EP 016: From American Prisons to Islam | Shaykh Rami Nsour

Shaykh Rami Nsour was born in Amman, Jordan and moved to the United States at the age of 9. During his college years, he attended Zaytuna classes taught by teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area, notably, Shaykh Khatri bin Bayba, Shaykh Abdullah bin Ahmedna and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. With their encouragement, Rami embarked on a journey to study at the well acclaimed mahdara (college)  of Shaykh Murabit al Hajj bin Fahfu in Mauritania in 1998. There, he was blessed with deep studies with beloved and respected teachers such as Murabit Muhammad al-Amin bin al-Shaykh, Murabit Ahmed Fal bin Ahmedna, Shaykh Abdullah bin Ahmedna, Shaykh Tahir ibn Murabit al Hajj and Shaykh Sa’d Bu among others. Rami completed studies in the various subjects of Qu’ran, ‘Aqeedah (Belief), Fiqh (Law), Nahu (grammar), Ihsan (spiritual purification), and adab (manners) and received traditional teaching license (ijaza) to transmit what he learned. Within the area of Fiqh, he also completed the final text of Maliki fiqh, Mukhtasar Khalil, with memorization and has been granted permission by his shuyukh to teach. In addition to his extensive study of fiqh, he was afforded the unique opportunity to attend one-on-one sessions with his teachers where he would engage them in countless hours of discussion on the application of fiqh in general and specifically for those living in the West.  He was also afforded the opportunity to learn practical applications of Islamic law (fiqh) during an extraordinary ‘in-residence’ experience. Rami has translated traditional Islamic texts from Arabic to English,  including various works on Maliki fiqh and several works of the great Mauritanian scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Mawlud. Rami has dedicated much of his time in teaching, conducting seminars and counseling.  He eventually co-founded the Tayba Foundation, which is currently the only organization offering a distance learning program in Islamic Education to incarcerated men and women. In addition to traditional teaching licenses (ijazah), Rami holds a B.A. in Human Development with a focus on Early Childhood.  Rami resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, is married and has two children. Tayba Foundation's goal is to provide Islamic correspondence courses at the post-secondary level to the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated through their Distance Learning Program. www.taybafoundation.org