The mirror, not the pedestal
The Story
Scholar, teacher, certified personal trainer — the defeated kid turned guide.
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The asthmatic, overweight kid
1980s–90s
Born and raised Chicagoland (Park Ridge; Chicago, then Lincolnwood) into a family of teachers. Asthmatic his whole childhood — he can name the inhalers — and roughly 30% body fat well into high school, fat-shamed at school. At 12 it was, in his own words, low self-confidence and low self-esteem. He is the kid your doctor worries you still are.
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The turn — body and Deen at once
1995–96
A homeopathic doctor (whom he himself suspects was placebo) made him quit all junk food right before November 1995; he started wrestling. 154 pounds in November, 106 by January 1996. 'My asthma improved, my sleep improved, my grades improved… and that was also a time where I started having a turn towards Deen as well, because it does come together.'
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Elgin — the Qur'an years
~1998–2001
Enrolled at the Institute of Islamic Education (Elgin, IL) at 17; about three years there — memorized a little more than half the Qur'an and studied the intro sciences (Zad al-Talibin, Nur al-Idah). Parents pulled him back for college; the planned Syria years fell through.
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'Never stop working out' — and he immediately quit
2000–2001
At NIU (9/11 was his first semester; MSA president) his roommate Mabrook died of meningitis in his arms in December 2001. During i'tikaf he met Shaykh Hussain Abdul Sattar, who became his teacher — and whose first advice to him, at the steps of ICC, was 'Never stop working out.' The first thing Sa'ad did was leave working out. The guide failed at step one, publicly. (He has dated the meeting Dec 13, 2000 in one retelling and Dec 13, 2001 in the fuller interviews — the latter is likely correct.)
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The fall, the coma, and a wife's dua to verify
2004
June 2004, the day after his walima: a 25-foot fall from a tree in Flushing, MI. Roughly 70% of his liver removed, gallbladder gone, ~11 days in a medically induced coma at 23. His wife — one month married — made dua that he die as a shaheed rather than survive diminished. 'I can never let myself forget that.' Sickness, mortality, and reset are not theory for him.
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The two-year speaking ban
~2004–06
His spiritual mentor banned him from public speaking for about two years after he caught himself thinking he could deliver another scholar's lecture better — 'there's this hidden arrogance inside of me.' Held in reserve for the adversity tier, not the homepage.
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Zambia — the 'alimiyya year(s) with the family to verify
2013–~2017
Moved the whole family to Lusaka, Zambia for the 'alimiyya at Jamiah Islamiyyah (placed directly into the second-to-last, Hidayah/Mishkat year after 12 years of part-time study). No hot water, sporadic electricity — and 120 minutes of daily walking built into life by circumstance. The original proof that environment beats willpower and the road is a gym.
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The injuries that stole his prayer
ongoing
'All of my injuries have forced me to not pray properly anymore… I can't bend my knee down all the way.' He once stood in front of a mirror adjusting his body to make sure he could pray properly. Mobility-as-salah is not theory for him.
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Eating disorder, dysmorphia, and therapy — named out loud
ongoing
Wrestling left him an eating disorder and body dysmorphia; he sees a therapist for depression and anxiety and says so publicly — 'work out,' his therapist told him. This beat is what keeps his teaching free of before/after triumphalism and licenses the kids' body-image caution.
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Seven years vegetarian, then meat again
~2017–2024
After seven years vegetarian he began eating meat again (~2024) — for the quality of the protein. Even the guide course-corrects; anti-dogma in one anecdote.
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Full circle — the 30 principles
2026-08-29
On August 29, 2026 he delivered the 30 'Strength & Spirituality' principles at a retreat while his own teacher — who gave him the one sentence 25 years earlier — took the Q&A: the body is the vehicle of the soul, the car and its driver. The advice is an inheritance being passed down the chain, and this site hands it to you.
Today: Islamic Studies Department Chairman, MCC Academy (teacher there since 2002) · Youth imam / resident scholar, Muslim Education Center (MEC), Morton Grove · Speaker, Miftaah Institute (incl. the Sunnah Parenting course) · Certified personal trainer, Jaanwar Fitness; co-host of the Jaanwar podcast · Educational consultant, High Quality Educational Consulting (HQEC) · Instructor, Sacred Learning Individual Study program; leads the Seekers Session Brothers Retreat · English teacher by profession (former; he still says 'my profession is education')
Institute of Islamic Education, Elgin IL (~1998–2001): Qur'an memorization (a little more than half the Qur'an) and intro sciences · 'Alimiyya, Jamiah Islamiyyah, Lusaka, Zambia (2013–~2017), entered at the Hidayah/Mishkat level; part-time Islamic studies with Chicago teachers 2001–2013 (Sacred Learning, under Shaykh Hussain Abdul Sattar) · BA, English & History — Northern Illinois University, 2008 (he recounts ~2009; NIU's system dropped the apostrophe in 'Sa'ad') · MEd, DePaul University, 2013. Licensed (ijazah) to teach fiqh, usool, tafsir, nahw, sarf, aqidah, and tajweed; hadith ijazah covering the six canonical collections plus both Muwattas (Malik's and the one narrated by al-Shaybani) and Sharh Ma'ani al-Aathar..
“Never stop working out.”
His teacher’s words — now yours.