Mufti Asif Umar was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his memorization of the Holy Quran and the intensive Alim course program at the Institute of Islamic Education (IIE) in Elgin, Illinois. At IIE, Mufti Asif received extensive training in Arabic, Quran, Hadith and Islamic Jurisprudence (including the laws of inheritance), among other subjects. Mufti Asif was fortunate to be among the final students of Shaykhul Hadith Maulana Muhammad Na’eem (Rahmatullah Alahyi).

Following his graduation in 2007, Mufti Asif enrolled at Madrasah In’aamiyyah in Durban, South Africa, where he completed a 2-year postgraduate course (Iftaa) specializing in Islamic Law, where he acquired the ability to issue legal verdicts under the tutelage of Mufti Ebrahim Desai. Following his time there, he spent several months studying Arabic at Al-Diwan Center in Cairo, Egypt, and independently under the tutelage of scholars at Al-Azhar University.

Upon his return to the United States, Mufti Asif taught Quran and Fiqh at Madinatul Uloom in Virginia before returning to his hometown, St. Louis, where he has served as Imam of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis since 2012.

Mufti Asif is an active member of the Imams Council of Greater St. Louis and serves on the cabinet of the Interfaith Partnership of St. Louis as a representative of Sunni Islam.

Mufti Asif has been interviewed nationally by NPR and featured in several local television outlets. He has also been featured in articles written by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Magazine.

Mufti Asif is married with two young children and enjoys traveling and sports.