Mufti Lutfi Alam was born and raised in New York and began his formal Islamic studies with the memorization of the Quran at Darul Uloom New York. After his memorization, he started the rigorous ‘Ālimiyyah (Master’s in Islamic Studies) program at the same institute, where he also studied the seven qira’āt (canonical readings). After graduating and completing the rest of the ten qira’āt. He then decided to pursue further studies in the field of iftā (legal opinion) and traveled to South Africa to enroll at Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah, where he studied under Mufti Ebrahim Desai (may Allah have mercy on him) and Mufti Husain Kadodia (may Allah preserve him).

After successfully completing his studies, he returned to New York and is presently an instructor at Darul Uloom New York. He also obtained a BA in psychology and Middle Eastern studies (with a minor in history) from Queens College, CUNY.