Instructors

Shaykh Hamzah Maqbul

Shaykh Hamzah was born in Whittier, California and lived in Southern California until the age of ten when he moved to Blaine, Washington. After graduating from Blaine High School, he attended the University of Washington and in 2004 completed a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry and a Bachelors of Arts in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

During his time at the university, he was active on campus. He served as the president of the University of Washington Muslim Students Association, one of the largest and most active student groups on campus, as a student senator for two years, and as the Senate-appointed member of the special funding committee, which disbursed tens of thousands of dollars to student groups on campus to help fund student events. After 9/11, he was listed by the University of Washington as an expert on Islam and was invited to address various groups including high schools and universities, community groups and television, radio, newspaper and internet media.

After graduation, Shaykh Hamzah went on to pursue traditional Islamic studies, which took him to Syria and Egypt where he studied the Arabic language; Morocco, Mauritania, and the UAE, where he studied the madhab of Imam Malik, grammar, usul al-hadith , and the two renditions of the qira’ah of Imam Nafi ‘, Warsh and Qalun; and Pakistan where he had the opportunity to study tafsir, usul al-hadith, hadith, ‘ilm al-rijal and Hanafi fiqh. All of these studies culminated in him receiving an ijazat al-tadris, literally meaning “a license to teach.” This is the equivalent in Pakistani Islamic seminaries to a Masters of Arts in Arabic and Islamic studies, as well as receiving an unbroken chain of transmission by which to narrate the hadith of such books as the Muwatta’ of Imam Malik, the Sihah al-Sittah (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu  Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah), and the Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar of Imam al-Tahawi.

Since his return from overseas, Shaykh Hamzah has worked with the Muslim Students Associations throughout the Pacific Northwest; taught and gave Khutbah at masajid throughout the Greater Seattle area; been invited to numerous speaking engagements all along the west coast which include classes, guest khutbahs and conferences; and served as Imam in Redmond, WA, Chico, CA, and Mountlake Terrace, WA.