Sultans and Sneakers
Inspiring American Muslim Men to live the Deep Life.
Ep. 086 - Hamzah Maqbul - A Mawlawi's Perspective on the Gaza Genocide
Shaykh Hamzah Maqbul is the resident scholar for Ribat, a center of Islamic education and dhikr based out of the greater Chicagoland area. He did his formal education at the University of Washington and pursued traditional Islamic studies across the Muslim world; in Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, U.A.E., and Pakistan. He is also currently collaborating with the Imam Ghazali Institute. In this timely episode of the podcast, we discuss various points regarding his recent treatise "Mawlawi's Guide to Ghazzah". Shaykh …
Ep. 085 - Ismail Kamdar - Auditing a Week in My Life
Shaykh Ismail Kamdar is the founder of Islamic Self Help and Izzah Academy. He completed the Alimiyyah Program in 2006, and a BA in Islamic Studies in 2014, specializing in Fiqh, Tafsir, and History. Currently his full time day job is as Research Operations Manager at Yaqeen Institute. He is the author of over a dozen books in the fields of Islamic Studies and personal development. Due to his work in the personal development and self-help space, I walked him …
Ep. 084 - Mohamed Ghilan - How to find a Spiritual Path
Back on the episode for a second time is Dr. Mohamed Ghilan. He is someone who has managed to excel in both the Islamic sciences and his professional career and exemplifies a model of the "Deep Life". Mohamed has had a unique spiritual journey and is familiar with various methodologies of spirituality within Islam. For this reason, I wanted to have an open conversation about how one finds a spiritual path that works for them. You can learn more about …
Ep. 083 - SOLO - 2023 Al-Maqasid Retreat Review
My family and I attended the Al-Maqasid Summer Retreat from August 7, 2023 to August 13, 2023. It was one of the best experiences we have ever done together as a family. In this rare solo episode of the podcast, I share my full review. *One slight edit: In the episode I refer to Imam Ahmad Mashur Al-Haddad. The proper title he is referred to is: Habib Ahmad Mashur Al-Haddad. My apologies. You can learn more about Al-Maqasid at: https://www.almaqasid.org/ …
Ep. 082 - Habeeb Quadri - Islamic Schools, Leaving a Legacy, and Dealing with one's own Mortality
Habeeb Quadri is the superintendent of MCCA (Muslim Community Center Academy) schools, one of the largest and long-standing Islamic schools in the country. He also serves as part-time staff at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In this episode, we discuss how he got into his field, issues surrounding modern-day education, how Islamic schools can keep leveling up, a father's role in their children's education, the legacy his father has built in Chicago, and how Habeeb came to terms with …
Ep. 081 - Salah Sharief - Business, The Means to Knowledge
In this episode of the podcast, I had the privilege of chatting with Dr. Salah Sharief, who is an entrepreneur, academic, and student of the Islamic sciences. He is the Founder and CEO of Kalaam Halal Audio and the Founder of Wordsmiths Editing. Currently, he is residing in Cairo, Egypt where he is continuing his pursuit of Islamic studies. We discussed several topics including productivity, time management, his relationship with Shaykh Akram Nadwi, the challenges of pursuing sacred knowledge in …
Ep. 080 - Ismail Alqadi - The Melody of The Divine
Shaykh Ismail Alqadi is a Qari (professional reciter of the Qu'ran) from Amman, Jordan. He learned the various sciences related to the recitation of the Qu'ran from several teachers and has an ijazah and sanad in the ten different narrations of the Qu'ran. He also has a degree in Islamic studies majoring in Fiqh and Usul. In this podcast, Shaykh Ismail introduces the topic of maqamat, which refers to a system of melodic modes used to recite the Qu'ran. He …
Ep. 079 - Saaleh Baseer - An Ivy League/Madrassa Fusion
Mawlana Saaleh Baseer is a brilliant young scholar of Hanafi law and Mughal history from the Bay Area. After completing his memorization of the Qu'ran, he received his Alim degree from Darul Uloom Azaadville in South Africa. Afterwards he went on to pursue a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University where he majored in History. Most recently he has completed a Master's from the University of Chicago and is wrapping up his studies at Darul Qasim College where he has trained …
Ep. 078 - RAMADAN 1444: Prep, Anxiety, and Aspirations - Umair Haseeb
On this episode of the podcast, I bring back Shaykh Umair Haseeb to talk all things Ramadan. What do we do if we don't prep at all? How do we navigate Ramadan when we're struggling with sins? How do sages of today approach Ramadan? Shaykh Umair is a graduate of Al-Qayrawayin University in Fes, Morocco and is currently serving as Director of Religious Affairs for Ta'leef Collective. (Re-released with improved audio on 3/26/2023, Original Release: 3/20/2023) Resources for "Sultans and …
Ep. 078 - RAMADAN 1444: Prep, Anxiety, and Aspirations - Umair Haseeb
On this episode of the podcast, I bring back Shaykh Umair Haseeb to talk all things Ramadan. What do we do if we don't prep at all? How do we navigate Ramadan when we're struggling with major sins? How do the sages of today approach Ramadan? Shaykh Umair is a graduate of Al-Qayrawayin University in Fes, Morocco and is currently serving as Director of Religious Affairs for Ta'leef Collective. (This episode originally released on March 21, 2023 and is being …