Dr Zoheir Ali Esmail

AMI Faculty

Lecturer in Islamic Mysticism & Research Lead for Islamic Mysticism and Spirituality

Mysticism & Spirituality

Islamic Psychology

Transcendental Philosophy

Qurʾanic Exegesis

Biography

Dr. Esmail qualified as a chartered accountant before pursuing full-time studies in the seminaries of Syria and Qum for a period of 12 years. During that time, he was awarded a doctorate from the University of Exeter with the thesis title: Between Philosophy and ʿIrfān: Interpreting Mullā Ṣadrā from the Qajars to Post-Revolutionary Iran.

He returned to the UK in 2020 and taught a number of traditional and academic, graduate, and postgraduate courses including transcendental philosophy, logic, contemporary thought in the Muslim world, and human rights and Islam. He currently teaches a number of courses at al-Mahdi Institute and is an Associate lecturer at the University of Birmingham.

Dr. Esmail is dynamically involved with the Muslim community in the UK and internationally. He has an active telegram channel in which he posts lectures and thoughtful content from a Shii perspective which can be found at the following link: https://t.me/zoheiresmail

Lecturer, Al-Mahdi Institute — Islamic Legal Studies and Philosophy.
Associate Lecturer, University of Birmingham – Islamic Psychology

April 2025 – Al-Mahdi Institute - Revelation, Mystical Intuition and Reasoning: Ḥasanzādah Āmulī and Hermeneutical Confluence of Truth-Seeking Methods in Qurʾānic Exegesis (paper forthcoming)
April 2024 - Al-Mahdi Institute - Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī and the Oneness of Being in al-Muḥīṭ al-Aʿẓam (paper forthcoming)
“Visions of Tawḥīd: Reconciling a Statement in the Twenty-Eighth Supplication of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya”, in W. M. Amin, A. W. Hughs and S. H. Rizvi (eds), Islamic Perspectives on God and (Other) Monotheism(s)(Birmingham: AMI Press, 2025)
“The Prophetic Sīrah through the Qurʾānic Paradigm: A Case Study of the Battle of ʿUḥud”, in Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference in Shiʿi Studies (Willesden: ICAS Press, 2023)
February 2022 – For the Seekers of Knowledge (eBook) visit: https://www.sunbehindthecloud.com/shop/adult/spirituality/seekersofknowledge/?v=79cba1185463

Visions of Tawḥīd: Sayyid Shubbar’s reconciliation of Imām al-Sajjād’s words in the 28th Supplication of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādīya, “You have, my Lord, numerical oneness!” (laka yā ilāhī waḥdānīyat al-ʿadad!) (Feb 2023) AMI Islamic Philosophy & Theology Conference
Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī and the Oneness of Being in al-Muḥīṭ al-Aʿẓam (April 2024) AMI Islamic Mysticism & Spirituality Conference
Qurʾān, Mysticism (ʿirfān) and Proof (burhān): Ḥasanzāda Āmulī and Hermeneutical Confluence in Qurʾānic Exegesis (April 2025) AMI Quranic Studies Conference
Surely with Difficulty is Ease: Islamic Mystical Perspectives on Failure as a Path to Success (July 2025) Faith on Failure: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Recognised Lecturer at University of Birmingham

Recent Contributions

Explore the latest contributions to Islamic thought by Dr Zoheir Esmail.

Brill Publishes Islamic Perspectives on God and (Other) Monotheism(s) in the AMI–Brill Series

July 31, 2026

We are delighted to announce the publication of Islamic Perspectives on God and (Other)...

AMI hosts its Mysticism and Spirituality Conference on “Ways of Knowing in Sufism: Epistemology, Authority, and Contemporary Implications”

June 1, 2026

The research area of Islamic Mysticism and Spirituality at Al-Mahdi Institute convened an...

AMI hosts inaugural Islamic Philosophy and Theology Reading Workshop

Meet the Rest of Our Faculty

Discover the diverse expertise and inspiring scholarship of our full faculty team.

AMI Faculty