Our Mission is to Empower Online Quranic Arabic Learning

Ustadh Fahd Yasin is a Quranic Arabic instructor at Fawakih Institute, most recently Levels 1A, 1B, and 2A. He also serves as the Student Support Specialist and Deputy Kajabi Experience Manager at Fawakih.

Ustadh Fahd has been studying Arabic for the past eight years at various institutes, including Modern Standard Arabic at Madina Institute, Quranic Arabic rhetoric (balaghah) at Fawakih Institute, Modern Standard Arabic at Middlebury Institute, Classical/Quranic Arabic at Qasid Institute in Amman, Jordan, and further Classical Arabic studies via scholars in Jordan and Egypt.

He has completed extensive training in Quranic Arabic sciences, including in grammar, morphology, and Arabic language syntax, structure, and composition. He has also received an ijazah (official license) in teaching the Ajrumiyyah (الآجَرُومِيَّة) grammatical text from Dr. Laher, senior faculty member at Fawakih. He also received an ijazah in Tajwid and Qur’anic recitation of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim (رِوَايَةُ حَفْصٍ عَنْ عَاصِمٍ), and teaches Tajwid to students, including in Level 1C, which houses Fawakih’s Tajwid curriculum.

Ustadh Fahd continues to study Quranic and Classical Arabic with his own teachers, specifically in the text إِحْيَاءُ عُلُومِ الدِّينِ (“Revival of the Sciences of Religion”), authored by the renowned classical scholar Imam Al Ghazali رَحِمَهُ الله; the exposition of the Mutammimah Al-Ajrumiyyah (مُتَمِّمَةُ الآجَرُومِيَّة), an advanced classical grammatical text, and further specialization in the Science of Tajwid and Quranic Recitation. Quranic and Classical Arabic has become the most fruitful endeavor of his life, and he is passionate about teaching the language of the Quran to all of his students and everyone he meets!

Bashir Castiñeira is a dedicated Arabic and Qur'an teacher from a prominent indigenous Spanish family that converted to Islam in the 70s. With a robust educational background, he holds a Teacher’s Degree from the Universidad de Sevilla and has pursued Arabic and Islamic Sciences at Qarawiyyin University in Fez. He has also memorized the Qur'an at Madrasa Hafsa, further enriching his expertise.

Fluent in his native Spanish, as well as Arabic and English, Bashir specializes in teaching Qur'anic Arabic, Tajwid, and Qur'an recitation (Hafs and Warsh). Since 2018, he has been a core instructor at KL Kuttab, a prominent weekend madrasa for English speakers. His experience extends to private Quran lessons, translation work, and administrative roles, including a three-year directorship at the Grand Mosque of Granada, where he managed classes, events, and fundraising efforts. He thereafter served as the Khateeb at Jami Mosque in Cape Town for a number years prior to relocating to Malaysia.

Ust Bashir, alongside his father, an early Spanish convert, community leader & world renowned translator will lead Fawakih’s initial exploration of translating the curriculum to Spanish. He most recently translated Sahih Muslim to the Spanish language.

Ustadh Brett Cooper is a Quranic Arabic instructor, educator, and community leader based in Kansas City, where he is actively involved in Islamic education and community development. As part of the instructional team at Fawakih Institute, he teaches intermediate and advanced Quranic Arabic courses designed to help students build a deeper connection with the language of the Quran.

Brett embraced Islam at the age of 20 after a period of personal study and historical inquiry that began while attending Johnson County Community College. His search for religious truth led him to study a variety of faith traditions before ultimately accepting Islam. Since then, he has committed himself to formal Islamic learning rooted in the classical scholarly tradition, with a particular focus on ensuring that faith is approached through knowledge, reflection, and disciplined study.

Beyond his work in the classroom, Brett organizes regional learning circles and community-based Arabic cohorts throughout the Kansas City area, helping cultivate meaningful spaces for students of sacred knowledge. He also regularly delivers Khutbahs and educational lectures at mosques across the Kansas City metro, where he focuses on connecting classical Islamic teachings and legal traditions to the realities and challenges of contemporary American Muslim life.

Known for his thoughtful teaching style and community-centered approach, Brett is passionate about making Quranic Arabic and Islamic scholarship accessible, relevant, and transformative for students at every stage of their learning journey.

Ustadha Ayesha Darab is a Classical Arabic and Tajwid instructor at Fawakih Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching Quranic Arabic and advancing accessible Islamic education. Her work focuses on helping students develop a deep connection with the Arabic language through rigorous yet approachable instruction grounded in the Islamic scholarly tradition.

Ayesha holds a B.A. in Islamic Law and Theology from Zaytuna College, an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, and a second M.A. from Zaytuna College specializing in Islamic philosophy. She has also pursued advanced Arabic language and Islamic studies in Egypt.

In addition to her teaching at Fawakih, Ayesha serves as an educator at Averroes High School and teaches with both The Catherine Project and Adab Academy. Her academic interests include classical philosophy, Islamic theology, and classical Arabic grammar.

Fluent in English and Dari (Farsi), with professional proficiency in Arabic, Ayesha is known for combining intellectual depth with clarity and compassion in her teaching, helping students engage meaningfully with the Quranic tradition and the broader Islamic intellectual heritage.