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Sheikh Sajid Umar is a qualified judge, scholar, and educator who has spent the past two decades working with Muslim communities worldwide. He's helped Muslims navigate Islamic principles in modern contexts - from Islamic finance and business to family life and personal development. Sheikh Sajid is also the author of several books, including his commentary on Surah Yusuf as well as his latest work, "A Journey to Success". Follow Sh Sajid Umar: https://www.instagram.com/sajidahmedumar/ https://www.youtube.com/@SajidUmarOfficial Purchase "A Journey to Success"  https://quillspire.com/products/a-journey-to-excellence-1 00:00 Introduction 02:17 Vision of Ignited Communities 03:32 Why We Need an Islamic Alternative 05:21 The Legacy After Prophet Muhammad ﷺ 06:47 Carriers of the Greatest Legacy 08:02 The Three I's of Success: Ikhlas 09:45 Living a Paradise-Centric Life 10:14 Result vs Purpose 13:45 Making Allah Your Purpose 17:25 Building Jannah Through Daily Actions 19:13 Converting Life Into Worship 21:35 Wanting More While Staying God-Centric 24:21 Hope for Those Who Feel Lost 26:22 Introduction to Ihsan (Excellence) 28:42 Following Muhammad ﷺ as the Standard 30:40 Worshipping as If You See Allah 35:26 Management vs Balance in Life 38:22 Value Creation Over Profit 40:08 Car Wash vs Mixed Stocks 42:32 The Camera in the Office Story 43:59 Introduction to Istiqamah 46:49 The Daily Grind 48:14 Time: Your Greatest Resource 50:22 The Journey to Success Book 52:17 Rewards of Istiqamah 55:01 Excellence in Effort, Not Result 59:24 Judging Yourself on Effort 1:03:11 Wealth is Ordained, Not Obtained 1:05:03 The Saddle Story 1:07:14 How Do You Want to Die? 1:14:32 The Blueprint Before the House 1:16:19 Vision Helps Right Decisions 1:19:31 We Have Every Excuse to Succeed 1:21:36 The Prophet ﷺ as Master Visionary 1:22:54 The Two Bangles Promise 1:24:15 Treasures During the Trench 1:28:18 Visionary Moves, Not Random 1:31:48 The Last Smile 1:32:17 Where to Find the Book _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ Follow Sohaib (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97 https://twitter.com/sohaibashraf97 _____________ Podcast Studio: https://www.dubaipodcaststudio.com/ Apply 15% off all services with the promo code "MuslimFOUNDER".

Peter Gould is a designer and author who has spent over two decades integrating Islamic spirituality with contemporary design. He's the founder of Gould Studio and author of "The Heart of Design," developing frameworks that apply Islamic principles to creative work. His influence extends from designing products for Muslim families to teaching Islamic design concepts to big tech companies such as Apple and Google. Follow Peter Gould: https://www.instagram.com/petergouldart/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergouldart/ https://peter-gould.com/ Heart of Design: https://www.theheartofdesign.com/ Tales of Khayaal: https://www.talesofkhayaal.com/ 00:00 Introduction 02:55 Peter's Journey to Islam At 20 06:40 Visiting Muslim Countries & Islamic Architecture 09:30 What Makes Design "Islamic"? 11:14 Design for Remembrance vs Distraction 14:56 Bringing Islamic Principles to Apple & Google 17:26 Implementing Islamic Design In the Corporate World 21:03 Lessons from Photographer Peter Sanders 22:50 Writing "The Heart of Design" 25:58 Heart of Design vs Modern Design 28:04 Tales of Khayaal: Building Muslim Media 31:17 Why "Muslim Alternatives" Isn't Enough 36:39 The Rise of Global Muslim Digital Nomads 40:33 Advice for 21-Year-Olds Starting Out 44:41 The Taraweeh Melbourne Story 47:44 How Peter Wants to Be Remembered _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ Follow Sohaib (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97 https://twitter.com/sohaibashraf97

Adil Abbuthalha is the Founder of Boycat, an app that has diverted over $200 million from companies supporting Israeli interests. Adil studied at UC Davis, California, before starting his career in Silicon Valley, where he worked at a number of notable tech companies.  In 2023, after the ongoing events in Palestine, he launched the boycat app that would put him on government watch lists worldwide.  Support Boycat: Boycat VPN: https://boycat.io/vpn/order?via=muslimfounder Boycat Membership: https://www.boycat.io/membership Follow Boycat: https://www.instagram.com/boycatapp/ https://www.tiktok.com/@boycat.io https://x.com/boycatapp 00:00 Introduction 01:46 Life Ambitions Before October 7th 04:19 How Gaza Changed Everything 06:52 The Dream That Started It All 09:08 Why Boycotting Actually Works 10:55 What Does The Boycat App Do? 12:36 Prophet Musa Inspiration 14:00 How The App Went Viral Overnight 15:03 What Is The Long-Term Vision? 18:15 Getting Fired For Building Boycat 19:40 Building For The Dunya vs Akhira  22:20 Advice For People Wanting To Build Tech  23:27 Lesson From The Life Of The Prophet ﷺ  24:45 Israeli Government Tried To Buy The App 26:16 Dealing With Negativity Death Threats  31:09 Lessons From The Past Two Years 33:53 Biggest Fear: Becoming Arrogant 34:49 How You Can Support The Boycat Movement 37:24 Final Message: Build Like A Prophet _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ Connect with Sohaib: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97 https://twitter.com/sohaibashraf97

Mohammed Paracha is a Partner and Head of Middle East at Norton Rose Fulbright, one of the world's largest law firms. He began his career in the early 2000s and has become a pioneer of Islamic Banking. Beyond his law career, he’s also the co-founder of Nester, a regulated Shariah-compliant investment platform in the UK. Earlier this year, Mohammed also completed nearly 10 years of Islamic studies to become a qualified scholar. Connect with Mohammed Paracha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammed-paracha-977873b/ https://nester.com/ 00:00 Introduction 01:53 Early Days of Islamic Finance in the UK 04:33 The Governor of Bank of England Story 06:40 Creating the Legal Framework for Islamic Finance 07:29 "Golden Age" of Islamic Finance 9:37 Why High Street Banks Withdrew from Islamic Finance 12:03 The Future of Islamic Banking in the UK 16:39 Paracha's Journey into Islamic Finance 22:49 Moving from Law to Investment Banking 25:24 The Birth of Nester 29:42 Fixed Returns and Sharia Compliance Debate 34:50 Branding Challenges in Islamic Finance 37:53 Biggest Shock Building a Startup 39:24 Advice for Aspiring Islamic Fintech Founders 45:25 Completing 10 Years of Islamic Studies 49:06 Applying Islamic Scholarship to Business _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ Connect with Sohaib: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97 https://twitter.com/sohaibashraf97

Thom Defilet is an entrepreneur and revert to Islam from the Netherlands. His path to Islam began through friendships with Muslims and participation in Ramadan while still identifying as an atheist.  He officially embraced Islam in 2022, taking the name Rayan - meaning "Gate of the fasting people" in reference to one of the eight gates of Paradise. Connect with Thom: https://www.youtube.com/@thomdefilet https://www.instagram.com/thomdefilet 00:00 Introduction 00:44 How the nightclub conversion story went viral 02:17 Growing up in the Netherlands and early life struggles 04:44 Seeking purpose and self-development journey 06:25 Perception of Islam before conversion 08:42  Why more people are converting to Islam in the West 13:39 Advice for encouraging people toward Islam 19:43 The biggest shock of accepting Islam 21:53 Moving to Dubai as a Muslim 23:19 Balancing luxury and faith in Dubai 28:13 First Umrah experience 31:59 Learning Arabic and building relationship with Quran 37:34 Daily routine and prioritizing Islamic practices 40:37 Business ventures and entrepreneurship journey 44:27 Advice for young Muslims entering business _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ Connect with Sohaib: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97 https://twitter.com/sohaibashraf97

Shinaz is the founder of Niyyah, an Islamic education app that is transforming how Muslims connect with the Quran. He studied at the London School of Economics before launching his career in consulting and subsequently transitioning into the venture capital world. In 2023, he founded Niyyah, which now has over 70,000 users across 170 countries and has raised over $2m from investors. Download the Niyyah App: https://www.niyyah.app/ Connect with Shinaz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shinaznavas/ 00:00 - Introduction 01:21 - Growing up in India and moving to the UK 05:26 - From consulting to venture capital 07:54 - Leaving VC to build Niyyah 08:43 - What Niyyah does 12:03 - Handling criticism about tech and Islam 14:37 - Balancing purpose and profit 16:55 - Why most investors are non-Muslims 20:26 - Why Muslim consumer apps struggle 24:17 - Finding product-market fit 28:11 - Opportunities in Muslim tech 32:26 - Skills needed as a founder 37:23 - Future plans with AI 42:33 - Advice for connecting with the Quran 44:37 - Do you need to learn Arabic? _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Hasan Kubba is a business coach and co-author of "The Unfair Advantage."  He studied economics at SOAS University before building his career in marketing, startups and entrepreneurship. His book hit #1 on Amazon's bestseller list across multiple categories and is now featured in multiple MBA programs across leading universities.  He now helps entrepreneurs and creators become bestselling published authors by securing them book deals, with a 100% success rate, working with the likes of Ali Abdaal. Connect with Hassan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startuphasan/ https://www.amazon.com/The-Unfair-Advantage/dp/1788167546 00:00 - Introduction 01:26 - Hassan's Iraqi Heritage & Journey to London 02:29 - Why He Dropped Out of Medicine for Economics 05:10 - Discovering The 4-Hour Work Week & Starting His Business 07:20 - Meeting His Co-Author Ash Ali (Just Eat's First Marketing Director) 12:25 - The MILES Framework: Your Unfair Advantages Audit 19:09 - Why Your Postcode Determines Your Success 22:37 - Status: The Most Powerful Unfair Advantage 26:23 - From Consultant to Coach: The Mindset Shift 32:46 - How to Actually Get a Traditional Book Deal 36:58 - Becoming Ali Abdaal's First Business Coach 40:23 - The Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make 47:35 - Why Book Deals Are Like VC Funding 54:26 - Personal Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs 59:52 - How to Get a TEDx Talk (It's Easier Than You Think) _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Mohammed Faris is the founder of The Productive Muslim and author of the book "The Barakah Effect."  In the mid-2000s, he started the Productive Muslim blog, becoming a pioneer in bridging Islamic spirituality, productivity and personal development.  Beyond his writing and speaking career, he's developed frameworks like the "Barakah Culture", which frames spiritual growth alongside worldly achievement.  Connect with Mohammed Faris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedfaris/ https://x.com/MohammedAFaris https://productivemuslim.com/ https://barakaheffectbook.com/ 00:00 - Introduction  02:07 - What is Barakah? (The Secret to True Productivity) 08:04 - Why Hustle Culture is Destroying Your Soul 12:56 - Your First Steps to Attaining Barakah. 15:40 - How to Invite Barakah Into Your Daily Life 18:50 - Habits That Kill Your Barakah. 20:56 - The Prophet's ﷺ Daily Routine  25:45 - How to Apply This in the Modern World 27:42 - Why Morning Hours Have Special Power 29:20 - Building Your Tahajjud Practice (Step-by-Step) 31:37 - The Islamic Art of Time Management 35:53 - Gardener vs Carpenter: Two Approaches to Life 39:07 - Breaking Free From Dunya Attachment 42:02 - The 3 Levels of Intention (Niyyah) 45:32 - Setting Goals the Islamic Way 51:23 - Final piece of advice _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Ibrahim Khan is the co-founder of Islamic Finance Guru and Cur8 Capital, a shariah-compliant investment platform. He studied PPE at Oxford University before starting his career as a corporate lawyer, where he gained experience working in private funds. In 2019, after running IFG as a blog, he decided to leave his corporate career to go full-time on the company.  Since then, IFG now educates millions of muslims every year, and its sister company, Cur8 Capital, manages over $120m for over 2,500 Muslims across the world  Connect with Ibrahim Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mibrahimkhan/ https://www.youtube.com/@IFGuru https://cur8.capital/ ----- 00:00 - Introduction  02:02 - How did you know you wanted go into Islamic Finance?  04:55 - What skillset should you acquire to go into Islamic Finance? 07:25 - How important are Islamic qualifications for this field? 09:51 - What does a TRUE Islamic Finance system look like?  12:15 - What are the missing pieces of Islamic Economics? 15:30 - What are the key gaps still missing in Islamic Finance? 18:02 - What’s the importance of payment infrastructure? 22:30 - Why is insurance ignored? 23:59 - Why are there so many failed Islamic Finance startups? 26:57 - Is there a talent problem with Islamic startups? 28:24 - What’s the IFG/Cur8 story? 32:07 - Why did you raise Venture Capital funding? 35:47 - What do most founders get wrong when building startups? 38:26 - What gets Ibrahim excited about founders? 41:25 - Is there a conflict of interest in building an Islamic company? 43:51 - Is there a Quran verse you reflect upon a lot? 47:42 - Ibrahim's startup advice for Sohaib 49:55 - How can Sohaib improve as a person? 51:30 - Sohaib’s best and worst moments at IFG _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. ---------- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Abdul Rahman Abbas is a medical doctor and the founder of Pillars, a prayer app used by over a million Muslims worldwide. More recently, he's launched Jibreel, the "Duolingo for Fiqh" - teaching Islamic knowledge through bite-sized lessons. Abdul Rahman is also a pioneer of the Muslim tech community and is known for his "building in public" approach. He’s now left medicine to focus full-time on his tech ventures. Connect with Abdul Rahman: https://x.com/asabbas98 https://www.thepillarsapp.com/ https://jibreel.app/ _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ 00:00 - Introduction  01:36 - Balancing medicine with entrepreneurship 06:12 - Pillars app origins 11:54 - Building your business in public  14:26 - Why did you decide to go full-time in building? 15:35 - Pillars, specialities, and long-term commitment 18:36 - What is the Jibreel app? 22:07 - Which school of thought are you building for? 25:39 - Balancing Islamic tech with scholars' input 29:02 - Why Muslims should pay for Islamic Knowledge 32:47 - Why Muslims don't want to build for Muslim consumers   35:42 - The need for role models in Muslim businesses 37:25 - Advice for wanting to build something whilst in a Corporate job? 39:25 - Is entrepreneurship a privileged game? 44:23 - Muslims applying for tech accelerators 46:42 - Why should Muslims build companies? ---------- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Iqbal Nasim is the former CEO of NZF, the National Zakat Foundation. He studied economics at Cambridge University before starting his career in investment banking, which he left to join NZF. Under his leadership, NZF transformed how Muslims distribute their zakat, emphasising local impact and institutional development. He’s now the founder of Transform My Prayer, a program which helps muslims spiritually connect with their salah.  The Last Day Leadership program, which helps muslims find meaning and purpose in their life. And the In Good Faith Podcast, which helps people lead a God-centred life. Connect with Iqbal Nasim https://www.iqbalnasim.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@IqbalNasim https://www.linkedin.com/in/iqbalnasim/ (Also, apologies for my voice, I was very ill whilst recording this episode.) _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ 00:00 - Introduction 01:35 - Leaving $1m Investment Banking Career. 04:12 - What do Muslims get wrong about Zakat? 12:51 - Leaving NZF after 10 years. 15:14 - Framework for finding the highest impact work in our lives. 18:53 - The 3-year death experiment to find our purpose. 22:25 - How to transform our prayer. 32:52 - The biggest mindset problem in our community. 39:55 - Advising Sohaib on his next career steps. 44:02 - What is the biggest problem in our community that needs tackling? 45:35 - How to find money whilst pursuing our purpose in life?  46:18 - What keeps Iqbal up at night? ---------- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Dr. Salah Sharief is an entrepreneur, a student of knowledge, and the founder of Chaptrs, the first audiobook platform for Muslims. He studied law at university, completing his Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD, before spending four years in Egypt studying Islamic knowledge.  His first business, Wordsmiths Press, was in translation and editing for Islamic publishers. This expertise also led him to develop Sheikh Yasir Qadhi's renowned Seerah series into a comprehensive book. Connect with Dr Salah: https://www.getchaptrs.com/ https://www.facebook.com/salahshariefpage/ https://www.instagram.com/drsalahsharief/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-salah-sharief-12b823137/ _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ 00:00 - Introduction 01:30 - Wanting to be an actor 03:05 - Pursuing Academia 05:43 - Starting his first business  10:20 - Why students of knowledge stay poor  12:18 - Why did you pursue islamic knowledge? 13:12 - How students can be financially stable 16:03 - How scholars are financially enslaved 17:53 - Quality of people becoming scholars 19:06 - Producing Yasir Qadhi Seerah Book. 23:23 - Biggest challenge of producing the Seerah Book. 28:03 - Building audio books for Muslims  32:15 - Why not just use audible? 33:33 - How do you produce the audio books? 35:33 - The impact of Chaptrs 39:18 - Advice for building a company.   42:05 - Perseverance  42:50 - Dr Salah’s Ted Talk  ---------- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Abu Musa started his career working in recruitment before starting his own business at the age of 25. Since then, he now runs a portfolio of companies making over $50k a month. This includes a recruitment company, an education platform, an AI Saas startup and a call centre operation in Pakistan.  He’s also a social media influencer who educates Muslims about starting businesses and achieving financial independence in line with Islamic values. Connect with Abu Musa: https://www.youtube.com/@abumusa_ch https://www.instagram.com/abumusa_ch/ https://www.recruitmentle.com/ _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ 00:00 - Introduction  02:47 - Career overview making $50/k month. 05:31 - Starting his first business. 07:25 - Advice for starting your first business. 08:55 - Making your first $10k/month 11:25 - Social Media Gurus 12:26 - The issue with making content. 13:53 - Balancing Islam with social media. 14:42 - University or not 18:08 - Why Abu Musa started content? 19:51 - Abu Musa bluntness on social media. 23:44 - How to use social media to grow business 25:40 - Is social media overhyped? 27:26 - The Sunnah Guy 28:44 - The most important advice for Muslims 30:49 - Moving to Sharjah  34:15 - Cost of living in Sharjah  36:36 - Abu Musa mission in life ---------- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Faisal Choudhry is the founder of Freshly Grounded, one of the world’s most popular Muslim podcasts with over 100 million impressions. Faisal is also a social media master guru, a marketing genius and has inspired a generation of muslim influencers.He was also the Head of Marketing at Tarteel, an AI Quran learning app.Connect with Faisal:https://www.youtube.com/@FreshlyGroundedhttps://www.instagram.com/freshly_grounded/https://www.instagram.com/faisalchdry/_____________Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations. Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah._____________00:00 Introduction02:34 Freshly Grounded origin story06:40 Did you know Freshly Grounded was going to grow into this brand?09:47 The Freshly Grounded Live Events13:32 Advice for Muslim's building personal brands17:10 How to balance your iman and putting yourself online19:42 How to build the relationship with the viewer22:36 How to become better at making content 27:10 Podcasting in 2025?29:21 Different paths in monetising content?33:13 What is Tarteel?35:40 How is fatherhood changed your life?38:50 Advice for first time fatherhood40:30 Faisal's TED Talk 45:44 What's next for Freshly Grounded?47:47 Leaving Tarteel - what's next for Faisal?48:58 Live show in Dubai?----------https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97

Sunny Araf is a serial entrepreneur. He started his career in the West Midlands Police before transitioning into the business world, where he now runs an 8 figure security company.  Sunny is also an active philanthropist and runs his own charity the ISA Foundation.  In 2022, he was named in The Time Top 50 Most Ambitious Leaders.  Connect with Sunny: https://www.instagram.com/sunnyaraf1/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnyaraf/ _____________ Muslim Founder Podcast - conversations with leaders who have built successful companies and organisations.  Our mission is to inspire Muslims to build things that empower the ummah. _____________ 00:00 Introduction  01:27 Interest in politics  03:16 Early upbringing 07:13 Why did you leave the police? 10:37 How did you make the transition into entrepreneurship? 13:00 What does Sunny’s security business do? 13:56 Nicki Minaj opportunity  16:10 Importance of barakah in business 17:51 Business deal with a Jewish guy. 21:32 How did you land your first large contract 24:15 Biggest mistake new business owners make 26:30 Importance of long-term relationships. 27:47 How did you get into charity work? 31:56 Little Hearts Charity Project 33:43 How to manage business through hardships 35:10 Dua that was answered  36:17 Importance of team 39:27 How to find purpose and fulfilment in life  42:57 Advice for your younger self 44:36 What do the next 5 years look like for you? 46:35 Moving to Dubai? ---------- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohaibash/ https://www.instagram.com/sohaibashraf97