From Miftaah student to teaching 40 students worldwide

Ustadha Maryam Hassan didn’t plan to become a Quran teacher. Growing up in a small town in the American Midwest, she learned to read Quran at her local mosque, memorised Juz Amma by age 12, and assumed that was the extent of her Islamic education. It wasn’t until college — when she discovered Miftaah Institute’s online programme — that she realised how much more there was to learn.

“I enrolled thinking I’d learn a bit of tajweed and maybe memorise a few more surahs,” she recalls. “Within six months, I was obsessed. The precision of tajweed rules, the beauty of the Arabic, the connection I felt to a 1,400-year-old oral tradition — it changed how I saw everything.”

She completed the full Miftaah programme, earned her ijazah in Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim, and began teaching friends informally. When NoorQuran launched, she was among the first scholars to apply. Today, she teaches 40 active students across the UK, US, and Canada — with a 4.9-star rating and a waiting list.

Her teaching philosophy: “Safety first, then excellence”

“Before a student can learn, they need to feel safe,” Ustadha Maryam explains. “Safe to make mistakes. Safe to sound bad. Safe to ask ‘what does that mean?’ without feeling stupid. My first job in every lesson isn’t teaching — it’s creating an environment where the student knows they won’t be judged.”

This philosophy resonates particularly with her two main student demographics: women who were embarrassed about their reading level and never had a female teacher to learn from, and children under 10 who need warmth and encouragement to engage with something as demanding as tajweed.

“I spend the first three lessons barely teaching,” she admits. “I’m getting to know the student. What makes them laugh. What makes them anxious. What they love about the Quran — or what they find scary about it. Once I understand them, I can teach them. Not before.”

Her favourite surah to teach beginners: Surah Ar-Rahman

“Everyone expects me to say Al-Fatiha. And yes, Al-Fatiha is essential and always comes first. But my favourite surah to teach — the one that lights up students’ faces — is Surah Ar-Rahman.”

“It’s the rhythm. That repeated refrain — ‘Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?’ — creates a pattern that beginners can follow. They start to anticipate it. They feel it coming. And suddenly they’re reciting with flow, with emotion, with something that feels like music but is actually divine speech. It’s the surah that makes students fall in love with recitation.”

What she wants every parent to know

“Your child’s relationship with the Quran will mirror your relationship with the Quran. If you engage with it daily — even imperfectly — your child sees that and internalises it. If the Quran is only something the teacher handles, the child learns that it’s someone else’s responsibility, not theirs.”

“Also: trust the process. Tajweed doesn’t happen overnight. Some weeks your child will seem to go backward. That’s normal. The brain is consolidating. Don’t panic. Don’t push harder. Just keep showing up.”

“And please — don’t correct your child’s pronunciation unless you have training. I spend a significant portion of my time undoing corrections that well-meaning parents made incorrectly. Your love is your contribution. The correction is mine.”

Her advice for aspiring female scholars

“The ummah desperately needs more female Quran scholars. For every qualified female teacher, there are ten families waiting. The demand is enormous and the supply is insufficient.”

“If you’re considering this path: start by getting your ijazah. Not because it’s required to begin teaching informally, but because it gives you the scholarly foundation and the confidence to teach with authority. Miftaah, Al-Huda, Ebrahim College, and many other institutions now offer full programmes for women — many of them online.”

“Teaching Quran is the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. When a student who couldn’t read Arabic six months ago opens the mushaf and reads — really reads — for the first time, and they look up at you with tears in their eyes… that moment. There’s nothing like it in the world.”

Learn with Ustadha Maryam

Ustadha Maryam currently has limited availability but accepts new students on a rolling basis. She specialises in female adult beginners, children aged 5–10, and new Muslim instruction. Gender-matched by default.