Series5 episodes

Foundations of Islam Series

Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Articles of Faith

Episode 1Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Articles of FaithIn this lecture from the Foundations of Islam series, Hamza Yusuf offers a rich and wide-ranging exploration of the Islamic Articles of Faith (Arkan al-Iman), unpacking the deeper meanings of belief in Allah, the angels, the books, the messengers, and divine decree. Drawing on Arabic linguistics, Western philosophy, Sufi psychology, and comparative religion, he illuminates concepts such as the root meaning of Iman, the transcendence and imminence of God, the levels of the nafs, and the nature of kufr as concealment rather than disbelief.

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

Episode 2Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: How the Qur’an Was Revealed and CompiledIn 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.

Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Pillars of Practice

Episode 3Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Pillars of PracticeIn this lecture from his Foundations of Islam series, Hamza Yusuf explores the meaning and scope of Islam through Quranic verses, linguistic analysis, and the Hadith of Gabriel. He unpacks the Arabic word *deen*, traces three (and a fourth surprising) Quranic meanings of Islam, and walks through the cosmological and spiritual dimensions of the five daily prayers — including a fascinating discussion of shadows, timekeeping, and how the arc of a day mirrors the arc of a human life.

Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Signs of the Last Day

Episode 4Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: Signs of the Last DayIn this lecture from the Foundations of Islam series, Hamza Yusuf explores Islamic eschatology — the signs of the Last Day — drawing on Hadith literature, Qur'anic narrative, and insights from Western thinkers like Lewis Mumford and René Guénon. He examines the Qur'an's ahistorical approach to storytelling, Arabic concepts of time, the three categories of end-time signs, and the nature of the Dajjal (Antichrist) as a symbol of materialism and deception. The lecture contextualizes Islamic teachings on the end of time within broader questions of social order, the quantification of culture, and the enduring human capacity for hope.

Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: The Concept of Ihsan

Episode 5Hamza Yusuf – Foundations of Islam Series: The Concept of IhsanIn this lecture from the Foundations of Islam Series, Hamza Yusuf explores the concept of Ihsan — the third and most often neglected dimension of the Hadith of Jibreel — situating it within the broader historical and intellectual crises of the Muslim world, from the fall of Andalusia and the colonial encounter to the rise of political Islam and one-dimensional religiosity. He then presents a traditional West African text on spiritual purification, guiding listeners through the stations and diseases of the heart — from repentance and God-consciousness to envy, vanity, and the love of the world — culminating in the station of Ihsan as the lived experience of the divine presence.