Shaykh Mus’ab Luke Martin Penfound was born and raised in Manchester, England. He entered Islam at the age of eighteen. He has a Degree in Arabic Language & History from the University of Manchester. Since 2005, he has been a seeker of Shaykh Mus’ab is a distinguished academic, caller to Allah with significant spiritual insight. He has sacrificed a considerable portion of his life in dedication to attaining sacred knowledge through traditional sources. His continuous service to the Ummah has left a place in peoples hearts all over the world.
Shaykh Mus’ab was born Luke Martin Penfound. His name, Luke – a diminutive of its Latin counterpart – holds in its meanings ‘the bright one’. A quality that he possess witnessed by those who know him. He was raised in a wholesome household in the city of Manchester, England.
Entering Islam at the age of eighteen, he was quickly taken to the land of Tarim in Hadramawt. In those formative years, his training involved ‘Ilm and its practice, Inward Purification and the science of Da’wah (Calling to Allah). Through dedication, perseverance and many struggles he attained what we would call in the west a
His formal training and knowledge was derived through a classical syllabus based upon the formal Islamic sciences combined with the disciplines of inward purification. He has received scholastic permission and licences (ijazah) from leading traditional scholars, providing authentic credentials that ensure a trustworthy and credible source for accurate teaching and demonstration of the faith.
Shaykh Mus’ab’s main teacher is the distinguished Islamic scholar, Al-Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Hafidh, through whom he received guidance and tutelage in the renowned Islamic institute of higher learning, Dar al-Mustafa, in Hadramawt, Yemen. He also studied under other renowned scholars in Darul Mustafa such as Shaykh Umar Al-Khatib, Al-Habib Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Idrus and Al-Habib Musa Khadhim As-Seggaf, among others. He has received training and ijazah to teach the following Islamic sciences:
- Qur’anic commentary (Tafsir)
- Prophetic narrations (Hadith)
- Islamic theology (Aqidah)
- Sacred law (Islamic Jurispudence)
- Arabic language (Nahu, Sarf, Balagha)
- Sacred Ettiquette (Tarbiyya / Adab)
- The Prophetic methodology of Calling (Da’wah)
This includes readings in the hadith texts of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim with formal tuition in books including al-Zubad, Umdat-al-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller) and Manhaj-al-Tulab in Sacred Law. Shaykh Mus’ab specialises in Sacred law, the Sciences of Inward Purification (Tazkiyya, Tasawwuf) and the biographical texts of the early pious Muslims and scholars (Salaf-al-salih). He travels regularly and has taught and lectured in the UK, the Middle East, South Africa and the Comoros Islands. Shaykh Musab currently lives in Hadramout, Yemen where he continues to learn and teach.