A Is For Allah by Yusuf Islam

Album: A Is For Allah (1980)

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Songfacts®:

When Cat Stevens converted to Islam and adopted the name Yusuf Islam in 1977, he was determined to give up his musical career as he felt he needed to dedicate himself to study of his new religion and avoid the secular aspects of the music business. However the birth of Yusuf's first child, a daughter named Hasanah, prompted a return to songwriting. He explained to Uncut: "I wrote a song in 1980 called 'A is For Allah.' I sang it to my first-born and then, when I was going around, a lot of people wanted me to give a talk and then they'd want me to sing something. I wouldn't have a guitar, so I'd just sing this song a cappella and it was recorded on people's cassettes."

"It was probably one of the biggest hits of the Muslim world back in the '80s. Almost every family had it. From there I realized, these kids need music, they need something. So I started writing songs for children and we've had one of the most popular CDs in the Muslim world called I Look, I See."

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