34 Facts About Sami Yusuf

Sami Yusuf has sold over 34 million albums as of 2016.

Besides English, Yusuf has performed in Arabic, Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Persian, Turkish, Punjabi, and Urdu, sometimes in the same work, as was the case with his hit Hasbi Rabbi.

Sami Yusuf's work is marked by blending different musical styles and genres, including elements from Sufi, folk, and Rock music.

Sami Yusuf used his multilingual and multi-instrumentalist style to address social, spiritual, and humanitarian issues.

In recognition of his philanthropy, in 2014, Sami Yusuf was appointed United Nations Global Ambassador for the World Food Programme.

Sami Yusuf was born on 21 July 1980 in Tehran to Azerbaijani parents.

Sami Yusuf's grandparents are from Baku, Azerbaijan, from which they left for Iran when it was captured by the Bolsheviks following World War I Yusuf and his parents later arrived in Ealing, West London, in the early 1980s, after the Islamic Revolution in Iran.

From an early age, Sami Yusuf showed great interest in music.

Sami Yusuf was influenced by the wide range of musical genres available to him in Ealing, immersing himself especially in Western classical music and Middle Eastern music.

Sami Yusuf learned the piano and violin as well as traditional instruments including the oud, setar, and tonbak.

At the age of 16, Sami Yusuf experienced a spiritual revival that made him become a "more committed Muslim".

Sami Yusuf studied music as a composition student at the prestigious Royal Academy, as well as at Salford University in north-west England.

Sami Yusuf garnered increased worldwide recognition following the release of his second album, My Ummah, in 2005.

Sami Yusuf left Awakening Records following a controversy over Without You, an album that he claimed was released without his knowledge or consent.

The album includes the song "Hear Your Call," composed by Sami Yusuf to call attention to the situation of people who are affected by natural disasters.

Sami Yusuf said it is his musical response to the increasing chaos and noise of today's world, and his wish is that these music and lyrics offer a window onto an inner oasis of peace and harmony.

In 2018, Yusuf released his new EP, SAMi, as a side project that grew out of his desire to explore his British musical roots.

The song collection, with its accessible sounds and direct lyricism, finds Sami Yusuf's exploring the western sounds emanating from his childhood growing up in London.

SAMi has sold well and topped a number of iTunes charts since its release, and Yusuf says he is grateful and somewhat surprised that he wasn't criticised for the commercial nature of the project.

Sami Yusuf performed in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2019 with nine new songs exploring Azerbaijani culture and all instruments except for the piano being Azerbaijani.

In November 2020, Sami Yusuf gave an online concert from his studio at home.

Sami Yusuf performed his singles "Al Faqir" and "The 99 Names", released in May 2018 and May 2020 respectively.

Sami Yusuf has said that he plans to release a new album by the name of Ecstasy.

Sami Yusuf performed in Azerbaijan for the first time in 2006, for the second time in 2015, and 22 March 2017 in Heydar Aliyev Palace in Baku, 250,000 people attended his performance in Taksim Square in Istanbul to see Yusuf perform in 2013.

Sami Yusuf has played across four continents, packing venues such as Wembley Arena in London, Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and The Velodrome in Cape Town, South Africa.

Sami Yusuf performed in Dubai for the first time in December 2016.

Sami Yusuf premiered the song "Glorification", inspired by the poetry of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Since early in his professional career, Sami Yusuf has participated in humanitarian initiatives by performing benefit concerts, releasing charity singles, and acting on behalf of organisations to relieve suffering and poverty.

Sami Yusuf spoke of his background as "diverse" and cited this as evidence for his "tendency to bring people together".

Sami Yusuf's wife is of German origin and had converted to Islam before she met Yusuf.

In 2009, Sami Yusuf was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in recognition of his "extraordinary contributions to the field of music" by Roehampton University, London.

Widely regarded as the highest profile Muslim musician in the UK, Sami Yusuf has appeared each year since 2010 on the list of the "World's 500 Most Influential Muslims".

In 2016, Sami Yusuf received a Recognition Award for his contributions to promoting the message of peace and tolerance as part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum World Peace Initiative.

In 2019, Sami Yusuf received an honorary diploma from the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan for his contributions to promote Azerbaijani music and culture.