Team

Resident Scholars

Shaykh Umair Ahmad

Executive Director and Resident Scholar

Shaykh Syed Umair Ahmad was born in Denver, CO and soon after moved to Seattle, WA where he completed high school and went on to earn a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Central Washington University. As a student, he served as President of the Muslim Student Association at North Seattle Community College where the club was awarded the Most Active student organization on campus. Umair later served two years as President of MSA NorthWest and became a key contributor to Islamic Quiz of Seattle. He went on to become an active member in the Greater Seattle community, establishing youth programs in addition to teaching in his local masjid.

While working as a Senior Sales Rep with Verizon Wireless he began his pursuit of sacred knowledge with Mufti Abdul Mujeeb Al-Nadwi and other local scholars. By the grace of Allah, in 2009 he embarked on his journey to South Africa where he attended Madrasah In’aamiyyah to study the Higher Islamic Sciences, which included Arabic Morphology, Arabic Grammar, Science of Recitation (Tajwīd), Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Principles of Jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh), Qur’ānic Exegesis (Tafsir), Principles of Qur’ānic Exegesis (Usul al-Tafsir), Prophetic Traditions (Hadith), and Principles of Prophetic Traditions (Usul al-Hadith).

In 2015, Shaykh Umair’s studies culminated in him receiving an ijāzah al-tadris, which literally means “a license to teach,” as well as an unbroken chain of transmission by which to narrate the Prophetic Traditions (Ahadith) of such books as the Muwatta of Imam Malik and Imam Muhammad, six of the authenticated books of Prophetic Traditions (the Sihah al-Sittah: Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah), and the Sharh Ma’ani al-Athār of Imam al-Tahawi. He also holds an unbroken chain of recitation of the entire Qur’an in the rendition of Imam Hafs.

He began serving the Greater-Seattle community in 2015 through Mihraab Foundation as a Resident Scholar and Youth Director. From 2017 - 2021 he was the Director of Islamic Studies and teacher at Cordoba Academy, an Islāmic School in the North-Seattle area, now serving as an advisor to the Islāmic School. Currently Shaykh Umair is a teacher at Darul Uloom Seattle alongside serving as Resident Scholar and Executive Director of Mihraab Foundation.

Shaykh Qasim Hatem

Resident Scholar

Shaykh Qasim Hatem was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where his forefathers built one of the very first mosques in North America. His family moved to Washington State in 1993, where he would later earn a full-ride scholarship to play football for the University of Washington. Originally recruited as a linebacker, he would go on to earn a starting position in 2001 at nose tackle on the top-ranked and Rose Bowl-winning Huskies. Appearing in Sports Illustrated and being scouted by NFL teams, Shaykh Qasim seemed destined to fulfill the “All-American Dream.” Shortly after that spectacular finish in the Rose Bowl however, Shaykh Qasim incurred a life-threatening injury. Although he would not be able to play football that fall, he had the opportunity to return and play in the next two seasons to complete his collegiate football career. He chose a different path entirely: his faith.

A year after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2003, Shaykh Qasim traveled to Yemen to study in the blessed city of Tarim. He first enrolled in the Badr Language Institute and then moved on to the prestigious seminary, Dar al-Mustafa, to study the traditional Islamic disciplines under some of the most illustrious scholars of our time. Shaykh Qasim completed his rigorous studies in 2011, with primary ijazaat (licenses to teach) in: Shafi’i fiqh (jurisprudence), ’aqeedah (Islamic creed), nahu (Arabic grammar), tajweed (Quranic recitation in hafs), and da’wa (methodology of inviting to Islam). He also has a Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership from the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University.

Currently Shaykh Qasim is a Resident Scholar of the Mihraab Foundation based in Seattle, Washington. He is also the Muslim Chaplain for Harborview and University of Washington Medical Centers.

Qāri Osman Shareef

Resident Scholar

Raised in Chicago, IL, Qāri Mohammed Osman Shareef completed his memorization of the Holy Qur’ān at the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin, IL at the age of 15. He soon traveled to South Africa where he obtained his diploma in Islāmic Theology at Madrasa In’aamiyyah in Camperdown, South Africa. From a young age Qāri Osman was always fascinated in the recitation of Qur’ān; his passion lead him to pursue an ‘ijāzah (formal authorization) in the rendition of Imām Hafs (Riwāyah Hafs ‘an Shu’ba) followed by an ‘ijāzah in Saba’ ‘Asharah Qirā’ah (10 different methods of reciting the Holy Qur’ān) in South Africa. He graduated with an ‘ijāzah al tadrīs (licensure to teach) and asānīd (unbroken chains of transmission) in Qirā’ah, Hadīth, Fiqh, and various other Sacred Sciences of Islām in 2014 at the age of 25. He has taught hifdh in Dallas, TX at multiple institutions. From 2016 - 2021 he was teaching and producing huffādh (students who memorized the entire Holy Qur'ān) and the Director of the Qur'ān Academy at Islamic Foundation North in Libertyville, IL.

He is currently a Resident Scholar of Mihraab Foundation as well as the Director and Teacher of the Mihraab Hifdh Academy.

Maulana Ahmad Ali

Resident Scholar

Ahmad Ali is a Seattle native, raised in the lush forests of the PNW. After completing middle school, his journey for ‘ilm began, which led him to complete his memorization of the Holy Qur’ān at Al Rashid Islamic Institute in Cornwall, Canada. The institute left an impression on him, and he began his formal ‘ālimiyyah studies in Chicago at the Institute of Islamic Education. His journey brought him back to Seattle, continuing his education privately with Shaykh Umair Ahmad and Mufti Abdul Mujeeb Qasimi. After exhausting his efforts locally, he was advised by his teachers to enroll in a full-time institution. Adhering the request, he enrolled and completed the Intermediate Program at the Islamic College, Darul Qasim in 2023. From Darul Qasim College, once again at the advice of his teachers, he journeyed for his final year, the renowned Dawratul Hadith of the Darsi Nizāmiyyah at Jāmia Uloom Islamia, Benori Town in Karachi, Pakistan, receiving his asānīd to the Sihah Sittah and an ‘Ijāzah to formally teach the Islamic Sciences.

He is currently a Resident Scholar, Youth Director and Hifdh teacher for Mihraab Foundation.

Ustādhah Umm Muhammad (Aminah Coleman)

Resident Scholar

Umm Muhammad was born in Berkeley, California, and lived in the Middle East for 15 years. During that time, she studied traditional Islamic disciplines under some of the most distinguished scholars of our time in various traditional Islamic institutes - namely, the prestigious seminary Dar al-Zahra. She has ijazah (license to teach) in tajweed (Qur'anic recitation), and studied Shafi’i fiqh (jurisprudence), hadith (Prophetic sayings), seerah (life of the Prophet pbuh), and `aqeedah (Islamic creed).

Umm Muhammad returned to the United States in 2011. She became active in the Greater Seattle Muslim community and has weekly Islamic classes for women at various mosques in the area. She also obtained a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington. Currently, she resides with her husband Shaykh Qasim Hatem in Seattle, Washington.

Hāfidh Masood Hassan

Event Coordinator

Masood Hassan, born in Newcastle, South Africa and raised in the Seattle-Eastside area, is a student of knowledge. With the grace of Allāh, at the age of 13 he completed his memorization of the Holy Qur'ān under his esteemed father & scholar, Shaykh Fadhl Hassan. He has since been pursuing the Higher Islamic Sciences both locally and broad, completing the thālithah program at Madrasah In’aamiyyiah in Camperdown, South Africa.

Since coming back in 2018, Hāfidh Masood has been serving the Greater-Seattle community as the Youth Director of Mihraab Foundation. He is also currently the principal of the Qur’ān School at Islamic Center of Redmond in Redmond, WA.