Shaykh Faraz Khan is a scholar of Ashʿari and Maturidi philosophical theology with field specialties in Hanafi Jurisprudence, Prophetic Biography, Hadith, and Logic. At Zaytuna College, he has taught Kalam Theology, Creedal Theology, Prophetic Biography, Readings in Muslim Spirituality, and Logic in the Islamic Tradition. Shaykh Faraz also serves as the coordinator of the Honors Program, in which he has taught additional seminars on classical Islamic texts. His research interests center on the engagement of philosophical theology and ethics with the contemporary age.
After completing undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, he moved to Amman, Jordan, in 2004 and read classical texts with distinguished scholars in Ashʿari and Maturidi scholastic theology, Hanafi jurisprudence, prophetic narration, logic, and other religious sciences, receiving scholarly authorization (ijazah) after seven years of full-time study.
Shaykh Faraz’s most recent book, An Introduction to Islamic Theology: Imam Nūr al-Dīn al-Sābūnī’s Al-Bidāyah fī usūl al-dīn, was published under the Zaytuna College Curriculum Series in 2020. In the work, he translates and annotates a manual on Maturidi theology authored by Imam Nūr al-Dīn al-Ṣābūnī (d. 580/1184), a prominent Muslim theologian from Bukhara, which provides a foundation upon which modern Muslim discourse can be built. The text explains the central tenets of the Islamic creed and refutes erroneous positions of alternative theologies.
Shaykh Faraz is fluent in Arabic and has speaking fluency in Urdu.
Shaykh Faraz joined the faculty of Zaytuna College in 2013.
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: By appointment
Licenses (ijazah ilmiyyah)
Shaykh Akram Abd al-Wahhab, Classical Islamic Sciences and Texts, 2008 (transmit)
Dr. Hamzeh al-Bakri, Hadith collections and Imam Tirmidhi's Al-Shama'il, 2009 (transmit)
Shaykh Ahmad al-Jammal (Allah have mercy on him), Classical Islamic Sciences, 2010 (permission to teach)
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir al-ʿAnī (Allah have mercy on him), Classical Islamic Sciences, 2010 (permission to teach)
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Classical Islamic Sciences, 2010 (written authorization to teach)
Dr. Salah Abul Hajj, Classical Islamic Sciences, 2010 (teach)
Shaykh Abdullah al-Talidi (Allah have mercy on him), honorary license to transmit hadith collections and to translate his recension of Imam Suyuti's Al-Khasa'is al-kubra, 2013
Journal articles
“Can Materialism Explain the Mind?” Renovatio1, no. 1 (2017). https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/can-materialism-explain-the-mind.
“‘Everything Other Than God Is Unreal’: Exploring a Kalam Ontological Argument.” Renovatio 3, no. 2 (2019). https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/everything-other-than-god-is-unreal.
“On Divine Love: The Remedy for Existential Angst and Ideological Whim.” Renovatio 5, no. 1 (2021).
https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/on-divine-love.
Books
An Introduction to Islamic Theology: Imam Nur al-Din al-Sabuni's Al-Bidayah fi usul al-din. Translation and annotation. Berkeley: Zaytuna College, 2020.
Ascent to Felicity: A Manual on Islamic Creed and Hanafi Jurisprudence (Imam al-Shurunbulali's Maraqi ’l-Sa`adat). Translation and annotation. London: White Thread Press, 2010.
Lectures, talks, and other speaking engagements
Rihla instructor (Theology, Refinement of the Soul). Deen Intensive Foundation. 2015–present.
Friday sermons and annual speaking engagements (Mawlid, `Ashura, Isra/Mi`raj). Bay Area mosques.
“On Gratitude.” RIS Convention, 2019.
Islamic Theology. RIS Knowledge Retreat instructor, 2017, 2019.
ISNA speaker. 2018, 2019.
Living Links classes, The 17 Benefits of Tribulation, Ramadan Reminders. Zaytuna College.
On Theology, Science and Consciousness. Renovatio interview.
Zaytuna in Your Community. Weekend theology courses in Los Angeles; Phoenix; Canton, MI; New York.