A student experiment
The Productive Muslim Company started in 2007, in the small student apartment of Mohammed Faris, a Tanzanian young man of Yemeni descent, who was pursuing a masters degree at the University of Bristol (UK) in Finance and Investment.
Throughout his University years, he found himself fascinated by productivity science and how one can achieve so much in so little time.
One day, on a cold November morning, in 2007, Mohammed woke up and two words popped into his head “Productive Muslim”. He got so excited by the term, that he decided to register the domain name ProductiveMuslim.com and launch a personal blog sharing his thoughts and ideas on how to live a productive lifestyle. Two months later, he shut the blog down. He thought the blog was pointless and was not worth pursuing.
A renewed focus
Fast forward six months later and two incidents propelled Mohammed to reconsider starting ProductiveMuslim.com again but with a new focus. First, a 10-year-old boy emailed him and asked about his blog saying that he was a fan! Mohammed couldn’t believe there was somebody out there who read and benefit from his blog.
Secondly, he came across a hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) that said: “The early hours are blessed for my nation” (Tirmidhi), and it was as if a lightning bolt hit him. Because every productivity book he was reading up until that point mentioned the importance of waking up early to be productive. And there was a 1400-year-old saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) that encouraged waking up early. He realized that the mission of ProductiveMuslim.com was not to share productivity advice like any other productivity platform. The purpose of ProductiveMuslim.com was to connect spirituality to productivity science and showcase the relevance of Islam in helping human beings live productive, meaningful lives.
From a Personal Blog to a Professional Training Company
In 2011, Mohammed incorporated ProductiveMuslim.com in the UK as “Productive Muslim Ltd” and started delivering productivity workshops in cities across the world as well as online. He was supported by a dedicated team of sincere and hardworking volunteers who helped transform the personal blog into a full-fledged training company.
A Calling
In 2015, Mohammed decided to quit his full-time career at a multinational Islamic bank and move to the US with his family to launch his book “The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity”, and re-launch “The Productive Muslim Company” as a faith-based professional training brand part of his Dallas-based productivity training and executive coaching company, Leading Productive Lives LLC.
The Team
The Productive Muslim company is currently run by a dedicated team of staff, writers, and freelancers who ensure that everything we do is helping you become the best version of yourself. The names of all team members (current and past) who helped build the Productive Muslim company are below:
Current Team Members
A global dedicated team to help you live the best version of yourself
Aneesah Satriya (Chief Design Officer, Malaysia)
Dina Mohamed Basiony (Chief Content Officer, Egypt)
Fayeza Zulfeqar (Social Media Manager, India)
Khadijah Alston (Executive Assistant, USA)
Mohammed Faris (Founder & CEO, USA)
Namra Hayat (Customer Success Specialist, UK)
Quratulain Tariq (Social Media Manager, Australia)
Raheena Abdurehim (Content Production and SEO Specialist, Saudi Arabia)
Sayema Zulfeqar (Director, Customer Success, India)
Zaynab Hamdi (Content Specialist, UK)
The above team is supported by a group of dedicated freelancers, contractors, and specialists who help ensure that our work is delivered to the highest professional level.
Hall of Fame (Old Team Members who helped us reach where we are today)
Aasim Hamid, Abduallah Adel,Adelina Iseini, Ahmed AbdulBadie ElSaify, Ahmet Mulalic, Artem Avanesyan, Asma Sheikh, Assad Masud, Ayah Younis, Azizur Rahman, Basit Rahman, Cyrille Ridhwan Bouzy,Dina El-Zohairy, Diana Nassar, Doha Ahmed Bahaa El-Deen, Elif Ok, Faisal Farooqui, Faria Amin, Fathima Nafla, Fatima Ahmed Ahmed, Fatima Mookadam, Fatima Zahra Ennda, Fatouma Abdou, Hanan Abdel- Khalek, Haneen Hussain Suliman, Ikramme Dibe, Ishma Imroz, Iqra Sheikh, Kymelya Sari, Lisa Zahran, Lotifa Begum, Manar Ihmud, Malika Hook Muhammad, Maheen Malik, Mai Diab, Mai Mahmoud, Mehdi Boudjemaa,Mehjabin Abdurrazaque, Mehreen Omer,Mifrah Mahroof, Mohamed Alaa, Mohammed Athif Khaleel, Mona Mohamed Morsy, Muhammad Amin Ebrahim Tily, Muhammad Hassan Arshad, Mushfiqur Rahman, Nadège Haddad, Naila Choudhary, Naïma Chaou, Nour El Iman NASRI, Olfat Sakr, Omar Othman, Ouakdi Maryama,Raeesa Patel,Qudsiyah Remtulla, Rachel Vanway, Raneez Mohamed, Rasha Jahfar, Rasha Jahfar, Rawan Mohammed, Razan Al Heib, Ross Ann Velasco, Samira Mendheria, Sajid Ali, Sameera Hameed, Sanna Ali, Sarraa Hassan Tawfik, Sohail Iqbal, Sumbella Khan, Syeda Fatima aka Bint Productive, Talha Naveed,Tasmia Firdaus, Timea Csányi, Toqa Sami, Uswa Ali, Victoire Değerli, Wafa Ahmed, Wegdan Rashad, Yara Ahmed Abdel Fattah,ZamZam Abukar, Zahrah Rashid, Zaynab Chinoy
Productive Muslim in Numbers
Awards & Accolades
We’ve delivered workshops in over 15 countries across the world, and over 30,000 people have gone through our programs.
We won the Brass Crescent Award in 2011, 2012 and 2015 for Best Blog and Best Group Blog.
Our founder, Mohammed Faris, was added to the World’s 500 Most Influential Muslim list.
In 2016, the Dubai Government recognized Productive Muslim as a pioneer in the digital Islamic economy.
In 2016 we were ranked within the top 50 most innovative global Muslim startups.
Our story just began…with you!
The story of The Productive Muslim Company is not a story of one person or a team. In fact, we honestly believe that all of the above was merely a prelude for the real story of The Productive Muslim company and how it’ll transform you and many of our readers and customers into empowered, productive citizens of the world.