Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi (Urdu: سید محمد رضوی; born 1957) is an Indian-Canadian Islamic scholar, author, orator, and religious leader. He is the Resident 'Alim and Chief Imam of the Jaffari Community Centre in Toronto, where he oversees the religious and educational activities of one of the largest Shia Muslim congregations in North America.^[1][2]

Rizvi is recognized for his scholarly contributions in the fields of Islamic law, Islamic ethics, and Qur'anic exegesis.

Rizvi was born in 1957 in Bihar, India, into a family with a historical tradition of Islamic scholarship. His father was Allamah Sayyid Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi, a Twelver Shi'a scholar who promoted Islam in East Africa.^[3] His early education took place in Tanzania, where his family had relocated. There, he attended an English-medium school while also studying Arabic and Persian under the guidance of his father and local scholars.^[4][5]

At the age of fifteen, he moved to Qom, Iran, to pursue advanced Islamic studies at the Hawza-e 'Ilmiyya, one of the leading seminaries in the Shia Muslim tradition.^[6] Over the next decade, he progressed through various levels of Islamic jurisprudence, theology, and philosophy, eventually attending advanced classes (Dars-e Kharij) under the supervision of Grand Ayatollah Wahid Khurasani.^[5] His studies in Qom provided him with a comprehensive education in Islamic law, history, and exegesis (tafsir) of the Qur'an.^[1][7][8]

In 1991, Rizvi moved to Toronto to take up a leadership role at the Islamic Education and Information Centre.^[9] His contributions included educational outreach, interfaith dialogue, and the establishment of religious programs for the growing Shia Muslim community in Canada. He aided in founding the As-Sadiq Islamic School,^[10] which offers a full-time curriculum from kindergarten to grade 8.^[11]

Since 1996, Rizvi has served as the Resident 'Alim and Chief Imam of the Jaffari Community Centre in Toronto, where he provides religious guidance, delivers weekly sermons, and oversees communal educational initiatives.^[2][12] He has also traveled, lecturing on Islamic topics in Canada, the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.^[13] Rizvi currently serves as the Secretary-General of the Council of Shia Muslim Scholars of North America, and holds the position of principal of the Shia Research Institute^[14] (SRI) at the University of Toronto.^[15][16]

Rizvi has also been involved in interfaith dialogue and promoting religious cooperation. In 1999, he participated in a multifaith initiative featured in the Toronto Star, alongside Rabbi Michael Stroh^[17] and Zoroastrian Mobad Nozer Kotwal, to promote interfaith understanding and collaboration in the city of Toronto.^[18][19]

Rizvi emphasises scientific thought and reasoning within Islamic theology.^[16] His views on the Apollo 11 mission are that science allows one to appreciate the power of God, and that denying space travel stems from the same mindset as those who have historically rejected the physical reality of the mi'raj of the Prophet Muhammad.^[20]

Rizvi is an author and translator, having written and translated various works on Islamic thought and philosophy.^[21] His writings have been translated into several languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, Turkish, Swahili, and Persian. Rizvi's publications include:

• An Explanatory Translation of the Qur'an (Six Volumes) (1984) – ISBN 978-0969064123^[22] (for Volume 1).
• Marriage and Morals in Islam (1990) – ISBN 978-0969064130.^[23]
• Business Ethics in Islam (2007) – ISBN 978-0969064147.^[24]
• Islam: Faith, Practice & History (2004) – ISBN 978-0969064154.^[25]

Rizvi has also written extensively on contemporary issues in the Muslim world, including the intersection of religion and modernity, and the role of Islamic teachings in addressing societal challenges.^[26]

• Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi | Al-Islam.org
• Resident 'Alim and Assistants | Jaffari Community Centre
• Lectures | Jaffari Community Centre