Muslim Lifestyle

Usaama al-Azami

Issue 57 June 2009

Usaama al-Azami, 24, from Manchester is one committed young man. He begins his six year PhD on Islamic Thought at Princeton University in the U.S. this September. With a BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Oxford University, Usaama has learnt extensively from Tariq Ramadan, Mohammad Akram Nadwi and Yahya Michot. He has studied in France, Saudi Arabia and Syria where he attended lessons in Hanafi fiqh (law) and tafsir (commentary) with Shaykh Muhammad Yaqoubi, and has been given ijazas (licenses to narrate). Usaama is far from being lost in translation: he is involved in several Arabic-English projects. Whilst awaiting to publish a translation on Ibn Taymiyya for an academic journal, he is currently working on books about Islamic etiquette, the ijaza system, and a classical Arabic dictionary. “I’m very passionate about Islamic Studies. I pulled out of Imperial College where I was due to start Medicine and completely changed my direction.” With aspirations for himself and others to fill the intellectual void in his chosen field, Usaama’s new direction will take him towards glittering success, insha-Allah.

By Musa Ali