Foundations of Islam Series

Episode 2 of 5

All episodes →

Episode 2

Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: How the Qur’an Was Revealed and Compiled

Hamza YusufAugust 9, 20070 comments

Share:

Revelation Islamic History Quran Sciences Seerah Aqeedah Quran Tawhid Companions of the Prophet

Episode 1

Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Articles of Faith

Episode 3

Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Pillars of Practice

About this lecture

In this foundational lecture, Hamza Yusuf explores the revelation and compilation of the Qur'an — from the first words revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the Cave of Hira, through the oral and written preservation of the text during his lifetime, to the official collection under Abu Bakr and standardization under Uthman ibn Affan. Along the way, he illuminates the Arabic language's triliteral root system, the primacy of oral transmission in Islamic tradition, the key theological themes of the Meccan and Medinan periods, and the remarkable historical continuity of the Qur'anic text as attested by both Muslim scholars and Western academics.

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.

All lectures by Hamza Yusuf →

Enjoyed this lecture?

It's free because of sponsors. Join 5 sponsors — every contribution is sadaqa jariya.

Comments

Log in to share a reflection or question.

No comments yet. Be the first to share a reflection.