Nuh Ha Mim Keller

Nuh Ha Mim Keller (born 1954) is an American Islamic scholar, teacher and author who lives in Amman. He is a translator of a number of Islamic books. His leadership has also faced significant criticism and controversy, particularly regarding allegations of spiritual abuse within his Sufi order.

Life and scholarship
Keller studied philosophy and Arabic at the University of Chicago and the University of California, Los Angeles. Keller converted to Islam from Roman Catholicism in 1977. He has cited Islamic philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr's writings as one of the reasons for his conversion to Islam.

He then began a prolonged study of the Islamic sciences with prominent scholars in Syria and Jordan and was authorized as a shaykh in 1996.

He joined the Shadhili Sufi order, becoming a disciple of the Sufi poet Sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri of Damascus (from whom he received his authorization) from 1982 until his death in 2004.

His English translation of Umdat al-Salik, Reliance of the Traveller, (Sunna Books, 1991) is a Shafi'i manual of Shariah. It is the first Islamic legal work in a European language to receive the certification of Al-Azhar University.

Keller released a translation of the Quran titled The Quran Beheld in 2022 which strives to provide readers with a unique sense of the high eloquence and beauty of the Quran while also maintaining the linguistic and rhetorical accuracy. In the translator's own words, "Seven key areas of meaning" were "neglected by previous translations. Such gaps result in crucial elements of the Quran's themes, logic, arguments, message, and meanings being lost. The Quran Beheld thus uncovers matters of Arabic meaning in the Quran for the first time in English."

Keller has also written numerous articles and was a regular contributor to Islamica Magazine and the website masud.co.uk.

Currently, Keller lives in Amman, Jordan, where he established a zawiya (seminary) in the early 2000s. At its height, the community attending the institution is believed to have amounted to around 60 families. However, following Keller's ordering the closure of a community school in light of an internal abuse investigation, the size of the community shrank to around 20 families, according to former members.

He is married to Besa Krasniqi, a scholar who is the daughter of Mazhar Krasniqi.

Criticisms
Keller's leadership has faced significant criticism from a large number of his ex-Murids, who have brought to light various forms of spiritual abuse within his Sufi order. Allegations include extreme control over personal behaviors and enforcement of stringent religious practices without leniency. Reports highlight public shaming, psychological manipulation, and harsh disciplinary measures on children. Women, in particular, have reported severe scrutiny and control over their private and public lives by the two female authorities of the tariqah, Besa Krasniqi (wife of Nuh Keller, known as Umm Sahl) and Hedaya Hartford (known as Umm al-Khayr), along with Hartford's husband, Ashraf Muneeb.

Their involvement has reportedly led to significant psychological distress among female followers. Additionally, the leadership's interference in personal relationships and marriages, often arranging unsuitable matches without parental consent, has caused rifts within families. These practices have reportedly led to significant emotional and psychological harm among followers, as detailed in investigative articles by Muslim Matters and Middle East Eye.

Author

 * Evolution Theory and Islam: Letter to Suleman Ali, 1999.
 * The Concept of Bidʻa in the Islamic Shariʻa, 1999.
 * The Shadhili Tariqa: Notes from the Hashimi-Darqawi Order of the Tariqa of Imam Abul Hasan al-Shadhili, 1999.
 * Port in a Storm: A Fiqh Solution to the Qibla of North America, 2001.
 * Becoming Muslim, 2001.
 * Sufism and Islam, 2002.
 * Sea Without Shore: A Manual of the Sufi Path, 2011.

Translator

 * Yaḥyā Ibn-Šaraf an-Nawawī, Al-Nawawi's Manual of Islam (Maqāṣid), 1996 (latest edition in 2009).
 * Aḥmad Ibn-an-Naqīb al-Miṣrī, Reliance of the Traveller : A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (ʻUmdat al-salik), 1994 (latest edition in 2015).
 * The Quran Beheld: An English Translation from the Arabic, 2022.