Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, currently lives in the U.S.A, and has been in the Islamic Banking and Finance scene for a long time.
Presently he is Chief Shariah Officer and Board Member at Shariah Capital.
Shaykh Yusuf is a well-known and respected Shariah advisor and Islamic scholar whose career spans more than 30 years. Based in the Washington, DC area, he serves as a Shariah advisor to over 20 global financial entities, including index providers, banks, mutual funds, real estate funds, leasing funds, institutional investors, home finance providers, alternative asset managers and others.
Shaykh Yusuf is the author of “A Compendium of Legal Opinions on the Operations of Islamic Banks”, the first English reference on the fatawa issued by Shariah boards. His three-volume publication has become the standard reference for Islamic financial institutions. In addition, Shaykh Yusuf wrote the introduction to “Islamic Bonds”, the 2003 book that introduced Sukuk and transformed the world’s Islamic capital markets. His written work has appeared in journals and newsletters and as chapters in books, including Euromoney’s “Islamic Asset Management”, “Islamic Retail Finance and Islamic Finance: Innovation & Growth”. His entries on the terminology of Islamic Finance appear in The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.
Shaykh Yusuf is also a special consultant, appointed by the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah to the International Financial Services Board (“IFSB”) on the subject of Sukuk. IFSB is the international standard-setting body of regulatory and supervisory agencies that have a vested interest in ensuring the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry, broadly defined to include banking, capital markets and insurance.
Shaykh Yusuf has served as a judge in Islamic product reviews and has been a keynote speaker at numerous Islamic conferences. He has been interviewed by and quoted in the Financial Times, The New York Times, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Banker Middle East, Islamic Business & Finance and other publications.
Past assignments include
- Former Advisor on Islamic Affairs to the Government of Pakistan.
- Member of the Shari`ah Supervisory Boards of Islamic financial institutions worldwide, including the Dow Jones Islamic Markets.
- Lead Professor at the Dow Jones University for the course The Principles of Islamic Investing. The course is developed by a team including Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani of Pakistan (and Deputy Director of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Fiqh Academy in Jeddah, Dr. Mohamed Al Gari of Saudi Arabia, and of Dow Jones.
DeLorenzo's works are many, and include:
Quranic Studies
- Unpublished critical edition and annotation, in Arabic, of Abu Bakr al Jassas? Ahkam al Qur?an. I have also written an introduction to this work in Arabic, and have begun translating it into English.
- Also translated Rashid Rida?s, al Wahy al Muhammadi as The Muhammadan Revelation, (Virginia: Al-Sadawi Publications, 1996).
Hadith Studies
- Imam Bukhari's Book of Muslim Morals and Manners
An Arabic-English edition, with commentary, of Imam Bukhari's "Al Adab Al Mufrad". For students of hadith literature, or the Arabic language, this little-known classic is an ideal companion. Serious students will want to be sure to read the introduction in which a number of significant questions are discussed; including the relationship between the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the "authenticity" and ranking of hadiths both in general and in this particular work, the reasons for Imam Bukhari's writing this book, the question of whether all the hadith in the collection are sahih, and something about the life and works of the Great Imam. (Beirut: Al-Sadawi Publications, 1997). - Also published, in Arabic, a Study of Weak and Spurious Hadiths in the Mu`jam al Safar by al Hafiz Abu Tahir al Silafi in the Arabic Journal of the Islamic Research Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan, Fall, 1997.
- Unpublished work includes a translation, from the original Urdu, on tasawwuf-based Hadith commentary by Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi entitled, A Sufi Study of Hadith.
Islamic Banking
- A Compendium of Legal Opinions on the Operations of Islamic Banks
The first systematic academic translation in English of fatawa issued by Shari`ah advisory boards on the operations of Islamic Banks. Published by the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, London, 1996.
A unique subject-wise collection of all pertinent Fatwas (legal opinions) directly relating to, and concerning, Islamic banking and related issues, translated from, and published along with, the original Arabic versions, a scholarly introduction, and a comprehensive subject index.
You can also read a full review.
Fiqh and Usul
- Source Methodology in Islamic Law: Usul al Fiqh al Islami, English translation from the Arabic of Dr. Taha Jabir al Alwani, (Herndon: The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1991; revised edition published in 1994).
- The Essential Hanafi Handbook of Fiqh, English translation from the Persian of Qadi Thana Allah of Paniput (d. 1810) on the basics of Islamic law. (Karachi: Majlis al Da`wah, 1978); reprinted by Kazi Publications, Chicago, 1986). 3rd ed., revised, (Leicester, UK: Islamic Academy, upcoming in 1997).
- Book Chapter: ?The Role of the Fiqh Councilor in North America,? to be published in Muslims on the Americanization Path, eds. Yvonne Haddad and John Esposito (New York: Oxford University Press, Jan. 1998).
Translation
- Remembrance and Prayer: The Way of the Prophet Muhammad
Translation of "Fann Al Dhikr wa Al Du'a" by the late Muhammad Al-Ghazzali. "This book could be described as a short excursion into one of the many pathways in the awesomely vast territory that is the life of the Prophet of Islam, upon him be peace, the way of dhikr and du'a." - Muhammad Al-Ghazzali - Crisis in the Muslim Mind
Translation of Azmat Al-Aql Al Muslim by Abdulhamid Abusulayman. - Published over twenty five translations of books and articles on Islamic Studies from Arabic, Urdu and Persian.
- Also translated a historical novel from Urdu entitled, The Forbidden Caste, by Nasim Hijazi, which remains in search of a publisher.
Related Information
- A personal web site, listing Sheikh Yusuf's qualifications and works has been launched recently. You can check it at Yusuf.Delorenzo.com
- Sheikh Yusuf Talal has also been featured in many media articles (check our Media Coverage section for details. One interesting article appeared in Jewish Week. Here is the full text of the article reproduced with permission.