(Almarhum) Ustadh Usama Canon

Born and raised in California, Ustadh Usama Canon embraced Islam in 1996. Since then, he has had the honor of studying various Islamic Sciences both at home and abroad under some of today’s foremost scholars in America, Morocco, Egypt and Yemen. During the last decade, Ustadh Usama served as the Outreach Director and an Arabic Instructor at Zaytuna Institute, as well as a Muslim Chaplain for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Ustadh Usama was the Founding Director of Ta’leef Collective, a community based non-profit focused on assisting converts to Islam and creating healthy social and sacred spaces. He was also a spiritual advisor to the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), visiting Chicago monthly in this capacity. In addition to speaking in various communities throughout the United States, Ustadh Usama led workshops and retreats worldwide. His professional interests include contemporary issues and solutions related to the American Muslim experience, as well as the development of support systems for ex-offenders.
Ustadh Usama Canon was among the most dynamic Muslim speakers in the West who is founded on a deep understanding and scholarship of Islam through the love of The Word of Allah and His Beloved Prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam. His firm understanding of the context of living in today’s world with varying challenges makes him one of the most lucid commentators and advisors to the global citizen, informed by the Principles of Mercy and Wisdom advocated by Islam.
In 2017, Sidi Usama Canon was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative terminal illness. He returned to His Lord on 7th September 2021 in the city of Saints, Fez, Morocco, surrounded by his family and close friends. He left behind his wife, Sharifah Firdaus Al-Alawi, and his five children: Muhammad, Abdullah, Kawthar, Nuhayla, and Aminah.
Read a special tribute [click here] to Sidi Usama Canon by the eminent scholar of Islam, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.