Dr. Mohd Saiful Anwar Mohd Nawawi is an Associate Prof. at the Department Fiqh-Usul and Applied Sciences, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya. His research mainly focuses on Shariah particularly Islamic Astronomy (Falak).

He obtained his Bachelor of Shariah, Master of Science and PhD from Universiti Malaya. 

He has contributed to numerous national and government-supported projects, covering areas such as

moon-sighting observations and lunar crescent visibility criteria (including imaging techniques for crescent observation), zoning for prayer times and refinement of Subuh parameters, lunar influences on climate, Shariah-based frameworks for sustainable astronomical practices, determination of two marhalah, qaryah, and balad rates from a contemporary Fiqh perspective, as well as Qibla.

Many of these initiatives, developed in collaboration with Malaysia’s national agencies and fellow researchers have contributed to shaping national policies, enactments, or guidelines.

He and his team publish in Islamic Studies journals, including Jurnal Syariah, Jurnal Fiqh, Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law, Jurnal al-Tamaddun, and the Journal of Islamic Marketing.

They also contribute to  scientific journals such as New Astronomy, Astronomy and Computing, ICARUS, and Sains Malaysiana, Malaysian Journal of Science among others. Many of their publications are indexed in Scopus and Web of Science.

He has also contributed to several books, including Python for Islamic Astronomy: Modern Computational Approaches to Hijri Calendar, Qibla, and Prayer Times (CRC Press, Routledge, 2025), among others.

He currently serves as President of the Islamic Astronomers Association of Malaysia, and Deputy President of the Southeast Asia Islamic Astronomy Association.

He also sits on expert panels for various government agencies related to his field.