Hamza Yusuf

Author profile

born

in Walla Walla, Washington, The United States

January 01, 1960

gender

male

website

http://sandala.org/

genre

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Politics

About this author

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Hamza Yusuf is a cofounder of Zaytuna College, located in Berkeley, California. He is an advisor to Stanford University’s Program in Islamic Studies and the Center for Islamic Studies at Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union. He also serves as a member of the board of advisors of George Russell’s One Nation, a national philanthropic initiative that promotes pluralism and inclusion in America. In addition, he serves as vice-president for the Global Center for Guidance and Renewal, which was founded and is currently presided over by Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, one of the top jurists and masters of Islamic sciences in the world. Recently, Hamza Yusuf was ranked as “the Western world’s most influential Islamic scholar” by The 500 Most Influenti...more Hamza Yusuf is a cofounder of Zaytuna College, located in Berkeley, California. He is an advisor to Stanford University’s Program in Islamic Studies and the Center for Islamic Studies at Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union. He also serves as a member of the board of advisors of George Russell’s One Nation, a national philanthropic initiative that promotes pluralism and inclusion in America. In addition, he serves as vice-president for the Global Center for Guidance and Renewal, which was founded and is currently presided over by Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, one of the top jurists and masters of Islamic sciences in the world. Recently, Hamza Yusuf was ranked as “the Western world’s most influential Islamic scholar” by The 500 Most Influential Muslims, edited by John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin, (2009).

Hamza Yusuf is one of the leading proponents of classical learning in Islam. He has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world. He has also been a strong advocate for social justice, peace, and conviviality among peoples and places. For several years, he has argued that the “them versus us” problem is fundamentally flawed, as he considers himself one of “them” as well as one of “us.”

Hamza Yusuf has served as an advisor to many organizations, leaders, and heads of state. He has been an innovator in modern Islamic education, founding the highly imitated Deen Intensives, and with Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Afa, he started the first Rihla program in England, which has been running for over fifteen years. Dozens of young Muslims who were influenced by his call to reviving traditional Islamic studies in the West went to the Muslim lands in the nineties and early part of the current decade to study, many of who are now teachers in their own right.

With Eissa Bougari, Hamza Yusuf initiated a media challenge to the Arab world that resulted in a highly successful cultural religious program that he hosted for three years and was one of the most watched programs in the Arab world during Ramadan. Cambridge Media Studies stated that this program had a profound influence on subsequent religious programming in the Arab world. He has also been interviewed on BBC several times and was the subject of a BBC documentary segment The Faces of Islam, ushering in the new millennium, as it aired at 11:30pm on Dec. 31st 1999.

Hamza Yusuf has been a passionate and outspoken critic of American foreign policy as well as Islamic extremist responses to those policies. He has drawn criticism from both the extreme right in the West and Muslim extremists in the East. Ed Hussain has written that Hamza Yusuf’s teachings were instrumental to his abandoning extremism.

Hamza Yusuf has also authored several encyclopedia articles and research papers. His published books include The Burda (2003), Purification of the Heart (2004), The Content of Character (2004), The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi (2007), Agenda to Change our Condition (2007), Walking on Water (2010), and the Prayer of the Oppressed (2010).(less)

31 posts
Hamza Yusuf's Blog

Hamza Yusuf isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.

Tempest in a Teapot: Islamophobia Meets Homophobia

A group of the extremists among the Imamis consider the legal obligation [to believe] in the inviolability of their leaders. They consider that to even be consistent with their treatment of animals and their servants. They have gone to an extreme in such matters that they have removed the veil of modesty from their faces [...]

The post Tempest in a Teapot: Islamophobia Meets Homophobia appeared...

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Hamza Yusuf's Books

Average rating: 4.58 · 1,032 ratings · 122 reviews · 16 distinct works · Similar authors

	Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart 4.6 of 5 stars 4.60 avg rating — 553 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Agenda to Change Our Condition by Hamza Yusuf, Zaid Shakir 4.45 of 5 stars 4.45 avg rating — 78 ratings — published 2007 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Burda Of Al Busiri 4.63 of 5 stars 4.63 avg rating — 46 ratings	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Caesarean Moon Births: Calculations, Moon Sighting, and the Prophetic Way 4.67 of 5 stars 4.67 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2007	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Men and Women 4.75 of 5 stars 4.75 avg rating — 8 ratings	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hatiku Surgaku : Terapi Jitu Membersihkan Hati dari Sifat-Sifat yang tidak Disukai 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2010	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Prophetic Invocations by يحيى بن شرف النووي, Imam 'Abdallah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad (Compiler), Mostafa al-Badawi (Translator) 4.92 of 5 stars 4.92 avg rating — 72 ratings — published 2000 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning by Burhan al-Din Al-Zarnuji, G.E. Von Grunebaum (Translation), Hamza Yusuf (Foreword) 4.41 of 5 stars 4.41 avg rating — 70 ratings — published 1947 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Educating Your Child In Modern Times: Raising An Intelligent, Sovereign, & Ethical Human Being by John Taylor Gatto, Hamza Yusuf, Dorothy Sayers 4.42 of 5 stars 4.42 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2003	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Shade of the Tree: A Photographic Odyssey Through the Muslim World by Peter Sanders, Hamza Yusuf 4.84 of 5 stars 4.84 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2002 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Hamza Yusuf

“Language is the crowning achievement of human beings, and that is something Muslims have always known and revered. We are a literate people whose miracle is a Book from an unlettered man, peace and blessings be upon him, who was the most articulate and eloquent human being who ever lived. We honor our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in honoring language that he loved so much and used so well.”
― Hamza Yusuf

tags: the-sin-tax-of-ignoring-syntax

12 people liked it

“Hypocrisy is wretched because the hypocrite says with his tongue what is not in his heart. He wrongs his tongue and oppresses his heart. But if the heart is sound, the condition of the tongue follows suit. We are commanded to be upright in speech, which is a gauge of the heart's state.”
― Hamza Yusuf, Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart

tags: self-awareness, spirituality

7 people liked it

“Desire is an attempt to fill the void”
― Hamza Yusuf

tags: climbing-mountain-purgatorio

2 people liked it

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