M
Who Leads It
Moulana Muhammad Coovadia
Counselling Psychologist & AalimTaught by someone who lives both worlds. The training is led by Ml Muhammad Coovadia, a counselling psychologist and a qualified Aalim.
Read His Full ProfileThe 200 Imam Initiative.
Training the leaders a community turns to first, 200 Ulamā, Aalimāt, Imams, and senior students, to meet distress with skill, and to know exactly when to hand over to a mental health practitioner.
Someone in pain stops the Imam after Mag̱rib. They are not asking for a fatwā, they are asking, in some form, to be heard.The Reason
The Reason
Trust is real. The training was missing.
It happens in every community, every year. In that moment the Imam becomes a counsellor, without ever having been trained as one.
This is no failing: leading prayer and giving religious guidance is the role. But people turn to those they trust, and across South Africa they trust their Imams above almost anyone. This initiative is our attempt to do that work.
53Trained so far, male and female
200Ulamā, Aalimāt, Imams & senior students
3Years, delivered in deliberate cohorts
10Modules in the Level One curriculum
What the Training Builds
Recognise. Respond. Refer.
The three parts of first-line care, what a good helper needs, and a clear line showing where their role ends and the clinic begins.
01
Recognise
Knowing the signs of common distress, and how they show up outside a clinic.
02
Respond
Being present, listening deeply, responding with empathy, and staying steady when someone is in crisis.
03
Refer
Knowing where their help ends and professional care begins, and referring in good time, without shame.
The Scope
Limited scope is the point.
The course will not turn out an over-confident helper. It forms a strong first-line responder, one who knows the limits of their role, and treats referral as a sign of skill, not failure.
It is
A training in being present.
Listening with full attention, responding with empathy, holding a person steady, recognising risk early, and referring with care.
It is not
A training in psychotherapy.
It gives no licence to diagnose or treat. When a matter needs clinical care, the referral itself is the skill.
Knowing when to hold back is not a weakness. It is one of the most important things the training teaches.
Level One · The Curriculum
The Art of Basic Helping.
Ten modules, taught in order by a qualified mental health practitioner: the skills that turn the trust people already place in you into real, capable help.
١Where you stand
Know the ground beneath you.
Understand what people carry to your door, and see clearly where your role as an Imam begins, and where it ends.
٢The heart of it
Learn to truly listen.
Being fully present, listening the way our tradition honours, and responding so a person feels genuinely heard and understood, often for the first time.
٣When it matters most
Hold steady when it is hard.
Stay calm and safe in the moments that unsettle most helpers, spotting risk early, guarding the trust placed in you, and knowing when to bring in professional help.
٤Faith at the centre
Rooted in the tradition.
Bring a classical Islamic understanding of the soul into every conversation, held within a simple, practical structure you can use the very next time.
The Foundation
Clinically sound. Religiously grounded.
The manual was written together by psychologists and Islamic scholars, so the guidance stays true to both, with neither given up for the other.
The Islamic Framework · The primary lens
TIIP: Traditional Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy
A classical understanding of the soul, grounded in Sunni scholarship with clear sources. Used as a map for understanding a person, never a tool for the Imam to diagnose. A map, not a diagnosis.
The Helping Scaffold
The Three-Stage Framework
An adapted structure for a helping conversation, tuned throughout to the limits of first-line spiritual care.
What You Carry Forward
More than a course.
- A recognised certificateA certificate from RUH Centre that marks you as a trained first-line responder in your community.
- A network of trained Imams, for lifeJoin a growing circle of scholars doing this work, for shared learning, support, and referral, so no one carries it alone.
In Their Words
From those who trained.
This training has changed the way I think about helping others.
200 Imam training participantThe programme was relevant to the work we do in our communities.
200 Imam training participantI would recommend this training to every Moulana.
200 Imam training participantI wish the training was longer.
200 Imam training participantFor Masaajid & Organisations
Bring it to your community.
1
Reach out
Tell us about your Masjid or organisation and the leaders you'd like to see trained.
2
We plan together
We shape the training around your community, your numbers, your dates, and your setting.
3
We deliver on-site
Our team comes to you and trains your leaders, right where the community already turns to them.
Register Interest
Be part of the change.
Whether you want to train yourself or bring the training to your community, tell us who you are and we will be in touch.
- For yourselfYou are an Ālim, Ālimah, Imam, or senior student who wants to be equipped for the conversations that already find you.
- Host the trainingYou are a trustee of a Masjid or organisation, and you would like RUH Centre to train the leaders in your community.
Register Today.
The 200 Imam Initiative
Level Two · In development · Launching July 2027, in shā Allāh
From skills to issues.
Once first-line skills are solid, Level Two turns to the issues themselves: a deeper, issue-based course of 15 modules across 5 movements, building on Level One.
Movement ١
Foundations
How distress is read, across body, mind, society, and soul, before any single issue is ever named.
Movement ٢
The Common Concerns
The struggles that most often arrive at the Masjid door, each held in both its Islamic and its clinical frame.
Movement ٣
Crisis & Safeguarding
The gravest hours, recognised early, held safely, and referred without delay.
Movement ٤
The Spiritual Frontier
Where sacred and clinical explanations meet, and must be told apart with great care.
Movement ٥
Integration & Restraint
Bringing every lens to bear on a real case, and holding firmly to the limits of one's role.
Then · Level Three
Supervision
Ongoing supervision so Ulama are supported and accountable in their practice.
A snapshot of the current plan; the full curriculum is still in development and may change before launch. Level One comes first: the deeper work only makes sense once the basics are secure.
Common Questions
Good to ask.
Do I need a background in psychology?+
No. The training begins from the ground up and is built for scholars and Imams, not clinicians.
Who is it open to?+
Ulamā, Aalimāt, Imams, and senior students of knowledge. If people already turn to you for guidance, this is for you.
Will this qualify me to diagnose or treat?+
No, and that is by design. You are trained as a skilled first responder, to notice, support, and refer well. Knowing when to hand over to a professional is one of the most important things you will learn.
How is it taught?+
Ten modules, taught in sequence by a qualified mental health practitioner, from a manual written together by psychologists and Islamic scholars. Dates and format are shared with you once you register your interest.
Do I receive a certificate?+
Yes. On completion you receive a certificate from RUH Centre, and you join a growing network of trained Imams for ongoing support and referral.
Can you train the leaders at our Masjid?+
Yes. We deliver the training on-site for Masaajid and organisations, shaped around your community. Register above as a host and we'll be in touch.
Sadaqah Jariyah · Support RUH Centre
Donate Help us train the people our community turns to.
Your contribution funds training for Imams, Ulama and Aalimaat, research for our community, and care that is accessible to all.
Ways to Give
Donate or sponsor.
RUH Centre is a non-profit initiative of the Benoni Muslim Charity Organisation. Every service is measured in benefit, never profit.
- Sponsor a training placeEquip an Imam, Alim or Aalimah to support their community.
- Support our researchHelp build knowledge for South African Muslims.
- Help open the ClinicBring faith-integrated care within reach of all.
Banking Details
- Bank
- FNB
- Account name
- RUH Centre
- Account number
- 632 1763 7123
- Reference
- Your name + Donation
Please email proof of payment to admin@ruhcentre.co.za so we can thank you, in shā Allāh.