About us

Ustaz Quan is an online institution for teaching the Holy Quran in North America.

What does "Ustaz" mean?

The term Ustaz "أستاذ", linguistically "Ustādh" finds its etymological routes in the Persian word Ostâd. The Persian term “Ostâd” originally refers to someone with profound expertise in a certain subject. Consequently, the term Ustādh in Arabic "أستاذ" is coined for an adept scholar. Common usage for the word Ustādh in modern standard Arabic is for professors on a tenure-track appointment. in many Arab countries, this term is used in the school as a title for the teachers.

This etymological definition and modern Arabic usage of the term is of course quite different from our usage of it in the west. The word Ustādh is normally used in the west for a budding scholar showing evident signs of an intermediate level of study. In the east, this term is used in many different ways including the one mentioned above.

The founder

Sheikh Mahmoud Youssef Ellaboudy was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a diploma from the Preachers Institute. He memorized the entire Qur’an and received an Ijāzah in the Ten Qirā’āt (styles of Qur’anic recitation).

Sheikh Mahmoud began his career teaching at Al-Azhar and in several Qur’an institutes across Egypt. After moving to the United States, he continued his service to the Qur’an by teaching in schools and Islamic centers nationwide. He has lectured on Tajweed at the Islamic University of Minnesota, where he also served as Supervisor of the Ijāzah Program. In addition, he was Principal of the Al-Jazari Institute for Qur’anic Studies and oversaw its Ijāzah Program. He also played a key role in establishing the Ḥifẓ Program at an Islamic school in Minnesota, which he continues to supervise.

Throughout his career, Sheikh Mahmoud has taught the Holy Qur’an to students from diverse backgrounds, many of whom completed their memorization under his guidance. He has also authored articles and research pieces focusing on strategies for teaching Qur’an, with special attention to making memorization more accessible for non-Arabic speakers.

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