About Daud Burke

Daud Burke teaches Islamic studies and Arabic, with a particular interest in helping new Muslims learn the foundations of their religion. He is a Sunni Muslim, Atharī in creed and Shāfiʿī in fiqh. He became Muslim in 2018, moved to Egypt in 2019 to study, and graduated from al-Azhar University’s Faculty of Sharia in 2026. His work includes teaching, translating Islamic texts, and preparing resources for English-speaking students.

Background and becoming Muslim

Daud grew up in a Christian missionary family. His father and stepfather were pastors, and his grandfather is a professor at a Christian Bible seminary. Christianity was therefore part of both his family background and his own search for religious truth.

That search took him through different Christian traditions and later into forms of mystical and New Age spirituality. As he encountered questions he could not resolve within those beliefs, he continued looking. Islam was a religion he had not yet properly explored. When he began learning about it, he came to recognize Muḥammad ﷺ as a prophet, though he did not yet understand fully what accepting that meant.

Meeting the Uplift Dawah team helped clarify that understanding. Their conversations addressed central Islamic beliefs, including the distinction between the Creator and creation. This helped him leave the pantheistic beliefs he had previously held. In 2018, he accepted Islam at an Uplift Dawah outreach table.

Study in Egypt

Over the following year in America, Daud worked, saved, and studied as much as he could before moving to Egypt in 2019. There, he studied with Shaykh Ahmad Rushdi حفظه الله, Shaykh Abdel Monem Abdelhamid حفظه الله, and other Azhari teachers. His studies have included lessons in Cairo and elsewhere, both in person and online.

At al-Azhar University’s Faculty of Sharia, he studied Shāfiʿī fiqh, comparative fiqh, uṣūl al-fiqh, and fiqh al-nawāzil, among other subjects. He completed his bachelor’s degree in 2026. Alongside his university studies, his learning with individual teachers has been an important part of his education.

Shaykh Ahmad Rushdi حفظه الله granted him authorization to teach fiqh, ʿaqīdah, and uṣūl al-fiqh. He also holds ijāzāt relating to major works of hadith and books across the Islamic sciences. These broader ijāzāt are distinct from the specific teaching authorization mentioned above.

Teaching and translation

Daud has been teaching new Muslims since 2020 and has worked in coordination with Uplift Dawah, the team with whom he first accepted Islam. His main teaching subjects are fiqh, ʿaqīdah, and uṣūl al-fiqh. He also teaches Arabic, including naḥw (grammar) and ṣarf (morphology).

His aim is to help people understand Arabic and learn the basics of their religion in a way they can follow. His teaching includes classical Islamic texts explained in English, with Arabic terminology introduced as students work through the books. For new Muslims in particular, he wants that study to provide an accessible way into learning their religion.

His book catalog includes English translations, Arabic-English editions, and study guides. Readers can browse the books and translations or visit Study with me to apply for a class, request a small group, or ask about private lessons.

Journey to Islam

Watch Daud’s My Journey to Islam playlist for conversations about his conversion and subsequent studies, or watch the full-length account below.