Building Futures. Honoring Values.

In Islam, the pursuit of knowledge is not a choice, it is a foundational obligation. The very first word revealed in the Qur’an was “Iqra” — “Read” (Surah Al-‘Alaq, 96:1) — a divine command that established learning as the cornerstone of faith and civilization. Allah says,

“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” — (Surah Az-Zumar, 39:9)

“Allah will raise those who believe among you and those who have been given knowledge by degrees.” — (Surah Al-Mujadila, 58:11).

From the earliest days of Islam, education was seen as a sacred trust and through the centuries that basic tenet was maintained. It continuous to remain a means of worship, self-improvement, and social upliftment. The scholars were regarded as inheritors of the prophets, and societies thrived when they invested in learning as both a spiritual and communal duty.

Yet today, many Muslim students in the United States face a dilemma. Higher education, once a pathway to growth and independence, has become prohibitively expensive. The rising cost of tuition, housing, and educational materials forces countless students to rely on interest-bearing loans to pursue their goals. This dependency on riba-based lending stands in direct conflict with the ethical principles of Islam, creating a painful contradiction between faith and ambition.

Some students choose to compromise their values out of necessity; others walk away from their dreams altogether. Both outcomes come at a cost; not only to the individual, but to the broader Muslim community, which loses the potential of its brightest minds.

The Taleem Initiative was founded to address this crisis. The aim is to make education both accessible and faithful to Islamic principles. As a program of the Khatri Family Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Taleem operates as an interest-free educational endowment dedicated to supporting Muslim students who aspire to higher learning without compromising their beliefs.

Our mission is simple: to build futures while honoring values. The Taleem Initiative provides qard hasan, benevolent, interest-free loans, to students pursuing degrees in a wide range of disciplines. These funds are distributed transparently and responsibly, with every donation treated as a trust (amanah) and used solely for the purpose of empowering education.

Because of the regulatory burdens surrounding inter-state lending as well as 501(c)(3) regulations, KFF made the assessment that partnering with A Continuous Charity, an established Muslim zero-interest student loan non-profit organization, would allow us to be able to give the most amount of money directly for student lending.

What makes Taleem sustainable is its self-replenishing model. Students who receive support are encouraged, once financially stable, to give back voluntarily, allowing each generation to uplift the next. In this way, Taleem is not just a financial aid program. It is a perpetual cycle of charity (sadaqah jariyah), education, and community building.

The Taleem Initiative maintains its own advisory board, separate accounting, and transparent oversight structure under the governance of the Khatri Family Foundation and in conjunction with A Continuous Charity. Every decision, from fund allocation to student selection, is guided by the dual goals of fiscal integrity and moral accountability.

Education, in Islam, is both a right and a responsibility. The Taleem Initiative exists to ensure that Muslim students never have to choose between faith and opportunity and that their pursuit of knowledge remains, as the Qur’an intended, a path to excellence in this world and elevation in the next.

“My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” — (Surah Ta-Ha, 20:114)