Our Faculty

Ustadha Zaynab Ansari

Ustadha Zaynab has served as a member of the core faculty of Tayseer Seminary and women’s scholar-in-residence since 2014. Originally from Atlanta, Ustadha Zaynab relocated to Knoxville, TN to take on this pioneering role for a Muslim community. As a full-time instructor at Tayseer Seminary, Ustadha Zaynab teaches courses in Islamic law, Qur’anic sciences, Qur’anic exegesis, Prophetic biography, American Muslim history, women in Islam, and reading and interpretation of Arabic texts.

Ustadha Zaynab also serves as an adjunct instructor at several distinguished institutions, including Boston Islamic Seminary, Rabata, and Jannah Institute. Prior to her joining Tayseer Seminary, Ustadha Zaynab spent many years in the burgeoning field of online Islamic education as a consultant, writer, volunteer, and instructor.

Ustadha Zaynab was blessed to have studied in the Middle East, spending her formative years in Damascus, Syria, where she was introduced to the foundations of traditional Islam and the etiquette of knowledge and spiritual purification. Upon her return from the Middle East, she enrolled in Georgia State University where she focused on interdisciplinary studies in the humanities with an emphasis on history and Middle Eastern Studies.

In addition to her work as an instructor, mentor, and public speaker, Ustadha Zaynab also contributes to her local community as a board member for both Tayseer Seminary and the Muslim Community of Knoxville where she is committed to the concept of Prophetic community in action as the sister organizations strive to provide spiritual support and educational programming for local Muslim residents as well as the diverse students who have flocked to beautiful East Tennessee over the years to learn, grow, and become stronger believers.