In Ramadan 2002, a project was initiated to build a traditional Islamic school in Kiffa, Mauritania, a coastal Sunni Muslim West African nation comparable in size to Egypt

The school was named Dar al-Salaam (literally, the abode of peace) and follows traditional time-tested learning methods of transmitting all branches of Islamic Law using the mahdara (link) curriculum. The name Dar al-Salaam is also one of the names of the city of the Prophet and in the Quran, Allah calls to this name.

In 1996, prior to the inception of this project, Shaykh Saleck bin Siddina began the foundations for this school by teaching Quran, Islamic law, and numerous other subjects to children and adults of all ages out of his home in Kiffa. Over the years, the number of students gradually increased resulting in the need for a separate property. The Dar al-Salaam project was established to form a permanent place for men, women, and children of all ages to train with the utmost care to become excellent students, and later, teachers of sacred knowledge.

Our initial goals included purchasing land; providing clean, potable water; a library; student dorms; accommodations for the instructors; and financial support for both instructors and students.

Over the years, as a result of generous contributions of donors like you, we are pleased to announce all of our previous goals for the purchase of land and building structures have been completed. Since Ramadan 2007 alone, we have secured student support and teacher salaries for the next two years in addition to the distribution of zakat (alms) and sadaqa (charity). Please visit our Then & Now page for detailed information about the structural inception and completion.

For Ramadan 2008, our goal is to secure salaries for administrators. To date, all administration has been managed by Shaykh Saleck’s family and the teachers themselves. By the will of Allah, the number of students has swollen to over 60 and the organizational tasks have also increased steadily resulting in a need to hire two administrators.

In a hadith narrated by Muslim, the Prophet is reported to have said, “When a person dies, his deeds die with him, except for three: charitable endowments, beneficial knowledge, and righteous children who supplicate on his behalf.”

We invite you to visit our donation page and become a partner in sustaining the Islamic education of men, women, and children through these time-tested methods of transmitting the shari’ah.