bio.

He was born in Uzbekistan, a country where giants and luminaries of Islamic scholarship, such as Abu Laith As-Samarqandi (ابوليث السمرقندي), At-Tirmidhi, Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Abu Mansur Al-Maturdi, were raised. Shaykh Atabek Shukurov Nasafi began his religious studies at the tender age of ten. He studied under local scholars such as Shaykh Sayyid Karim Namangany and Shaykh Mohammed Jaan, under whose guidance he began to memorise the Qur’an.

 

University, Egypt. During this time his studies included: Sharh Ibn Aqeel with Shaykh Atiyya, Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar with Shaykh Adeeb Al-Kallas, Lubab fi Sharh Al-Kitab (also known as Quduri) with Shaykh Abdullah Rabiah, Aqeeda with Shaykh Saeed Ramadan al-Buti, Risala Qushariyyah with Shaykh Abdul Fatah Bizm, Hadith with Shaykh Sadiq Darwish, Da’wa with Shaykh Tawfiq al-ButiShaykh Atabek completed his studies at the age of 21 in various subjects including Arabic Language, Hadith, Fiqh, Usul-ul-Fiqh, Qawaid-ul-Fiqh, Tafsir and Tajweed at Madrasa Abul Qasim and Jamia Islamia in Uzbekistan. He graduated as a scholar but to further enrich his knowledge he moved to Syria. In 1998 he resided in the historic city of Damascus where he continued his studies with some of the finest scholars of our time. He enrolled .four year Al-Ijaza Al-Alimiyya programme at the Takhassus Institute which is affiliated toon a Al-Azhar

 

Shaykh’s zeal for learning extended beyond the programme at the Takhassus Institute and he Qatr Al-Nidah, Thufat Al-Mureed and Mukhtasar Al-Bukhari with Shaykh Rushdi Al-Qalam.focussed his energies on intensive private lessons with Shaykh Muhammad Adnan Darwish and covered Fath Bab Al-Inaya and the Muwatta of Imam Malik. He also studied Shudhoor al-Dhab, Sharh

 

He graduated in 2003 after spending the final year at Al-Azhar University and was given certification by the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy. However Shaykh Atabek has never stopped the pursuit of knowledge and can claim more than 80 teachers from amongst the most illustrious of scholars of our time. The Shaykh went on to teach in prestigious universities across the Middle East before gracing these shores with his presence.

 

He is the founder of the Afiya Institute and Academy which seeks to promulgate authentic traditional Islamic teaching in Europe and is also affiliated with the Deen Institute which is an English apologetics and Dawah organisation. In 2012 he established with his students the well known Avicenna Academy which includes; primary, secondary schools as well as herbal and Islamic schools for adults.

 

Intriguingly, Sheikh Atabek is also a herbalist with a chain of teachers stretching back to none other than the iconic Ibn Sina.

 

Shaykh can be regularly seen on British Muslim TV, channel 835 in which he responds to viewer’s questions. He is busy composing beneficial works such as the internet book ‘Towards Understanding Hadith’ in which he clarifies the misconceptions and misunderstandings of this time. Shaykh Atabek has supervised the translations of texts that he has himself taught namely The Initiation of Abu Laith As-Samarqandi and its commentary called the Commentary on the Initiation.