When the Stars Prostrated: Meditations on Surat Yusuf

Imam Mohammad Elshinawy is an Egyptian-American Islamic scholar, lecturer, and Senior Fellow at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, where he leads a substantial body of research and translation work on the Qur'an, the Prophetic biography, and the rational and historical foundations of Islamic faith. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, he memorized the Qur'an in his youth and pursued his formal Islamic education in Egypt, completing his Bachelor's degree in Islamic Studies in English at the Islamic American University and his Master's degree in Islamic Studies at the European Institute of Islamic Sciences. He has studied directly with a range of traditional scholars in Egypt and elsewhere, with particular attention to tafsir, hadith, and the classical sciences of creed.

At Yaqeen, Elshinawy has authored and co-authored major research publications including the multi-part Why Should I Believe in Muhammad ﷺ? series, Why Should I Believe in the Quran? series, and shorter papers on the historicity of the Qur'an, Prophetic miracles, and answers to contemporary skeptical objections. He also serves as a translator and editor on the Yaqeen tafsir project. His video and podcast output — including the Qur'an 30 for 30 Ramadan series, regular YouTube lectures, and weekly Friday sermons — has placed him among the most listened-to English-speaking Islamic teachers of his generation.

Elshinawy's distinctive contribution is bringing the resources of traditional Islamic scholarship into direct engagement with contemporary doubt, atheism, and Orientalist critique — translating high-level rational and historical apologetics into language accessible to ordinary readers and viewers. He continues to teach, lecture, and publish from his base in the United States.

Rania Abusinaineh is an emerging American Muslim writer and editor whose work centers on contemplative engagement with the Qur’an and emotional healing through Islamic spirituality. Her writing is marked by poetic clarity, thematic depth, and sincerity. She represents a growing wave of Muslim women contributing to English-language Islamic literature with nuance and introspection, focusing on spiritual intimacy and emotional resonance.