Shaykh Muhammad Azhar Iqbal was born and raised in Karachi and traveled to the United States for his undergraduate studies. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and began a Ph.D. program in Economics at New York University prior to returning to Pakistan to pursue his study of the Islamic sciences.

For over a decade the Shaykh has been actively engaged in Dawah activities delivering lectures at different mosques, educational & professional institutions.

The Shaykh has founded an institute for traditional Islamic Learning called Hidaya Academy Karachi. Other than administering the academy as Principal, the Shaykh also teaches different courses including Fiqh and Tafseer.