The idea of establishing INSANIAH was sparked when two High Officials of the state government, in 1993, namely Yang Berhormat Dato 'Paduka Hj. Ahmad Basri Mohd Akil, Kedah State Secretary and Tuan Hj. Sukri Hashim, General Manager of the Kedah Islamic Foundation (YIK) paid a visit to Cairo, Egypt, to survey Kedah students studying at Al-Azhar University and examine their welfare. Starting from here, a proposal arose to be submitted to the state government, creating an Islamic higher education center in the state of Kedah Darul Aman.
In this regard, the Most Honorable Menteri Besar of Kedah Darul Aman at that time, Tan Sri Dato 'Sri Hj. Osman Hj. Arof had directed that a working paper on the concept of the establishment of an Institute of Islamic Higher Education in Kedah which implemented a twinning program with Al-Azhar University, Egypt and held a working visit to make preliminary consultations to Al-Azhar University on 26 to 31 March 1994.
Al-Azhar University made a return visit to the State of Kedah on the 1st to 7th September 1994 led by its Rector, His Excellency Prof. Dr. Abdul Fatah Al-Syeikh Husaini until the MOU was signed at Wisma Darul Aman, Kedah by the former Chief Minister of Kedah, Tan Sri Dato 'Seri Hj. Osman Hj. Aroff with the Rector of Al-Azhar University, Prof. Dr. Abd Fattah Husaini El-Sheikh on 3rd September 1994.
Following this noble effort, the Kedah State Legislative Assembly approved the establishment of INSANIAH, on 7th December 1994 under enactment No. 4 of 1995 and then gazetted on 22nd June 1995.
The institution is named 'Kedah Darul Aman Islamic Religious Institute' or its acronym is INSANIAH. The name of this institute in Arabic is 'Al Jamiah Al Islamiah Al Hukumiah Bi Kedah Darul Aman'.
INSANIAH at that time, was given the status (Government Higher Education Institution [IPTK]) by the Ministry of Education Malaysia and registered under the Education Act 1996 with registration number K/IPTK/07 (021). INSANIAH also has an executive body known as Majlis Insaniah which functions as the body that manages, controls and administers INSANIAH. This Soft Council is chaired by the Most Honorable Menteri Besar of Kedah Darul Aman.
INSANIAH started its operation on October 1, 1995 and at that time only conducted a twinning Islamic Studies program with Al-Azhar University, Egypt which offers undergraduate programs in the field of Usuluddin, Syariah and Arabic. At that time, the teaching staff was only 9 lecturers with the rank of Associate Professor, consisting of 6 people from Al-Azhar University, one from Indonesia and 2 people from Malaysia. The first intake was 43 people in the 1995/1996 session.
In the early stages of the establishment of INSANIAH, it was placed on a temporary campus at No 45, Lorong Perak 18, Seri Mergong, 05150 Alor Setar Kedah. The campus is located in the Mergong Light Industrial Park, approximately 1.5 Kilometers from the city of Alor Setar, Kedah Darul Aman.
In January 1998, INSANIAH was given an allocation by the state government worth around RM 7 million, by purchasing two building blocks located at Taman Wira Mergong, Jalan Sultanah, 05350 Alor Setar, Kedah Darul Aman.
In 2004, INSANIAH was allocated by the state government RM 7.3 million to build an additional 2 block 4 storey building on its main campus.
In May 2000, INSANIAH took another step with the establishment of a second campus in Jalan Kg. Kg. Baru Alor Setar which was named as Kulliyyah Management Branch Campus to coordinate the Diploma in Management, and Diploma in Accounting program which started its study session in session 2000/2001 on 11 th August 2000. A year later INSANIAH offered Diploma in Information Technology which started its study session in 2001/2002 session. . All programs offered are regulated by Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).
INSANIAH has also been given further recognition that in January 2001 the Kedah State Government has made a decision to change the administration of Ma'ahad Tahfiz Al-Quran (MTAQ) Kedah Darul Aman which has been operating since 1985 under the Kedah Islamic Foundation (YINK ) and Kedah Islamic Religious Council (MAIK) to INSANIAH.
The development of INSANIAH is not only from a physical point of view but also planning is arranged to upgrade INSANIAH to a University College through various strategic planing workshops and meetings. As a result, on 15 May 2006, INSANIAH received a letter of approval to be upgraded as an INSANIAH University College. Dato 'Mustafa Mohamed, the then Minister of Higher Education, handed over the upgrade offer letter to Prof Dato' Dr Sayyid Muammad Aqiel al Mahdaly, Rector of INSANIAH at that time at Cinta Sayang Golf and Country Club Sungai Petani. From that moment, INSANIAH underwent a massive transformation with the admission of many students, including from abroad.
In the era of YAB Menteri Besar of Kedah, Dato 'Seri Ustaz Haji Azizan Bin Abdul Razak became the Chairman of the Board of INSANIAH, he appointed Prof Dato' Dr Jamil Osman as the fourth Rector of INSANIAH on 1 May 2008. INSANIAH continued to move forward when throughout the year 2009 INSANIAH offers a total of 40 study programs ranging from basic to PhD compared to only 7 programs before that. A total of 4 new Kulliyyah and academic centers were established, namely Kulliyyah of Engineering and Technology, Kulliyyah of Nursing, Graduate and Research Center and Foundation Center.
INSANIAH has also opened its new branch campus in Bandar Aman Jaya Sungai Petani after receiving approval to operate the branch campus on 1 January 2009 presented by Dr Zubaidah Binti Aman, Chief Assistant Director of the Department of Higher Education Malaysia. As a result, the first students of the Sungai Petani campus started enrolling on January 19 in the field of Multimedia and Creativity.
At the full ceremony of the 10th Convocation on 12 August 2008. KDYMM Tuanku Sultan of Kedah was proclaimed as the Chancellor of INSANIAH University College. At the same ceremony, Dato 'Dr Abdul Halim Ismail was appointed as the first Pro Chancellor of 1 INSANIAH and Dato' Dr. Afifuddin Omar has also been appointed as the first Pro Chancellor of 2 INSANIAH.
On 18 February 2009 INSANIAH continued to make history when the dream of having a more conducive and comfortable campus began to go according to plan with the groundbreaking ceremony for the permanent campus of INSANIAH Kuala Ketil officiated by YAB Dato 'Seri Ustaz Haji Azizan Abdul Razak. The 832 -acre land is expected to complete the first phase in 2012.
Kolej Universiti Insaniah (KUIN) has officially changed its status as the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah International Islamic University (UniSHAMS) after receiving the Certificate of Registration from the Ministry of Higher Education on 5th February 2018.
The Certificate of Registration was handed over by the Director General of Higher Education Datin Ir Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir to the 4th Rector of UniSHAMS, Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Fakhrudin Abdul Mukti at a ceremony on 8th February 2018. It was also witnessed by the Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh; Kedah Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah cum Chairman of the Board of UniSHAMS; Chairman of the Kedah Education, Transport and Non -Governmental Organizations (NGO) Committee and Datuk Tajul Urus Mat Zain is also a Member of the Board of UniSHAMS.
UniSHAMS is an IPTS owned by the Kedah state government which has 6 Kulliyyah and 2 Schools. It also offers 40 courses of study at various levels of study from the Foundation level to the highest level, namely Doctor of Philosophy. While the current number of UniSHAMS students is 4,082 in all.