Meet our team
the team
Dedicated to bringing Zakat to life in the UK
Our team, passionate about activating Zakat’s potential in the UK, is dedicated to aiding individual Muslims and fostering a thriving, unified community. Our singular focus is on meticulously overseeing and continually enhancing every aspect of the Zakat process.
We guide givers in accurately calculating their Zakat, ensuring secure fund collection, and guaranteeing that these funds are distributed in a manner that is transparent, responsible, and impactful.
Join us in this meaningful journey
Our commitment lies in unlocking the true power of Zakat to strengthen the bonds within the UK Muslim community. You have the opportunity to become an NZF trustee, playing a pivotal role in connecting Muslims across the UK through Zakat. We are currently seeking Trustees to contribute to our mission. Are you interested? Click here to discover more and submit your application.
Our CEO
He brings to the role expertise in Islamic law, having studied extensively with traditional scholars, and holds a PhD from Oxford University. His PhD thesis, which explores Islamic legal epistemology, won the 2019 prize of the British Association for Islamic Studies. He has lectured widely on Islamic law and Qur’anic studies in academic, public and traditional settings.
In his new role, Dr Sohail succeeds Iqbal Nasim MBE, who led NZF from 2011-2021.
Our Senior Team
With over 15 years of experience in international commercial and non-profit sectors, he specialises in strategy, partnership development, and income generation.
Co-founder of Quantum5, a Global Sustainability Consultancy, Dr. Patel has received accolades such as the Stars Foundation Impact Award.
He serves on multiple International Leadership Boards and is a founding Board member of the Commonwealth Study Conferences Global Alumni Association
Dr. Patel holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of East London and is an Alumni of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conferences.
Saqhib is actively involved in his community, a new town of 3,000 homes near Bedford, as Chair of the Parish Council, Chair of the Village Hall and Editor of a community newsletter.
Our Trustees
Anisa studied Law at Oxford University before completing her training contract at Slaughter and May. She is now Associate General Counsel at McKinsey & Company where she advises on M&A activity for the firm in EMEA.
Sultan was a founding member of UKIFS (UK Islamic Finance Secretariat), a body promoting the UK Islamic Finance industry. He previously held roles at Charles Schwab Europe, Barclays Private Bank and Deloitte. Sultan holds a BA (Hons) in Economics and Econometrics and an MBA.
Our Advisor
Sheikh Abu Laila received his ijazah in Qur’an from Sheikh Baha in Egypt with an isnad including Abdullah ibn Ma’sud (ra). Semi-retired now, he engages in public speaking and teaching courses on Ulum-ul-Quran, Usul-ul-Fiqh, Asbab-ul-Nuzul, Tafseer, Seerah and Islamic Finance.
Prior to this he spent almost 20 years as a consultant with Accenture and Capgemini across a range of industries from Energy & Utilities, Banking, Public Healthcare, and Pharmaceuticals. Ashar specialises in implementing technology and business change programmes and has spent a significant amount of time living and working outside the UK (in Europe, the USA, the Middle and Far East).
Ashar is a TOGAF9 certified architect and is a Member of the IET and registered with the UK Engineering Council for 30 years.
As Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement is responsible for with responsibility for empowering the community in the wake of the Covid pandemic. This includes tackling inequalities and engaging different faiths and communities.
In recognition of her long-standing work in the community, Councillor Ashraf won the Community Champion Award at the 2020 Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) awards.
He has worked at, and advised, some of the world’s largest organisations on data strategy, data analytics and data science. His previous roles included, Managing Director and co-founder at Stream Intelligence (a Data Science Consultancy based in London and Jakarta), Managing Partner, Data and Insights, at Wunderman, Head of Data at adam&eve/DDB, and Head of Business Information and Customer Data Strategy at ITV. He has also worked across the NHS and local government
Dr Shorful started his career as a lecturer after completing his PhD in Psychology, his dissertation focusing on predicting accidental injuries in children.