About the Markaz
A movement towards wholeness, tranquility and divine purpose
Markaz Al Midād is more than an academy. It was founded to help seekers — especially women — reconnect with their Rabb in a balanced and heartfelt way.
The name
Midād — ink
مداد — the ink of the scribe, of the scholar, of the student copying out what she has been taught. It is the material of transmission: the means by which knowledge travels from one heart to the next.
The Qurʾān uses the word to describe something inexhaustible. Say: if the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted — al-Kahf 18:109.
It is a fitting name for a place of study. What is written here is small; what it points towards has no end.
Our vision
To revive the inner and outer dimensions of faith through authentic Islamic knowledge, spiritual connection, and psychological insight.
Our mission
Three commitments
Accessible learning
Platforms for Islamic learning for sisters around the world, at one's own pace and in one's own comfort zone — without the pressure to perform, but with the intention to transform.
The whole person
Addressing the emotional and spiritual needs of learners through a faith-based lens, rather than treating knowledge as something separate from the heart that receives it.
A safe space
A soul-nurturing environment for women to grow in ʿIlm and Iḥsān, where questions are welcome and struggle isn't treated as failure.
The founder
Ustādhah Ummqaariah
ʿĀlimah · Fāzilah · M.A. Islamic Studies · M.A. Clinical Psychology
Ustādhah Ummqaariah is a dedicated Islamic educator and spiritual mentor who integrates sacred Islamic knowledge with the emotional and psychological realities of today.
Her training spans two fields that are usually kept apart. On one side, classical Islamic scholarship — ʿĀlimah and Fāzilah qualifications alongside a Master's in Islamic Studies. On the other, a Master's in Clinical Psychology.
That combination is not incidental to how the Markaz teaches. It is the reason a course on Tazkiyah can distinguish between a spiritual struggle and a psychological one instead of prescribing more dhikr for both, and the reason Al Qawareer exists as a separate wing rather than an afterthought.
Her stated mission is simple: to bring faith-based learning that speaks to the mind and the heart.
How we teach
- Study at your own pace
- Most courses are recorded. There is no cohort to fall behind and no term to miss.
- Taught for the heart and the mind
- Every subject is taught with attention to what it asks of you spiritually, not only what it requires you to memorise.
- Women-centred, not women-only by accident
- The Markaz was built around the realities of women’s lives — the interruptions, the caregiving, the seasons of capacity and incapacity.
- Support beyond the classroom
- Al Qawareer exists because learning sometimes surfaces things that a course cannot resolve.