Q: Can you please state your full name, date of birth, and place of birth.
A: My name is Junaid Muhammad Kharsany. I was born in Durban, South Africa, on August 7, 1975, which corresponds with the 28th of Rajab 1395 of Hijrah.
Q: Could you tell us a little about your family background, where you’re from, and what your childhood was like?
A: I am technically fourth-generation Gujurati Surti Indian, born in South Africa. My father was born in India, but my grandfather was born in South Africa and went to India to get married and, as result, my father and his elder brother were born in India and came to South Africa at a young age.
My mother is technically fifth-generation Indian with a similar background. My educational background is that I went to regular public elementary school in South Africa. I completed regular elementary high school in South Africa. I did my hifz while in high school, and upon the termination of my high school at age seventeen, I went to do the Alim course at Darul Uloom Arabia Islamiyyah, Azaadville, South Africa. I enrolled in 1990 and terminated that course in December of 1996 before Ramadan of 1997.