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. Safa works with a non-profit youth organization based out of Chicago which provides educational programs for Muslim girls and boys across the US and Canada. She has been a student with Ribaat since 2014.
Initially, Safa learned about Rabata in 2013 from a friend. She then came across a video lecture of Dr. Tamara Gray and felt compelled to sign up for her first class with her: Companions of the Prophet (s).
“I am so grateful to have sacred knowledge and female teachers, who are empowering and so easily accessible from the comfort of my home,” shares Safa. “Since I was focused on raising my kids for so many years and caring for a child with special needs, Ribaat became a dream come true and such a blessing, as it provided me with the flexibility to formally learn the Islamic Sciences in a structured way at my own pace. I try to take at least one single class each semester even though I would love to take them all!”
One of the things that Safa appreciates most about Ribaat is having a supportive community of sisters on the same journey with her. She also attributes her ability to teach her own kids and youth at a weekend Islamic school to the knowledge she is gaining through Ribaat.
“The emphasis on female scholarship and learning from such dedicated and sincere women has really motivated me to keep striving no matter how busy or difficult life can get,” Safa says. “I have had such an amazing experience with Ribaat that I encouraged my daughter to enroll in Rabateens, and she is now taking her first Ribaat class!”
Safa hopes to complete the Ribaat Teacher Certification one day. She has slowly been progressing with her courses and has recently been focusing on her Quran Khitmah.
“Alhamdulillah my teacher has been so patient with me,” tells Safa. “I would like to join the Ijazah track in the [near] future insha’Allah.”
In her free time, Safa enjoys being in nature, kayaking, biking, gardening and spending time with family. She advises any woman who is feeling overwhelmed but looking to pursue this path of knowledge and growth with Ribaat to ‘take baby steps one day at a time, one semester at a time’ like she has been doing.
