About
“Be people of the Lord, according to the Scripture you teach, and the teachings you learn.” 3:79
WHO WE ARE
Zaynab Academy was founded in 2005 by Shaykh Mufti Kamaluddin Ahmed and his wife Alimah Sobia Ahmed as a nonprofit, nonpartisan and nonpolitical educational institute dedicated to classical Islamic learning and Spirituality. The Classical Islamic Learning courses offered by Zaynab Academy are designed to introduce women to the classical methodology of Islamic knowledge and scholarship through a modern educational approach.The philosophy of the courses offered is distinct in its embrace of the entire academic tradition of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’a with respect for all scholars of Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, and Usul al-fiqh. Moreover, our courses highlight the importance of spiritual purification (tazkiya) and inner reform (islah).
VISION AND MISSION
Our vision is to provide holistic Islamic education and activities that cultivate intellectual, spiritual, social, moral, and personal development. The variety of programs we offer intend to meet the diverse needs of people from different backgrounds but are especially designed for students, graduates, and professionals. With this goal in mind, we attempt to provide a comfortable, flexible and cooperative environment, open to discussion and creative interactions.
Our
FOUNDERS
Shaykh Mufti Kamaluddin Ahmed is a qualified Islamic scholar and university academic in the field of Islamic studies, specializing in Qur’an, Hadith, Law, History, Spirituality, and Ethics. He is currently a Doctoral Fellow in Islamic Intellectual History at the Berlin Graduate School. Born and raised in Manhattan, he has a Bachelors from the University of Chicago and a Masters from the University of Oxford. He also traveled and spent many years pursuing an intensive full-time study of the classical disciplines of Islamic learning and was awarded formal certifications as an ‘Alim and Mufti. He has formally guided seekers on the spiritual path of becoming closer to Allah (Swt) and regularly delivers talks and offers courses at universities, masjids, and institutions of learning in countries across the UK, Europe, and South Africa.
The Shaykh has also established academies offering free education in classical Islamic learning and spirituality through both live and online courses for men and women around the world. The online institute for men established by the Shaykh is Tazkiyah Academy. Visit www.tazkiyahacademy.org to learn more.
Alimah S. Ahmed was born and raised in the United States and received her BA in Sociology and Arabic and Islamic Civilization with double honors from the University of Chicago and Masters of Education from the University of Illinois. In 1999, she migrated to Lahore with her husband following the early tradition of rihla, or journeying for the sake of seeking divine and sacred knowledge. In Lahore, she pursued an intensive full-time study of the classical disciplines of Islamic learning, known as Dars Nizami, for four years. In 2003, she was formally certified as an Alimah and was awarded the Alimiyyah degree, certifying her to teach the disciplines of Qur’an, Tafsir, Hadith, Arabic Grammar & Linguistics, Beliefs & Creed, and Islamic Law & Legal Theory (Fiqh & Usul).
For the past ten years, Alimah S. Ahmed has been tirelessly teaching classical Islamic learning and guiding women on the spiritual path to become closer to Allah. To date, she has taught over one thousand women live and online and has graduated over 50 women as alimahs.
Her students have included college and university students, young professionals, mothers, and homemakers. She has lectured and taught at masjids, universities, institutions, and private residences in the Unites States, across the United Kingdom, and in Pakistan where she maintains her home with her husband and four children.
In 2005, she and her husband founded Zaynab Academy. In 2009, Zaynab Academy Online was founded becoming the first all-women’s online Islamic educational institute dedicated to classical Islamic learning and spirituality. To date, Zaynab Academy Online’s courses and programs have been attended by over one thousand students from over twenty countries across the world.
