Staff

Minhajuddin Ahmed serves as the Principal of the Academy as well as one of the institute’s directors. Born and raised in Illinois, he memorized the entire Qurʾān at a young age. Later in life, when he reached college age, he opted to dedicate his life to Islāmic Studies and traveled to South Africa.He studied the eight-year ʿālimiyyah and iftāʾ program graduating with teaching licenses and the permission to issue fatwā in the Ḥanafī School.

Upon returning to the United States, he served as the director of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis for several years before becoming involved at Masjid DarusSalam. He oversees the administration of the institute. His passion for knowledge and dedication to providing a high-quality institute to serve the North-American Muslim community is phenomenal. Along with imparting knowledge to students in the classroom, he envisages creating a brilliant beacon of knowledge that will inspire future generations by offering an opportunity to study Islām in a way that is relevant in contemporary contexts while holding fast to tradition. Along with teaching and overseeing the institute’s administration, he serves as the imām at Masjid DarusSalam.

Azeemuddin Ahmed serves as director of Masjid DarusSalam. He was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. At a tender age, he memorized the Holy Qurʾān. Thereafter, he traveled to South Africa where he studied a rigorous eight-year ʿālimiyyah and iftāʾ course. During his studies, he was blessed with the opportunity to spend extensive time in the company of one of the world’s elite jurists and scholars. After graduating with top honors from South Africa, he went on to earn a BA in Psychology from Elmhurst College. He served as the director of AIA Masjid in Frankfort, Illinois from 2006 to 2012.

Azeemuddin’s dedication and passion for Islāmic education is unparalleled. He is continuously in the service of both scholars and students. An individual with sincere love for scholarship, he strives to ensure that everyone at the institute is well and benefiting from the program. His love and enthusiasm bring the classes he teaches to life, every class conveys priceless points that enrich and benefit those in attendance. As well, he serves as an associate Imām at Masjid DarusSalam.

Ahteramul Haque grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan. From a young age, he was passionate about Islām and earnestly desired to sit with the scholars and study. He embarked on this mission by enrolling at Dār al-ʿUlūm Detroit. With Detroit’s skyline in the background, he memorized the entire Qurʾān at the age of eleven.

Thereafter, he traveled to the distant land of South Africa in pursuit of sacred knowledge. There, he enrolled in an eminent institute of higher learning. He meticulously studied the full seven-year ʿālimiyyah program. During his studies, he sat under the expert scholar al-Qārī Ayyūb b. Ibrāhīm Iṣḥāq from whom he received authorizations in the Holy Qurʾān and its modes of recitation. After graduating, he returned home and took a teaching position at Dār al-ʿUlūm Detroit while also serving as the Imām of the Canton Islamic Center.

He moved to Chicago when the Takmīl Institute requested him to join the team of instructors. He brings an incredible amount of talent and knowledge to the program. His love, passion, and dedication to scholarship are witnessed by all those attending his lectures and his thoughtfulness and excellent etiquette are inspirational for all those who sit with him.

Ali Godil was born and raised in the United States. He began studying the Islāmic Sciences with scholars in the Chicagoland area. Upon finding an intense and burning desire to pursue Islāmic Studies, he set out to Egypt. Initially, he traveled to Alexandria where he studied Arabic. Thereafter, he enrolled in Egypt’s prestigious al-Azhar University. For the next five years, he resided in Cairo studying in the Faculty of Ḥadīth, College of Uṣūl al-Dīn. During these years, he read intensely, mastering the material in the university while also sitting with some of Cairo’s eminent shuyūkh in both public and private lessons.

After graduating from Azhar, he returned to Chicago. DarusSalam was honored to request him to join as an instructor. His enthusiasm for knowledge and academic prowess are remarkable. Students attending his classes find countless opportunities to be exposed to in-depth Islāmic knowledge.

Yaqub Abdurrahman was born and raised in Michigan. He converted to Islām in his late teens and shortly thereafter traveled in pursuit of sacred knowledge. He traveled to South Africa to study an intense six-year ʿālimiyyah program at Dār al-ʿUlūm al-ʿArabiyyah al-Islāmiyyah under the guidance of Mufti Ṭaha Karaan. Upon graduating, he taught in the same institute as he pursued post-graduate studies. Then, he traveled to Egypt and resided there for several years taking private lessons with local scholars and doing research. After returning home, he joined the Takmīl Institute’s team of instructors as head of the Research Department.

At the age of eleven, Muhiuddin Khan memorized the entire Qur’an. He then spent the next few years revising it while completing his high school education. During this time, he also studied at Dar al-Hikmah. Thereafter, he enrolled in the ‘alimiyyah program at the Institute of Islamic Education in Chicago, which he successfully completed. Upon graduation, he was requested to teach there on a part-time basis while continuing to study theology and tafsir.

After that, Muhi traveled to Dar al-Ulum Deoband for post-graduate level studies in the science of hadith. Hadith has always been his passion and focus, he received licenses to teach the books of hadith from the senior scholars of the Deoband Islamic seminary, including Shaykh al-Hadith Mufti Sa’id Ahmad Palanpuri, Bahr al-Ulum Mawlana Ni’matullah al-A’zami, Allamah Mawlana Qamruddin Gorakhpuri, Shaykh Abdul Haqq al-A’zami, and Mawlana Abdullah Ma’rufi.

He strives to provide a high-quality and thorough educational experience to students who attend his classes. Bringing the Islamic sciences to life in a way that is engaging, inspiring, and relevant.

Salman Ali Khan was born in Louisiana and moved to New York City at a young age. He found a burning passion to study Islam and began memorizing the Quran while studying the primary Islamic sciences. The more he studied, the more his passion for knowledge grew. This lead him to travel to South Africa and Zambia where he pursued intensive ‘alimiyyah studies covering a vast array of subjects; most especially, the subject of fiqh. He studied diligently and graduated at the top of his class. Throughout his studies, he sat at the feet of some of this era’s most notable ulama. He joined the Takmil Institute’s teaching team in 2017.

A young and ambitious scholar, his zeal for Islam is seen in both his manners and thought. He strives to maintain the legacy by serving its masters and those who pursue it.

Shaykh Akef Habbal was born in Montreal, Canada. He graduated from a six-year program at Madrasah Khusrufiyyah in Aleppo, Syria. Thereafter he earned his bachelor's degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Damascus, where he then continued to study master's level courses in theological and religious studies. Shaykh Akef then went on to study various subjects including tafsir, fiqh, nahw, and usool under various scholars in Aleppo. Upon returning to North America, Shaykh Akef began teaching Arabic and Islamic studies at various institutions. He currently serves as an Arabic instructor at DarusSalam Academy.