Currently, all classes will be taught by Khalid Abdul Sattar. Insha’Allah as the program expands, a limited number of other teachers will join to teach different subjects.
Khalid Abdul Sattar
Khalid Abdul Sattar completed his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Stern School of Business at New York University (NYU).
After graduation, he began studying with local scholars in Chicago. A few years later, he traveled to Pakistan to advance his knowledge of the traditional Islamic sciences. There he dedicated five years to a full-time course of study. He formally graduated with a degree in Islamic Studies, and also received his teaching licenses in various Islamic subjects, including Classical Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh and Hadith.
In conjunction with his pursuit of traditional knowledge, he has also received spiritual guidance and training from Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad. After spending more than a decade in the company of his shaykh, he was given permission to take students in the path of Tasawwuf.
Currently, he runs IlmEssentials.com, an online traditional learning program, and resides in Maryland with his wife and children.
Shaykh Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf Mangera (past teacher)
Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera has been studying the traditional Islamic sciences and writing scholarly works for most of his life. He completed the bulk of his studies at Darul Uloom Bury, North England, where he memorized the Qur’an by the age of fifteen and thereafter went on to complete a rigorous, six-year Shari‘a program. He graduated from this program with authentic certifications (ijaza) in numerous Islamic disciplines, including Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence, and hadith (with particular emphasis on the six canonical collections of hadith (Sihah Sitta) and the Muwattas of Imam Malik and Imam Muhammad. His teachers at Darul Uloom Bury included Shaykh Yusuf Motala and other students of Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi.
Upon graduation, he traveled to South Africa, where he attended Madrasah Zakariyyah part-time to gain specialized training in answering legal questions (ifta’) under Mufti Rada al-Haq. While in South Africa, he also completed a Bachelor or Arts (with honors) in Islamic Studies at Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, under the supervision of Professor Abdul Rahman I. Doi.
He then traveled to Syria, where he received a second certification in Qur’anic recitation and memorization, this time from Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Halabi, who possessed a short, unbroken chain of transmission (sanad) to the Messenger of Allah (upon him be peace). Additionally, he received a certification from Shaykh Adib Kallas after reading Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari’s Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar and attending lectures on other classical texts of Islamic creed (‘aqida).
After his trip to Syria, he traveled to Saharanpur, India, where he received a formal authorization to issue legal rulings (fatawa), which required a close study of part or all of a number of classical jurisprudential texts, including, among others, Ibn Nujaym’s Al-Ashbah wa ’l-naza’ir and ‘Allama Haskafi’s Al-Durr al-mukhtar (along with its gloss, Radd al-muhtar, by ‘Allama Ibn ‘Abidin al-Shami). During this time, Shaykh Abdur-Rahman also attended classes on the principles of hadith (usul al-hadith), studying ‘Allama Lakhnawi’s Al-Raf ‘ wa ’l-takmil fi ’l-jarh wa ’l-ta’dil and parts of Imam Suyuti’s Tadrib al-rawi.
Shaykh Abdur-Rahman attained additional certifications in hadith from such great scholars as Shaykh Muhaddith Habib al-Rahman al-A‘zami (through his student Shaykh Mufti Zayn al-‘Abidin), Shaykh Abu ’l-Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi, and Shaykh Muhammad al-‘Awwama. May Allah continue to bless those of his teachers who are still alive and have mercy on those who have passed on to the next.
To date, Shaykh Abdur-Rahman has authored the highly popular Fiqh al-Imam: Key Proofs in Hanafi Fiqh (1996) and co-authored Reflections of Pearls (1995). He also published Provisions for the Seekers (1996), a translation and commentary of the Arabic work Zad al-Talibin, a collection of short hadiths compiled by Mawlana ‘Ashiq Ilahi from ‘Allama Tibrizi’s Mishkat al-Masabih. This work has recently been revised and republished in an extended edition. His latest published work is Prayers for Forgiveness: Seeking Spiritual Enlightenment through Sincere Supplication (2004), a translation of Al-Istighfarat al-Munqidha min al-Nar, a collection of seventy prayers for forgiveness of Imam Hasan al-Basri. Additionally, Shaykh Abdur-Rahman has completed an unpublished translation of Imam Abu Hanifa’s Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, along with its commentary, written by ‘Allama Maghnisawi, with notes from Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari’s larger commentary (to be published soon).
Some of his fatawa and lectures can be found at www.zamzamacademy.com.
Sohail Bengali (past teacher)
Sohail Bengali memorized the Holy Quran with ijazah from Jamia Suffah, located in Chicago, IL. After his memorization, he dedicated seven years to studying classical Islamic texts. He completed the Alim Course at Jamia Suffah in 2010, receiving numerous ijazahs in various Islamic sciences. He is currently teaching Sarf, Nahw, Fiqh and Hadith at his alma mater.
He has also authored the book titled “Guidelines for a Hafiz,” an invaluable resource for both hifz students as well as their family members. He currently resides in Chicago with his family.
