The 1970s singer-songwriter formerly known as Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam and renounced his life as a musician, is to lead a series of spiritual reflections for the BBC during Ramadan.
He changed his name to Yusuf Islam in 1977, 10 years after the release of his debut album, Matthew and Son. Among his most successful hits were Peace Train, Morning Has Broken, Father and Son, and Wild World.
His conversion to Islam came after he almost died from tuberculosis in 1969 and in a near-drowning in the sea in California in 1976.
After a long period reflecting on spirituality and faith, he gave up his music career, auctioned all his guitars for charity and devoted himself to running Islamic schools for children.
In 2006 he released a new album under the name of Yusuf, and his most recent album, A Laughing Apple, appeared in 2017 under the name Yusuf/Cat Stevens.
In the BBC reflections, he reads from the Qur’an and other holy texts and performs his own songs.
In the first 10-minute reflection, to be broadcast on Friday, he says: “Humans, as far as we know, are the only earthly creatures who have to live with the knowledge of their own mortality. Now, for anyone with a mind, it’s hard not to question the reason for this, or to contemplate what might be beyond the final wall we must all climb one day.”
In the second talk, he promises to discuss “how near-death came to wake me up and begin my journey in search of meaning”.
The BBC is broadcasting a series of reflections and talks during Ramadan at 5.50am on Fridays on 14 local radio stations, which are also available on BBC Sounds.
