I started off my teaching journey way back in 2006 when I
was 18 years old. I assisted my mother who is a certified Qur’an teacher, in
teaching proper recitation of the Qur’an with tajweed to adults around her age.
Most of them were novices with no prior knowledge of the Qur’an except a few
hija’iyah words. I managed to see for myself their improvements day by day, how
proper teaching lessons and strategies helped individuals grow, and that
teaching is a rewarding thing to do.

My passion for teaching was further developed while at IIUM.
I was appointed as a facilitator or naqibah to help enhance fard ‘ayn knowledge
among students assigned to me. I would say, I am an educator at heart for I
enjoy teaching whether in formal or informal settings. When I was still a
student, I spared some time helping juniors understand terms related to Islamic
Revealed Knowledge courses. When I was back in hometown, I provided tuition classes
and took up Islamic and language subjects.

With a solid background in Religious Studies, I was given a
role as a part-time lecturer at the Academy for Contemporary Islamic Studies,
UiTM Malacca city campus in 2015. I taught Islamic and Asian Civilizations, and
Ethnic Relations to undergraduate students. Throughout the courses, I tried to
instill the Rabbaniy concept of education (as gained from my experience at
IIUM) and Islamic virtues (adab, akhlaq) in students. I always believe, it is
the application of the Rabbaniy concept that keeps us on the right track and helps
us become a better ‘abd to the Creator. At UiTM, I was also involved in the Islamic Heritage Conference organised by ACIS. I was appointed as a proofreader who reviewed all the materials to be printed and published on the website. We managed to gather participants from all around the world, Alhamdulillah, and the Conference was indeed a success.

Apart from my forte, I have a strong passion in the field of language, to narrow it down, the area of inter-lingual and cross-cultural translation. I have worked for different companies in 10 years' time, local and international (Yayasan Restu, Oriel Square, Harpercollins, Karya Bestari, ITBM) as an editor, translator, and proofreader. I have contributed to the publication of various manuscripts at international level, to mention a few, I participated in the Malaysia-Rohingya (poetry) and Malaysia-Venezuela (short stories) projects as one of the translators, I finalised the translation of Al-Qur'an commentaries and mushafs for global distribution by Nasyrul Quran & Yayasan Restu. I, to my best ability, have also helped numerous students, undergraduates and postgraduates, from different universities improve and amend their theses, and thus pass their VIVA-Voce.

There is always something special about IIUM I could not find
elsewhere. I have travelled to far away places to seek the intangibles and gain all
that life has to offer; ‘ilm, skills, experience, and virtues, but I have never
found an environment similar with that of IIUM. I missed it while in London. I
gained new insights, yes, but somehow they felt desiccated as if something
valuable was missing; a constant reminder of tawheed and virtues, the
foundation of life.

The purpose of education should not only to develop one’s
intellect, but to shape the best character as well. Only then, one is able to
achieve a balance between intellectual and spiritual in both worlds; this world
and the hereafter. I believe, learning is a lifelong process and it always goes both ways - from teachers to students, and from students to teachers.

I have
always desired to develop my academic career further in the field of my
undergraduate major. As an IIUM alumna, it is my wish to return to IIUM as an academic,
educate future generations, and make the most of
my knowledge for the benefits of the society.