Another small change, another big victory in Texas

One of the challenges of working in prisons across the entire country is that every state has its own rules and regulations.

Letters, emails, books - anything we send to our students behind bars can have no problems in one state and get rejected by the administration in another.

One particularly tricky state is Texas.

For the longest time, we were not able to receive approval to make and receive phone calls from prison. We even attempted to petition the director of the Department of Corrections to no avail.

Alhamdulillah, we've finally found a way through.

By reworking Tayba's phone setup, we were able to finally be approved for phone calls to all prisons in TX!

Here's how big of a deal this is: Tayba has more students in Texas than in any other state, even more than Florida or California!

Taking advantage of the opportunity

Not surprisingly, it didn't take long for this new setup to bear fruit.

Almost immediately, we received an email - and then a phone call - from brother Amir in Texas.

A Tayba student since 2017, Amir learned so much that he was chosen as his community's imam (a very common occurrence in US prisons where no "outside" imam is present - see our recent email about it).

But he's not just in charge of jumuah - Amir has been given the duty of teaching twice a week, which he does using Tayba textbooks.

On top of that, as an imam he ends up dealing with a lot of internal squabbles - some Muslims in his community are active gang members with little concern for following the deen.

Needless to say, Amir doesn't always know what to do or how to answer the questions he's faced with.

Now, instead of having to wait weeks for an answer to a question by mail, he can reach a Tayba teacher immediately by phone.

More than just teaching

It's a strange experience speaking on the phone with someone you've only communicated by letter with for many years.

Like many incarcerated Muslims, Amir accepted Islam in prison. He has never visited a masjid or experienced a Muslim community out in free society.

So for him, just as it is for many other Tayba students, a Tayba instructor is the only example of what a practicing, knowledgeable Muslim looks like.

That's why phone calls with our students are about more than just teaching and answering questions. It's about forming a human connection.

Our teachers often end up lending a friendly ear and giving personal advice on top of the teaching.

In some cases, this mentorship aspect is even more important than the knowledge imparted.

Your support goes a long way

Brother Amir started out teaching four Muslims and four non-Muslims in his bi-weekly lessons and encouraged them all to pursue their own Tayba studies as well.

By the time he submitted names of the prisoners who have expressed interest in studying with us, that number went up to a whopping 20 people.

The reason is simple: Tayba's materials are written for the incarcerated and make a real difference in their lives.

That's also why nearly every Tayba student rushes to share what they learn with the other Muslims in their community.

The impact is incredible - and it's you who made it possible.

So thank you. May the reward of your charity be multiplied many times over and be a source of great joy for you on the Day of Judgement.