INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION

FACULTY MEMBERS

Our faculty

Our faculty is dedicated to providing a comprehensive education in Ulum al-Shari’ah, emphasizing both theoretical knowledge and practical application. We strive to cultivate critical thinking and deep understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, preparing students to address contemporary issues while upholding the core principles of Shari’ah in diverse contexts. 

The list of our faculty members also includes experts of Qur’an memorization with a vast experience in helping students read the Qur’an correctly and memorize it completely. Since IIE also helps students complete high school, while they are in the Hifz program, our staff members from the academic background teach them English, math, science, etc. 

Ulum al-Shari’ah

Mawlana Ubaidullah Saleem

president@islamicedu.org

Hafiz, Alim, and one of the prominent scholars, Mawlana Ubaidullah Saleem is the current President of IIE (he was the president from 2014-2020 also) . Mawlana was trained according to the traditional Islamic curriculum and graduated from the prestigious Darul Uloom Deoband. He received ijazah from prominent scholars of hadith from Deoband. Mawlana Ubaidullah Saleem has been teaching various subjects in hadith, fiqh, Aqidah, Tafseer, and the Arabic language for the last 25 years and has successfully trained many scholars who are serving the Muslim community as Imams, Muftis, and Ulama across America. Under his leadership, IIE achieved many milestones, such as the start of Iftaa program, infrastructural growth of IIE, building IIE’s gymnasium, etc.

Mawlana Sulaiman Saleem

bareed20@gmail.com

Hafiz, Alim and Khatīb, Mawlana Sulaiman Saleem was the president of IIE (Apr 2020- July 2024). Mawlana Sulaiman Saleem completed Hifz and graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband, India. He also obtained an associate’s degree in social studies from Chicago. For the last twenty years, he has been teaching various subjects related to hadith and fiqh at this Institute.

Mufti Abrar Mirza

Mufti Abrar, an alumnus of IIE, began his Arabic and Islamic Studies at Benedictine University (Lisle, IL) while enrolled in a degree program in Information Systems. Simultaneously, he began Arabic studies at Darul Qasim (Glen Ellyn, IL). He later enrolled in a summer Arabic program at the Institute of Islamic Education (IIE) in Elgin, IL, upon which he decided to continue his studies in the religious sciences and helped form the first batch of graduate students from the ‘Alim program. He thus had the good fortune to study under-recognized scholars, including the renowned commentator of the Quran and former Shaykh al-Hadith of the Dar al-‘Ulum in Deoband, Mawlana Muhammad Na’im (may Allah have mercy on him), under whom he completed the study of Sahih al-Bukhari. In 2009, at Madrasah In’aamiyyah (South Africa) Mufti Abrar completed his training under the tutelage of Mufti Ebrahim Desai (may Allah have mercy on him), a world-renowned jurist and expert in Islamic finance. He is also fortunate to have received authorization to narrate from forty-four books of hadith. Mufti Abrar is the founder of the American Fiqh Academy and is active in the field of research and issuing legal verdicts (fatwas). In addition, he is the Head Mufti at Darul Iftaa Chicago, IIE, Elgin where he trains ‘ulama in the field of issuing legal verdicts.

Mawlana Abdur Rahman Saleem

Mawlana Abdur Rahman obtained an alim degree from the prestigious Darul Uloom Deoband in India. Prior to obtaining his degree in the Shari’ah program, he was also trained under several Qura in Deoband. He has been assigned responsibilities to promote the cause of IIE and make the community aware of the activities of IIE. He also leads Tarawih during the month of Ramadhan at IIE’s Masjid al-Islam. He has performed as a judge in several Qir’at competitions in India and the US. He has been teaching Arabic and tajweed for the last three decades at IIE; simultaneously, he taught tajweed and Qir’at in different Islamic centers and institutes in Chicagoland.

Mufti Zeshan Ahmad

Mufti Zeshan Ahmed was born and raised in Springfield, OH. After moving to Chicago in his early teens, he enrolled at the Institute of Islamic Education (Elgin, IL) to memorize the Quran. Upon successful completion of his memorization in 2011, his desire for higher Islamic education led him to enroll in and successfully complete the ‘Alim course at the same institute. In 2017, Mufti Zeshan decided to further his education by specializing in the field of issuing legal verdicts (Iftaa) at Darul Iftaa Chicago under the tutelage of Mufti Abrar Mirza (may Allah protect him). Mufti Zeshan leads the assisted reading sessions at Darul Iftaa Chicago, IIE, Elgin. In parallel, he continues to pursue a specialization in the various modes of Quran recitation.

Mufti Farhan ul Haq

Mufti Farhan ul Haq pursuit of Islamic education began at an early age when his parents took him from their home in Lodi, CA to their village in Pakistan to memorize the Quran. Upon completion, he returned back to the US and enrolled at Darul Ulum al-Islamiyah in Sacramento (CA) for further Quran revision. Thereafter, Mufti Farhan began more advanced Islamic education by enrolling in the ‘Alim course at the Institute of Islamic Education (Elgin, IL), where he had the honor of completing his study of the Sahih of Imam Bukhari under the esteemed scholar Mawlana Abdullah Saleem (may Allah protect him) in 2020. His passion for jurisprudence led him to enroll at Darul Iftaa Chicago for specialization in the field of issuing legal verdicts (iftāʾ) under the tutelage of Mufti Abrar Mirza (may Allah ﷻ accept and reward him), which he completed in 2022.

Mufti Farhan currently serves as an instructor at the Institute of Islamic Education.

Mawlana Ibn Moaz Hussain

Mawlana Ibn Moaz serves as an instructor in the Alim program at the Institute of Islamic Education.

Mufti Huzaifah Chohan

Mufti Huzaifah Chohan graduated from Darul Iftaa, IIE as a Mufti in 2022 and joined IIE’s Alim program as an instructor. Currently he is teaching Arabic language and Fiqh into the Alim program and is also serving as the assistant dean in the Alim program. 

Mawlana Suleyman Ahmed Khan

Mawlana Suleyman Ahmed Khan is originally from Hyderabad, India. He dedicated himself to completing the Hifz al Qur’an. After finishing middle school, he attended a private high school in Brooklyn, New York, achieving excellent grades. During that time, he also began the ālim program. After studying for two years in New York and Chicago, he found his way to Al Hussnain Seminary in Indianapolis. Mawlana Suleyman studied under the personal supervision of the esteemed and revered Sheikh Ramzi Al-Habib and Mufti Ahmed Ali and others. For his final year (Dawrah), he attended the Institute of Islamic Education (IIE), in Elgin, IL. He studied under the highly esteemed scholar and one of the few remaining students of Mawlana Hussain Ahmed Madani, Mawlana Abdullah Saleem. Along with him, he also studied advanced aqīdah (creed) under Sheikh Amin Kholwadia. Mawlana Suleyman started his career as a teacher at Al Hussnain Seminary. He currently teaches but is not limited to, the following subjects: Arabic syntax (nahw), Rhetoric (balāgah), literature, prose, and poetry. He also teaches Sunan al-Nasa’i and Sunan Abī Dāwūd, and previously; Sunan Ibn Mājah at IIE. He is also pursuing a specialization in Aqidah, Islamic Thought, and Modernity under Dr. Mufti Yasir Nadeem.

Hifz

Mawlana Saad Saleem

The Mawlana’s first job was assisting his parents in operating the first madrasa in Chicagoland, where he was given the responsibility to teach the Qur’an to the early groups of students. Mawlana Saad Saleem, after memorizing the Qur’an at a very early age, attended Jamia Rahimia in New Delhi; he earned a degree in Shari’ah from Darul Uloom Deoband, India. Since the inception of IIE, he has been teaching Qur’an at IIE and has successfully produced a good number of Huffaz. Many prominent huffaz and ulama in America memorized the Qur’an under the tutelage of Mawlana Saad Saleem.

Shaykh Ali Noor

Shaykh Ali Noor is one of the very experienced teachers of the Qur’an, he is a graduate in Ulum al Shari’ah and an excellent Hafiz and Qari. Shaykh Ali Noor is a multilingual teacher, fluent in English, Arabic and Somali. He started his teaching career in Somalia and Egypt and later moved to the United States. He currently teaches at IIE. He is not only a teacher, but also a trainer and helps students learn ethics and train them to live with Islamic manners. 

Shaykh Raed Zayed

Born in Jordon, Shaykh Raed Zayed, a teacher and Imam, served in the department of the Hifz al-Quran program as an instructor at the IIE from 2014 to 2018. He again joined IIE in Aug 2024. One of the very important characteristics of Shaykh Raed is that he is very disciplined and dedicated teacher in the Qur’an learning program and has a specialty for helping his students to memorize the Qur’an. 

Hafiz Raage Farah

raagef123@gmail.com

Hafiz Raage is an alumnus of IIE where he currently serves as a Hifz teacher, helping young children on their journey of memorizing the Qur’an. He has a record to his credit, reciting the entire Holy Qur’an in one sitting.

Muftiah Ambreen Noor Ahmed

ambreensajjad780@gmail.com

Ambreen Ahmad born and raised in India’s Saharanpur is a Hafizah, Muftiah, Aalimah, and Qari’ah. She received degrees in ulum al-shari’ah from Jamia Salihat, Malegaon & Noor al-Anwar, Hyderabad, India. She started her Alimah teaching career by imparting home-based classes to female students in 2010. In 2017, she began service as a Qur’an Tahfiz teacher in Chicago through online mediums. She has mentored on average 1 Hafizah in one year. Currently, she is serving as a teacher in the alim and hifz programs at IIE’s Girls School.

Mawlana Mohammad Haq

mohammadhaque34@gmail.com

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Mawlana Mohammad Haq is a graduate of the Alim program. His early education was in his hometown. He started hifz al-Qur’an at Hussainiyah in Indiana. After completing the memorization of the Noble Qur’an, he completed most of the Alim program at the same seminary. For earning a degree in ulum al shari’ah, he moved to IIE and completed Dawrah Hadith under the tutelage of Hadhrat Mawlana Abdullah Saleem in 2022. The same year, Mawlana Muhammad Haq joined IIE’s Qur’an learning program as an instructor. The Mawlana is one of the most dedicated teachers in this department and was awarded as the best teacher of IIE in the academic year 2023-24. He especially teaches the elementary level of the Qur’an and the prerequisite subjects, essential for starting the full-time Hifz program. 

Academics

Ishrat Asghar

vice.principal@islamicedu.org

Ishrat Asghar is the Vice Principal at IIE Girls’ School. She was born and raised in Deoband, India. She studied Seerah, Hadith, Fiqh, and Tafseer al-Qur’an and received a diploma from Jamia Diniyat, Deoband. Later she studied the Intensive Arabic program at the Institute of Islamic Education, Elgin, IL. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Behavioral Sciences at National Louis University where she received an award from the National Society of Leadership and Success “Sigma Alpha Pi”. Ishrat Asghar is a dedicated and hardworking professional with ten years of experience in administration and teaching Qura’n, Arabic and Islamic Studies.

Asma Saleem

asma.saleem06@yahoo.com

Asma Saleem is one of the Deputy Deans of Academics at IIE. She completed high school at St. Ann’s High School, in India. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in science from Meerut University, India, and then moved to one of India’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning at Aligarh. She obtained a master’s degree in science from Aligarh Muslim University. She moved to the US in 2005 and since 2013 she has been teaching math at the Girls School of IIE. She also taught math at the Boys School in the academic year of 2017-18. She is also responsible for developing and managing IIE’s Sunday school, which she began in 2006 and has been continuously serving to date

Moshaddek Hasan

moshaddekhasan@yahoo.com

Moshaddek Hasan obtained his bachelors degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Dhaka in 2008. In 2000 he secured 10th place among more than 1 million students in the SSC exam conducted by the Bangladesh Education Board. He has to his credit two international research papers presented in the IEEE sponsored conference in 2008 and 2009 in VLSI and reversible logic design. Moshaddek has 11 years of experience in research in VLSI design, 9 years of experience in database programming using Oracle SQL, PL/SQL and the web technologies, and 6 years of experience in teaching. He is currently teaching at IIE and is also working as the Liaison Officer at the Boys’ School of IIE.

Sarvinoz Zaynieva

Sarvinoz Zaynieva is the warden of IIE’s Girls’ dorms. She was born and raised in Uzbekistan. In 2019, she graduated from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago majoring in Economics (Bachelor of Arts). Before joining IIE, she worked in the financial sector. Sarvinoz is fluent in four languages and has started learning Arabic in IIE.