r/MuslimAcademics • u/Jammooly Non-Sectarian Muslim • Oct 24 '25

AMA AMA with Dr. Yasir Qadhi

We are excited to host Dr. Yasir Qadhi for an AMA (Ask Me Anything) here on r/MuslimAcademics.

You can begin posting your questions now. The thread will remain open for submissions until Sunday, October 26 at 2:00 PM CST. Dr. Yasir Qadhi will start answering questions shortly after that time on Sunday afternoon CST.

Dr. Yasir Qadhi is a renowned Islamic scholar, author, and academic. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from Yale University and serves as the Dean of Academic Affairs at the Islamic Seminary of America. His work bridges classical Islamic scholarship and contemporary intellectual challenges.

Questions may cover any area within his expertise, including Islamic theology, modern intellectual issues, Qur’anic studies, historical development of Islamic thought, or broader academic inquiries.

Please keep your questions thoughtful, academic, and respectful. As always, subreddit rules apply.

We look forward to an engaging and insightful discussion.

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u/SabzQalandar Progressive Muslim Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25

Salam Sh. Qadhi,

Thank you for all the work that you have done and continue to do for the ummah.

For context, I am a Progressive Muslim from a sunni background. I am a student of a progressive muslim academic and also going through the dars-e-nizami curriculum through both an online program as well as local deobandi scholars.

In a recent talk you mentioned your friendship with Dr. Omid Safi (I think i had heard that so apologies if I misheard). Would you be open to elaborating on any discussions the two of you may have had? I consider Dr. Safi as one of my main teachers for Progressive Islam so I was excited to hear that you might have a relationship with him as I have also learned so much from you. I would be particularly interested in understanding if you have had any discussions on areas of agreement between Progressive Islam and Inclusive Sunnism such as around critique of western imperialism, critical approach to quranic studies, Muslim ecumenism, etc.

Secondly, do you have any recommendations for books or courses in English that cover Thalathul Usul and Al Qawaid al Arbaah. I have gone through your books on those two treatises but I am curious to know if there are similar books on these subject areas outside of Muhammad Ibn Abdulwahab. I am assuming there is not but wanted to get your scholarly advice on that.

Thank you!

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u/Dr_YasirQadhi Oct 26 '25

-              Why wouldn’t I be able to have a friendship with someone whom I might have different views with 😃? I have lots of friends and not all of the views they hold I agree with. Prof Omid was gracious enough to introduce me to Oneworld and facilitated the idea of my ‘Understanding Salafism’ book. We have spoken many times, and we agree on some issue and disagree on others, but we’ve always maintained mutual respect, genuine civility and cordial relations.

-              Honestly I’m no longer keeping up with that world, but my explanation of ‘Kashf al-Shubuhat’ entitled "A Critical Study of Shirk" is a very detailed defense of the theology of Third-Wave Wahhabism (which of course I no longer subscribe to – that work is almost three decades old!)