10th Dhul-Qa'dah 1447H
Assalamu'alaikum,
Last week, during the Faith-Based Trainer Challenge, a participant asked me a question I get often: "How do I find a good topic to train on?"
I told them: Scratch your own itch.
Back in 1428H (2007), when I was a student trying to figure out life, I had questions I was itching to find answers for:
How do I wake up for Fajr consistently, even when it’s summer and Fajr is super early?
How do I manage sleep in Ramadan when I have work or school?
How do I bring Barakah into my life when I feel busy, scattered, and overwhelmed?
I kept hoping to find satisfying answers online or somewhere, but I couldn't find any. So I started researching, experimenting, and then writing about what worked and what didn't. That's how ProductiveMuslim.com began.
The moment I started sharing what I had learned about a topic, I realized I wasn't the only one with that itch. Thousands of Muslims around the world had been quietly carrying the same struggles, waiting for someone to give language to what they were feeling.
The Lesson For Aspiring Trainers
If you've ever felt the pull to teach, train, or coach others, here's what I've learned:
The best training topics are the ones you've personally wrestled with and slowly learned to navigate by Allah's mercy.
You don't need to be the world's leading expert. You just need to be a few steps ahead of the person you're trying to help.
This was one of the lessons I shared during the Faith-Based Trainer Challenge last week. If it resonates with you, I recorded the full two days of sessions, covering:
Why faith-based training is one of the biggest "blue ocean" opportunities for our Ummah today
The 7 qualities that set faith-based training apart from secular professional development
How to develop training content for your audience (including the framework I use)
Practical facilitation tips I've gathered from 15 years and hundreds of workshops
May Allah SWT make us among those who teach what they know, live what they teach, and bring others closer to Him through their work.
Sincerely,
P.S. If watching the replay leaves you thinking "I want to actually do this and be a faith-based trainer, but I don’t know what to teach”... then consider joining the Productive Muslim Certification Program. We'll teach you a proven curriculum, train you to deliver it with confidence, and induct you into a global community of certified trainers carrying Barakah Culture to corners of the Ummah. Only 22 seats. Cohort starts Monday, 24 Dhul-Qa'da 1447H (11 May 2026). Apply here →
