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An important speech by Amr Khaled, the Egyptian
Islamic scholar and inviter to Islam
----- Original Message -----
From: sharmin
islam
Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2005 12:39 PM
Subject: To the Muslim Youth By Amr Khaled ** (Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.) (Ar-Ra`d 13:11) Baghdadthis beautiful city on Tigris Riverthe historical capital for the Islamic state and for the world, where Muslims ruled the world for hundreds of years, is now occupied. Baghdad, the center of culture and sciences, where Christians and Jews lived safely and peacefully, enjoying freedom to practice their religion for hundreds of years. Baghdad, this cherished Muslim city, was invaded in the past by the Mongols, who degraded all ethics and all values of humanity, slaying women and children, and violating sacred places. Nowadays, time repeats itself and the same bloody scene is being played on the same stage. Do you know, Muslim youth, that the sanctity of the Muslim blood outweighs the sanctity of the Ka`bah? What will be our argument before Allah Almighty when He asks us about our slackness in helping these oppressed people? Do you know that we will be questioned about the effort we did for our religion and our Ummah? Indeed, what we are suffering from today is not just the crisis in Iraq, but also the crisis of the past 100 years, through which the Muslim Ummah fell prey to many ailments, especially the following: 1. Distance from Allah and abandonment of the divine laws 2. Scientific and technological backwardness 3. Moral and behavioral decline 4. Blind imitation of bad examples 5. Division and disunity, and preferring personal interests to the interests of the Ummah 6. Misunderstanding of Islam and wrong application of its teachings As a result, our Ummah lost its consciousness, lost its awareness of its goals, interests, and identity. This, of course, encouraged enemies to think low of us and made Muslims feel disappointment and despair as well as confusion and impotence. This bitter reality will not change unless we realize and make use of the law of change: (Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.) (Ar-Ra`d 13:11) No change or recovery can be expected unless we ourselves embark upon the process of changing our affairs. This law of change is not an empty slogan. Actually, it is the only way to get out of the dilemma we are undergoing. Now, the question is, what are the aspects that should be changed? The following ten points answer this question: 1. Repentance must replace sin. 2. Obedience must replace negligence. 3. Seriousness, manliness, and high resolve must replace slackness, laziness, and carelessness. 4. Desire for scientific achievement and creativity must replace narrow thinking and limited vision. 5. Positivism must replace negativity. 6. Patriotism to the Ummah must replace blind following of the West. 7. Useful and productive work must replace emptiness and wasted time in trivial matters. 8. A complete comprehensive understanding of Islam must replace mistaken or partial knowledge. 9. Preference of the Ummah must replace individuality and selfishness. 10. Hope must replace despair. Whenever the question what to do? occurs to you, remember these ten points. Change them, and then you can expect Allahs victory. Islam has started with youth in your age, and you, the Muslim youth, are the most capable of bringing about this change. Just exert your effort to make these changes within yourselves and within your societies, then rest assured that Allah will never let you down, and that success will be yours because the law of change will then, and only then, be in your favor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Excerpted with some modifications from:http://english.islamway.com/ ** Amr Khaled is an Egyptian da`iyah who hosts the popular series Sunaa Al-Hayah (Life Makers) on Iqra satellite channel. He is the founder and chairman of Right Start Foundation International, based in the United Kingdom. He is presently studying for his doctorate at Wales University, UK, with the thesis title "Islam and Co-Existing with Others."Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger Download today it's FREE! *************************************************************************** {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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