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 Sheikh
- Arriving in Yemen during civil war with no Arabic, no contacts, and one return ticket
- What twelve months in Dar al-Mustafa actually feels like from the inside
- The morning Habib Umar told him "I think you're ready to leave"
- Writing The Road to Tareem and the Uber ride that started it
- Why he came home without the turban, the lexicon, or the performance
- How prophetic strategy outperforms corporate strategy in real boardrooms
- The Mawlid in Madinah that proved Tareem travels with you
- Advice for the young brother in Cape Town who wants the knowledge but not the costume
Isnad 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 Routed
00:43 — Introducing Hafiz Raees Mohamad
02:01 — Why "Brother" and Not "Sheikh"
04:08 — Who is Raees Mohamad in His Own Words
06:07 — The Decision to Go to Tareem
08:49 — Survival: Arriving in Yemen at Civil War
14:05 — The First Two Months Felt Like Two Years
18:21 — Writing The Road to Tareem
21:55 — "I Want to Come Home" — The Call to His Mother
26:39 — Speaking Arabic at the Mawlid
27:39 — Breakfast with Habib Umar
31:01 — "I Think You're Ready to Leave"
32:14 — What Tareem Actually Did For Him
33:55 — The Scholar Who Becomes a Businessman
38:21 — When Your Non-Muslim Boss Asks If You Made Salah
45:25 — Advice to a Freshly-Returned Graduate
49:13 — The Community's Traditional IQ Has Risen
52:54 — Tareem Without the Turban
56:20 — What He Holds On To, Privately
01:00:39 — The Spirituality of Tareem
01:02:16 — The Madinah Mawlid: Tareem Travels With You
01:05:53 — For a Young Person Considering Tareem
01:08:31 — Quickfire Round
01:09:56 — Advice to the Brother Who Wants This Life
01:14:23 — A Month in Dar al-Mustafa Will Humble You
01:16:38 — Shaykh Nuh Keller on *The Road to Tareem*
01:17:30 — Be Your Own Person
01:18:21 — The Book That Brought Him a Wife, a Scholarship, and a Career
01:19:53 — Closing
