The Teaching Body
Learn to think like a scholar of the tradition.
Every teacher here read these texts with his own teachers, in the traditional chain, and several also trained in the modern academy. One shared vocabulary runs through the courses, so each builds on the last instead of starting over.
Matn Isaghuji fi Ilm al-Mantiq
Shaykh Kareem Odeh
Kareem began studying the traditional Islamic sciences in 2020 at Safina Society under Shaykh Shadee Elmasry. After graduating from Rutgers University in 2022 with a dual degree in Computer Science and Cognitive Science, he moved to Turkey to pursue further Islamic studies. In Turkey, he studied with Shaykh Nadir Abu Umar at the Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Institute, from which he graduated in 2026. Among his other teachers are Shaykh Khalid al-Kharsa, from which he received general ijaza and Shaykh Mujir al-Khateeb, from which he received various ijazas in hadith.
Tasawwuf of Ibn Ashir
Shaykh Murabit Benavidez
Shaykh Murabit Benavidez was born in Fremont, California in 1979. He was raised in a Catholic, Mexican household before he embraced Islam at 19. His desire to seek Sacred Knowledge led him to Syria shortly thereafter, where he began his studies in Arabic and the Islamic Sciences. In 2002, Shaykh Murabit continued his studies in the deserts of Mauritania, in Arabic, Fiqh, Aqidah, and Tasawwuf. Some of the eminent scholars Shaykh Murabit studied under include: Murabit al-Hajj, Murabit Hadamin bin AbdurRahman, Abdullah bin Ahmad Fal, and Murabit Ahmad Fal bin Ahamadna.
Hizb al-Tawhid · Imam al-Jazuli
Shaykh Zakariya El Houbba
Zakariya El Houbba is a PhD candidate in Islamic Studies at Leuven University (BE), specializing in legal epistemology and Sufism. He earned his MA in Islamic Studies from Ibn Haldun University (TR) and his BA in Philosophy from KU Leuven. Alongside his academic pursuits, Zakariya has pursued study of the Islamic sciences in a traditional manner in Mauritania, Egypt, and Turkey, with a specific focus on Kalām and Māliki Maddhab-Law. He continues to study under private tutelage.
Khulasat al-Usul
Shaykh Harun Saleh
Harun is a Rutgers graduate with a degree in Accounting and Economics. Following his graduation, he delved into Islamic scholarship, learning from local teachers and scholars, as well as online and in Cairo. Currently, he is a student at Al Azhar University and has studied multiple texts traditionally in Maliki fiqh, Usul, Arabic, Mantiq, Hadith, Mustalah al Hadith, Aqida, and more. Harun also had the honor of speaking at the International Maliki Madhhab Conference in Algeria in 2019, where he presented his insights on Shariah rulings related to cryptocurrencies, rooted in Maliki principles. He continues his educational journey through online studies and traveling overseas to learn from his teachers in person.
Al-Muqaddimat · Umm al-Barahin
Shaykh Uthman Qureshi
Uthman Qureshi is an alumni of Noor-Ul-Iman School and graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in business. He grew up as a student of Dr. Shadee Elmasry. In 2022, during his gap year of college, he helped Dr. Shadee found a traditional seminary, having the honor of being one of its co-founders and its first student, and assuming the role of Executive Director. In 2023, he left medical school in order to pursue knowledge under the auspices of his teachers there and other luminaries from across the world, such as Shaykh Ahmed Al-Maghili and Dr. Muhammad Abadallah Al-Azhari. With his teachers, he continues his studies in Maliki Fiqh, Kalam, Usul, Nahw, Sarf, Qawa’id Fiqhiyya, Mantiq, Tasawwuf, and the other Islamic sciences.
Level One Begins September 2026
Study under this faculty.
Level One is taught in English and enrollment is by application. Teachers for the later Arabic certificates will be named as each cohort opens.
