About | Ustadha Hedaya Hartford

USTADHA HEDAYA HARTFORD 

Ustadha Hedaya specializes in modern social issues, parenting and family counseling as well as being a Shari’ah expert in the fiqh of menstruation, lochia, marriage and divorce. Born and raised in California, she holds a Bachelors of Arts in Arabic and Islamic History & Culture from the University of California, Berkeley. She converted to Islam in 1981.

In Egypt, Ustadha Hedaya studied for many years with Azhari scholars. She completed the second year of Shari’ah at al-Azhar University; studied Hanafi fiqh with Dr. Abdul Aziz Izzat and Shaykh Fahmi Abdullah; and studied Aqida with Shaykh Abdul Aziz Batishti. In Damascus, Syria, she studied several books in Usul & Hanafi fiqh including the Risala al-Birgivi (Imam Birgivi’s Manual on Menstruation) with Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi; Hanafi fiqh, hadith and hadith sciences with Shaykh Adnan Darwish; Hanafi fiqh including Risala al-Birgivi with Shaykh Abdul Rahman Arjan; and menstruation and related issues according to the Shafi’i madhab with Shaykh Hussein Darwish, Anisa Hanan Da’doosh and Dr. Mustafa Khin and Tariqa al Muhammadiya by Imam Birgivi with Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani. In Amman, Jordan, she studies Hanafi fiqh with Shaykh Ahmad al-Jammal and tafsir with Shaykh Ali Hani.

A teacher and translator, Ustadha Hedaya currently lives with her husband Dr. Ashraf Muneeb in Amman, Jordan. Her major areas of interest are fiqh concerning women issues, marriage and divorce; inheritance law; and personal and family counseling.

Publications by Ustadha Hedaya:

1. Coming of Age: A Muslim Girl’s Guide by Hedaya Hartford.
2. Initiating and Upholding an Islamic Marriage by Hedaya Hartford.
3. Your Islamic Marriage Contract by Hedaya Hartford and Ashraf Muneeb.
4. Birgivi’s Manual Interpreted: Complete Fiqh of Menstruation & Related Issues by Hedaya Hartford and Ashraf Muneeb.
5. An Arabic annotated commentary of: Dhukhr al-Muta’ahhilīn wa Nisā’ fī ta’rīf al-Athar wa al-Dimā’ by Hedaya Hartford and Ashraf Muneeb.
6. An Arabic annotated commentary of: Manhāl al-Wāridīn min Bihār al-Fayd ‘alā Dhukhr al-Muta’ahhilīn fī Masa’il al-Hayd by Hedaya Hartford and Ashraf Muneeb.
7. Irshād al-Mukallafīn ilā Daqā’iq Dhukhr al-Muta’ahhilīn by Hedaya Hartford and Ashraf Muneeb.

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Dr. ASHRAF MUNEEB

Dr. Ashraf formally began his Shari’a studies in Damascus in 1997, and graduated with honors from the Mahad al-Fath in 2003, as well as privately studied several books in methodology & Hanafi fiqh with Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi; Hanafi fiqh, hadith and hadith sciences with Shaykh Adnan Darwish; Hanafi fiqh with Shaykh Abdul Rahman Arjan; tenets of faith with Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani; hadith with Dr. Nureddin al-’Itr; and hadith sciences with Shaykh Bassam al-Hamzawi. Later in Amman, he earned formal certification (ijaza) in the law of inheritance from Shaykh Ali Hani.

In 2006, he received his MA in Islamic Studies (Problems in Family Law for Muslims in the United States) with honors from Imam al-Ouzai, Beirut, and in 2008, his PhD with distinction in Islamic Studies (Effects of Family Law on Muslims in the United States). With his wife, Hedaya Hartford, he has co-authoreda number of books.

Dr. Ashraf was recognized in 2010 as a certified Shariah auditor and advisor by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). This is the highest certificate given by AAOIFI, the most notable authority in the field of Islamic finance.

Accreditations:

• Graduated with honors from the Mahad al-Fath (2003)
• MA in Islamic Studies (Problems in Family Law for Muslims in the United States) with honors from Imam al-Ouzai, Beirut (2006)
• PhD with distinction in Islamic Studies (Effects of Family Law on Muslims in the United States) from Imam al-Ouzai, Beirut (2008)
• Certified Shariah auditor and advisor by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) (2010)