Founder of Zaytuna College, California, Advisor to the Islamic Studies program at Stanford University, and one of the most influential Islamic scholars from the West.
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf is one of the most influential Muslim figures in the Western World ranked 23rd by The Muslim 500. He is the co-founder of Zaytuna College (established in 2009), a one of its kind Muslim liberal arts college in the US. He currently serves as the President of Zaytuna College. He is also an Advisor for the Center of Islamic Studies at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and the Islamic studies Program at Stanford University. He is the Vice President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies (a UAE-based forum) and the Global Centre for Guidance and Renewal.
Shaykh Hamza Yousuf is an ardent advocate of learning the sciences and methodology of traditional Islam combined with the classical liberal arts. He has garnered the interest of many young Muslims across the world to pursue this course. He is the founder of Deen Intensives Foundation – an organization dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of traditional Islamic knowledge – which has been working successfully for 25 years. Under the same organization, he started the Rihla program which has made a significant impact on young western Muslims with regards to the revival of traditional Islamic Studies.
Shaykh Hamza Yousuf has been a big proponent of world peace and has worked globally for its attainment. He is a co-president of Religions for Peace and a member of the Jordanian Royal Academy for Islamic Studies, and has taken key initiatives in promoting peace between Muslims and other religions in the world. He has also worked closely with Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, his mentor, in the translation and global promotion of a seminal document called Marrakesh Declaration. The document defends the rights of non-Muslims in Muslim-majority societies. He is also one of the signatories of “A Common Word Between Us and You”( an open letter from Muslim scholars of global repute, to Christian leaders on finding common grounds).
Shaykh Hamza Yousuf has translated and authored numerous research papers, encyclopedia articles, essays and blogs. He has also publisxhed many books including The Burda of al-Busiri: The Poem of the Cloak (2002), The Burda (2003), Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart (2004), The Content of Character: Ethical Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (2004), Caesarean Moon Births: Calculations, Moon Sighting, and the Prophetic Way (2007), The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi (2007), Agenda to Change our Condition (2008), The Prayer of the Oppressed (2010), Walk on Water: The Wisdom of Jesus from Traditional Arabic Sources (2010), and The Pearls of the Faith (2017).
Shaykh Hamza Yousuf completed his BA in Religious Studies from San Jose State University, California, magna cum laude. He completed his PhD. in Islamic Studies from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California in 2020. He has received advanced degrees in Islamic education from various madrasas across the Muslim world alongside studying privately with numerous renowned Muslim scholars. He has received teaching licenses for the Quranic Sciences, Hadith Sciences, Theology (Aqidah), Legal Theory (Usul al-Fiqh), Maliki Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Arabic Grammar and Morphology, Elocution (Tajwid), Rhetoric (Balaghah), Dialectics (Bahth wa Munadharah), Logic, Ethics, Timekeeping (Sacred Astronomy) and Traditional Islamic Spirituality (Tasawwuf)(from 1987 to 2013).
We are honored to Have Shaykh Hamza Yousuf as an advisor at Al-Qadir and are looking forward to learning from the treasure of wisdom and experience he possesses.
