Our Instructors
Sanad Institute’s teachers combine classical training in the traditional Islamic sciences with contemporary academic scholarship, and each brings years of experience teaching in the West.
Shaykh Ismail Bowers
ISCJ Resident Scholar
Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Shaykh Ismail Bowers studied for nearly a decade in Morocco, completing the distinguished traditional ʿĀlimiyyah program at the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fes, where he received ijāzah in multiple disciplines.
His studies covered Qur'anic exegesis, Hadith sciences, Islamic law, theology, and Arabic philology under some of Morocco's leading scholars.
He later earned a Master's degree in Theology from Emory University, graduating top of his class, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Oxford focusing on Hadith and Islamic theology.
Alongside his academic work, Shaykh Ismail is co-founder of Pillars Seminary and has taught hundreds of students in Islamic sciences and Arabic. As Resident Scholar of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey, he brings a blend of traditional scholarship, academic rigor, and community leadership.
Shaykh Ahmed Ashour
Scholar of Islamic Sciences
Shaykh Ahmed Ashour is a scholar of Islamic studies and the Arabic language with classical training at Al-Azhar University and a career dedicated to teaching and community leadership.
He began the memorization of the Noble Qur'an at a young age and pursued his formal studies at Al-Azhar's Faculty of Arabic Language, where he earned the Ijāzah ʿĀliyah (Licentiate in Arabic Language and Islamic Studies).
He went on to complete postgraduate studies at the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Cairo and studied under many of Al-Azhar's most distinguished scholars in the fields of fiqh, usūl, hadith, tafsīr, and Arabic linguistics.
Shaykh Meurad Osman
Hanafi Law & Arabic 1 Instructor
Shaykh Meurad Osman was born and raised in New Jersey and holds a degree in Sociology from Kean University.
He pursued traditional studies in the U.S., Turkey, and Jordan, learning from scholars such as Shaykh Zahir Ishaq, Dr. Salah Abdul Haj, and Dr. Muadh Hawa.
His studies included ʿAqīdah, Hanafi fiqh, tazkiyah, tajwīd, and Arabic. He completed a graduate degree in Hanafi fiqh and usūl at the World Islamic Sciences University in Amman, Jordan, and also served as Imam at the Islamic Center of Ocean County.
Currently, he teaches with Arkview, Safina Society, Darul Fath, Mecca Center, and Noor Ul-Iman, while continuing to instruct students in Islamic law, theology, and Qur'anic studies.
Shaykh Murabit Benavidez
Seerah Instructor
Shaykh Murabit Benavidez is a scholar and educator with more than twenty years of experience teaching the Islamic sciences. His pursuit of traditional Islamic learning took him to Damascus and Mauritania, where he studied with renowned scholars including Murabit al-Hajj and Murabit Ahmad Fal.
His primary areas of study and teaching include Islamic theology (kalām), Maliki fiqh, Hadith, and the Arabic language, with particular grounding in the traditional scholarly curricula of West Africa.
Over the course of his teaching career, Shaykh Murabit has taught at a number of Islamic educational institutions in the United States, including Zaytuna College and Darul Qasim. He has also contributed to Islamic schools, community programs, and other educational initiatives.
He currently serves Muslim communities in New York and New Jersey, continuing his longstanding commitment to Islamic education, spiritual development, and the transmission of the traditional Islamic sciences.
Dr. Nibal Zaghloul
Arabic 2 Instructor
Dr. Nibal Zaghloul is a pediatric oncologist and hematologist who works at Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick.
He is of Palestinian origin; born in Lebanon, and attended its schools and universities before coming to the United States in 1999 to pursue training in pediatrics.
He has a personal interest in the Arabic language and learned it in schools from his father who was himself an Arabic teacher.
He loves the Arabic language for its beauty, in addition to it being the language of the Holy Quran.
He has a strong desire to teach it to students of knowledge. He taught Arabic grammar and morphology at the NBIC Center for several years.
Dr. Ahmed M. Mohamed
Hanbali Fiqh 1 Instructor
Dr. Ahmed M. Mohamed holds an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biology from Queen's University in Canada, and an MA in Islamic Studies from the Islamic University of Minnesota. He also holds an Ijazah (traditional Islamic license) to transmit and teach Quran recitation, Tajweed, Aqeeda, Hadeeth, principles of Fiqh and principles of Hadeeth.
Previously, Dr. Mohamed worked as a faculty member at Rutgers University, College of Staten Island and Raritan Valley Community College. He also acted as the Resident Director of Youth and Young Adults Islamic Studies at the Islamic Society of Central Jersey. Currently, Dr. Mohamed is the Religious Director at Al Falah Center in Bridgewater, NJ.
He teaches Hanbali Fiqh 1 (Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat by Imam Muhammad Ibn Balban) on Wednesdays, 8:00–9:30pm.