About Me
I was born in Kerala, a beautiful state along the west coast in the south of India, to Muslim parents whose great-grandparents migrated to Kerala from the Kutch province in the North Indian State of Gujarat about three hundred years ago during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma and his minister Raja Keshavadas. Some narrations suggest that the minister invited these Kutchi Memons to Kerala to boost the local economy. Business ran in their genes for centuries and they still do the same.
After completing my school years in Alappuzha, a town nicknamed the “Venice of the East” due to its numerous canals resembling that of Venice in Italy, I moved to Kozhikode, where I earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Engineering before leaving Kerala altogether in search of a job to support my family.
The capital of India, New Delhi, was my first place of work. After eighteen months of work in New Delhi, I found a job in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I spent a decade working for four companies, gaining technical expertise and leadership skills. During my work in Jeddah, I actively engaged with non-Muslim friends and colleagues and introduced them to Islam. I always dreamed about going to the USA, where he would have much more freedom in spreading the message of Islam. Without much delay, the world’s creator presented events that paved the way for my migration to the USA with my life partner and beloved wife, Thafseera Bai, and our then two little sons, Nabeel and Nadeem.
I have been settled in the USA for twenty-four years now, with three more sons, Nadhir, Nazim, and Nizam, added to the family. My passion for engaging people on Islam and on enjoining good and forbidding evil is rooted in the verses of the Quranic chapter Al-Asr 103.
In 2012, with select others, I was involved in forming the American Islamic Outreach Foundation, an outreach-focused nonprofit organization that now operates in many of the states in the USA.
A passion for sharing my thoughts prompted me to launch three YouTube channels. This includes a channel in English for the English-speaking, another in Malayalam, which is my childhood local language of the state of Kerala, and one in Urdu, which is spoken by millions in the Indian subcontinent.
I deliver regular sermons in many of the mosques in the Carolinas and beyond. My sermons are often based on the advice from the Quran, the last divine book of God, and also the teachings of the last and final messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
I am authoring a memoir that will detail my life story and the events that guided me from Kerala to Carolina.
A memoir in the making
Over the years, my journeys have taken me to various global destinations, driven by the demands of work, the pursuit of business opportunities, or simply the desire for leisure and exploration. Each trip has been a chapter in its own right, filled with highs and lows that have shaped my perspective on life. Some moments were challenging, testing my resilience and determination, while others were nothing short of awe-inspiring, leaving me in wonder at the beauty and unpredictability of life.
What makes these experiences even more remarkable is that many seem to transcend human logic. They were events that felt almost surreal, as though they were guided by a force beyond comprehension. These encounters and moments have left an indelible mark on me, and I feel a deep urge to share them.
By putting these stories onto paper, my hope is to give you a window into these extraordinary experiences. Through these pages, you’ll embark on a journey with me, one filled with the unexpected, the challenging, and the miraculous, offering insights that might resonate with you or inspire your own reflections.
This book is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.