Shaykh Atabek Shukrov
Profile
He was born in Uzbekistan, a country where giants and luminaries of Islamic scholarship, such as Abu Laith As-Samarqandi, 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.
Shaykh 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 on a four year Al-Ijaza Al-Alimiyya programme at the Takhassus Institute which is affiliated to Al-Azhar 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-Buti.
Shaykh’s zeal for learning extended beyond the programme at the Takhassus Institute and he 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 Qatr Al-Nidah, Thufat Al-Mureed and Mukhtasar Al-Bukhari with Shaykh Rushdi Al-Qalam. The list of texts the Shaykh has studied is too expansive to enumerate here.
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.
In 2006 the Shaykh left a well-paid and prestigious post in Qatar to spread Islamic Sacred Knowledge in the United Kingdom. He has taught in many Masjids across numerous town and cities including Bradford, Rochdale, Oldham, Liverpool, Huddersfield, Birmingham and London.
Shaykh can be regularly seen on Ummah channel 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. He is also involved in many projects to spread sacred knowledge across the United Kingdom. Shaykh Atabek has worked tirelessly to bring to life sciences of Islam that are rarely taught such as Islamic herbal medicine.
Shaykh Atabek is “a rare gem of a scholar” who has great wealth and depth of knowledge in all that he has learnt. He is a rare example of deep knowledge, clarity and honesty in the field of Islamic scholarship and he has acquired a level that few can match or imitate. The term Bahr Al-Muhdik is known to refer to a scholar who is an ocean whose floor cannot be reached and this is a term worthy of being attached to Shaykh Atabek Shukurov; masha’Allah.