Yasin Sulaiman, a popular Malaysian singer and composer, first became famous as a member of the nasheed group Brothers in the late 90’s and in the 2000’s became a successful solo artist winning numerous prestigious awards for his songs.

Early Life and Education

Muhammad Yasin bin Sulaiman was born on the 30th of October in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur.

He went to school in Makkah, Saudi Arabia where he lived for almost 9 years and memorized 20 juz’ of the Qur’an from the ages of 5 to 13.

After high school, he left home for Nilam Puri, Kelantan to begin his matriculation course. He then continued his studies at University of Malaya where he and three other friends founded a nasheed group called Brothers, which became one of the most popular nasheed groups at the time. He later dropped out of the shariah degree program he was enrolled in to fully focus on his music career.

Career

With Brothers, Yasin released two albums titled “We Are…” in 1997 and “Satu Perjuangan” in 1998. “Teman Sejati” is their most well-known hit.

Yasin then left Brothers to pursue music as a solo artist. He released an album called “Mimpi Laila” with a song of the same name which won the overall title at Anugerah Juala Lagu in 2001. He also worked with Waheeda, Bienda and Siti Nurhaliza and composed music for them, starting a trend for world music in Malaysia.

He has also come out with three other solo albums: Salsabila, which won Best Ethnic Pop Album at Anugerah Industri Muzik in 2003, Arus Qudus in 2009 and Muzik in 2016.

He reunited with Brothers in 2005 when they released an album called “Brothers Reunited” and also in 2015 when they released another album together called “Sabar”.

Besides Brothers and his solo work, he has produced albums, performed, wrote songs, mentored new talents and collaborated with leading artists such as Too Phat, Amy Search and Faizal Tahir.

Here is a list of some of his works and achievements:

Sama Rasa (Zainal Abidin) 2002,

Lagu Rindu (Siti Nurhaliza) Most Popular Song Anugerah Planet Muzik 2003,

Alhamdulillah (360 Too Phat) Best English Album AIM 2004,

Wassini (Waheeda) Best Ethnic Song AJL 2004,

Cinta Hakiki (Mawi) 2005,

Yalla Beena (Rabbani) 2005,

Kau Tiada Ganti (Ella) 2005,

Berkobar-kobar (Vince) 2006,

Bertemu Ruas (Amok) 2007,

Gelora (Sharifah Aini) 2007,

You Came To Me (Sami Yusuf) 2011,

Berani (Faizal Tahir) 2013,

Takbir Cinta (Amy Search) 2013,

Syurga (Alyah) 2015, and

Lagu Bagan Datuk (M. Daud Kilau & Altimet) 2018.

TV programs & theme songs:

Mentor (TV3 season 3) (2005),

Trek Global (Astro) as TV Host (2007),

Ya Jameel International Islamic Fashion Festival, theme song 2007,

Akademi Nasyid (TV9) as music director (2008),

Dikir Zikir (TV Hijrah) as music director (2012),

Nur Kasih drama & movie, theme song (2009),

Al Hijrah TV theme song (2010).

In 2020, he worked with Neelofa and her team in producing recordings for a Muslim app called The Noor.

Lately, Yasin has primarily worked behind the scenes producing music and working in his studio with other artistes in the later part of his career. During the pandemic, he released a new single called “Vaksin Rindu”.

Family

Yasin’s father Dr Sulaiman Noordin, 82, is from Melaka. He was a university lecturer before he retired. Meanwhile Yasin’s mother Suzanah Abdullah, 73, is originally from Australia. Yasin is the third of seven siblings. His older siblings are Nora, 54, and Mohamed Zain, 50, and his younger siblings are Idris, 44, Hasnah, 40, Aminah, 36, and Marwan, 30. Yasin’s parents have 24 grandchildren.

Yasin was married to Sharifah Eena Houzyama Syed Mokhsain for 17 years from 2003 to 2020. They have two children Sameer, 18 and Malaika, 14.