The Madinan Way
Shaykh Murabit Benvadiz
Shaykh Murabit Benavidez was born in Fremont, California in 1979. He was raised in a Catholic, Mexican household and embraced Islam at the age of 19. Shortly thereafter, his desire to seek sacred knowledge led him to Syria where he began his studies in Arabic and the Islamic Sciences. In 2002, Shaykh Murabit continued his studies in the deserts of Mauritania, studying Arabic, Fiqh, ʿAqīdah, 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.
He currently teaches fiqh, Usul al-fiqh, Aqidah, Arabic syntax, Arabic morphology, Arabic eloquence and Tassawwuf of which he has studied in Syria and Mauritania. He met the esteemed Shaykh Murabit Al-Hajj and benefited from him a great deal of knowledge. The Ustadh also taught in the Zaytuna College which was co founded by the great scholars Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shakir. Murabit Benavidez has travelled extensively to learn about the Islamic sciences to benefit others.
Shaykh ʿIṣāṃ āl-Sabuwʿi Al-Tunisi
Shaykh ʿIṣāṃ āl-Sabuwʿi was born on the 27th of August 1984. He began his journey of seeking knowledge by memorizing the Quran in the 4 transmissions of Imam Qalun An Nafi’ at a madrasa for Hifdh in Tunis. During that period, he attended the lessons of Shaykh Abdurrahman Al-Khalif. After memorizing half the Quran, He traveled to Makkah for a Quran contest and received Shadah from famous Qurra in Makkah. He then proceeded to study at in Arayanah (A city in Tunis) at Madrasa Umar ibn Al-Khattab, whilst studying there he finished memorizing the Quran and attended lessons of Tajwid by Shaykh Abdurrahman Al-Hafyan. He then traveled to Damascus, Syria where he enrolled in the University, “Al-Fath Al-Islami” He graduated with the highest marks in the entire university, and during his time studying there he wrote a dissertation in hadith sciences. After graduating, he remained in Damascus and studied Maliki Fiqh, Ash’ari Aqidah, Foundations of Aqidah, Hadith, Tasawuff, Research, Debate, under Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi. these are a few of the hadith works he received Ijaza in, the Muwatta, The Sahihaiyn, Sunan Abu Dawud, Jami’ Tirmidhi, Al-Shama’il Al-Muhammadiyya, Riyad Al-Salihin, Kitab Al-Adhkar, The 40 hadith of Imam Nawawi, and The Shifa of Qadi I’yad. After finishing his studies with him, Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi gave him Ijaza to teach and give fatwa.
Following his time studying under Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi, he proceeded to study under Al-Shahid Al-Muhaddith Riyad Al-Khurqi, he studied under him the Sharh of Al-Bayquniyya, The Sharh of Nukhbah Al-Fikr 3 times, Ibn Kathir’s “Ikhtisar Ulum Al-Hadith” among many other works, he mainly studied the science of referencing Ahadith and Usul Al-hadith under him. He also attended Shaykh Sai’d Ramadan Al-Buti’s lessons.
He has Ijaza from many Shuyukh, these are the most prominent of them: Shaykh Muhammad Zuhair Al-Nasir, Shaykh Adib Al-Kulas, Shaykh Muhammad Al-Fatih Al-Kattani, Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi, and Shaykh Riyad Al-Khurqi. After completing his studies, he was appointed as a teacher in an Islamic university in Damascus, he taught there the sciences of hadith, Usul Al-Fiqh, History, Logic, Debate, research and many more subjects.
Shaykh ʿIṣāṃ then returned to Tunis where he established a university with 3 other shuyukh wherein is taught all of the Islamic sciences. He also teaches voluntarily at many mosques in Sfax, Tunis after prayers: Maliki Fiqh, Ash’ari Aqidah, Logic, Usul Al-Hadith, and Arabic Grammar. He gives Khutubat at Al-Masjid Al-Badr in Sfax, Tunis. His classes are recorded and posted on Facebook and Youtube. For students of knowledge who understand Arabic his classes on Ibn Ashir and The Risala are exceptional. He also has works in Usul Al-Hadith published in many libraries in Tunis.
Shaykh Abdul Aziz Suraqah
Abdul Aziz Suraqah was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1991, at the age of fourteen, he embraced Islam. After studying locally with teachers in Atlanta in the mid-90s, he journeyed overseas to pursue further studies. In Yemen, at the Dar al-Hadith al-Khayriyya school in Ma'rib, he studied grammar (nahw), morphology (sarf), rhetoric (balagha), theology ('aqida), Quranic elocution (tajwid), law (fiqh) and legal theory (usul al-fiqh). Shortly thereafter he traveled to Mauritania and spent time in the Mahzara Umm al-Qura school of former head of the supreme court of Mauritania, Shaykh Muhammad Salim 'Adud (Allah have mercy upon him), where he studied grammar. Since returning to the west, Abdul Aziz has been actively teaching Arabic and Islamic studies in institutes and private schools. While living in Toronto, he taught adults and children theology, grammar, morphology, spirituality, Prophetic biography (sira), and related sciences, and regularly delivered Friday sermons and workshops. He has taught at Risalah Foundation, the Dar al-Ma'rifa Homeschooling program, and privately. In 2005, Abdul Aziz began translating Islamic texts full time, and since has completed over sixty works. (Seewww.ibrizmedia/portfolio/ for a list of published works.) More recently, in 2017, Abdul Aziz spent a year in Fez, Morocco where he studied directly under Shaykh Abdullah al-Haddad and served as the Director of English Programming at the Nasim al-Ashar Foundation where he taught Arabic and the Shama'il of Imam al-Tirmidhi. He is currently the Imam and Director of Education at the Muslim Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
Shaykh Abu Bakr Cisse Muhammad
Shaykh Abu Bakr Cisse Muhamad was born in Ghana but raised in Senegal under the care of the late great Shaykh Hassan Cisse. Shaykh Abu Bakr memorized Quran at an early age in the African-American Islamic Studies Institute(Nasr Ilm) in the city of Kaolack(Medina Baye). He memorized and studied the Rasm of the Quran under the two famous Quran teachers of Senegal, Shaykh Tijani Bati and Shaykh Al-Hajj Umar Sy Al-Futi. He then wrote the entire Quran, by memory, on a wooden tablet(Lawha) as is the tradition in West Africa.
Thereafter, Shaykh Abu Bakr went on to study the science of the Arabic Language, the Shariah Sciences, and Arabic Literature under the tutelage of Ustadh Ibrahim Saal and Shaykh Mahi Ali Cisse , who now is the Director of the African-American Islamic Studies Institute in Kaolack, Senegal. Among the texts in which Shaykh Abu Bakr studied under his teachers were:
- Kitab Al-Akhdari
- Ashmaawiyya
- Muqadimatul Izziyya
- Risalah Ibn Abi Zayd
- Misbah as-Saalik
- Mukhtasar Khalil
- Matn Ajrumiyya
- Mulhatul I'raab
- Laamiyatul Afaal
- Tuhfatul Atfaal(Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse)
- Alfiyya Ibn Maalik
- Qatrul Nada Ibn Hishaam
Shaykh Abu Bakr then moved to Morocco and graduated from the famous Qaywiyyin University where he further studied and specialized in Arabic the Shariah Sciences. Today, Shaykh Abu Bakr still lives in Morocco where he continues to teach and benefit others.
Shaykh Murabit Isa
Murabit Isa is from Mauritania and completed his studies at the mahdhara of Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah where studied Maalik fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh,and Qawa’d Fiqhiyya. Some of the texts he studied would include:
- The Kafaf al Mubtadi by Muhammad Mauluud.
- Mukhtasar Khalil
- Minhaj Muntakhab(Qawaa’id)
- Muraqi Suu’ud(Usul)
He also studied all the Language sciences of Nahw, Sarf, and Balagha. Shaykh Murabit Isa studied the most advanced texts in Aqidah including the seminal text, Idda’tul Djunna by Imam Maqqari. He went on to study The Sullam of Akhdari and the Taybia in Mantiq and its commentaries.
Shaykh Murabit Isa memorized Quran when he was fifteen years old. He studied the science of writing the Quran, as well as the standard text in Tajweed in the recitation of Warsh, Durrarul Lawaami’. He went to study the Matn of Shatibiyyah in Qira’aat until he took ijaaza in this science.
Shaykh Murabit Isa lives in the city of Medina where he teaches individuals in private groups.
Shaykh Bwee Naji Limam
Cheikh Bwee was born in Bangou, Mauritania in 1982. He studied in many traditional schools(mahadhar) all over Mauritania. Cheikh Bwee memorized the Holy Quran at an early age in his remote home village of Al-Jadidah, located in the municipality of Bangou, Hodh Chargui region. He studied al-Rasm al-Uthmani through the following texts:
- Al Muhtawa al-Jamia: Rasm al Sahaba wa Dhabt al –Tabi’i(The whole content; transcription of the Companion and control of the Tabi’i)
- The Hamlat al-Massomi
After studying the Matn of al-Akhdari and Murshid Mu’iin of Ibn Ashir, Cheikh Bwee went to Ahel Waweh Mahdhara in Amraj Province where he continued to consolidate his knowledge of the Quran. Then he went to Al-Kwaisi Mahdhara where he obtained the ijaza in Nafi and Hafs of Asim recitation methods from his Shaykh Mohamed Hassan Ould Sidi Mohamed. He then moved to the Levrewe Mahdhara in Trarza where he studied the following texts from his teacher Shaykh Bah Ould Mohamed Ali Ould Nema
- Nadthm of al-Ajrumiyya(Ubayd ar-Rabbi)
- Laamiyatul Afaal of Ibn Maalik
- Nadhtm of al-Ghazawaat of Ahmad al-Badawi
- The beginning of the Alfiyya with Ihmirar Ibn Buna to Inna wa Akhwaatuhaa.
- Then Cheikh Bwee moved to Al-Tayseer Mahdhara of Shaykh Muhammad Hassan al-Khadim, where he completed the study of the majority of the traditional Islamic Science texts such as:
Alfiyya with Ihmirar Ibn Buna
- Mukhtasar Khalil
- Al-Kafaf
- Al- Manhaj al-Muntakhab(Qawa’id Fiqhiyya)
- Sullam al-Akhdari in Mantiq
- Ibn Abd Oumo in Uroodh
- Al-Muallakaat al-Saba’a and other poetry
He also studied Maraaqi as-Su’uud with Shaykh Mohammed Ould Mahfouz. In addition to this, he studied Talaa’atul Anwaar in Mustalahal Hadith, and Alfiyyat al-Bayaan wa Tafseer and Tuhfatul Ahkaam by exchange at Al-Mahdhar al-Namuzadiyye School of Mauritanian Scholars Association.
Cheikh Bwee holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Islamic Studies from the Higher Institute of Islamic Studies and Research and the Modern University of Shanquit respectively. He holds an Ijaza in the Quranic recitations of Nafi’(Warsh and Qalun) and Hafs on Aasim.
He holds a general ijaza in all texts he studies with the Eminent Mujaddid scholar Shaykh Muhammad Hassan al-Khadim from Tayseer Mahdhara.
Today, Cheikh Bwee is the Imam and teacher of Islamic and Arabic Sciences at the Osama Bin Zaid Masjid in Nouakchott, Mauritania.