Shaykh Yahya Rhodus
Biography
Ustadh Yahya Rhodus was born in Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of 19, he embraced Islam in Santa Clara, California. He
began his study of Islam with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and visiting
Mauritanian scholars such as Shaykh Khatri wuld Baybba and Shaykh
Abdullah wuld Ahmadna. In
1998, Ustadh Yahya traveled to Mauritania to pursue a full-time course
of study, where he learned from some of Mauritania's greatest scholars,
including the distinguished, Murabit al-Hajj. He also spent an interim
period in Damascus, Syria where he received formal education in the
Arabic language, grammar, and Qur’anic recitation.
In
2000, Ustadh Yahya moved to Tarim, Yemen to continue his studies at the
prestigious learning institute, Dar al-Mustafa. There, he spent his
formative years studying with the renowned scholars, Habib 'Umar bin
Hafiz and Habib ‘Ali al-Jifri, along with other local scholars. He
studied various sciences including Tafsir, Hadith, theology,
jurisprudence, legal theory, the Prophetic biography, and Arabic poetry.
In
the latter part of 2005, Ustadh Yahya returned to the U.S. and served
as a full-time teacher at Zaytuna Institute. He subsequently returned
overseas to further his studies while he also participated in religious
programs worldwide, lecturing, teaching, and translating. In 2008, he
was the official translator for Habib ‘Ali al-Jifri at the Common Word
Conference held at Yale University and he has translated for Habib 'Umar
bin Hafiz at speaking engagements internationally.
In
2010, Ustadh Yahya returned to California and completed his Bachelor of
Arts in Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
He travels regularly teaching, lecturing, and conducting weekend
seminars with institutes such as the Deen Intensive Foundation. He also
offers on-line instruction through SeekersGuidance and teaches locally
at Taleef Collective. Currently, Ustadh Yahya is a full-time instructor
at Zaytuna College and is pursuing a Masters Degree in Islamic Studies
at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He lives in San Ramon
with his wife and three children.