Meet The Founder/CEO of The Taqwa Shop
Biography
Safwan Kassim is the Founder/CEO of The Taqwa Shop. What started as a journey towards rediscovering his faith, turned into something more meaningful with purpose and direction in his life, which included a change of heart in his business.
Just weeks after the Grand Opening of his brand new trading card & collectables shop in the city, Safwan decided to exit his lease due to some unexpected health issues. Many of his customers, friends and family were surprised at the sudden store closure but to Safwan, it just felt right. This was not a concern to him as it was far from the end of his business venture.
Safwan's interest in the art of selling began in 2014 on the Gumtree platform where he sold 2nd hand items. He even helped sell his sister's '96 Daewoo Cielo. A decade later, Safwan transitioned to Ebay and Facebook Marketplace whilst being guided by his mentor Matthew in the SEA Program (formerly NEIS). This led him to successfully completing a Certificate IV in Entrepreneurship and New Business.
By undertaking a business course, Safwan managed to combine both his strong interest in selling and love of meeting new people. This was easily achieved through genuine customer interactions at the Sunday Markets and handing out business cards weekly.
Since changing his life around and trying to be more God-conscious, Safwan was inspired to reflect this in his new business name, hence the Arabic word "Taqwa", an Islamic term that commonly translates as "God-consciousness" or "mindfulness of God". With this understanding, everything sold in The Taqwa Shop are items that are beneficial to Muslims or to sincere seekers of truth wanting to learn about Islam.
Aside from selling various Islamic items, Safwan also felt the need to show the true beauty of Islam (especially since a lot of it is portrayed negatively in the media), in hopes that The Taqwa Shop would help old and new Muslims reconnect and rediscover their faith, which can be seen in our mission below.
Photographed by Br. Ridzwan Kassim
Mission
Our mission is to help Muslims (old & new alike) reconnect with Allah SWT and remind them of the beauty of Islam by continuing the daily operations of The Taqwa Shop. By selling meaningful products that hold a deeper purpose and donating a percentage of our sales to charities and the ongoing situation in Palestine, whilst being God-conscious, it will be a gateway to build a more authentic and meaningful life, In Shaa Allah.