Agenda to Change our Condition

First published in 1999, this expanded edition provides clear and effective guidance for rectifying our state as conscientious and productive Muslims. With an emphasis ontaqwa (God-consciousness) andikhlas (sincerity):Agenda To Change Our Condition is an indispensable handbook for all Muslims striving for excellence in character and self-refinement.
Topics covered include:

• Taqwa: Its Definition and Its Benefits
• The Heart and Its Treatment
• Practical Steps to Change Our Condition
• A series of exercises for achieving Taqwa as well as three new appendices.

In this updated for 2008 new edition ofAgenda to Change Our Condition , Shaykh Hamza Yusuf chalks out a program for all Muslims who want to rectify their current state of apathy and heedlessness of Allah's commands. The book includes sections such as: "Practical Steps to Change Our Condition," "Taqwa: Its Definition and its Benefits," "The Heart and Its Treatment (by Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-`Arabi)," and ending with a culminating series of exercises on how to attaintaqwa .

Our hope is that you take this manual seriously. It is rooted in the Quran, thesunnah , and the example of our pious predecessors. We hope that you will commit to implementing it to the best of your ability, that you find a group of brothers or sisters, whichever the case may be, and work together: 'A believer is given strength through his brother,' according to the Prophetic tradition. Finally, the way out of the spider's web in which we are all trapped that has been woven by the master weavers of deception:nafs (lower self), shaytan,hawa (whim), and dunya (base world), is at the end of the chapter in the Qur'an entitledThe Spider : 'And those who struggle in Our way, we guide them to Our paths.

Verily Allah is with those who perform acts of excellence and beauty.' ... This path is indeed arduous, and it would appear to one looking at it that to arrive is too difficult for most of us. Let us set out first and then see how long we can last. A Divine wind will blow on your back, your feet will become light, and wondrous fellow wayfarers will show up with sustenance just when you thought you had none. Our success is by Allah, upon Him we place our trust, and to Him we return."-- Hamza Yusuf, Foreword, Agenda to Change Our Condition. About The Author Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (born 1960) is an American Muslim scholar, and is co-founder of Zaytuna College. He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.

He is an advisor to the Centre for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He also serves as a member of the board of advisors of George Russell's One Nation, a national philanthropic initiative that promotes pluralism and inclusion in America. In addition, he serves as vice-president for the Global Centre for Guidance and Renewal, which was founded and is currently presided over by Abdallah bin Bayyah.

He is one of the signatories ofA Common Word Between Us and You , an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom reported that "Hamza Yusuf is arguably the west's most influential Islamic scholar. "Similarly, The New Yorker magazine reported that Yusuf is "perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western world."

Imam Zaid Shakir is a Muslim American scholar, public speaker, and author who is a co-founder with Hamza Yusuf and Hatem Bazian, chairman of the board, and a senior faculty member of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California. He teaches courses on Arabic, law, history, and Islamic spirituality.

He is co-founder and chairman of United For Change since 2009. This effort through modern discourse, is to create awareness of the broadest and most consuming topics within the Muslim and interfaith community. The aim is to leverage the diversity through cooperation and goodwill and address the obstacles that have proven to be divisive.

The Chronicle of Higher Education stated, “Embodying an American story if ever there was one including proverbial bootstraps, military service, political activism, and deep religious commitment, Zaid Shakir’s message of social justice in the face of poverty and racism he has known firsthand makes him endlessly and, it often seems, effortlessly relevant. He is as approachable a man as I’ve ever met.” He is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.