother Who Wants This Life01:14:23 — A Month in Dar al-Mustafa Will Humble You01:16:38 — Shaykh Nuh Keller on *The Road to Tareem*01:17:30 — Be Your Own Person01:18:21 — The Book That Brought Him a Wife, a Scholarship, and a Career01:19:53 — Closing
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  Qurbani: Everything They Don't Teach You | with Mawlana Anees Kara 15.05.2026 49мин

  A practical, no-fiqh conversation about Qurbani with Mawlana Anees Kara of Maraisburg, Johannesburg. After nearly four decades in this work, Mawlana Anees brings the kind of practitioner knowledge that does not appear in any classical text or fatwa site: how to pick a healthy animal off the kraal, why some Qurbani meat tastes different and how to prevent it, the real difference between farm and home Qurbani, and the proper way to distribute meat with dignity.This is a standalone episode for the Eid al-Adha season. For fiqh questions about Qurbani, please refer to my other content on SeekersGuidance and on the Isnad Academy.Chapter markers below.About Mawlana Anees KaraMawlana Anees graduated from Darul Uloom Zakariyya in 2009 and serves as the masjid's Khatib in Maraisburg. He runs K.A.Z Livestock and Game Meat Traders - a family project that has operated for over 36 years.#Qurbani #EidAlAdha #IsnadAcademyChapter markers00:00 Introduction01:08 Meet Mawlana Anees Kahrah02:25 Where to actually buy your animal05:23 What an experienced eye looks for07:59 Honesty in weight and pricing10:54 Why lamb costs more than mutton12:54 The two reasons Qurbani meat gets a bad name15:25 Merino, Dorper, and the breeds question19:31 Bringing your animal home and treating it right27:35 Pros and cons of home versus farm Qurbani30:54 Tasting wild, tasting bloody: the real reason33:31 The post-slaughter process that fixes everything36:55 Giving your meat away with dignity38:47 The slaughter itself: knife, angle, technique42:42 Aspiring to slaughter for the first time46:38 Where to find Mawlana Anees48:11 Closing dua
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  ROOTED | Ep. 2 — "He Came Home Different" | Sh Muhammad West 08.05.2026 2ч 2мин

  In a generation pulled in every direction, ROOTED is a series about the ones who stayed grounded. The scholars who sat at the feet of their teachers and carried the tradition home.Sh Muhammad West is one of the few in his generation who carries two worlds at once. A graduate of the Islamic University of Madina and a chartered accountant. The imam of one of the oldest masajid in the country, Boorhanol Islam in the Bo-Kaap, and the treasurer of the Muslim Judicial Council. He is the Madina graduate who refused to come home and cut himself off from the community he disagrees with on secondary matters. He chose the harder road, the road of staying in the room.In this conversation, we sit with the formation of a scholar in Jeddah and Madina, the texture of his return, the Athari and Shafi'i fault lines, the cost of refusing tribalism, the romantic but halal proposal, the autistic son who is the happiest person he knows, the burnout he is only now learning to name, and the institution he is now responsible for the finances of.We talk about the MJC honestly. What it is, what it is not, why our forefathers thought it was non-negotiable, and what the path forward looks like for an organisation eighty years old that is finally being asked to explain itself.A conversation between two scholars and a long-time colleague about formation, friction, and the institutional servant’s reckoning.This is your deen. You deserve to understand it.00:00 Cold open: just die as a Muslim00:22 Opening monologue02:25 Quick-fire opener07:43 Jeddah as a child10:50 Madina University from the inside13:18 Coming home in 201117:45 The parents' search across Malaysia, Egypt, Jeddah22:30 The mother's record27:40 The maternal grandfather and the Silo gym call33:30 The Madina student years39:20 Teaching the Sirah from a minority lens49:20 The Woolworths meeting52:00 Athari, Salafi, and the time and place for debate57:00 Sami Hamdi and the politics of Quran and Sunnah01:00:40 Palestine and the heart right now01:11:30 Just talk to Allah01:17:25 The Romantic Proposal01:21:00 The life of an alim's wife01:31:30 Burnout and sharpening the saw01:33:50 The MJC: what it actually is01:46:35 Baytul Ulama in the absence of a Khalifa01:55:50 Living with politics01:57:55 Final advice for the seeker02:00:00 The point of all of this#ROOTED #IsnadAcademy #IslamicScholarship
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  ROOTED | Ep. 1 — "He Went to the Source" | Shaykh Zaid Fataar Al-Azhari 25.04.2026 2ч 11мин

  We live in a time when anyone can upload an Islamic video and call themselves a scholar. But Islam has never been carried that way. It has always moved from teacher to student, across generations, all the way back to the Prophet ﷺ. That chain has a name: isnād.ROOTED is Isnad Academy's flagship interview series — conversations with South Africa's qualified Islamic scholars. The people who went to the source and came home. Rooted in tradition. Routed through the chain.Our first guest embodies both.Shaykh Zaid ibn Riad Fataar Al-Azhari left Cape Town at the age of six for Cairo, where he would spend the better part of his life inside one of the oldest universities on earth. At Al-Azhar he memorised the Qur'an, completed his Diploma in Islamic Sciences, and earned his BA in Islamic Theology — specialising in Aqīdah and Philosophy. He studied privately with Egyptian scholars, receiving ijāzāt in Hadith and Aqīdah. He returned to Cape Town, completed his Masters at the Madina Institute with a thesis on Al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd — Revelation versus Reason — and has been serving the community ever since as imam, teacher, and founder of Dar At-Tawhid Institute. He currently serves as Head of Department for Islamic Studies at the Oracle Academy.He is, in the truest sense, a scholar who went to the source — and came back to us.In this conversation we cover:— What it means to grow up as a Cape Town child inside the Azhar world — The moment knowledge stopped being something forced and became something wanted — What isnād actually is and why it matters in an age when any fatwa is a Google search away — The three levels of ijāzah — and what each one actually authorises you to do — Why sitting with a scholar gives you something no YouTube video, PDF, or AI can replicate — The nūr of prophethood — and why it only travels heart to heart — How the ādāb of the scholars changed Shaykh Zaid more than their knowledge did — A real talāq case that showed exactly why wisdom cannot come from a book alone — The difference between being religious and performing religiosity — What our generation of scholars carries differently — and what that demands of us — What to say to a young Muslim who wants knowledge but doesn't know where to start or who to trustThis is not a wellness podcast. This is not a highlight reel. This is a conversation about what it actually means to carry knowledge — and what Cape Town has quietly been producing for generations.ROOTED. Every episode, one scholar. One chain. One city at the bottom of Africa with more to offer the world than most people know.Isnad Academy is based in Cape Town, South Africa. Our mission is to connect the global Muslim community to authenticated Islamic scholarship — through live teaching, recorded courses, and platforms like ROOTED that make our scholars visible to the world.New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next conversation.#IsnadAcademy #ROOTED #IslamicScholarship #SouthAfrica #CapeTown #Azhar #Isnad #IslamicKnowledge #MuslimPodcast #Ulama00:00 — A Family Almost Broke Up (Cold Open)00:12 — Welcome to ROOTED | Series Introduction05:00 — Quick Fire: Coffee, Cairo & Astronomy09:45 — Cairo at Six: Growing Up as a Foreigner18:00 — The Quran is Everywhere in Egypt22:00 — When Knowledge Became a Choice31:00 — The Fish in the Tank: Entering the University38:00 — The Turning Point: The Ādāb of the Scholars44:00 — What is Isnād and Why Should You Care?51:00 — The Soul Operation57:00 — What is an Ijāzah? Three Levels Explained01:02:00 — What a Teacher Gives You That a PDF Cannot01:09:00 — The Nūr of Prophethood: Heart to Heart01:12:00 — Egypt's Politics and the Colonisers' Legacy01:23:00 — The FBI Story: Freedom We Take for Granted01:29:00 — Do We Carry the Tradition Differently?01:35:00 — The Worrying Trend: Religion as Fashion01:52:00 — The Exciting Trend: Scholars in the University02:03:00 — Final Advice to Young Seekers of Knowledge02:08:00 — What's Coming from Isnad Academy
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  The Disease Has a Name | The Strong Believer S2E1 17.04.2026 36мин

  The Muslim world is not confused. It is paralysed. And there is a difference. In this opening episode of Season 2, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick begins with a question asked outside a masjid after Isha: what am I supposed to do now? It is the question every Muslim is carrying. And the answer begins with a prophetic diagnosis that is 1,400 years old and more relevant today than it has ever been.We live in a time when the nations of the world have gathered. The feast the Prophet ﷺ described is not a metaphor anymore. It is the news.In the hadith of Thawban, narrated in Abu Dawud, the Prophet ﷺ foretold a time when the Ummah would be numerous but weak, like the foam on the ocean. Moved by every wave, unable to move anything else. He named the cause: wahn. And when the companions asked what wahn was, he said: hubb al-dunya wa karahiyyat al-mawt. Love of this world and hatred of death.That is the diagnosis. It has been sitting in our books for fourteen centuries. The question this season asks is: are we finally brave enough to face the cure?The cure is strength. Not strength as a motivational concept. Strength as a prophetic prescription. The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, even though there is goodness in both.Season 2 of The Strong Believer focuses on intellectual strength: how we build the kind of mind that can read this world clearly, think with the Quran as its foundation, and navigate what is coming without being broken by it.This episode covers:The question every Muslim is carrying right now and what it really meansThe hadith of Thawban and the prophetic diagnosis of the UmmahWahn in its contemporary forms: managed numbness, the guilt cycle, the waitingThe strong believer hadith as the direct prescriptionThe Quran as an intellectual foundation: one scholar's journey from a train to Darul NaeemWhat hubb al-dunya actually looks like in an ordinary Muslim life in 2026What karahiyyat al-mawt looks like when nobody is asking you to dieHadiths referenced: Hadith of Thawban on wahn — Abu Dawud Al-Mu'min al-Qawiyy — Muslim Al-Kayyis man dana nafsahu — Tirmidhi
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  After Ramadan: Istiqamah, Acceptance, and the Fight to Keep Going 24.03.2026 42мин

  In this post Ramadan reminder, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick reflects on one of the most important questions facing every believer after Eid: what happens after Ramadan?Drawing on the verses of Surah Fussilat, the glad tidings given to those who say “Our Lord is Allah” and then remain steadfast, this talk explores the meaning of istiqamah, not as perfection, but as constantly getting back up and returning to Allah. Ramadan is not the finish line. It is the training ground. The real event is life itself.This episode reflects on acceptance, the six days of Shawwal, the danger of going back to old habits, the priority of salah and staying away from haram, and the wisdom of setting small, sustainable acts of worship that can remain with us until the next Ramadan.A timely reminder for anyone asking how to preserve the gifts of Ramadan and continue the journey with sincerity, humility, and hope.Chapter markers00:00 Opening praise, verses, and hadith02:03 Reflecting after Ramadan and asking Allah for acceptance02:57 The practice of the salaf after Ramadan04:21 What happens after the honeymoon of Ramadan?04:46 We do not worship Ramadan, we worship Allah06:24 Salah is not piety, it is the bare minimum07:00 Shaytan is back, and the real fight begins07:18 Ramadan as training, not the competition08:25 The race analogy: training for the real event09:44 The boxing analogy: get back up again12:16 The meaning of istiqamah13:19 Istiqamah is not perfection15:03 We are not angels, we are human beings who keep trying16:27 Surah Fussilat and the angels at the time of death17:42 Do not fear and do not grieve19:27 Glad tidings of Jannah before leaving this world20:42 We were your allies in this world and the next21:02 In Jannah you will have whatever your souls desire22:42 Allah alone is our Rabb23:21 They slipped, but they kept getting back up24:12 Ask Allah for a good death25:01 Now we are in the ring25:36 The six days of Shawwal26:56 Warming down after Ramadan27:44 Can the six fasts be separate or must they be consecutive?28:44 Combining qada with the six days of Shawwal31:42 You cannot maintain Ramadan exactly outside Ramadan33:17 Do not drop everything because you cannot keep everything34:03 Focus on the bare minimum first34:49 Stay away from haram and guard your salah35:25 Set a ridiculously easy quota37:24 Small consistency grows into something great38:31 Use your five daily salahs as your ladder of growth40:06 Why we fail: we set the bar too high40:37 Build slowly and keep improving41:18 Final dua and closing
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  The Ummah in Turbulent Times: Clarity on Iran, Israel, and the Region 04.03.2026 44мин

  In this episode, I sit with Mln. Ebrahim Moosa from the Palestine Information Network for a frank conversation on the current escalation in the region and what it means for the wider Ummah.This is the full, raw recording as it was captured. It is not edited for tone, platform sensitivities, or soundbites. The aim is clarity: identifying the aggressor-victim framing, resisting oversimplification, and keeping our moral compass anchored while the timeline shifts fast.We also speak about:How public confusion is forming and why it is understandableThe danger of making any state a barometer for PalestineHolding political clarity without collapsing into theological confusionJustice, consistency, and the responsibility of speech in crisisRamadan: worship, dua, and meaningful action without escapismListen with care, verify claims, and keep your heart anchored to Allah in a moment designed to disorient.
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  Unbroken: Mawlana Ebrahim Moosa on Gaza, Resistance, and Responsibility 17.10.2025 1ч 1мин

  In this powerful and timely conversation, Shaykh Irshaad Sedick sits down with Mawlānā Ebrahim Moosa of the Palestine Information Network to reflect on the newly declared ceasefire after two years of genocide in Gaza.Together they unpack:What this “ceasefire” really means — and what it doesn’t.How the people of Gaza remain unbroken despite unimaginable loss.The hypocrisy of global politics and the ongoing battle of narratives.The moral duty of Muslims worldwide to pursue justice and accountability.The urgent need for the Ummah to build its own power, platforms, and institutions.This is not the end of the story — it’s the beginning of our reckoning.Listen as two South African scholars and activists discuss faith, resistance, and the future of the struggle for Palestine.🎧 Recorded October 16, 2025 – Cape Town
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  Umma in Motion - Sami Hamdi Unfiltered in South Africa 27.06.2025 34мин

  In this gripping and urgent conversation, M. Irshaad Sedick sits down with analyst and political commentator Sami Hamdi for an unflinching look at the Gaza genocide, global power games, and the silence of Muslim leaders. This isn’t about headlines, it’s about what’s happening behind closed doors, and what we, as the Umma, must do about it.From Iran and Trump’s foreign policy to the betrayal of Palestine by those sworn to defend it, Sami exposes hard truths with clarity and conviction. He explains why the ICJ case matters, how South Africa stood tall when others remained seated, and what real action, not just emotion, looks like.This is not just a video. It’s a wake-up call. If you believe in justice, if you believe in dignity, if you believe in the power of the people, watch this. Share it. And be part of the Umma in motion.🕊️ Support the cause.🎟️ Join us in Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.📢 Let’s turn outrage into organized action.For the Buy One Get One Free, Cape Town offer, Whatsapp 0721026363
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  A Life of Learning with Mln Taha Karaan's Oldest Graduate - Mln Sedick Bailey 21.06.2025 43мин

  In this heartfelt and inspiring episode, we sit down with Mawlana Sedick Bailey, a 78-year-old scholar and the oldest graduate of the late Mawlana Taha Karaan (may Allah have mercy on him). Mawlana Bailey shares his remarkable journey of seeking knowledge across decades, reflecting on what it means to be a lifelong learner in service of faith and community.We discuss: • His early days of study and what drew him to sacred knowledge • The impact and legacy of his teacher, Mln Taha Karaan • How he continues to learn and grow even in his late seventies • The role of humility, patience, and purpose in the pursuit of ‘ilmWhether you’re a young student or a seasoned teacher, Mawlana Bailey’s story is a powerful reminder: it is never too late to learn, and the path of knowledge is lifelong.
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  Understanding Juz Amma - Sura Tariq - M. Irshaad Sedick 14.03.2025 36мин

  Part Nine of Understanding Juz Amma - Sura Tariq - M. Irshaad SedickRamadan 1446/2025Account Name: Isnad Academy Absa Cheque Account Number: 4100949184 Branch 632005Ref: Donate