Shaykh Zahid Chowdhury was born in Los Angeles and raised in Chicago. He attended Lincoln Park High School, the only Chicago public school at the time to offer the highly competitive International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program. The IB curriculum is internationally recognized for its academic rigor, emphasizing critical thinking, independent learning, and global perspectives—an experience that shaped his strong educational foundation. After graduating with an IB diploma, he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.
Following his studies, he worked as a Filtration Engineer at one of the largest water purification plants in America. During this time, he also began studying Islamic sciences part-time with local scholars. In 2008, he moved to Bangladesh with his family to pursue full-time Islamic education.
For three years, he studied the Madani Nisab, a unique and famous Arabic- and Quran-focused syllabus developed by Maulana Abu Taher Misbah (db), a renowned scholar. Under Maulana Abu Taher’s direct mentorship, he completed his studies in Dhaka. His journey for further knowledge then took him to Zambia, where he spent a year specializing in Hadith and Tazkiya.
Shaykh Zahid has extensive experience teaching Arabic and Islamic studies both to children in several local schools and seminaries and to adults. He utilizes the unique methods he was trained in (under the Madani Nisab) to obtain Quranic Arabic fluency not typically attained in a rules-based approach to Arabic language learning.
Shaykh Zahid also has conducted research in the classical methods of education and learning.
The Sirat School aims to provide a classical education that blends Islamic sciences and Arabic with the rigorous study of mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies - all in an environment that builds spirituality and character.