Ramadan Mubarak & JezakumAllahuKhairun Yusuf

[Whisper]

I know that many people felt sad about Yusuf having left the music scene so many years ago. I had not thought to write a post to Yusuf Islam before, but today this Ramadan morning I am inspired to do so to say thankyou.
Many Americans every year enjoy the benefits of inspirational yuletide music. Imagine a Christmas without the inspirational songs that people share each year. It would seem kind of bleak to many without such tunes as 'Come All Ye Faithful' , 'O Little Town of Bethleham' and so on. You hear these songs piped in while pushing your basket through the grocery isle, in the elevator & everywhere. Many people find it very uplifting to their faith.
For a long time we English speaking Muslims had no songs to sing along with during Ramadan or any other time. All the songs were in other languages . We as English speakers were left out as were our children if they were also English speakers. We had for many years little in the way of anything audio or video to use to teach our children with or just to enjoy. It was pretty bland and bleak for us English speakers. I think this must have been brother Yusuf's main concern after he had his own children. I can remember when my children were tiny I wrote poetry to sing to them during Ramadan because there just wasn't anything in English. ( It must have been a nightmare for my children )
Anyway brother Yusuf has actually been a mover and a shaker in the fact that because of his care, concern and efforts, things are finally getting done. We now have some inspirational songs in English for our children. He has inspired other Muslim singers, musicians to do the same. The world for English speaking Muslims and their families is a little brighter thanks to his efforts.
So while I enjoyed his 'Cat' stuff, his Yusuf stuff has been invaluable to me and my children.I know many have felt Yusuf has been in hibernation ....I say he was making tremors everywhere and shaking everyone up. He is in his own right a pioneer of sorts
I end each night with the Quran cd's brother Yusuf did so beautifully that are in both Arabic and English. That sure makes Ramadan a lot nicer for me.
I doubt Yusuf ever reads this stuff, but I wanna say thanks anyway, and Ramadan Mubarak to Yusuf and his wife and family.

[DiddleMingyAdams]

That's a beautiful and thoughtful post, sharon.
Friday i went to my daughters (catholic) school to speak to her classmates about Islam and more specifically ramadan. my daughter asked me to bring the mini cd, so that she could play the beginning bits where yusuf tells the story of how the prophet, pbuh, received the revelation of the qu'ran. as it played, i watched her mouthing the words..each and every one. she listens to all of yusufs cds, zains, dawuds, raihans and quatrunada with the enthusiasm of any child listening to a top forty album. she is completely taken by zain bhikahs son and listens to his bit on the mini cd over and over and over again. She also likes to listen to the children singing 't'ala al badra alayna' (sp? sorry) and she said to me,' i like when yusuf sings it to, but when the kids sing it, it seems more familiar to me'.
she then showed them how she prays with me, and she told them she learned how to pray with yusuf islams praying tapes .
i teach my daughter all i can about islam, but when i converted i was very torn about forcing anything on any of my children; i honestly have to say that the nasheeds my daughter listens to along with me have helped tremendously in her gaining knowledge and love of Islam, MashaAllah. What i noticed the most about the talk we had at her school, was how proud she was to put on her headscarf and show them how muslims pray. ('we' do different things when 'we' pray, she said, but we pray to God for the very same things.... the 'we' really touched me.
so again, you are so right about the doors that yusuf has been opening all along. During the concert i was really struck by the fact that he did 'all that' for the love of one little girl, his first born. His faith has taken him far, and he has brought a good number of people along with him. The school is absolutely wonderful; everything you would want your child to know and learn.. i was thoroughly impressed with it and with the children, who were so polite (even the two little boys outside the headmasters office

well i don't mean to ramble, but i really liked your post sharon, because what he has done with the school, and with his music is at least as important as what he does with his charities... because he is spreading the word of Islam and helping both parents and children grow into the people who will inshaAllah continue his good efforts in a continuous chain of good deeds....
that is really a blessing.
Ramadan mubarak to yusuf, his wife, his children, and the people who share in his vision.
colleen

[SoulOfTheRose]

Wow...beautiful posts Sharon and Colleen Yes indeedy, Yusuf's music opened up a whole type of music for me and it's beautiful music. Still of all the things he's done, I find Yusuf's Adhan (call to prayer) to be the most beautiful of all, and I copy his "style" of adhan before each prayer I do. Very soothing...

Jazakallah Khairun brother....


Kun,
Sakinah

[Aisha]

Before Yusuf started making his Islamic music all my kid has was really awful music for Muslim kids. Neither of my girls would listen to it. But they love Yusuf's work. It says a lot.

Love,
C

[hummingbird]

What a lovely post Whisper.

Even as a non-muslim I enjoy Yusuf's new recordings. In fact, at times I have a preferance to them over Cat Stevens -- perhaps because they are newer and fresher to my ear. Plus they just leave me feeling good

I couldn't agree more re: Yusuf's contribution to this new "genre" (of sorts). He really is breaking ground, and who better than him to do it. At the NoR show, I got the sense that he really enjoys this style of music tremendously. Plus he's SO good at it! In other words, singing and performing without guitars, keyboards and such is NO compromise or concession on his part. If I held any small hidden hope of him going back to a more popular/commercial form of music, NoR banished that thought. He's using his talent in an interesting and challenging way and and there's ceraintly a lot of ground that can be covered and subject matter to be explored within these parameters. Case in point, Our World by Zain Bikha. One of the most beautifully touching songs I've heard in any genre in a long time.

-jen.

[hummingbird]

I should add...I "forced" my husband who has no interest in CS/YI (and is sometimes baffled with my interest) to listen to the Ramadan CD. He really didn't want to bother with it, but as soon as it started playing he got very quiet (a rare occurance). When it was over the first thing he said was "Wow...this is really well done" He also said something to the effect, that it's great that he (Yusuf) is trying to send out these kind of messages. That made me feel good ... ummmm, why I have no idea -- it just did!

-jen.

[Whisper]

Colleen I really liked hearing about your experience with your daughter. It's very touching. You know I did discover that many people even in the middle east were not exposed to very many nasheeds until the 70's. In the 70's many began to understand the importance of having inspirational nasheeds for their young.

Jen I think you should have had a career writing because you write beautifully. You know Jen I literally sob every time I listen to Zain Bhika because his songs touch me in such a personal way. I'm very pleasantly surprised to hear that you and your husband enjoy the new stuff. It truly is pretty if you just listen without comparing it to something else.
I remember the first time I heard Tala’a al-Badru ‘Alayna. My husband was sitting in the livingroom singing it and teaching it to my small children. I went in and sat down and enjoyed the moment they were sharing and the song even though I had no idea what the words meant. My husband would sing this song often with my children and I and we learned all the words in Arabic. Then one day a couple of years later he came home with a tape 'The Life of the Last Prophet'. We were all sitting around listening to it and then we were surprised when we suddenly heard Yusuf's very beautiful rendition of Tala’a al-Badru ‘Alayna. My kids squeeled with delight and said " Dad he is singing your song!" So along with beginning a new genre of music he is merging two worlds- east and west and sharing beautiful aspects of both languages. My reaction to experiencing the lyrics to Tala’a al-Badru ‘Alayna in my own language for the first time was just to sob. I found the words so lovely and had waited a long time to hear them in my own language.

[hummingbird]

Hey, thanks Whisper . Actually, writing is a huge part of my career; although it's technical in nature. Consequently, I often feel out of my element with the more fluid conversational writing on the message boards.

I also chuckled to my myself at the thread regarding limiting post length to 300 words or less. Yikes! I'd be hard pressed to produce even 100 words on any given topic.

-jen.