Ijaada Institute

I’m Alexis Oyebade (Abdur-Rahman), a revert to Islam. I left behind Christianity and a promising music career at 19 but nothing prepared me for the pain of not understanding Arabic.

I’d stand in ṣalāh, hearing the verses of Allah, but not understanding a word.

I recited the Qur’an without knowing what I was saying. That disconnection broke me.

So I shut myself away at home in the UK, obsessed with learning Arabic. Eventually, I reached a level where I could understand the Qur’an.

I realised NOTHING compares to hearing Allah’s words and actually understanding them in Arabic.

It also made me see how far translations are from what was truly revealed.

I went on to study in Makkah for 10 years and graduated from Umm al-Qurā University with a degree in Arabic.

Now I’ve made it my mission to help Muslims understand what’s being recited in prayer, when they hear the Qur’an — and in turn, build a deep, true connection with Allah through His words.