Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Munir teaches Arabic at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, where he also earned his PhD in Islamic Studies. He has taught courses in Islamic law, Qurʾānic sciences, and religious studies in Canada, the United States, and Pakistan. Previously, he served as Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Shariah and Law, International Islamic University, Islamabad.
With over 15 years of experience teaching Arabic at various levels, Dr. Munir first learned the language at home, later refining his skills through specialized training at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. He is fluent in Modern Standard Arabic, an expert in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, and certified by the University of Cambridge CELTA for teaching English as a second language. A polyglot, he speaks Arabic, English, Urdu, Punjabi, French, and Persian—enriching both his teaching and his research.
Beyond teaching, Dr. Munir is Editor of Islamic Studies (a Scopus-indexed international journal) and Associate Editor of the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān (Center for Islamic Sciences, Canada). His research interests include Islamic legal theory, comparative law, mental health and the law in Muslim contexts, Qurʾānic interpretation, and the intellectual history of South Asia.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir and Brian Wright, “Reshaping Insanity in Pakistani Law: The Case of Safia Bano”. American Journal of Law and Medicine 49, no. 2-3 (2023): 300-312. DOI
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, “The Principles and Rules of Change in Presumptive Rulings and Fatwās Due to the Change of Time and Situation and Their Application in the Present Era”. Al-Qamar 6, no. 4 (2023): 151-166. DOI
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, “Judicial Khul‘ in Pakistan, Mālikī Fiqh, and a Reappraisal of Qur’ān 2:237”. Pakistan Journal of Islamic Research 23, no. 2 (Dec 2022): 87-114.
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, “Interpretation and Textual Implications in Classical Islamic Legal Theory: An Analysis of Majority (Jumhūr and Mutakallimīn) Approach”. Fikr-o Nazar Islamabad 60, no, 1 (2022): 111-145. DOI
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir and Brian Wright, “Fatwās of ʿAbd Al-Ḥayy of Farangī Maḥall and Their Role in the Formation of Sunnī Identity in British India”. Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 11, no. 2 (2021): 20-43. DOI
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, “استنباط احکام میں حنفی فقہاء کا منہج اور دلالات: ایک تحلیلی جائزہ” [Classical Ḥanafī Methodology of Interpretation and Textual Implications: An Analysis] Fikr-o Nazar Islamabad 57 no, 3 (2020): 49-102.
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, Document “Paigham-e-Pakistan (The Message of Pakistan) II: National Narrative Counter to Violence, Extremism and Terrorism in an Islamic Perspective,” Islamic Studies 58, no. 1 (2019): 127-148.
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, “Islamic Juridical Discourse on Death: Is Brain Death a Modern Criterion of Death?”, Islamic Studies 57, no. 3-4 (2018): 187-209. DOI
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, Document “Paigham-e-Pakistan (The Message of Pakistan) I: National Narrative Counter to Violence, Extremism and Terrorism in an Islamic Perspective,” Islamic Studies 57, no. 3-4 (2018): 299-309.
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, "Dichotomy of Idealism and Realism: Islamic Legal Tradition between Modern and Postmodern Discourses," Islamic Studies 56, no. 1-2 (2017): 53-76.
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, “A Critical Analysis of Reflective and Research Journals of Islamic Research Institute,” ادارہ تحقیقات اسلامی کے فکری وتحقیقی مجلات کا تنقیدی جائزہ Fikr-o-Nazar Islamabad 55 no, 1-2 (2017): 135-207.
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir, An Introduction to “Hudūd Ordinance, Zina Ordinance 1979, Qazf Ordinance 1979 and the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006,” Islamic Studies 46, no. 1 (2007): 87-114.
- Muhammad Ahmad Munir “Qurbānī awr Daur-e-Jadīd ka ‘Amal” [Sacrifice and our Practices in Modern Age], Rukn ul-Islam, Hyderabad (Feb. 2005): 38-44.
Books
- Aḥkām-i Nikāḥ (Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 2022).
- Paigham-e-Pakistan (English translation, Islamic Research Institute, 2018).
- Edited To God Belong the Names Most Beautiful (2nd ed.).
- Edited Urdu translation of Wahba al-Zuḥaylī’s Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu (vols. 2, 5–10).
Book Chapters
- “Islāmī Naẓriyātī Konsal: Tashkīl, Uslūb-i Kār awr Aham Fiqhī Ārā’,” in Ijtimāʿī Ijtihād: Taṣawwur, Irtiqā’ awr ʿAmlī Ṣūrtayn (2007).
- “Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Pakistan: Juvenile Delinquency & the Role of the Defense Lawyer,” in Transforming Legal Process in Court and Beyond (2007).
Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān — Urdu Edition (Translation) (2024–25)
- Ahmad, upon him peace
- Ablution
- Abu Bakr, Allah be well pleased with him
- Beauty
- Cushions
