Shaykh Ahmed Mohamed Saad Al-Maliki Al-Azhari Al-Hasani was born into a family of scholars whose lineage goes back to the Prophet ﷺ  through his grandson Al-Hasan ibn Ali (radia Allahu anhu) in north Egypt. Following the family tradition, Shaykh Saad completed the memorisation of the Holy Qur’an at the age of ten at the hands of his father and studied basic Arabic and Islamic sciences with focus on the sciences of Arabic language (‘Ulum Al-‘Arabiyyah) before enrolling into Al-Azhar system of schools where he studied from 1988 to 2004 graduating with a B.A. Honours in Islamic Studies in English and finishing his post graduate years. Shaykh Saad delivered his first Khutbah at the age of 15, led his first prayer at the age of 13 and since then, he has been involved in Da’wah work and spreading traditional Islamic knowledge. Shaykh Saad was a guest of the ministry of Hajj amongst a selected delegation of 10 Egyptian students in 2000. During the visit, he performed Hajj alongside other selected students from Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Nigeria. They had the opportunity to meet leading Muslim scholars and engage in dialogue about the future of young Muslims.

Following his graduation, Shaykh Saad toured the world as an Imam, speaker, lecturer and teacher. He was visited Canada, Malaysia, Germany, USA, Sweden, Turkey, Singapore, India, Qatar, Argentina, Australia, Uruguay, Spain, Indonesia, Austria, Norway, South Africa and many other countries. In 2005, Shaykh Saad participated in the Religious Pluralism Institute in University of California - Santa Barbara as a Fulbright Scholar. He also participated in the University of Erfurt Islam in the West program in the summer of 2004. Shaykh Saad led Tarawih prayer since 1994 in different parts of the world including Calgary Islamic Center, East London Mosque, North London Central Mosque, Palmers Green Mosque, Seekers-hub, Pinelands Masjid Cape Town, Center for Spirituality & Cultural Advancement-UK and many mosque in Egypt prior to that.  

Alongside with his academic studies, Sheikh Saad studied traditional Islamic sciences at the hands of senior scholars and specialists in Egypt, the most notable of whom is his late father Shaykh Muhammad Saad, Habib Abu Bakr Al-'Adni bin 'Ali Al-Mashhur and the Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gom’ah.

He memorised Riyadus-Salihin of Imam An-Nawawi in hadith at the age of 15 and Alfiyat Ibn Malik in grammar at the age of 13 and committed to memory thousands of lines of poetry and prose. He has memorised texts on logic, tajwid, aqidah, morphology, rhetoric and many other sciences. Shaykh Saad studied both Shaf'i and Maliki madhhabs and practices the school of Imam Malik.

In the narration of Hafs from 'Asim, Shaykh Saad holds one of the highest chains  nowadays for his peers, there is 29 people between the Prophet ﷺ and him. He also holds ijazāt in Warsh and Qalūn from Nafi' and the recitation of Hamzah. Amongst his shyūkh in Qira’at are: Shaykh Dr. Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ali An-Nahhas, Shaykh Shibl Matar, Shaykh Abdel-Basit Hashim, Shaykh Abdel-Fattah Madkour (the last living student of Shaykh Ali Ad-Dabba’ and the colleague of Shaykh Al-Husari).

Shaykh Saad has also got Ijazahs in the books of hadith, the musalsalat, Shafi'ī and Malikī Fiqh and and many other 'ulūm. He counts among his teachers: the former Grand Mufti of Egypt Imam Shaykh Ali Gom’ah, Shaykh Ahmed Ali As-Surti (India), Shaykh Yahya Al-Mulla (Al-Ahsa), Shaykh Muhammad Abdel-Ba’ith Al-Kittani (Alexandria), Habib ‘Umar bin Hafiz (Yemen), Shaykh Muhammad Sadiq Al-Alawi, Shaykh Yahya Al-Ghawthani (Madinah), Habib Muhammad Sa’ied Al-Beidh, Habib Abu Bakr Al-Mashhūr, Habib Zayn bin Summit,  Shaykh Muhammad Al-Baqqali, Shaykh Subhi As-Samurra’i (Iraq), Shaykh Abdur-Rahman Al-Kittani (Morocco) Shaykh Ahmed Sharif Al-Manbiji (Syria), Dr. Abdel-Fattah Al-Bizm (Mufti of Damascus), Shaykh Abdel-Hamid Mubarak Āl Al-Shaykh Mubarak (the Shaykh of Malikiyyah in Ahsa), Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abdel-Samad Mehanna and many others.

Shaykh Saad loves poetry and writes it frequently mainly in Arabic and sometimes in English. He has published an anthology of his poetry and some other books including 'Contemplating the Qur'an'. Shaykh Saad is the founder and director of the UK-based Ihsan Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies. He currently resides in the UK and travels internationally. 

More on Shaykh Saad: Click here

Erwan Abdul Rahim, Manager

A lighting designer-programmer-technician for a theatre company managed by a local polytechnic, Erwan Abdul Rahim’s multi-tasking capabilities and his constant willingness to learn on the job makes him a perfect fit for the manager’s job at Ihsan Institute which oversees the general running of the organization and ensuring the smoothness of its programs.

He sees religion as the upholding of simple Prophetic values and practices within one’s family and society. This entails the pursuit of knowledge not for the sake of knowledge per se but more as a mission to manifest it as an emblem of compassion within society.

When not tearing his hair backstage or contemplating Ihsan’s program’s, Erwan spends his time on Islamic abstract painting
and calligraffiti.

Syaiful Sam’an,
Media Coordinator

Syaiful Sam’an is a full-time designer and creative director and is the go-to person within the local dakwah fraternity for the conceptualisation of dakwah initiatives into posters, websites and books. Naturally, he is Ihsan Institute’s Media Coordinator and is pivotal to the provision of updates and related materials for Ihsan’s latest dakwah initiatives.

He yearns for the ummah to be united and hopes that his contributions via graphic design can be little but meaningful contributions to making his yearning a reality. Humble and unassuming by nature, Syaiful insists that he has nothing interesting to share about himself. That will remain a disputed fact coming from the founder of MIRROR magazine which is an independent online lifestyle magazine catered to the youths of Singapore.

Ustaz Muhammad Shaifulnizam Bin Saleh (Shaif),
Education Coordinator 1

Ustaz Muhamad Shaifulnizam Bin Saleh plies his trade as a technical executive in oil and gas. But beyond the technicalities of his profession, Shaif, as he is affectionately known as, has a vision that Singapore will be a hub for intellectual scholarship that not only provides for the development of the Muslim community but for humanity as a whole. He believes strongly in knowledge being the defining factor in translating tolerance into acceptance and respect. This is in line with his current profile as the Education Coordinator for Ihsan Institute which oversees the content development for the modules implemented by the organization.

A Quranic teacher with a Diploma in Islamic Studies from Al Zuhri, Singapore, Shaif has continued his pursuit of traditional Islamic Studies under the tutelage of Shaykh Ahmad Saad Al-Azhari: accompanying him in his beneficial travels and also completing the reading of basic texts with Shaykh such as Imam Al Haddad’s Adab Sulukil Murid and a selection of Imam Tirmidhi’s Shamail Muhammadiyah. He soothes his soul between the physical demands at work and planning Ihsan Institute’s programs by writing and reciting qasaid.

Ustaz Mohammad Hafiz Kusairi, Education Coordinator 2

Ustaz Mohammad Hafiz Kusairi is also responsible for overseeing the provision of beneficial educational content for those attending Ihsan Institute’s programs. Having benefitted from scholars who are able to connect the richness of traditional approaches to sacred knowledge and manifesting its values in the increasingly volatile world such as the late Kiayi Kassim and Syaikh Ahmad Saad Al Azhari, Hafiz sees the pertinence for Muslims to be consistently active in the pursuit of beneficial knowledge and striving to illuminate society with praiseworthy actions in their respective capacities.

When not teaching modern Southeast Asian history in a local institution, enggaging with youths through various movements or organizations or delivering talks, Hafiz spends his time reading books on modern history or teaching pedagogies, catching a film online or writing short stories and commentaries for publications who do not mind his honest opinion.