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Mufti Abu Layth Naim al-Maliki carried out preliminary Arabic and Islamic Studies as a teenager in the UK before going to Damascus, Syria, where he adopted the Maliki madh'hab and studied the essential knowledge of Islam. He went on to memorise the Qur'an along with Tafsir at the Jami`ah Muhammadiyyah Institute in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Mufti Abu Layth returned to Syria to recite the entire Qur'an to Shaykh `Abdu'l-Haadi at-Tabbaa' and gained an ijazah and chain of transmission (isnad) going back to the Messenger of Allah (salla'Llahu `alayhi wa sallam).

After gaining his ijazah, the Mufti completed the Dars-e-Nizami `Alim Course, at the renowned Jami`ah Binnoria in Karachi, Pakistan, where he graduated first class in various Islamic Sciences, from Tafsir, Usul and Comparative Fiqh, to Arabic Literature, Arabic Grammar and `Aqidah. There he gained his isnad in the major books of Hadith.

Mufti Abu Layth then completed the Mufti Course at the same institute where he further specialised in Fiqh, across the various madh'habs, and trained to give Fatwas on Islamic Issues under the supervision of Mufti Abdullah Shoukat (who is a key student of Mufti Taqi Usmani) for Hanafi Fiqh, and Mufti Salim Al-Tunisi for Maliki Fiqh.

Since his return to the UK, he has qualified as a school teacher, completed a Masters in Education and has currently completed his degree in Psychology. Mufti Abu Layth Naim al-Maliki has a small group of students in Maliki Fiqh who he teaches regularly in Birmingham, UK.

Shaykh Yusuf Badat:

Founder & Director of Mathabah Foundation, Executive Director of Canadian Council of Muslim Theologians and Imam at Islamic Foundation of Toronto.
Student of Traditional Islamic Sciences.

Shaykh Yusuf Badat was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He has studied under some great scholars, receiving several formal authorizations in the sacred sciences with top honors. His commitment to the sacred sciences began early in his life when Allah blessed him with the ability, by age 14, to complete the memorization of the Holy Quran. He completed a rigorous 6-year Alim course at Darul Uloom Zakariya, South Africa where he achieved his masters in the Islamic sciences, which included but was not limited to, language, exegesis (tafseer) and jurisprudence (fiqh). He earned authorizations in Hadith under the Grand Mufti of South Africa- Shaykh Radha-ul-Haq. Shaykh Yusuf Badat is an Ontario registered minister of religion & licensed marriage officer. He also holds a diploma in Network Administration from the Toronto School of Business.

He has served as Imam since 1999 at Masjid Anwarul Islam of Malton (Masjid Saliheen) in Mississauga, Canada. He is also been an instructor at the Toronto Shariah Program and the Uloom Program. Shaykh Yusuf Badat is the founder and director of Mathabah Foundation. He is an active executive member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Theologians CCMT.

Since 2005, Shaykh Yusuf Badat is serving as a teacher for Arabic, Islamic Studies, Quranic Studies and World Religions at the Islamic Foundation School. Shaykh Yusuf Badat is also the Imam and 'Director of Religious Affairs' at the Islamic Foundation of Toronto. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.