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From: Brother Shoaib
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 1:23 PM
Subject: Youth…. to Life Youth…. to Life
The youth enjoy a
very special status in Islam. Whenever the youth are mentioned, one recalls the
turning points in the history of Islam and how they played their distinguished
roles that were taken as examples for others in later ages. Many of the
Prophet’s Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) played major roles in
reshaping the face of life in their respective communities. They were the
epitome of trust, honor, gentleness, bravery, and kindness. `Ali ibn Abu Talib,
for example, was the first young man to accept Islam and from the moment he
embraced the new religion he was fully committed to its teachings. He slept in
the Prophet’s bed on the night of the Hijrah when the people of Makkah
surrounded the Prophet’s house plotting to kill him. The Prophet also entrusted
`Ali to deliver the deposits he had been entrusted with back to their owners and
`Ali carried out the task successfully. Nowadays, we are
really in need of youth who are both active and proactive in life. Young Muslim
people should never be idle or an added burden on their family’s budget or on
their society. We have to interact and make good relations with all the people
around us. Our time is very precious simply because it is our age. Islam
considers it a shameful sin for a young person to refrain from being a vital
tool in life. In more than one Prophetic hadith, the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) stated that a Muslim will be asked on the Day of Judgment
about his youth and how he spent it. Thus, it is a big responsibility and each
of us should shoulder it with feelings of ambition. The Prophet of
Islam was really a unique example in being active in his community. For such
activity and truthfulness, he was known among his people as As-Sadiq al-Amin or
the truthful and honest. He loved work and he himself worked in rearing and
keeping sheep for Khadijah who really admired his honesty to the extent that she
herself proposed marriage to him. Not only Prophet
Muhammad, but also Prophet Joseph was heavily tested in his morals but he
declined to submit to base desires. Our role as youth
is to become active in the life around us and strive to make real changes
by: 1. Refraining from
vices in all their forms, and replacing our bad habits with good ones. 2. Epitomizing the
good shining examples of the early generations of Muslims as well as the active
roles of Allah's prophets in their respective communities. 3. Managing our
faculties as young people and making real changes by joining hands with all
useful interactive projects in our local communities.
4. Understanding
Islam in its wider concept, and making use of its rich literature concerning
youth. 5. Recharging our
spiritual batteries and reevaluating our approaches to life. 6. Being a
comprehensive source of guidance in all life affairs to the best of our
abilities. 7. Mastering
worldly knowledge, and keeping up-to-date with sophisticated technologies.
8. Offering a
helping hand to those in need, and being a source of comfort, not only to human
beings but also to animals as well as all the kinds of nature around us. 9. Ascribing our
personal achievements to the impacts Islam left on us, and showing others the
real traits of the pious Muslims. 10. Feeling that
we are part and parcel of the world we are living in, and avoiding ivory tower
notions. With these and
many other tips, I think we will leave an indelible mark upon the face of this
earth, and at the same time we will be better managing our resources as young
people in a peaceful and more interactive way. **El-Sayed M. Amin is a Shar`i Researcher at IslamOnline. He graduated from Al-Azhar University’s faculty of Languages and Translation, Islamic Studies in English. Mr. Amin is currently studying for an M.A in Islamic Creed at the same faculty. He is also working as a TA in the same faculty. You can reach him at [EMAIL PROTECTED]. http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/volunteers/2005/03/09.shtml *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links
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