Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi

Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi is a world-renowned scholar of Indian origin, who has resided in England for an extensive time. After receiving in-depth training to an advanced level in the traditional Islamic disciplines at Nadwat al-Ulama, Lucknow, India, and receiving a PhD in Arabic literature from Lucknow University, he became a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, where he conducted research for a number of years (including topics of Hadith and Sufi orders in India). He has published widely in Urdu, Persian, Arabic and English, including translations (like his work on Shah Wali Allah), editions of Arabic texts (such as a renowned critical edition of Usul al-Shashi in Hanafi jurisprudence), and original monographs (on Islamic law, women hadith narrators and such figures as Abu Hanifa and Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi). He co-founded the Al-Salam Institute in 2006 where he continues to serve as Principal and Senior Lecturer.

Dr Abdul-Hakim Vazquez

In 2005 Abdul Hakim Vazquez completed his doctorate in History at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, with a thesis on the establishment of the Maliki legal school in Muslim Spain. He has also lectured at SOAS and Qatar University.

Abdul Hakim Vazquez has also spent many years studying Islamic sciences under a variety of scholars in Mauritania, Syria, Yemen, Morocco, Qatar and the UK. He was awarded his shahada al-‘alimiyya (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) at Al-Salam Institute under the supervision of Shaykh Akram Nadwi.

Ustadh Abdul-Malik Sheikh

Ustadh Abdul-Malik Sheikh began his tuition in Arabic and the Islamic sciences under Shaykh Abdul-Qayum. He then continued his studies at the European Institute of Human Sciences in France. He has studied under numerous scholars in Syria, Jordan and UK; including Shaykh Akram Nadwi, Shaykh Ahmad Hawwa, Shaykh Munir al-Jawwad and others. He graduated from Al-Salam Institute and was awarded his shahada al-‘alimiyya (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) under the supervision of Shaykh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. He completed his training at the Goldsmiths University of London and is a social worker by profession.

Hafiz Abdullah Muhammad

Ustadh Abdullah Muhammad memorised the Quran by heart at the age of 19. He has an MA in Islamic Studies with a Distinction from SOAS (University of London) and also pursued further post-graduate studies at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. He pioneered the popular ‘Journey through the Quran’ Course and operates the Quran Study Group to promote the study of the Quran.

Ustadh Abid Khan

Abid Khan studied Islamic sciences for several years under many notable scholars. He was awarded the al-shahādat al-‘ālimiyyah (Licence in Islamic Scholarship officially qualifying him as a scholar) alongside complete ijāzah in the Six Canonical Books of Ḥadīth – receiving the shortest isnād in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. He has a special interest in Jurisprudence, and has been a Lecturer in Usūl’l-Fiqh; Islamic Contract Law; Zakat at various institutes. His modules include a critical study of Bidāyat al-Mujtahid; comparative analysis of Irshād al-Fuhūl; commentary on Riyād al-Sālihīn. He has officially served as an Imam-trainer and has been requested by various British television channels for delivering specialised programs, as well as on the popular ‘Recite’ programme as the guest Shaykh. He also serves as a part-time Imam.

Ustadh Abu Aaliyah

Ustadh Abu Aaliyah Surkheel Sharif has been involved in Islamic teaching both in the UK and abroad since the late 1980’s. Abu Aaliyah has studied the Islamic theology, law, and spirituality with a number of scholars over the last 20 years. He has authored a number of titles, including “More Fish Please”, “The Golden Rule of Differing” and “Evolution, Prayer Mats and Telescopes”. He has an MA in Islamic Studies; serves as an imam; has completed a number of translations; and is currently the Director of The Jawziyyah Institute.

Ustadh Abu Huraira

Ustadh Abu Huraira read Modern Middle Eastern History & Arabic as an undergraduate, supplementing it with a year of studying Arabic at the Arab Academy in Cairo. He has also studied Hifdh and Tajweed at the European Institute of Human Sciences, France, before returning to the UK to continue his studies in the Islamic sciences at Al-Salam Institute. He graduated from ASI and was awarded the shahada al-‘alimiyya (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) under the supervision of Shaykh Akram Nadwi.

Dr Ahmad Barouni

Dr Ahmad Barouni graduated from the Faculty of Hadith at the Madinah Islamic University in 1996. During his studies in Saudi Arabia, he had the opportunity to study under some of the scholars of the hijaz and obtain numerous ijazah in the various Islamic sciences. He founded the School of Arabic and Islamic Studies in October 2009, where he continues to serve as the school’s Principal. He completed his PhD doctorate in hadith studies at the Maktoum Institute, University of Aberdeen.

Ustadh Akhlaaq Choudry

Ustadh Akhlaaq Choudry spent several years abroad pursuing Arabic and Islamic studies after graduating from university with a BSc and Masters in Geology. Since returning to the UK, he has been furthering his studies with Al-Salam Institute and has extensive experience in teaching the Arabic language. He is CEO of the Oak Tree Initiative, a centre specialising in the tuition of Arabic language.

Ustadh Ayman Abdel Haleem

Ustadh Ayman Abdel Haleem completed his BA in Arabic at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London with first class honours. Following a period in Egypt, where he studied under a number of Azhari scholars, he completed an MPhil in Theology at the University of Cambridge. He spent several years in the position of Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS where he taught Quranic Arabic. In addition to his teaching activities, Ustadh Ayman works as an editor and translator of Islamic literature.

Ustadh Hussan Mahmood

Ustadh Hussan Mahmood completed a Masters in Information Systems Engineering in 2001 at Imperial College, London. Thereafter he enrolled on the Shariah Studies Program at the European Institute for Human Sciences in France and Wales. He serves as a khateeb for a number of mosques in Manchester and has studied with a number of scholars including Sh Abdullah al Judai and Shaykh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. He currently resides in Manchester where he works as managing director of a property development company.

Dr Ibrahim Harvey

Dr Ibrahim Harvey has spent years studying the classical Islamic disciplines with a variety of traditionally trained scholars and was blessed with the opportunity to take knowledge from some of the senior scholars at Al-Azhar in Cairo. He obtained a doctorate in Islamic studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and publishes his research on Quranic studies and early Islamic intellectual history with recognised academic journals and presses. He has also graduated from the Al-Salam Institute Islamic Scholarship Programme and was awarded with the shahada al-‘alimiyya (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) under the supervision of Shaykh Akram Nadwi.

Ustadh Sabih Khwaja

Ustadh Sabih Khwaja has been studying Arabic for about 8 years now. He has had the blessing of learning under many notable teachers and scholars in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania, America and in the United Kingdom. He completed his masters in Islamic Studies at the University of London – School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and has since been teaching Arabic and studying at Al-Salam Institute under Shaykh Akram Nadwi. Ustadh Sabih also has a background in English language teaching and spent years designing curricula and resources for English language institutes and teachers abroad. His ambitions are to translate these skills into the Arabic language, designing the best of the best resources for the teachers and students at Al-Salam Institute.

Shaykh Shafiur Rahman

Shaykh Shafiur Rahman began his Arabic and Islamic studies under notable scholars in the UK. He later studied Shariah at Ma’had al-Fath in Damascus (2006) and then travelled to Cairo to study Shariah at the prestigious Al-Azhar University. He has spent a number of years studying the classical Islamic disciplines under a variety of traditionally-trained ulama and has received ijazah in hadith from scholars including Shaykh Akram Nadwi and Shaykh Ahmad al-Surti. He graduated from Al-Salam Institute and was awarded with the shahada al-‘alimiyya (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) under the supervision of Shaykh Akram Nadwi.

Ustadh Shameq Sayeed

Ustadh Shameq Sayeed completed his memorisation of the Quran at the age of 9, starting at Karachi and finishing in Michigan under Mufti Abdur Rab Rabbani. He later pursued studies of Arabic and Islamic sciences in Leicester at Jame’ah Uloomul Quran, as well as in Cairo and Damascus. He received his ijazah in the shatibiyyah (7 qira’at / readings) and Durrah (3 qira’at) from Mufti Mohamed Umer Esmail. Presently, he is continuing his studies with Shaykh Akram Nadwi and Al-Salam Institute, and teaches hifz and tawjid in Oxford, where he currently resides.

Ustadh Tariq Pandor

Ustadh Tariq Pandor is a graduate of Al-Salam Institute in Oxford where he was awarded with the shahada al-‘alimiyya (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) under the supervision of Shaykh Akram Nadwi. He also holds a Diploma in Arabic studies from the European Institute of Human Sciences, France and has studied shariah for several years in the UK with Sheikh Abdullah Al Judai. He holds a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering from Imperial College London and is a Civil Engineer by profession.

Ustadh Usaama Abdullah al-Azami

Usaama al-Azami began pursuing Islamic studies formally in 2002. He subsequently enrolled at Oxford University, completing his BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies in 2008. Over the years Usaama has been able to study with, and/or obtain ijazat from a number of scholars. They include Shaykhs Akram Nadwi, Ahmad ‘Ali Lajpuri, ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Kattani, Yunus Jaunpuri and others. He has been studying under Shaykh Akram Nadwi at the Al-Salam Institute for over six years at the Advanced level, and he is currently a doctoral candidate at the Princeton University Department of Near Eastern Studies, completing his thesis on contemporary Islamic political thought.

Ustadh Umer Khan

Ustadh Umer Khan graduated with a Shahādah al-‘Ālimiyyah (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) from Al-Salam Institute, and completed a Dars-e-Niẓāmī dawrah of the six canonical books of ḥadīth with Shaykh Uthman Khan. He then completed his iftā’ (License to Give Islamic Legal Verdicts) from Darul Ifta Birmingham. Shaykh Umer also has a Masters in Finance and another Masters in Islamic Finance. He holds ijāzāt in the variant readings of the Qur’ān and in ḥadīth from senior scholars all around the world.