YOUTH IN ISLÃM

INTRODUCTION:

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful. May the rain of Allah continue to descend upon our baronial Prophet Muhammad [P.B.U.H]. It is a tremendous opportunity and blessing to be among the Ummah of our beloved Prophet [P.B.U.H]. Indeed, youths in Islãm are integral part of the development of the Ummah.

THE YOUTH

Dear learned readers, when we are to discuss (shaping of Islamic ethics of leadership), the role of the youths can never be overlooked and overemphasised. In any Islamic and Non-Islamic State, youths have remained the backbone and the benchmark of such country. They are crucial to the extent of determining the progress or downfall of a country. This will depend on how they were being bred from the background. Above all, they are loved by Allah if they show piety in contributing to the development of the Ummah. The below is an Hadith to underscores the topic of our discussion..

في الحديث، عن النبي الصلى الله عليه وسلّم، قال:"إنّ الله يحبّ الشّباب الذي يُفني شبابه في طاعة الله" “

As reported in the Hadith of the Prophet [S.A.W], he said: "Allah loves a youth who exhausts his youthfulness on the commands of Allah."

Learned readers, from the above Hadith, it could be deduced that exhaustion of one's youth age covers shaping (Islamic Ethics of Leadership). Shaping it also part of Allah's command. This is evidenced in Qur'an 3 Verse 104:

“وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُون”

 And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.

The below are some significant roles to be played by the youths in shaping (Islamic Ethics of Leadership):

ROLES:

Seeking useful knowledge and avoiding any knowledge that contradicts the precepts and the teachings of Islam.

These youths should feel the aura of (self belonging) to the Muslim community.

Their role should focus more on competitive strength that determines the future rather than just having degrees and qualifications.

There should be an academic institution that plays their roles in achieving islamization to prepare new generations to be qualified for propagating Islam.

With an unwavering faith, spreading the teachings of Islam by first having a clear vision and understanding their roles as stated by the Problem [S.A.W] in his Ahadeeth (traditions).

In essence, what will be the clause to explain the intent or the theme in this article is the poetic line of Hafidh Ibroheem (Ashawky). In his poem titled: "Behavior & knowledge," he said:

                                                                               "الأم مدرسة فإن أعددتها شعباً، أعددت طَيّبَ الأعراق”

Translation: "Mother is a school that if well raised, then you have raised people of a good race."

Learned readers, if we are to achieve the expected roles to be played in propagating the ethics of Islam amongst the youths, there's a need to examine the above poetic line and examine it.

 The below principle of Shari'ah as used by the scholars is to show that having  a good youths propagating the teachings of Islam is as compulsory as having a good and educated parent to breed such responsible youths.

                                                                                                   "ما لا يُتَمُ الوَاجِبُ إلا به فهو وَاجبٌ"

Meaning: "Whatever will be used in fulfilling a compulsory act is also compulsory."

Having good youths who will propagate and leave a good legacy behind is as compulsory as having a good nation that will breed such kind of promising youths. So, this good nation in question is the source of having productive youths in this Ummah. This nation starts from everybody's respective family. 

But it is narrowed down to "Mother." If I say a mother, the good ones are being referred to. These "good mother" are the breeders of  promising youths in Islãm. In the absence of these good mothers, we should know that there wouldn't be any productive youths. In the light of this, here is an evidence of a verse in the Holy Qur'an. Also, it will lead us to briefly explain how these good mothers had been the brain behind the development of vast knowledge we are benefitting from till date.

In Qur'an 7 verse 58, Allah says:

                            “والبلد الطيّب يخرج نباته بإذن ربّه، والذي خبث لا يخرج إلا نكدا، كذالك نصرف الأيٰت لقوم يشكرون “

"As for the good land, vegetation comes forth in abundance by the command of its Lord, whereas from the bad land, only poor vegetation comes forth."

Let's take a look that at a laconic note on how the below great scholars had been able to leave a spectacular legacy behind.

Imãm Ahmad Bn Hambali.

 Imãm Bukhari.

Imãm Mãlik.

Hafsoh Bint Sireen.

Imãm Ahmad Bn Hambali

He was great Scholar born toward the end of second century. He able to source tremendous knowledge through his mother, (Sofiyyah Bint Abdul Malik). This actually make him to feel the taste of having knowledge and be ready to seek for more. In one of his quotations, he said: "When I reached 16years of age, my mother told me: Go and search for the knowledge of Hadith. Because, the journey to acquire the knowledge of Hadith is a (jihad) for the sake of Allah, The One.

This was how his mother filled his heart with the love of Knowledge and became productive since his youth days by producing numerous numbers of scholarly student if which Imãm Bukhari was.

Imãm Bukhari: 

His name was Muhammad Bn Ismãeel. He grew up in Baghdad. His father died at his tender age and lost his sight when he was three. As a devoted woman, his mother did not only played a significant role in preparing her for knowledge but prayed vehemently for the restoration of his sight which Allah answered to. While traveling to Makkah, she practically motivated him to stay and learn from the Circle of Scholars. Because , Makkah was a Centre of Islamic University where scholars of different fields came to discuss. 

Imãm Mãlik

Imãm Mãlik bn Anas, one of the Four Juristic schools, he was born in Madinah. His life as a youth had a great contributions to the legacy of Islam. On this, her mother, Ãliyah Bint Shareek bn Abdul Rahman Al Asdiyyah, could not be excluded. She motivated her son to memorize Qur'an and he achieved it. She sent him to the Circle of Scholars to learn. She wore him a fine attire and tied turban around his head. Then, she said: " Go out and write."

Hafsoh Bint Sireen

          During Pre-Islamic era, her mother, Sofiyyah Bint Sireen, was a slave of Abubakr [R.A]. She acquired some knowledge from his master and his wife, Aisha, after her husband's death. With this knowledge, she became a pious woman of vast knowledge. She trained her children on this basis that all of them became pious scholars: Muhammad bn Sireen, Yahyah, Kareemah, and Hafsoh, the youngest. She was the most pious and of vast knowledge amongst them all, sourced from the knowledge their scholarly passed down to them. Achieving this, she played a significant role in shaping the lives of people in Basroh by disseminating knowledge. She organised Halaqat ((Sittings of Knowledge) where people asked her questions from different aspects of knowledge.

One scholarly man, Iya's bn Mua'wiyyah said:

"I did not meet anyone whom I prefer over Hafsoh (in terms of piety and knowledge dissemination)."

Overall, Hafsah bint Sireen was a highly respected figure in Islamic history, known for her knowledge, piety, and dedication to preserving the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for the benefits of the futute generations. Her contributions to Hadith literature have had a lasting impact on Islamic scholarship and continue to be studied and revered by scholars and students of Islam till date.

 In conclusion, it is when these youths are well bred that we can be anticipating POSITIVE roles to be played by them in building and shaping a good Islamic society.