Scholar Bios
Shaykh Yusuf Hussain
Shaykh Yusuf completed his Alimiyyah (Islamic Scholarship) degree at the Al-Salam Institute under the guidance of renowned Hadith expert and scholar Dr. Akram Nadwi and other scholars. He is currently enrolled in a two-year “takhassus fi al-Ifta” program at the Al-Salam Institute, aiming to get his license in issuing legal verdicts (Fatwa). Shaykh Yusuf is also the co-founder of the Garden of Knowledge, having taught there since back in 2018 when the MCGP community was still in the old IIS building. He is currently serving as the director for the Garden of Knowledge. Prior to enrolling at the Al-Salam Institute Shaykh Yusuf studied for several years under numerous scholars of Fiqh, Aqidah, Tasawuff, ‘Ulum ul Hadith, Usul ul Fiqh, Arabic and other subjects. He is a past member of the MCGP Scholars Committee and the current chairman of the MCGP Religious Committee.
Shaykh Yousef Bakeer
Sheikh Yousef Bakeer was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, and attended Al-Azhar primary school. He became a hafiz at the age of 7 and graduated from Al-Azhar University with a Bachelor's degree in Islamic Studies at the age of 22. He's given da'wa in various countries such as Spain, Denmark, Italy and is fluent in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Arabic, and Italian. Since 2017 he has served as a teacher with Manara Institute and as the Youth Director for the Islamic Center of Passaic County. He has Ijaza in Quran and is pursuing a PhD in Islamic Studies and a Masters degree in chaplaincy. He has also served as the youth director of Valley Ranch Islamic Center TX.
Sheikh Yousef holds an ijaza in Quran and is pursuing advanced degrees in Islamic Studies and chaplaincy. His extensive education and hands-on experience make him an invaluable resource to the Muslim community. Sheikh Yousef's unwavering dedication to youth work has inspired countless young individuals to lead lives of service and faith, embodying the principles of Islam.
Imam Lavon Brown
Imam Lavon L. Brown is a Brooklyn native and resident of the state of New Jersey. He has formally studied the sciences of Islam for over ten years with various teachers and institutions including Al Maghrib Institute and Seekers Guidance, Shaykh Muhammad Mendes and Shaykh Mujahid Abdul Karim. He is currently a resident student at Fayda Institute. Imam Brown has served as a teacher for the MCGP Garden of Knowledge since 2020. He is also the principal of the MCGP Sunday Weekend School and a member of the MCGP Interfaith Committee in which he serves as a representative Imam on behalf of MCGP on the Windsor Hightstown Area Ministerium (WHAM). He has Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. John’s University and is married with three children.
Ustadh Seber Kadak
Ustadh Seber Kadak currently resides in New Jersey. He has studied Islamic sciences at various institutions including Garden of Knowledge, Safina Society, Tarteel Academy and Fayda Institute. He has taken classes with Shyakh Adeyinka Mendes, Dr. Shadee Elmasry, Shaykh Ismail Bowers, Shaykh Mujahid Abdul Karim, Shaykh Ismael Essa, Shaykh Yusuf Hussain, Ustadh Ashir Kirk and other notable scholars. He is currently taking classes at Fayda Institute, Safina Society & Tarteel Academy. He has been part of Garden of Knowledge as a teacher and student for the last 5+ years. He currently is a member of the education comittee at MCGP and part of the administration team for Tarteel Academy. He grew up in New York and has a bachelors degree in Economics from Rutgers University New Brunswick.
Shaykh Meurad Osman
Shaykh Meurad Osman was born and raised in the state of New Jersey. He earned an Associate’s Degree from Passaic County Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Kean University. He also served as an Imam for three years at the Islamic Center of Ocean County (Masjid Mustafa) in Toms River, New Jersey.
He has studied the Islamic sciences extensively in the United States, Turkey, and Jordan. His teachers include Shaykh Zahir Ishaq, Dr. Salah Abdul Haj, Shaykh Nadir Abu Umar, Shaykh Khalid Kharsah, Dr. Muadh Hawa, among others.
His areas of study include Aqidah, Hanafi Fiqh, Tazkiyah, Tajwid, Arabic, and related Islamic disciplines.
Shaykh Meurad holds a graduate degree in Hanafi Fiqh and Usul from the World Islamic Sciences University in Amman, Jordan, along with various other certifications.
He currently serves as an instructor for Arkview, Safina Society, Darul Fath, Mecca Center, and Noorul Iman.
Imam Ali Ben Saad
Imam Ali Ben Saad is the Visiting Scholar and Imam for MCNJ Masjid in Fords, NJ where he leads prayers, delivers the Friday khutbahs, and provides counseling for youth, families, and community members. An educator with over eight years of experience, he teaches a range of classes on Islamic sciences, including Aqidah, Fiqh, and Tafsir both online and in-person.
Imam Ali began his formal studies in the U.S. as a graduate of Safina Society's Uwaylim Program under Shaykh Shadee Elmasry. He then pursued advanced studies internationally with scholars across Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt. In Cairo, he had the opportunity to study under Mufti Maḥmoud Shabieb al-Mālikī, a distinguished student of the renowned Al-Azhar scholar, Shaykh Aḥmad Ṭāhā Rayyān. Imam Ali’s training culminated in a Graduate Diploma in Shari’ah & Maliki Fiqh from Al Majd Institute.
Ustadh Muin Ali Saiyed
Ustadh Muin Ali Saiyed Ahmed holds a Diploma in Classical Arabic from Usul Academy, as well as a Diploma in AI Philosophy and Kalaam from BT Academy. For the past four years, Muin has served as the Seerah for Kids and Tarbiyah teacher at Safina Society.
He graduated from Rutgers University with degrees in Economics and Computer Science. He currently works as a Software Architect and Managing Partner.
Alongside his professional work, Muin has been engaged in the study of the Islamic sciences for the past six years under the guidance of scholars including Dr. Shadee Elmasry, Mufti Niaz Hannan, Shaykh Harun Saleh, and Shaykh Imran
Ustadh Nazmul Hassan
Ustadh Naz Hassan has studied Arabic, Quranic Recitation, Maqamaat, Kalam, Philosophy, Islamic Law, Hadith studies, and more at Al-Salam Institute, Darul Fath, Safina Society, QARI, and with private teachers. He continues to be a student of knowledge and studies the works of Said Nursi (rh) with the Spruce Circle in Philadelphia.
He is the author of "Pearls in the Deep", an exploration of how Islam responds to the question of why there is so much suffering in the world.
Ustadh Abdul Rasheed Malibari
Ustadh Abdul Rasheed has studied under various teachers in Shafi'i Fiqh, Aqida, Tasawwuf, Quran, Hadith and Pre-Islamic Poetry. His teachers include Shaykh Nuh Keller, Shaykh Hamza Karamali, Shaykh Mostafa Elqabbani, Shaykh Sihan Kalandar (India), Ustadh Farid Dingle and Dr Shadee ElMasry. His primary interest has been in Arabic Grammar, Morphology and Rhetoric. He is a Software Engineer by profession and has a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Engineering. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed was born and raised in Manhattan. While at college at the University of Chicago, he turned to religion, and in 1999, he left America to spend twenty years abroad. He pursued the classical disciplines of Islamic learning, becoming a traditionally trained Islamic scholar, receiving the ‘Ālimiyyah and Takhassus fi’l-Fiqh degrees. He then served as an instructor and guide to university students and professionals in Pakistan, England, and South Africa. From 2005-2013, he was a professor of Islamic Thought and Intellectual History at leading universities in Pakistan, including LUMS and AKU. In 2017, he returned to academia to pursue a PhD in Islamic Intellectual History at the University of Oxford. From 2020-2023, he held research fellowships in Islamic philosophy at Princeton University and Yale University. Since 2023, he has worked as a researcher and administrator at a nonprofit institute in the Princeton area. He also serves as Academic Advisor and Project Consultant at Kufah. His talks are available at: Islamic Spirituality YouTube Channel
Ustadh Giovanni Herran
Ustadh Giovanni Herran has a diverse background in the Humanities and Social Sciences. He received his bachelors from City University of New York (Queens College) with a double major in Political Science and Hispanic Languages and Literatures. He holds a Masters in History from City University of New York (Staten Island College). His research in his Masters dissertation was on the intersection between Scientism, Empire, literary cultural production and Evolutionary theory, in 19th century Western Europe. He is currently a PhD Candidate at Temple University in the Religion Department. His Area of concentration is Islamic intellectual history, primarily late Islamic philosophy and philosophical Sufism. He has taught at Temple University, TCNJ, Mishkat University and other Institutions, courses in Comparative Religion, Islam, European colonial history, philosophy and Intellectual history.
Ustadah Sobia Ahmed
Alimah Sobia Ahmed received her BA with honors in Sociology from the University of Chicago and Master’s in Education from the University of Illinois. She recently completed a second Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at The College of New Jersey and is a New Jersey State Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC).
Sobia received her Islamic studies degree (‘Alimiyyah) from Wifaaqul Madaaris in Lahore, Pakistan. While living there, she founded Zaynab Academy as a means for women of all ages to study classical Islamic learning in an accessible manner.
For the past twenty years, Alimah Sobia has taught courses on the Quran, Hadith, Sirah, Purification of the Heart, and the Divine Names. She has also conducted workshops on relationships and parenting, and delivered motivational talks on hope and resiliency for Muslim women. She has been teaching weekly online Quran commentary classes at Zaynab Institute (an affiliate of Zaynab Academy) for over ten years.