Hamza Yusuf - Lessons from the World: The Sunnah of Tribulation

Hamza YusufJanuary 29, 20240 comments

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Palestine Tribulation Death & Afterlife Seerah Aqeedah Tawakkul Quran Patience

About this lecture

In this profound lecture, Hamza Yusuf explores the Quranic concept of tribulation (*Bala* and *Fitna*) as an inherent and purposeful dimension of human existence, drawing on classical Islamic scholarship, the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ, and the lived experiences of oppressed peoples throughout history, including Palestinians, Irish, and Kashmiris. He offers a nuanced theological framework for understanding suffering, patience, unity amid disagreement, and the dangers of desperation-driven thinking. The lecture closes with a practical call to root oneself in the Quran, prayer, remembrance of Allah, and noble character as the means of navigating a world defined by trial and transformation.

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf is one of the most influential Islamic scholars in the Western world. Born Mark Hanson in Washington State in 1958, he embraced Islam in 1977 and spent over a decade studying the traditional Islamic sciences in the UAE, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania, most notably under the Mauritanian sage Murabit al-Hajj. He is the co-founder and president of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California — the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the United States — and has translated numerous classical texts, including "The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi" and "Purification of the Heart." His lectures on spirituality, classical scholarship, and the crisis of modernity have shaped a generation of Western Muslims.

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