Nearly six years after graduating with the Diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies and Leadership, the Cambridge Muslim College remains a home away from home. I will forever remain grateful to Allah and indebted to the staff and supporters of the College. The Diploma further deepened my appreciation of my previous Islamic Studies and its connections to modern contexts. My  spirituality was developed through experiencing the high levels of ihsan (prophetic excellence) of people at the College and through Shaykh Abdal Hakim’s regular lectures. After graduating, I completed a Master’s program in Islamic Studies at SOAS. Following this, I was a researcher for a six-month project funded by SOAS and the government to identify barriers to Islamic seminaries achieving higher education accreditation. I also trained as a  hypnobirthing instructor and went on to create my own course, ‘Spiritual Birth’. In the past few years I have served as a Chaplain at a Muslim college, collaborating with a local NHS trust to train Muslim seminary graduates in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care.

As a response to some of the many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have worked alongside senior scholars and expert clinicians to tackle rising cases of domestic and spiritual abuse, including creating safe online spaces for  women experiencing poor mental wellbeing. Another huge part of my work during the lockdowns was teaching online antenatal courses. I was privileged to educate couples about both the physiology and spirituality of birth and in understanding their birth rights and choices. Supporting the community to reconnect to the Divine during these difficult times was made possible by the training in media and counselling which Cambridge Muslim College provided me. The Cambridge Muslim Collegeexperience has changed my life. The rigorous and holistic education better prepared me for the many challenges that lay ahead. It gifted me the skills, knowledge and courage to either offer my own solutions or to successfully work with field professionals. Most importantly, the College taught me what it means to be compassionate and to have sincere concern for everyone. This is what helps me the most in my most cherished role, that of being a mother to my two precious children.

Safiyya Dhorat graduated from the Cambridge Muslim College with the Diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies and Leadership in 2015. She has studied a Masters in Islamic Studies and worked closely with local and national Government. Now, Safiyya is a chaplain at Ebrahim College and successfully runs ‘Spiritual Birth’, a hypnobirthing course.