Shaykh Mohammed Amin Kholwadia

Shaykh Mohammed Amin Kholwadia completed his memorization of the Quran in Taraj, Gujarat, and then traveled to several seminaries in the Indian subcontinent. These included Sabil al-Rashad, Jami’ah Islamiyyah in Binnori Town, Dar al-’Ulum, Deoband, and Miftah al-’Ulum. At Dar al-’Ulum, Deoband, India – the dean, Qari Muhammad Tayyib, honored Shaykh Amin by granting him ijazah in Hadith at a private ceremony held at his home in Deoband. He also received ijazah in Islamic law from Qadi Mujahidul Islam al-Qasimi – a highly distinguished Muslim jurist of the 20th century.

Along with his expertise in Islamic law, Shaykh Amin is also known for his prowess in Islamic theology. He received training in this field from a current justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Dr. Allamah Khalid Mahmood. Furthermore, Shaykh Amin received instruction in Islamic theosophy from his mentor Shaykh Muhammad Meeran, which included the theories of al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Shaykh Sarhindi, and Shah Wali-Ullah.

Shaykh Amin has written numerous articles and a booklet on the exegesis of the first part of Surah al-Muddaththir named: “A Spark from the Dynamo of Prophethood.” He has been serving the Chicago-land Muslim community since 1984. Currently, he is the director of Darul Qasim – an institute for higher Islamic learning.

Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera

Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera began his study of the traditional Islamic sciences at an early age. He completed the bulk of his studies at Darul Uloom Bury, England, where he memorized the Qur’an and thereafter completed a six-year Shari’ah program under Shaykh Yusuf Motala and others. He then travelled to Darul Uloom Zakariyya in South Africa to train in answering legal questions (ifta’) under Mufti Rada al-Haq, while also completing a B.A. in Islamic studies at Rand Afrikaans University under Professor Abdur-Rahman Doi, Ph.D.

He then traveled to Syria, where he received a second certification in Qur’anic recitation and memorization from Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Halabi. He also received a certification from Shaykh Adib Kallas after reading Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar. He spent the following year in Saharanpur, India, where he received formal authorization to issue legal rulings (fatawa) and simultaneously trained in the principles of hadith (usul al-hadith). Mufti Abdur-Rahman received authorizations in Hadith from Shaykh Muhaddith Habib al-Rahman al-A’zami (through his student Shaykh Mufti Zayn al-’Abidin), Shaykh Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali an-Nadwi, and Shaykh Muhammad al-’Awwama.

Mufti Abdur-Rahman has authored books and continues to work on publications through White Thread Press publishing company. He also runs al-Rashad.com, an online bookstore. Recently, he moved from California to England where he serves as an Imam of the local community, instructor at the Ebrahim College in London, and is working towards attaining a Masters degree in theology.

Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar

Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar was born in Chicago in 1972. After completing his primary education in Chicago, he joined the University of Chicago where he studied Biology, Arabic and Islamic Civilization. It was during this period that he began his study of sacred knowledge, studying Arabic grammar (nahw), Hanafi fiqh, and usul al-fiqh under ‘ulama in Chicago. In 1994, Shaykh Husain began training in tasawwuf (Islamic spirituality) under Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad, one of the leading contemporary shaykhs of spiritual purification.

After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Shaykh Husain enrolled in the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Along with his medical studies, he continued his studies of sacred knowledge. During this time, he travelled to Syria and Pakistan to study Islamic sciences under some of the greatest scholars. Simultaneously, Shaykh Husain continued his training under Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad and was blessed with his close company of his Shaykh. In 2001, Shaykh Husain was formally authorized in tasawwuf by Shaykh Zulfiqar.

Shaykh Husain completed medical school and is a physician at the University of Chicago Hospitals. He teaches and lectures on Islamic knowledge across the United States (www.sacredlearning.org). Presently, he is editing and publishing the translations of his teacher’s books into English, and is also completing his own works: Fundamentals of Classical Arabic and a manual on Hanafi fiqh entitled The Stairs to Bliss.

Shaykh Amer Haleem

Amer Haleem was born and raised in Chicago. His degrees are in English Literature, Education, and Journalism. He spent his mid 20′s to 40′s writing and speaking about Islam and Muslims in various projects. The most important of these is The Gracious Quran: A Modern-Phrased Interpretation in English, published in 2007.

In the years since then, he has written essays on the Muslim community and the Quran, contributed to the editing of Al-Jumuah magazine, and is raising goats, chickens, and children in the woods of Southwest Wisconsin.

Shaykh Tahir Anwar

Imam Tahir Anwar, born in London, England, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1983. While attending school he completed the initial studies of the Qur’an and the Arabic language under his father, a scholar of the Islamic sciences. In 1991, he traveled to Gujrat, India where he enrolled at Darul Uloom Falah al-Darayn, an Islamic university, where for 7 years he trained in the memorization of the Holy Qur’an, the art of tajwid, the Arabic language, fiqh, hadith, and tafsir.

Since graduating with a B.A. in Islamic Theology in 1999, Imam Tahir has been serving as the Imam and Director of Religious Services at the South Bay Islamic Association (San Jose, California). He is the head of the Islamic studies department at Granada Islamic School in Santa Clara, California.

Imam Tahir is also involved in outreach work and serves on a number of public panels and commissions. He is a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of San Jose. He is also a Muslim Chaplain at the Santa Clara County Correctional Facilities and has been licensed by the State of California. In addition, he serves on the Community Advisory Panel for KQED, a local PBS radio and television channel.

Shaykh Yusuf Badat

Shaykh Yusuf Badat was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He has studied under great scholars, receiving several formal authorizations in the sacred sciences with top honors. His commitment to the sacred sciences began early in his life when Allah blessed him with the ability, by age 14, to complete the memorization of the Holy Qur’an.

He completed a rigorous six-year ‘alim course at Darul Uloom Zakariya in South Africa where he achieved his masters in the Islamic sciences, which included but was not limited to language, exegesis (tafsir) and jurisprudence (fiqh). He earned authorizations in Hadith under the Grand Mufti of South Africa- Shaykh Raza-ul-Haq. Shaykh Yusuf Badat is an Ontario-registered minister of religion and licenced marriage officer. He also holds a degree in Netwok Adminstration from the Toronto School of Business.

Shaykh Yusuf has served as an Imam for seven years at the Masjid Anwarul Islam of Malton (Masjid Saliheen) in Mississauga, Canada. He is also an instructor at the Toronto Shariah Program. Shaykh Yusuf Badat is an active executive member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Theologians (www.jucanada.org).

Currently, Sh. Yusuf Badat serves as a teacher for Arabic, Islamic Studies, World Religions and Imam at the Islamic Foundation of Toronto. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.

Shaykh Minhajuddin Ahmed

Shaykh Minhajuddin Ahmed, born and raised in Chicago, has studied under some of the world’s greatest scholars, receiving several formal authorizations in the sacred sciences with top honors. His commitment to the sacred sciences began early in his life when at age ten he completed the memorization of the Holy Qur’an. He also received authorizations in various recitations of the Holy Qur’an.

Later, he completed an eight-year ‘alim course at Darul Uloom Zakariyya in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he delved into the higher Islamic sciences, which included but was not limited to, language, exegesis (tafsir), prophetic tradition (hadith) and jurisprudence (fiqh).

Following graduation, he earned authorizations in giving Islamic legal verdicts (ifta’) and in hadith under the Grand Mufti of South Africa, Shaykh Rada al-Haq (may Allah preserve him). Currently, he serves as a counselor, mufti, and community leader of the St. Louis area (Missouri) and speaks at various programs at masjids, universities, and inter-faith events. He is the head Imam at the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis.

Shaykh Omar Hussaini

Shaykh Muhammad Omar Hussaini was born and raised in Chicago, USA. In his early teenage years, he completed the memorization of the Qur’an at the Ma’had Ta’lim al-Islam (Institute of Islamic Education) in Elgin, IL. Upon completing his high school education, he placed amongst the highest in the nation in national exams. Thereafter, Shaykh Omar gained admittance to the prestigious University of Illinois at Chicago’s GPPA Program (a seven year guaranteed professional program in medicine). Simultaneously, he began the formal ‘alim course training on a part-time basis at the Institute of Islamic Education.

Prior to his final semester in medical school, Shaykh Omar traveled to Darul Uloom Zakariyya, South Africa to pursue further Islamic studies. Shaykh Omar completed the reading of Sahih al-Bukhari under the Grand Mufti of South Africa, Shaykh Rada al-Haq, and completed the final year of his ‘alim course, placing within the top five students of his class. In 2006, he graduated from ‘alim course and medical school, receiving a B.A. in Psychology and a M.D. degree.

Currently, Shaykh Omar resides in St. Louis with his wife and three children, where he is completing medical residency at the Washington University Hospitals. He is also an instructor in the Sacred Learning Individual Study Program (sacredlearning.org).

Shaykh Sohel Mangera

Imam Sohel Mangera grew up in the United Kingdom. He completed the memorisation of the entire Qur’an at Darul-Uloom al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Bury, England. After completing his secondary education, he then travelled to Gujrat, India where he enrolled at the famed Islamic learning institute, Darul Uloom Falah Darayn, in Tadkeshwar. There, he completed a six-year course in advanced Islamic Studies, culminating in a study of the six major books of Hadith.

Imam Sohel graduated from Darul Uloom Falah Darayn in 2005 with a Bachelors degree in Islamic Theology. He was also granted Ijazah in Qira’ah Hafs and the Qira’at Sab’ah (Seven Recitations) by the world renowned Qari Siddiq (may Allah preserve him).

He currently resides in Farmington Hills, MI with his family and two children where he serves as the head Imam and Director of Islamic Studies at the Tawheed Center of Farmington Hills. Shaykh Sohel is also an active member of the UCD (Ulama Council of Detroit).

Shaykh Haroon Firdausi

Shaykh Haroon Firdausi was one of the first American-born, Chicago-based scholars to travel abroad to study the Islamic sciences. Having attained a bachelor’s degree in the field of electrical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign, Shaykh Haroon travelled to Pakistan to pursue advanced Islamic sciences.

He first took an intensive course in Arabic and Qur’anic philosophy at the Quran College in Lahore. After devoting months of his time to the work of da’wah and tabligh, he enrolled in Madrasah ‘Arabiyya in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and completed studies in Arabic, fiqh, adab, balaghah, tafsir, and hadith. Shaykh Haroon later traveled to Multan and completed ifta’ at one of the top Islamic jurisprudence programs in the country, Khayr al-Madaris, under Mufti ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Multani (may Allah lengthen his life).

Mufti Haroon is currently a teacher at Darul Uloom Chicago and is also a licensed funeral director. Along with his academic commitments, he is administering a funeral services institution called Muslim Funeral Services.

Shaykh Bilal Ali Ansari

Shaykh Bilal Ali Ansari was born and raised in Chicago, IL. After studying two years of computer engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL, his desire for Islamic knowledge drove him to the Indian subcontinent, where he decided to pursue an education in Islamic studies.

Shaykh Bilal started his Islamic studies at Jami‘a al-Hasanayn in Faisalabad, Pakistan under the auspices of the famous orator and da‘i of Islam, Mawlana Tariq Jameel. There, he spent nearly four years in the company and service of his beloved and talented teacher, Shaykh Ramzi al-Habib al-Tunisi al-Maliki.

Later, he traveled to Karachi and enrolled at the famous Jami‘ah Dar al-‘Ulum Karachi where he completed his hadith studies under prominent scholars of fiqh and hadith, such as Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Mufti Muhammad Rafi Usmani, Mufti Mahmud Ashraf Usmani, Mufti ‘Abd al-Ra‘uf al-Sikharwi, Mawlana ‘Abdullah al-Burmi, Mawlana Iftikhar Ahmad al-A‘zami, among others.

Afterwards, Shaykh Bilal enrolled in a specialization course in hadith and studied under Allamah Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd al-Halim al-Nu’mani (al-Chishti), the brother of the famous hadith researcher, Allamah Muhammad Abd al-Rashid al-Nu’mani.

Shaykh Bilal Ali also has ijazahs in hadith from some of the most senior ‘ulama’ of Pakistan, namely Mawlana Salimullah Khan, Mawlana Sarfaraz Khan Safdar, Mawlana ‘Abd al-Halim al-Nu’mani, and Mawlana Khan Muhammad, all direct students of Shaykh al-Islam Husayn Ahmad al-Madani. Currently, Mawlana Bilal Ali Ansari is teaching Islamic studies full-time at the Ma‘had Ta‘lim al-Islam (Institute of Islamic Education, Elgin IL) and resides with his wife near Chicago, IL.

Shaykh Azeemuddin Ahmed

Shaykh Azeemuddin Ahmed was born and raised in the Chicago-land area. At a very early age, he was blessed with the honor of having completed the memorization of the Holy Qur’an. Afterwards, inspired by the motivating words of a great disseminator of the faith, Mawlana Tariq Jameel, Shaykh Azeemuddin set out for South Africa to begin a rigorous eight-year ‘alim and ‘ifta course at Darul Uloom Zakariyya in Johannesburg. There, he was blessed with the opportunity to study under one of the world’s elite jurists and scholars of hadith, Shaykh Mufti Rada al-Haq, amongst many other notable erudite scholars of Islam.

Shaykh Azeemuddin also traveled to Pakistan where he studied in-depth Arabic under the renowned teacher of rhetoric, Shaykh Ramzi al-Habib al-Tunisi al-Maliki of Tunisia whilst also enjoying the company of some of Pakistan’s best ‘ulama, amongst them Mawlana Tariq Jameel (may Allah preserve him).

Following his graduation with top honors from South Africa, Shaykh Azeemuddin earned authorizations in the Islamic sciences, which included but was not limited to, Arabic language, exegesis (tafsir), hadith, and jurisprudence (fiqh).

He is currently Imam at the AIA Masjid in Frankfort, IL and also holds private Islamic studies classes at his newly established masjid and institute of learning, Darus Salam, located in Lombard, IL. (www.masjiddarussalam.org)

Shaykh Nabeel Ahmed Khan

Shaykh Nabeel Ahmed Khan was raised in the Bay Area of northern California. At the tender age of 12, he went to Pakistan to memorize the Quran. By the grace of Allah, he completed the memorization of the Qur’an at the age of 13 at the famous Qur’an school of the great Shaykh and scholar, Shah Hakeem Akhtar (may Allah lengthen his life), Ashraf al-Madaris, whereupon he returned to the United States and went on to complete his high school education.

Shaykh Nabeel later attended San Jose State University, majoring in computer science. Afterwards, he traveled to South Africa, where he studied Islamic studies at the famous Islamic seminary, Dar al-‘Ulum Azaadville, for four years. He also studied at Dar al-‘Ulum London in the U.K.

Shaykh Nabeel studied privately for three years under the tutelage of his teacher, Shaykh Mumtaz ul-Haq Nazir, a prominent student of the great muhaddith, Allamah Yusuf al-Binnori. He is also a deputy (khalifah) of the great spiritual master and guide, Shaykh Shah Hakeem Akhtar (may Allah lengthen his life) and is experienced in the field of tazkiyah (purification of the soul).

He is currently an Islamic studies teacher at the College Preparatory School of America in Lombard, IL and an instructor with Darul Qasim, a traditional learning institute located in the suburbs of Chicago.

Shaykh Hussain Kamani

Shaykh Hussain Kamani was born and raised in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. After completing the memorization of the Qur’an in Buffalo, New York, he went on to complete a rigorous eight year ‘alim and ‘ifta course at Darul Uloom Bury, located in the United Kingdom. His studies were based on the traditional Darse-Nizami curriculum of Islamic education and under some of the world’s greatest scholars such as Shaykh Yusuf Motala and Shaykh Bilal Bawa.

Following his graduation with top honors, Shaykh Hussain went on to earn his post-graduate degree in Business Management & Strategy at the University of Coventry (RDI).

Aside from being a teacher at Darul Hikmah, Shaykh Hussain holds various programs around the city of Chicago and beyond for Muslim youth. He is also currently serving as the Imam of the ICC Masjid in Chicago and teaches for the Sacred Learning educational institute (www.sacredlearning.org).