Prof. M.A. Abdu-Raheem was born in the city of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, Nigeria, in 1957.  He had his elementary education in Ratibi Moslem Primary School, Odinjo, Ibadan, and Ma^chad Shams Su^cudi’l-Islam, Ile-Tuntun, also in Ibadan.  He attended the University of Ibadan and had Certificate (1977), B.A. Degree (1981), M.A. (1983) and Ph.D. (1990), all in Arabic and Islamic Studies.  He also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Arabic to non-Arabs from King Sa’ud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1996.

He started his teaching career in 1982 in Oyo State College of Arts and Science, Ile-Ife (now defunct).  He joined Ondo State University (now Ekiti State University), Ado-Ekiti, as an Assistant Lecturer in 1989.  He rose through the ranks to become Professor in 2008.  He had been Head, Department of Religious Studies, and Director, Directorate of Pre-Degree Programmes of the University.  He became Dean, Faculty of Arts in August, 2019.

Prof. M.A, Abdu-Raheem is a member of Nigeria Association Teachers of Arabic and Islamic Studies (NATAIS), National Association for the Study of Religions (NASR) and Africa Association for the Study of Religions. He is on the Editorial Board of the Nigerian Publications Bureau of the Association.

His research interests include Islamic Civilization, Islamic Theology and Law, Sociology of Islam, Islam in Yorubaland and Arabic Studies.  He has about 50 publications in edited books, academic journals and authored books.  He is married with children.