Akbar Sarif bin Muhammad is a lecturer at the Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. Born in Bima, Indonesia, on 15 April 1985, he pursued early education in Pelalawan, Riau, before completing his secondary studies at Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in 2004. He graduated with distinction and obtained his bachelor's degree in Comparative Mazhab and Law from Universitas Darussalam Gontor in 2008. Driven by a strong interest in Islamic legal theory, he continued his postgraduate studies at the Universiti Malaya, completing his Master’s research on the concepts of maslahah and mafsadah in the thought of al-Imam al-Ghazali and al-Imam al-Shatibi. In 2021, he was awarded a PhD for his work on the application of Maqasid al-Shari‘ah in the development of contemporary Islamic law in Indonesia.

His academic expertise spans Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh, Maqasid al-Shari‘ah in both theoretical and contemporary applications, manuscript studies, Islamic philanthropy, and Islamic property law. He has authored journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers, all of which contribute to the enrichment of scholarly discourse in Islamic law and its contemporary applications. Akbar has also collaborated on research projects with government and heritage institutions in Malaysia and Indonesia. At the Universiti Malaya, he teaches, supervises postgraduate students, and actively engages in research and academic discourse at national and international levels.