5d ago

He Knew Every Hafiz in Cape Town | Imam Fuad Samaai | Rooted Ep. 6

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 Children 0:38 Thirty-Four Huffaz — Meet Imam Fuad Samaai 2:47 Does the Chain Still Mean Anything? 3:14 Newcastle, and Mawlana Qasim Sema's Instruction 7:24 "Like a Washing Machine" — What a Darul Uloom Is For 11:27 The Huffaz of 1960s Cape Town 14:22 Hifz Then and Now — the Missing Link 21:09 When a Hafiz Walked into a Room 23:58 Imaam Naeim Moerat — Seventy Years of Teaching 31:07 Newcastle 1973 — the Treasure Lesson 35:02 The Mufti's Method — Fatwas and Memory 44:39 Four to Six Hours of Reading, Every Day 45:47 The Barakah of a Physical Kitab 49:56 The Maktab Mission, Fifty Years On 55:49 One Syllabus for Twelve Towns 59:23 Do We Value Islamic Education? 1:02:17 The Finance Trap and the Teacher's Sacrifice 1:11:51 The Names History Must Remember 1:24:45 In the Majlis of the Great Ulama 1:31:03 Mufti Taha Karaan and Advice to His Students 1:41:33 Become a Uniting Force — At Least Teach Rooted 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 #CapeTown Learn authentic islam from qualified scholars: https://www.skool.com/isnad-academy-7659/about Rooted 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

Aug 21

He Left a Maths Career for the Deen | Mawlana Zakariyya Harnekar | ROOTED Ep. 5

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.za Mizan Institute — mizan.co.za Kurani Institute — kurani.org.za Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah (DUAI) — duai.org.za SeekersGuidance — seekersguidance.org 00:00 "I would make that decision every single day" 00:15 Welcome to ROOTED: a conversation inside the chain 03:09 The road not taken: a maths degree or the deen 08:34 What the Darun Na'im years do to a person 10:49 His mother's advice: university first 14:34 His father's advice: shoulder the responsibility 16:40 Choosing maths & stats — and the MSA years 18:20 Arriving in Strand: meeting Mufti Taha Karaan 21:51 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 community 28:58 Does the maths ever leave you? Logic and usul al-fiqh 32:20 What really happens inside an Islamic seminary 35:22 Mufti Taha Karaan: the man behind the mind 44:50 The Goudini dictation story 49:32 Weeping over the names of Badr 51:32 Carrying the legacy after his passing 58:30 Teaching Qur'an to dentists and grandmothers 59:51 Inside the MJC 01:05:05 Women, youth, and identity 01:07:08 His primary concerns for the Ummah 01:12:12 Advice to a matric student: deen or degree? 01:14:25 Where to start studying in Cape Town 01:17:39 Closing duas

Jul 31

Be a Seeker, and Remain a Seeker — Shaykh Riyad Walls' Journey to Knowledge | ROOTED (Ep 4 Part 2)

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 #SeekingKnowledge 00:00 "Allah took it all away — so I could focus on the one thing He gave me" 00:45 Welcome back to ROOTED 02:14 The convert's different path to knowledge 02:56 "I embraced Islam and got the girl as a bonus" 04:41 Losing the business, the friends, the family 10:27 When my father found out 14:32 The hospital: "he was proud of what I'd become" 17:10 "Good luck" — the tests every believer faces 18:15 The gateway to the path of knowledge 20:48 Married, and the move to Cravenby 22:58 Selling the hi-fi: give something up for Allah 25:46 Long Street, when it was a street of bookshops 32:22 The two kinds of guidance 34:45 "This religion speaks about everything" — and istinja 44:55 "I love you for the sake of Allah" 47:26 The travelator: staying on the path 51:36 The book that lit the fire: Ihyā Ulūm al-Dīn 52:32 "Whoever walks the path of knowledge…" 55:15 Muhammad Karim and the sponsorship to study 57:08 ICOSA, Dar al-Arqam, and choosing a path 58:14 My teachers 01:00:52 Voice of the Cape and the door to Medina 01:03:24 "My first achievement" — first in class 01:06:28 Bursting to travel: the city of Fes 01:08:28 Al-Qarawiyyin, Fatima al-Fihri and the old way of learning 01:11:54 "Be a seeker, and remain a seeker" 01:13:29 The four types of people in knowledge 01:15:02 "Above every knower is the All-Knowing" 01:16:00 The cliffhanger: setting out for Morocco Correction: Mawlay Idris I was a descendant of Sayyiduna Hasan ibn Ali (Ahl al-Bayt), not of the Umayyads.

Jul 24

It's Not What I Did — The Conversion of Shaykh Riyad Walls | ROOTED Ep. 4

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 #Seerah 00:00 "It's not what I did, it's what I didn't do" 00:30 Welcome to ROOTED & the one-sentence question 01:49 Allah opened the door — I didn't hesitate 03:33 Farouk Musqat, the Rastafarian who gave him the book 04:35 The Steenberg screen-printing factory 06:14 First encounter with Muslims 07:24 What apartheid kept apart 09:37 "Were you devout?" — a confused Christian 13:24 Sunday school & the stories of the Prophets 16:22 The pie shop: the shield of taqwa 19:00 The warmth of Heideveld 19:50 In defence of the koesister 22:09 A polyglot lineage: his wife's family 24:57 Salah in the factory 28:51 Tartib: why the Cape scholars held the line 29:36 Surviving the Dutch: the Van Diemen plakkaat 33:44 His great-grandfather & the 91st Highlanders 35:48 The Tana Baru uprising, 1886 38:01 "Allah took from his back" — never lose hope 39:33 The road to the Shahada 40:55 "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, mashaAllah 48:14 Tawheed: finding the channel 51:14 The men in white on the Llandudno steps 57:00 George Bernard Shaw & the Orientalists 59:38 "I didn't want to be like them" 01:00:16 Choosing Islam — and tartib again 01:03:34 Don't delay the Shahada 01:04:14 Choosing the name Riyad 01:05:59 The Shahada, at last 01:06:45 "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 War 01:12:19 Fired for wearing the kufi 01:13:37 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

Jun 11

SUMUD | They Survived Apartheid Prison. They Said Israel Was Worse.

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 markers 00:00 Cold open: human trafficked in a container 00:57 Sumud and sabr: the opening 03:01 Meet the guests 04:53 Why we went: aid for the children 06:17 The 10,000 still behind: leaving the Palestinians in prison 07:21 Change it with the hand: the hadith that frames the episode 09:38 Raising the world's awareness 12:33 We stood on the holy grounds: redefining success 14:33 The power of dua in the cell 15:53 Was it a failure? Hudaybiyya and Fath Mubina 17:03 The decision: getting your affairs in order 19:46 Apartheid and Gaza: the same and not the same 21:43 On the boat: the spirit of the convoy 25:53 Dawah at sea: salah under a rifle 33:35 Shot on deck while his family watched live 37:08 The prison ships: containers, stun grenades, rubber bullets 41:00 Singled out as South African: the ICJ in the interrogation 43:00 Banu Nadir: destroyed by their own hands 50:19 Even the babies are terrorists 51:31 Whatever your passport says, you are Palestinian 54:09 The container, the boots, and the last kick of a dying horse 58:43 In the belly of the beast 01:00:17 Let them hear that we are here 01:02:14 Refusing to scream 01:03:50 What will you tell Allah? 01:05:33 Cyprus, the Western Cape, and the exit strategy 01:07:48 What you can do: Coke, coal, and the West 01:08:20 Wake up, Cape Town 01:11:25 The land convoy and the silence of Muslim states 01:14:36 Why I sail: I should have gone sooner 01:18:55 Seeing injustice at home 01:21:39 Closing: Surah al Nisa and a dua

Jun 5

Rooted - Episode 3 He Doesn't Go By Sheikh | Hafiz Raees Mohamad

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 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

May 15

Qurbani: Everything They Don't Teach You | with Mawlana Anees Kara

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 Kara Mawlana 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 #IsnadAcademy Chapter markers 00:00 Introduction 01:08 Meet Mawlana Anees Kahrah 02:25 Where to actually buy your animal 05:23 What an experienced eye looks for 07:59 Honesty in weight and pricing 10:54 Why lamb costs more than mutton 12:54 The two reasons Qurbani meat gets a bad name 15:25 Merino, Dorper, and the breeds question 19:31 Bringing your animal home and treating it right 27:35 Pros and cons of home versus farm Qurbani 30:54 Tasting wild, tasting bloody: the real reason 33:31 The post-slaughter process that fixes everything 36:55 Giving your meat away with dignity 38:47 The slaughter itself: knife, angle, technique 42:42 Aspiring to slaughter for the first time 46:38 Where to find Mawlana Anees 48:11 Closing dua

May 8

ROOTED | Ep. 2 — "He Came Home Different" | Sh Muhammad West

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 Muslim 00:22 Opening monologue 02:25 Quick-fire opener 07:43 Jeddah as a child 10:50 Madina University from the inside 13:18 Coming home in 2011 17:45 The parents' search across Malaysia, Egypt, Jeddah 22:30 The mother's record 27:40 The maternal grandfather and the Silo gym call 33:30 The Madina student years 39:20 Teaching the Sirah from a minority lens 49:20 The Woolworths meeting 52:00 Athari, Salafi, and the time and place for debate 57:00 Sami Hamdi and the politics of Quran and Sunnah 01:00:40 Palestine and the heart right now 01:11:30 Just talk to Allah 01:17:25 The Romantic Proposal 01:21:00 The life of an alim's wife 01:31:30 Burnout and sharpening the saw 01:33:50 The MJC: what it actually is 01:46:35 Baytul Ulama in the absence of a Khalifa 01:55:50 Living with politics 01:57:55 Final advice for the seeker 02:00:00 The point of all of this #ROOTED #IsnadAcademy #IslamicScholarship

Isnad Academy Podcast

He Knew Every Hafiz in Cape Town | Imam Fuad Samaai | Rooted Ep. 6

He Left a Maths Career for the Deen | Mawlana Zakariyya Harnekar | ROOTED Ep. 5

Be a Seeker, and Remain a Seeker — Shaykh Riyad Walls' Journey to Knowledge | ROOTED (Ep 4 Part 2)

It's Not What I Did — The Conversion of Shaykh Riyad Walls | ROOTED Ep. 4

SUMUD | They Survived Apartheid Prison. They Said Israel Was Worse.

Rooted - Episode 3 He Doesn't Go By Sheikh | Hafiz Raees Mohamad

Qurbani: Everything They Don't Teach You | with Mawlana Anees Kara

ROOTED | Ep. 2 — "He Came Home Different" | Sh Muhammad West

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Isnad Academy Panel-Discussions Introduction by M. Irshaad Sedick

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Isnad Academy Podcast

Episodes

He Knew Every Hafiz in Cape Town | Imam Fuad Samaai | Rooted Ep. 6

He Left a Maths Career for the Deen | Mawlana Zakariyya Harnekar | ROOTED Ep. 5

Be a Seeker, and Remain a Seeker — Shaykh Riyad Walls' Journey to Knowledge | ROOTED (Ep 4 Part 2)

It's Not What I Did — The Conversion of Shaykh Riyad Walls | ROOTED Ep. 4

SUMUD | They Survived Apartheid Prison. They Said Israel Was Worse.

Rooted - Episode 3 He Doesn't Go By Sheikh | Hafiz Raees Mohamad

Qurbani: Everything They Don't Teach You | with Mawlana Anees Kara

ROOTED | Ep. 2 — "He Came Home Different" | Sh Muhammad West

Trailer

About

Information