With weekly lessons that help strengthen the heart and rediscover the joy of life, Joy Jots: Exercises for a Happy Heart by Tamara Gray is a wonderful guide to keeping on the path of Islam and establishing a closer relationship to Allah swt. Made up of 52 practical lessons and exercises, the book helps the reader not only learn how to adopt good practices, but assists them with putting the knowledge to use by keeping track and holding accountability for oneself.

Dorene Alama was born in Minnesota, but has spent most of her life living on the East Coast. She has been in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the past 14 years with her husband and three grown children. She works part time as a high school English teacher and as a registered nurse. Dorene has also

Arwa Ghabra is a thirty-five-year old pharmacist currently residing in Elkridge, Maryland, with her husband and two children. She grew up in the small town of Princeton, West Virginia, but travelled often with her family to Syria, where she studied Arabic, Quran, Hadith and Fiqh. At age 17, she received her ijaza in Quranic recitation

Safa Younus grew up in Chicago, where she lives with her husband and 5 kids, who are between the ages of 10-22. She embraced Islam in college, and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology. She has been a homeschooling mom for all her children except her second eldest son, who has Down Syndrome and Autism.

Ribaat Student of the Month – August 2021 Faiza Ishaque is originally from Karachi, Pakistan, and moved to the States in 1998. The mom of four resides in Glen Ellyn, Illinois with her family. She holds a bachelor’s in biology with a minor in psychology, and had intended to pursue medicine. Once she became pregnant with

Melissa Westbrook grew up in the country in a very small town outside St. Louis, Missouri. She attended law school at NYU and ended up living and working in New York for 15 years. She then moved to Chicago to be closer to family and raise her three kids in the Midwest, now ages 20,

June 2021 Ribaat Student of the Month – Sadaf Syed             Originally born in Chicago, Sadaf Syed grew up in Saudi Arabia and California, and returned to Chicago after marriage. She is a mom of two teens, a boy and a girl, and works as a professional photographer. As a child, Sadaf travelled with her

May 2021 Ribaat Student of the Month – Gety Siddiqui Gety Siddiqui is a mom of two grown children and a retired travel consultant. Originally from Pakistan, she now resides in San Antonio, Texas. For a few successful years, she ran an ethnic food truck business with her son. Gety lost her husband in 2010