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Hamza Yusuf

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About Me


Eid Ul-Fitr Khutba 2008
Message To Humanity Part 1 ISNA
Message To Humanity Part 2 ISNA
Hamza Yusuf on Youth and Interfaith
ISNA 2007
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf was born in Walla Walla, Washington, and grew up in Northern California in a Greek Orthodox family. He is founder of the Zaytuna Institute. He embraced Islam in 1977 in Santa Barbara, California when he was only 17 and set off almost immediately to study Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence, philosophy, and spirtual psychology with masters in the Muslim world.
In 1979, he moved to the United Arab Emirates and studied in the Islamic Institute of Al-'Ain for four years, augmenting his studies with lessons by leading scholars of the Islamic world.
Some of the scholars he studied with include Shaikh Baya bin Salik, head of the Islamic court in Al-'Ain; Shaikh Muhammad Shaybani, Mufti of Abu Dhabi; Shaikh Hamad al-Wali; and Shaikh Muhammad al-Fatrati of Al-Azhar University. In 1984, Hamza Yusuf entered the Bilal ibn Rabah Madrasa of Tizi, Algeria and studied with Shaikh Sidi Bou Sai'd. After being expelled from Algeria by the government, he travelled to a unique madrassa in Mauritania and studied with the most noble scholar Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj bin Fahfu where he continues his studies periodically.
After ten-years of studies abroad, he returned to the United States and completed degrees in nursing at Imperial Valley College and religious studies at San Jose State University.
In the early 1990's he began to teach classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and in 1996 he established Zaytuna Institute. Two years later the institute acquired a property in Hayward, California, where it is now based. Zaytuna Institute is committed to inspiring a traditional understanding and study of the core Islamic sciences. In addition to weekly classes, week-long and month-long educational programs, and annual conferences that addresses contemporary issues affecting the American people, Zaytuna Institute has published four small books and several major audio-tape sets of Shaykh Hamza's classes.
His classes on the life of the Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, produced as a 24-audio tape set, has sold well thousands of copies world-wide.
As the executive director of the Zaytuna Institute, Shaykh Hamza travels frequently to major North American and European cities to teach and lecture to both Muslims and non-Muslim audiences.
After years of passionate work Shaykh Hamza completed the first comprehensive English translation of the Burda of Imam Al-Busiri. In June 2002 Sandala Productions in the UK has released The Poem of the Cloak: The Burda of Al-Busiri. The poem, on two cds, is sung by the Fez Singers and and the book is calligraphed by Mohamed Zakariya, a world renowed calligrapher and the teacher of Ustadha Aishah Elinor Holland.
He presently resides in the Bay Area with his wife and four children.
(For more information on Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson and the Zaytuna Institute please visit

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Member Since: 9/17/2006
Band Website: zaytuna.org
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To purchase Material By Hamza Yusuf Visit Alhambra Productions.com
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"If we examine the trials and tribulations all over earth, we’ll find they are rooted in human hearts. Covetousness, the desire to aggress and exploit, the longing to pilfer natural resources, the inordinate love of wealth, and other maladies are manifestations of diseases found nowhere but in the heart. Every criminal, miser, abuser, scoffer, embezzler, and hateful person does what he or she does because of a diseased heart. So if you want to change our world, do not begin by rectifying the outward. Instead, change the condition of the inward. It is from the unseen world that the phenomenal world emerges, and it is from the unseen realm of our hearts that all actions spring. . . . We of the modern world are reluctant to ask ourselves—when we look at the terrible things happening—“Why do they occur?” And if we ask that with sincerity, the answer will come back in no uncertain terms: all of this is from our own selves. In so many ways, we have brought this upon ourselves. This is the only empowering position that we can take." — Excerpted from Hamza Yusuf’s Introduction

In an age of bewildering spiritual and intellectual confusion, creed has never been more important. Every Muslim is obliged to learn it and is promised protection from deviant beliefs by following the unassailable texts of the scholastic community of Islam. Of them all, The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi is the simplest, the most effective, and the least controversial. It serves as a sound basis for Islamic faith and is the most reliable of the early articulations of Muslim belief. Because Imam al-Tahawi avoided involuted theological issues and systematically presented the most fundamental aspects of dogmatic theology, his creed has achieved an unusual degree of acceptance in the Muslim milieu. In the thousand years since it was written, many great Muslim scholars have penned commentaries on it. It is still studied throughout the Muslim world and increasingly in the West.

This brilliant narration of the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was presented by Hamza Yusuf in a twelve week course based on the book, 'Muhammad' by Martin Lings. It is unrivaled in its analysis of the Prophet's life, making his amazing persona come alive. The focus of the narration is the Prophet's relationship with Allah through the Qur'an. Listeners learn verses in the order they were revealed to show how they impacted the young Muslim nation.

PURCHASE YOUR COPIES AT ALHAMBRAPRODUCTIONS.COM

In this 5 CD set, Hamza Yusuf discusses the causes of unhappiness in this world, according to Imam al-Ghazali, and gives us the guidelines to obtain inward contentment.

Some decades ago, Albert Einstein noticed that, since the day the atom was split and its power unleashed, the whole world had changed except for one thing: the way we think. And he advised that if we want to ensure peace and the survival of mankind in the face of this new unleashing of power, we must learn to "think anew." It was these words that Hamza Yusuf Hanson evoked at Bristol University in Bristol, England in front of an audience of several hundred people, including Lords and Ladies, University professors, and students. In this impassioned yet very wise lecture, Hamza Yusuf examines the state of affairs in our communities and the political conflict we see in our world today. Criticizing our tendency to treat the symptoms of our social breakdowns rather than address their root problems, he offers insight and suggestions on how we can restore peace in our world, creating an environment whereby each individual is respected and his human dignity honored. Echoing the words of Einstein, he stresses that only when we begin to change the patterns in our thinking and break out of our reactionary mindsets, will we begin to transform the strenuous circumstances around us.

Our challenge as Muslims is to determine how best we can revive the ability for Islam to work with the great challenges of our time, the great transformations of our time, using the past as our compass. We must recognize that we are in the present, on a journey into the future, and the past is our North Star. We must use the principles of the past and derive strength from our past, but we must also reconcile with the fact that we are modern people.

On the anniversary of the Miraj, Hamza Yusuf gave a commentary on Sidi Ahmed Zarruq’s “advice” to the one who yearns nearness to his Lord. Topics such as divine unity, morality, repentance, and the golden rule were discussed, and Hamza Yusuf reminded us of the qualities of good character that are required to travel swiftly on the path of Islam. This is a timeless lecture of practical spiritual guidance, which the seeker of knowledge will never tire of listening.

Available Now!

Hamza Yusuf’s commentary on Murata’s and Chittick’s The Vision of Islam makes crystal clear the meanings of a Muslim’s beliefs, actions, and spiritual journey through life. Wonderful for Muslims interested in a more thorough understanding of their religion, this set is also an excellent introduction to Islam for people of other faiths who wish to gain a clear understanding of Islam’s basic principles and practices. Remembered by students for its liveliness and clarity, this set is filled with fascinating insights into Islam.

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My Blog

Teddy Bear Tragedy

The Real Teddy Bear Tragedy By Hamza Yusuf In all the heat generate...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 01:02:00 PST

Unity Pledge Document

Pledge of Mutual Respect and Cooperation Between Sunni Muslim Scholars, Organizations, and Students of Sacred Knowledge Hold fast to the Rope of Allah, all together, and be not divided. (Qur'an, 3...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:54:00 PST

"The Onus is on Us as a Community"

"The Onus is on Us as a Community"   In July, we asked Shaykh Hamza Yusuf  for his thoughts on the recent attempted bomb attacks in London and Glasgow. Q: How do such incidents affect the ...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:16:00 PST

Making The Quran The Spring of Our Hearts

From Seasons Journal By Sheikh Hamza Yusuf As the world turns and seasons change, our lives move inexorably toward their fated ends. Our minutes become hours, our hours days, our days weeks, our wee...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Sun, 16 Sep 2007 11:32:00 PST

Hamza Yusuf - On The Prophet (peace be upon him)

Twenty-six years ago I became a Muslim largely because I fell in love with a beautiful human being. "I was only sent to perfect noble character," said the man declared as a "mercy to all the worlds."A...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Tue, 07 Aug 2007 09:47:00 PST

Holocaust Denial Undermines Islam

..> Holocaust Denial Undermines IslamBy Shaykh Hamza Yusuf .. .. !--> ..> This article originally appeared in Tikkun Magazine,Epistemology is a branch of philosophy...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Sun, 01 Jul 2007 09:35:00 PST

PBS - FRONTLINE Interview with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

PBS - FRONTLINEInterview with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf     Hamza Yusuf was born in Washington State and grew up in Northern California, where he lives with his wife and five children. He convert...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:43:00 PST

Thought Of The Day

BBC: Thought of the DayBy Hamza Yusuf !--> Over two thousand years ago a wise Greek wrote, "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:54:00 PST

Springs Gift

Spring's GiftBy Hamza Yusuf !--> I envy the sand that met his feet I'm jealous of honey he tasted sweet Of birds that hovered above his head Of spiders who spun their sa...
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:53:00 PST

Hamza

Inshallah we will have more info. soon
Posted by Hamza Yusuf on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 04:37:00 PST