Meet The Founder/CEO of Safra Bow Shop
Biography
Saf Kassim is the Founder/CEO of Safra Bow 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, Saf 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 Saf, it just felt right. This was not a concern to him as it was far from the end of his business venture.
Saf'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, Saf 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, Saf 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 on a weekly basis.
Since changing his life around, Saf learnt about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This led him to learn archery which is highly regarded in the Islamic faith, as Prophet Muhammad was a skilled archer and owned 6 bows, with one of them named "As-Safra" (meaning "the yellow one" in Arabic), hence the inspiration behind the business name.
As Saf's passion for traditional archery grew, he noticed how it improved other areas of his life. This inspired him even more to continue learning traditional archery and spreading any knowledge he could, in hopes that it could help make a positive impact within the Muslim community as well as the general public or to any sincere seekers of truth.
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.