Scholars & Instructors

Imam Atir Rashid

Scholar/Instructor

Atir Rashid is the Imam at the Islamic Center of Lexington Park in Southern Maryland and serves as a state-wide chaplain for the Delaware Department of Corrections. He also oversees and teaches at the after-school Maktab program at the Islamic Society of Central Delaware and serves as a part-time instructor for Riwaq Institute.

Imam Atir's Islamic education began at a young age, when he memorized the entire Quran by the age of 13. He then traveled to Egypt to study Arabic and earned an ijāzah in the Hafs recitation. Upon returning, he completed a rigorous six-year 'Alimiyyah program at Darul Uloom al-Madania, studying the traditional Dars-i Nizāmī curriculum. During this time, Imam Atir received ijāzāt in the six canonical works of hadith.

Following his traditional Islamic studies, Imam Atir pursued a Master’s in Islamic Banking and Finance at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. His research focused on innovative alternatives to conventional mortgages.

Sheikh Abdelhadi Shehata

Scholar/Instructor

Sheikh Hadi Shehata completed his pre-college education in the Azhar school system while living in Egypt. He is a graduate of the famous Al-Azhar University in Egypt, from which he received a bachelors degree in Islamic Law. He is a Hafiz (memorized the entire Noble Quran by heart). He has served as the full time Imam of the Islamic Society of Delaware since 2006. He also serves as the head of the Islamic Studies Department at the private Islamic school, Islamic Academy of Delaware (IAD).

Sheikh Chad Earl

Scholar/Instructor

Sheikh Chad Earl grew up in Indiana and accepted Islam when he was 15 years old. He has been seeking knowledge since this early age which took him to Egypt in 2005 to learn Arabic and Islamic Studies. After completing the requirements, he was accepted into Al-Azhar to graduate with its high school diploma in 2012 that qualified him to join the College of Islamic and Arabic Studies, Al-Azhar University. He graduated with a degree in Islamic and Arabic Studies in 2018. He also sat for Independent Studies with scholars in Egypt in various Islamic topics such as memorization, Tajwid, Fiqh, Tafsir and Hadith. He helped with successfully launching an online Arabic program based in Cairo, Egypt. He worked as a writer, editor and translator with the Egyptian House of Fatwa (Dar Al-Iftaa), Al-Azhar. He served for four years as the Religious Director of the Islamic Center of Maryland and now serves as Imam and Programs Director of the Islamic Society of Monmouth County NJ. He is also working on a Master's Degree in Islamic Studies at the Islamic Seminary of America.

Imam Morshad Hossain

Scholar/Instructor

Morshad Saami Hossain is a graduate of Madrasah Arabia in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he studied in Arabic, Fiqh, Aqeedah, Tafseer, and Hadith.

From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Imam and religious director at the Muslim American Community Association (MACA) in Voorhees, NJ. In 2016, he transitioned to a career in real estate, evolving from a solo agent to leading a team that includes two employees and over ten sales agents. He is now a broker, team manager, and certified real estate mentor, all by the help of Allah.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Morshad delivers Khutbahs at various masjids across South Jersey and teaches weekly at local masjids in Burlington. He is dedicated to personal development, productivity, and finding a balance between spirituality and career in today's hyper-materialistic world.

He lives in South Jersey with his wife and three children. His hobbies include weightlifting, shooting, and reading.

Mufti Niaz Hannan

Scholar/Instructor

Mufti Niaz Hannan is the Imam and Religious Director at ICSJ (Islamic Center of South Jersey). Born in Brooklyn, made in Montgomeryville, and educated in England, Mufti Niaz began his journey in studying Islam from the blessed lap of his mother and late grandfather, Shaykh Maulana Raihanul Haque رحمه الله . He started memorizing the Holy Qur’ān at North Penn Mosque in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. He continued his Qur’ānic education at Darul Uloom Al-Madania before completing his Ḥifẓ (complete memorization of the Holy Qur’ān) in the spring of 2004.

For the next nine years, Mufti Niaz would pursue his Islamic Studies in the UK, qualifying as an ‘Ālim in the Sacred Sciences (Tafsīr, Ḥadīth, Fiqh, etc.) in 2011 from Jamiatul Ilm Wal Huda. The following year, he hit two birds with one stone by completing his training as a Muftī (issuer of Muslim legal responses) and by completing an MA in Islamic Studies from the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (MIHE). His last stop in the UK was at Cambridge Muslim College, where he obtained a Diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies & Leadership.

For the last ten years, Mufti Niaz has been volunteering and teaching in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey region, and most recently been serving ICSJ full-time since spring of 2014. In addition to his duties in South Jersey, he is also the Muslim Chaplain at Drexel University in Philadelphia, as well as a part-time instructor for Safina Society based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, IQRA Institute in Greater Philadelphia, and Imam Ghazali Institute in New York.

Sheikh Amir Abdul Wali

SCHOLAR/INSTRUCTOR

Amir Abdul Wali is a scholar of Islam trained at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. Born in the US, he moved to Egypt at a young age to pursue sacred knowledge. He is a hafidh of the Qur'an and a skilled instructor in the fields of Qur'anic studies, hadith, jurisprudence, and Arabic. He currently serves at a full time religious instructor with the Muslim Society of the Delaware Valley, and its subsidiaries, MYCP and ICCWG.

Sheikh Arqum Rashid

Scholar/Instructor

Arqum Rashid is the Resident Scholar and Imam at the Islamic Society of Central Delaware and a practicing attorney in Maryland. Arqum holds a degree in Islamic law from Al-Azhar University, a J.D. from Delaware Law School, and a Master’s in Interreligious Studies from Hartford International University, where he is pursuing his Ph.D. as well. His current research focuses on human dignity in Islamic thought and law. Previously, Arqum worked as a Deputy Attorney General in Delaware and an Assistant State’s Attorney in Maryland.
Arqum was born in Pennsylvania and currently resides in Delaware. He memorized the entire Quran and has regularly led the Taraweeh prayers for the past 16 years. After high school, Arqum traveled to Egypt to further his studies in Arabic and Religion.

In Egypt, he completed a year-long-intensive Arabic certificate program and completed a degree in Shariah (Islamic law) at Al-Azhar. During this time, he sat with some of the most renowned Islamic Scholars from whom he was granted various Ijazat (Islamic licenses).

Alongside this, he presented various TV shows on Huda TV and other channels, such as "The Quran Circle" and "Let's Talk," which aired internationally.
With these experiences, Arqum continues to deliver khutbahs, lectures, and various programs throughout the region.