We are excited to introduce December’s Student of the Month. Dr. Renas Almubarak’s journey is one of devotion—to her family, her patients, and her faith. Originally from Sudan, she immigrated to the United States in 2010 to pursue her dream of working with children. After graduating from medical school, she completed seven years of training in pediatrics and emergency pediatric medicine, living in five different states along the way. Today, she and her family have finally settled in New Jersey, where she balances life as a pediatric emergency doctor, wife, and homeschooling mother of four children, aged seven to thirteen.
“I also love the outdoors,” she shares. “I try to take a walk or bike whatever the weather is like.”
Discovering Ribaat and the World of Female Scholarship
Renas was first introduced to Ribaat in the summer of 2023 when a friend shared her own Ribaat journey. Up to that point, every Islamic course she had taken had been taught by male scholars. She had explored aqida and fiqh with other online Islamic Studies programs and attempted several online tajwid and hifz programs, but something was always missing, until she found Ribaat.
“The idea of female scholars was not only new and foreign to me, but fascinating,” she recalls. Her first course, Tajwid Part 1: Letters and Phonetics, proved to be a revelation. “For the first time in my life, I was introduced to the way to pronounce the Arabic letters. I thought to myself, ‘How do I not know this, being a native Arabic speaker?’ and ‘Why was this knowledge shielded from us in the Arab world and not easily accessible?’”
Since then, she has continued taking courses each semester, deepening her connection with the Quran and the teachers who guide her.
“I love all the Anses who have shaped my tajwid journey and will be eternally grateful to Anse Ola Habbab, Anse Abeer, and my beloved Anse Rola Jalad, who I dream to be able to pronounce and recite the Quran like one day, inshallah.”
Renas’s humility and dedication reflect her deep respect for knowledge and those who impart it. Each lesson brings her closer to the Divine words she seeks to perfect and live by.
Her dream is simple yet profound: to complete her tajwid certification and teach the proper pronunciation and recitation of the Quran. First to her children, and one day, to other Muslim women.
May Allah bless Dr. Renas with baraka in her time, light in her recitation, and the joy of seeing generations learn the Quran through her, ameen!