[propolo]

I have been a fan of Sheikh HY for many years and have listened to him and gained much from him. Recently I have been warned more than once against listening to him. When I enquire as to the reason, the usual reply is 'he's changed and deviated', when I ask "how?" no one as yet has been able to provide me with solid proof.

Can you guys help please (with solid proof/ video clip evidence, etc) as to why I shouldn't listen to the Sheikh.

[furillo]

Man you kicked the hornets nest bro. This thread is goingto go for a ride.

Lets say stick to his earlier videos. I don't want to say anything more about the later ones.

May Allah bless Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. ameen.

[emuffette]

Man you kicked the hornets nest bro. This thread is goingto go for a ride.

Lets say stick to his earlier videos. I don't want to say anything more about the later ones.

May Allah bless Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. ameen.

lol, this is what people have been telling me but i wanna know why. Whats wrong with his new stuff? seems okay.

[Mumeseest]

lol, this is what people have been telling me but i wanna know why. Whats wrong with his new stuff? seems okay.

brother,

I think the best way to avoid any fitna, and if you do have some questions (or even reservation), you can always reach out and email the said person directly. I think you can get his email address from googling Zaytuna College.

Allahu A'lam.

[Indessasp]

The same accusation could be levelled at a number of scholars who have changed styles in talk etc within the last 10 years. dont know why Shaykh Hamza comes in for more criticism. Naming names is not the point so I wont but a number of scholars having links with the Indian subcontinent have changed.........yet we don't level the same accusations at them.

oh no, what we say is mashallah, the guy is using hikmah, yet for shaykh hamza.......

[paulaglober]

The same accusation could be levelled at a number of scholars who have changed styles in talk etc within the last 10 years. dont know why Shaykh Hamza comes in for more criticism. Naming names is not the point so I wont but a number of scholars having links with the Indian subcontinent have changed.........yet we don't level the same accusations at them.

oh no, what we say is mashallah, the guy is using hikmah, yet for shaykh hamza.......

The reason about Shaykh Hamza Yusuf being more of a target is because of his popularity. Still, it should not discredit the fact that he has been saying and promoting some things that are controversial and sometimes contrary to widely held opinions.

@brother tommyharacho:

There isn't a necessity to show a point by point refutation of Shaykh Hamza Yusuf since it invariably leads to arguments and closure of threads. Know that he has his supporters and his detractors and both have valid points.

[sigrekatonov]

Lets say stick to his earlier videos. I don't want to say anything more about the later ones.

May Allah bless Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. ameen.

It's interesting how much his old and new videos contrast. If you go on YouTube for example there is an 'old' lecture where he is giving advice on how not shaking a woman's hand can be a form of dawah.

[paydayuscf]

It's interesting how much his old and new videos contrast. If you go on YouTube for example there is an 'old' lecture where he is giving advice on how not shaking a woman's hand can be a form of dawah.

a person can't change his opinion?

[averkif]

still nobody has said anything about him on this thread to make me believe that he is a danger to my imaan or that he is a deviant. yes ye goes in suit & tie at times but once upon a time all islamic clothes were kufr clothing & today some kuffaar still wear lungis & kurtas.

[Arrocousa]

This guys lectures, the earlier and later ones, is one reason, probably a major reason i am muslim today.
To all those who say he is not making valid points i wonder why they are shy to point the non-valid points out yet still have a dig at him ?
Thats like asking "Do you beat your wife" ?
Youve already made your intention clear, by stating your opinion.
Not a single opinion of his seen as wrong in the Thousands of Hours of lectures hes given ? But still people say the man is not Islamic enough ?
I think it reveals more about the person who criticises Mr Yusuf, than Mr Yusuf himself, may God bless him.
Let say the guy made a 100 mistakes. He probably told a million truths in that time too.
When youve put in the hours he has, then you can criticise him, other than that you are just a fool.

[Filmania]

This guys lectures, the earlier and later ones, is one reason, probably a major reason i am muslim today.
To all those who say he is not making valid points i wonder why they are shy to point the non-valid points out yet still have a dig at him ?
Thats like asking "Do you beat your wife" ?
Youve already made your intention clear, by stating your opinion.
Not a single opinion of his seen as wrong in the Thousands of Hours of lectures hes given ? But still people say the man is not Islamic enough ?
I think it reveals more about the person who criticises Mr Yusuf, than Mr Yusuf himself, may God bless him.
Let say the guy made a 100 mistakes. He probably told a million truths in that time too.
When youve put in the hours he has, then you can criticise him, other than that you are just a fool.

This is problematic reasoning. A person can make one mistake that can override all the good he has done.

Shaykh Hamza has done a lot of good but he is not without fault - as in publicly displayed faults. He has said controversial things before and has committed mistakes. That is why you're not going to find many people here who are going to outright lambast Shaykh Hamza. It is just that there are better scholars out there who may or may not be as well spoken and popular as he is and who may or may not have committed as many mistakes in both speech and action publicly.

@brother SASLAMS:

You can get an idea about Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and problems people have with him by doing a search of the forum. I don't wish to unearth and revisit the faults he has. No one has for a second (at least to my knowledge) faulted him for wearing Western clothing, even though it can be seen as a minor fault. The fault lies in things he has said (and this is not in regards to Tasawwuf, but general beliefs), things he has commented on where he does not have the right to comment as he is not a Mufti, and actions he has publicly committed that can be used to exempt people who are lax in their following of the deen from feeling guilty.

[career-builder]

i agree to what brother amr123 said...people: lets not be partisans : p

[bs44MhUW]

This is problematic reasoning. A person can make one mistake that can override all the good he has done.

Shaykh Hamza has done a lot of good but he is not without fault - as in publicly displayed faults. He has said controversial things before and has committed mistakes. That is why you're not going to find many people here who are going to outright lambast Shaykh Hamza. It is just that there are better scholars out there who may or may not be as well spoken and popular as he is and who may or may not have committed as many mistakes in both speech and action publicly.

@brother SASLAMS:

You can get an idea about Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and problems people have with him by doing a search of the forum. I don't wish to unearth and revisit the faults he has. No one has for a second (at least to my knowledge) faulted him for wearing Western clothing, even though it can be seen as a minor fault. The fault lies in things he has said (and this is not in regards to Tasawwuf, but general beliefs), things he has commented on where he does not have the right to comment as he is not a Mufti, and actions he has publicly committed that can be used to exempt people who are lax in their following of the deen from feeling guilty.

You wrote 236 words about him, and a grand total of 5 were positive (has done a lot of good).

Like i said, reveals more about the person ciritcising than Mr Yusuf himself, may God bless him and keep him safe.

That is why you're not going to find many people here who are going to outright lambast Shaykh Hamza Speaking of faulty reasoning - You didnt explain why ? You just said "That is why" in a non-sequitor fashion. The reasoning you gave was to WHY THEY SHOULD LAMBAST, not why many shouldnt lambast ?

It is just that there are better scholars out there who may or may not be as well spoken and popular as he is and who may or may not have committed as many mistakes in both speech and action publicly. More faulty reasoning, BETTER imples he is LESS, by definition, not "may or may not", but it must be "may not" only if better is to hold ?

I don't wish to unearth and revisit the faults he has Lets throw some hypocricy into the mix as well, says you after alluding to over 200 words of faults out of a total of 236

[sposteTipsKage]

You wrote 236 words about him, and a grand total of 5 were positive (has done a lot of good).

Like i said, reveals more about the person ciritcising than Mr Yusuf himself, may God bless him and keep him safe.

The thread is titled, "Why should one not listen to Sheikh Hamza Yusuf?" So, it isn't about praising him or insulting him, but to give reason why he is not to be followed 100%. His lectures have some good in them, they have some bad in them.

You can remain blind to the criticisms directed at him but then don't expect to find nothing mentioned in a thread that specifically asks for criticisms about him. Aameen to the du'aa.

[VitaliyMurnov]

The thread is titled, "Why should one not listen to Sheikh Hamza Yusuf?" So, it isn't about praising him or insulting him, but to give reason why he is not to be followed 100%. His lectures have some good in them, they have some bad in them.

You can remain blind to the criticisms directed at him but then don't expect to find nothing mentioned in a thread that specifically asks for criticisms about him. Aameen to the du'aa.

example of the bad mayebe.

[pimbertiemoft]

no one has really answered my question

why shouldn't i listen to him?

[parurorges]

example of the bad mayebe.

Yes, some examples would be helpful because I too keep hearing 'he's changed', which is very vague.

You seem like a reasonable brother (abdulwahhab) so please try and provide some examples, since you have commented on the thread. You can point to other threads if you think they contain valid criticism, but I don't want to this myself as I don't know which of them are valid or invalid criticism.

[HarryMet]

reminds me of a part of a lecture given by Mr Yusuf when he remarked about the title of a book written by one of the greatest muslims scholars of the 11th and 12th Century

The book was titled

"A reminder to the IDIOT who curses ibn Arabi"

[Loonakind]

no one has really answered my question

why shouldn't i listen to him?

Lol, bro, dont worry. Just keep watching his videos, you got nothing to worry about. Seriously.

[Qrhzbadu]

Please look up issues relating to the niqab and touching the ghayr mahram. He is on record saying that he is "opposed" to the niqab, which is not a valid position of any madhhab. This became known when France banned the niqab. What was the purpose for bringing up his personal opinion at that time when he is trying to show that France is wrong and that this is a marginalization of Muslims? If we are asked to defend Muslims on some topic, we don't start by saying we are opposed to what these Muslims are doing, especially when it is an issue of Fiqh and our opinion is something that isn't found in Shari'ah. For the latter issue, there are videos available.

He has taken relatively progressive positions in fiqh and sometimes even verbalized similar liberal ideas when talking about aqeedah, such as during his interviews after 9/11 with the Western press. His later lectures appear to be yielding to the West at the expense of Muslims. He may be playing it safe or play it cunningly in an effort to make Islam more appealing to non-Muslims, but this ends up confusing a lot of Muslims. Another example was his appearance in Oxford, where he suddenly started to bring up extreme minority opinions just to make Islam appear less rigid (for example, the issue about women leading men in prayer). That may or may not be his opinion but it gives a regular Muslim the idea that such a thing is permissible. Also, there is almost always a call for self-blame or blaming the "terrorists" or blaming the ulama or blaming Muslims in general. He has for example called for Muslim nations to give up their arms. Islam is not anti-war because sometimes, war is necessary and it is a great jihaad to fight in the way of Allah .

One of the key differentiating features between the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah is our taqleed to one of the four madhahib - the level of this taqleed varies, but generally, people stick to the majority opinion of a madhhab. To introduce extreme minority opinions as valid or even to mention them without qualifying their validity or to adopt them and display said adoption publicly - all these things are more in tune with those who have problems with taqleed. Traditionalism is that we stick to the majority. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Zaytuna Institute claim to be traditional and they are but some of the positions they take are anything but traditional, which causes a lot of confusion.

So, he does have good lectures and he does have lectures that leave you scratching your head.