Calling All Readers!
The First Command Book Club


What’s Included

Enjoy these benefits as a member of the 12000 Strong community.

  • Book selections by President Hamza Yusuf

  • Reading guide for each book

  • Interactive livestream sessions

  • Zaytuna Bookstore discount

  • Access to all recordings of teaching sessions

  • Online community with fellow readers

Reading Updates

Check here for updates on your reading journey.

  • Catch up on recordings from Year 1 of the Book Club

  • Attend the next live sessions in Ramadan on Sunday, April 2 and Friday, April 14 at 5:30 pm PDT

About Zaytuna College

At Zaytuna College, we strive to revive the liberal arts tradition that was foundational for both the Western and the Islamic civilizations. The liberal arts include the qualitative arts, known as the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric), and the quantitative arts, known as the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, harmonics, and astronomy). These seven arts comprise the core of a holistic educational experience that prepares the mind for any worthy endeavor. We aim to restore these lost tools of learning and prepare intellectually and morally grounded lifelong learners who are oriented to truth, goodness, and beauty.  

Why a Book Club? 

The first revealed verse and God’s first command to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was to read: “Read! In the name of your Lord....” The Prophet ﷺ built the first Muslim community with circles of knowledge, where God’s sacred text was studied and memorized. His commitment to literacy was further exemplified when he freed prisoners who taught ten Muslims to read. This legacy of learning continued for centuries, as eager Muslims risked their lives on arduous journeys to sit with notable scholars from around the world. The Islamic civilization established some of the most elaborate and prolific libraries, with several still preserved to this day. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  is reported to have said, “Wisdom is the lost property of the believer. Wherever he finds it, he is most deserving of it.” In realizing God’s first command and the unrelenting pursuit of knowledge, Muslim scholars studied texts from many traditions, including the Greco-Roman. Today, this precedent is more important than ever. Reviving a holistic intellectual literacy allows the community to engage in civil discourse, cultivate virtue, and promote empathy. To that end, the First Command Book Club has carefully selected books that, God willing, will stimulate the mind and soften the heart, bringing us closer to realizing the universal truths established by our Creator. 

Learn More.

Hear from our Members

“I want to thank Shaykh Hamza and the entire book club staff for this blessed opportunity. I can't express in words how healing and beneficial these sessions are for me. Though I cannot attend the live sessions, the recordings have tremendously helped me. Thank you for all your efforts.”

Anonymous Member

“I think the initiative of the book club is so fantastic. It is, and always will be, a dream to study at Zaytuna, and having a book club with Shaykh Hamza feels like a part of that dream is coming true.  Allah bless you all for the amazing work and elegant online platform.”

Shabbir

“My husband and I have benefitted enormously from our participation in the First Command Book Club. We find the live sessions very engaging and insightful, and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf to be a great guide on this journey. ”

Alia & David

Stay Updated

Zaytuna College News, Events, and Initiatives

Any Questions?

If you have questions, please take a look at our FAQs.

Need more information? Email us, and we will get back to you.
https://bookclub.zaytuna.edu/
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