Muhammad Safwan Harun is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Fiqh Usul & Applied Sciences, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya. He currently serves as the Head of the Zakat and Waqf Division, UM Giving, under the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, where he provides strategic leadership in the university’s zakat and waqf initiatives. He graduated with distinction in Fiqh and Usul in 2016 and obtained his PhD from Universiti Malaya in 2019, specialising in Usul al-Fiqh, Maqasid al-Shariʿah, and Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence.

At the international level, he has served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya (2024), and a Research Fellow at Marmara University, Türkiye (2025). He serves on the editorial boards of FIKRI: Jurnal Kajian Agama, Sosial dan Budaya (Indonesia), Jurnal Khazanah Pendidikan (Indonesia), and Jurnal Fiqh (Scopus-indexed). His international engagements include coordinating student mobility programmes to Türkiye and Indonesia, establishing research collaborations with IAIN Madura, delivering a plenary lecture at the International Seminar on Maqasid Shariah in Bandung (2022), serving on the organising committee of ICONWAT Türkiye (2025), and completing specialised fatwa training at Dar al-Ifta’, Egypt (2022). These engagements represent some of his contributions to international academic collaboration and scholarly development.

At the national level, he serves as a Reference Expert Panel Member for the Maqasid al-Shariʿah Division at JAKIM, an Executive Committee Member of the Maqasid Institute Malaysia, and a Shariah Expert Panel Member of the Malaysian Examinations Council. He is regularly consulted by ILIM, JAKIM, INTAN, the Ministry of Digital, and IKIM, and has appeared on the national television programme Selamat Pagi Malaysia. His expertise is further recognised through his appointments to expert panels for OUM’s curriculum review, the Malaysian Maqasid Shariah Governance Index (JAKIM), and the Gagasan Kalimah Tayyibah document (JAKIM), as well as his involvement in reviewing fatwa papers for the Kelantan State Mufti Department. He also leads the research project on the development of the Malaysian Maqasid Shariah Governance Index, a national initiative scheduled for official launch by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) at the end of 2026. These appointments and engagements reflect his contributions to national policy development, Shariah governance, and institutional consultation.

Within Universiti Malaya, he has held various academic and administrative appointments. In addition to his current leadership role at UM Giving, he has served as Coordinator of the Student Lajnah, Outbound Advisor, and Managing Editor of al-Basirah Journal. He has also served as Secretary for major academic programmes, including the 3rd Prof. Emeritus MZAM Premier Lecture and the International Seminar of Islamic Jurisprudence 2024. Furthermore, he has contributed to various university committees, including the Curriculum Review Committee, Timetabling Committee, ICON IMAD Committee, Corporate Video Committee, MITA 2024 Committee, APIUM Canteen Committee, Surau Committee, the 2024 Research Load Taskforce, and the Committee of Ikhtisas. These appointments demonstrate his sustained commitment to academic leadership, institutional governance, and university service.

To date, he has been involved in 30 research grants, authored more than 140 scholarly and professional publications, and completed over 100 expert evaluations as a book reviewer and postgraduate examiner. His scholarly achievements, research contributions, and professional engagements reflect his sustained commitment to advancing Shariah scholarship, research excellence, and academic leadership at the international, national, and institutional levels.