For the very first time, the Ribaat Academic Institute is offering a course
exclusively in Arabic. This semester, students have been able to sign up for the
Companions course with its text and instruction solely in Arabic. Many of the students
have already taken the class in English but wanted to challenge themselves by learning
from the original Arabic text. For native speakers of Arabic like Esraa Assem, it has been
quite the experience.
“It has been life-changing,” Esraa shares, who lived in Egypt most of her life and
has been residing in Houston for the last few years. “Because of this course, I feel like I
am on the right track and learning how to become someone closer to Allah and Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him,” she says.
Esraa had initially tried taking the course in English two years ago but was not
able to complete it as a new mother. Now that she has a toddler who is always wanting to
learn new things, she wants to be equipped with beneficial knowledge to teach him.
“I feel like what you learn when you are young stays with you,” says Esraa, “So I
want him to learn as much good from me as he can.”
To be able to do this, Esraa plans to obtain her ‘Alimah’ certification through
Ribaat as soon as she can.
“Before Ribaat, I didn’t know where I could go to access traditional knowledge,”
recalls Esraa, who likes to bake and travel in her free time. “I love that I can learn from
home thanks to Ribaat. I am so grateful for that Alhamdullilah.”
Through other Ribaat students in her local area, Esraa has found great inspiration
and support to continue working hard in her studies. In October, Esraa was even able to
meet Anse Tamara Gray, founder of Rabata, along with many other students from around
the nation at the Daybreak Press 3 rd Annual Muslim Women’s Literary Conference in
Houston.
“Meeting all these women put things into perspective for me,” says Esraa. “The
companions, may Allah be pleased with each of them, sacrificed everything to spread this
beautiful religion of Islam. We all have the ability to be like them and find ways to do
more da’wah in our own lives. We just need to make intention, and Allah will make it
easy for us. Our Anisat are living examples for us. May Allah reward them for their
efforts and for giving us the opportunity to benefit from their knowledge and experiences.
Ameen.”
