Understanding the Muslim Youth

by AbuSharmin

The youth of today are excellent in their secular knowledge. They have achieved much in terms of education, sports and socializing. They think broadly and have found new platforms of interaction such as Facebook, YouTube, etc. All these platforms emerged in the last 5 years or so. Inadvertently, these interactions have exposed our Muslim youth to globalization esp. westernization.

Instead of applying western methods to promote Islamic concepts, the youth of today have taken western concepts and methods per se. Take for example, the applications in mobile phones. Very few download Quran apps like uQuran that would help them recite Quran on the bus or in the comfort of their rooms. They do not use Google maps to identify the nearest masjid for congregational prayers. They do not say Assalamualaikum in their SMS messages. Very few use the YouTube to listen to Islamic lectures. Youth are wasting their young years in idle chats, attempts to meet and impress the opposite sex, fashionable clothes that expose their awrah and finding comfort in things that make them look 'cool' in the eyes of their peers.

It is our duty and responsibility to educate the youth in Islamic moral behaviour. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) placed utmost importance in educating the youth. In an article on youth education, Dr Seyfullah Kara points out 4 methods Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) used in the education of the youth.

1. Addressing the emotions of the young people

2. Avoiding embarrassing young people

3. Being tolerant and gentle towards young people

4. Attracting their attention by asking questions

We hardly take note of the emotions of the youth. We usually take a disciplinarian role in the education of the youth. We fail to understand why they are behaving in such manner. How many of us have sat with youth and listened to them? Most of the time, we are only interested in telling them what to do and even how and when to do. We hardly ask what they would like to do or how they would like to proceed..

There have been cases of elders admonishing youth with tattoos when they come to the masjid for prayers. Result? Such youth have stopped coming to masjids. In worst case scenarios, they have converted to other religions which are willing to accept them. Have we not heard of a Hadith where the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) accepted a man into the folds of Islam even when he conditioned that he will not stop drinking alcohol or womanizing? By listening to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) words and advice, that man became a good Muslim in time. Have you ever heard of the Prophet (peace be upon him) using rude or harsh words when educating or correcting someone? Where is that patience in us today? We say we are emulating the Prophet (peace be upon him) as best as we can but we lack patience.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was gentle-mannered and he remained calm even in situations that made him angry. He (peace be upon him) did not rebuke or scold when educating the young. Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) served the Prophet (peace be upon him) for 10 years. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I served the Prophet (peace be upon him) for 10 years. He never once sighed in exasperation about me. He never scolded me for an action, saying "Why did you do this?" Morally, he was the most perfect of humans." (Al Tirmidhi)

See how tolerant and gentle the Prophet (peace be upon him) was. We, on the other hand, are quick to judge and admonish the behaviour of our young Muslims.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) attracted the attention of youth by asking questions. For example, when teaching Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) what to say when in difficulty the Prophet (peace be upon him) first asked him "O Ali! Shall I tell you what to say when you are in a difficult situation?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) then told him: "Say ‘Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, wala Hawla wala Quwatta Illa Billahi'l-Al'yyi'l-Azim' and this will prevent all troubles that might come to you."

In another example, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Do you know who will go first on the Day of Resurrection to the shade of Allah? Those who when given what is right accept it, when asked for something give freely and who judge in favour of others as they do for themselves." (Al-Tirmidhi)

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Shall I tell you who are the best among you? The best of you are those who when seen are a means of Allah being brought to mind." (Al-Tirmidhi)

See how gentle the Prophet (peace be upon him) was in giving advice. How do we give advice? "Hey don't do that." "Why in the world are you doing this?" "Are you insane? What are you doing?" In worst case scenarios, "Hey Shaitan, why are you like this?" Are we emulating the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the education of our youth? Can we blame globalization or westernization as the sole cause of our youth's waywardness?

Our Muslim youth are looking for a listening ear, proper guidance and answers. As a first step in engaging the youth, are we prepared to listen to them?

Source: AbuSharmin (http://abusharmin.blogspot.com)

Not losing hope in the Dua’s that we make

One of the common complaints of many of us Muslims is that when we make Dua, we don’t see its immediate effects. As a result, we get disheartened and lose hope in the effectiveness and powers of our Dua. The post below highlights a passage written by Ibn Al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) where he discusses this topic.


For those of us who don’t know, Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi (508 AH – 597 AH) is known to be one of the most prolific authors in Islamic history. According to a research conducted on the extent of his research works, the number of Ibn al-Jawzi’s books is more than 376 texts. Some even say that he is the author of more than 700 works.

About the matter of Dua’s not being answered. Ibn al-Jawzi in one of his books commented the following:

"I think part of the test is when a believer supplicates and receives no response, and he repeats the dua for a long time and sees no sign of a response. He should realize that this is a test and needs patience.

What a person experiences of waswaas (whispers from shaytan) when the response is delayed is a sickness which needs medicine – I have experienced this myself. A calamity befell me and I supplicated and did not see any response, and Iblees started to lay his traps. Sometimes he said: The generosity (of Allah) is abundant and He is not miserly, so why is there a delay?

I said to him: Be gone, O cursed one, for I have no need of anyone to argue my case and I do not want you as a supporter!

Then I told myself: Beware of going along with his whispers, for if there was no other reason for the delay except that Allah is testing you to see whether you will fight the enemy, that is sufficient wisdom.

My soul (nafs) said: How could you explain the delay in the response of Allah to your prayers for relief from this calamity?

I said: It is proven with evidence that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the Sovereign, and the Sovereign may withhold or give, so there is no point in objecting to Him.

The wisdom behind that is proven in definitive evidence. I may think that something is good, but wisdom does not dictate it, but the reason for that may be hidden, just as a doctor may do things that appear outwardly to be harmful, intending some good purpose thereby. Perhaps this is something of that nature.

There may be an interest to be served by delay, and haste may be harmful. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “A person will be fine so long as he does not become impatient and says, ‘I prayed but I did not receive any answer.’”

The response may be withheld because of some fault in you. Perhaps there was something dubious in what you ate or your heart was heedless at the time when you said the dua, or your punishment is being increased by means of your need being withheld, because of some sin from which you have not repented sincerely. So look for some of these reasons, so that you might achieve your aim.

You should examine the intention behind this request, because attaining it may lead to more sin, or prevent you from doing some good, so withholding it is better.

Perhaps losing what you have missed out on will cause you to turn to Allah and getting it will distract you from Him. This is obvious, based on the fact that were it not for this calamity you would not have turned to Him, because the real calamity is what distracts you from Him, but what makes you stand before Him is good for you and is in your best interests.

If you ponder these things you will focus on what is more beneficial for you, such as correcting a mistake or seeking forgiveness or standing before Allah and beseeching Him, and forget about what you have missed out on."


End quote. Source: Sayd al-Khaatir (59-60). (This publication is in three volumes containing aphorisms and wise counsels)

About the issue of Dua’s being accepted, the following two sayings by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are also very noteworthy:

It was narrated that Faddalah ibn ‘Ubayd said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) heard a man making dua after his prayer, but he did not send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “This man is in a hurry.” Then he called him and said to him or to someone else: “When any one of you has finished praying (and makes dua), let him start by praising Allah, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then after that let him ask for whatever he wants.” Al-Albani said: it is a saheeh hadeeth. (Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 2765.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The slave will receive a response so long as his dua does not involve sin or severing of family ties, and so long as he is not hasty.” It was said, “What does being hasty mean?” He said: “When he says, ‘I made dua and I made dua, and I have not seen any response,’ and he gets frustrated and stops making dua.” Narrated by al-Bukahari, 6340; Muslim, 2735.

— Finally, for those of us who have abandoned the practice of Dua, we may be missing something quite important. Wishing is not the same thing as making a Dua. We may keep wishing our wishes but we have a better chance of seeing them materialized when we actually make the effort to enter the state of Dua and asking Him what we want.


Source: http://www.iqrasense.com/islamic-topics/not-losing-hope-in-the-duas-that-we-make.html

Visiting a Shrine

Imam Ahmad Rida Khan
Translated by Abdul Naim Azizi

Question: When we visit a Wali’s shrine, how do we pray [the fatiha] there and what should be [further] recited in the prayer?

Answer:
To visit shrines of Awliya, go from the foot of the shrine and stand facing the head of the shrine at a distance of about six feet, and [then] greet them respectfully with a voice neither loud nor quiet, saying: ‘assalamu `alaykum ya Sayyidi wa- rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.’ Then recite durud ghawsiyya (Allahumma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammadin ma’dan al-judi wal karami wa `ala ahlihi wa-sahbihi wa-barik wa-sallim) thrice, al-hamd sharif once, Ayat al-Kursi once, Surat Ikhlas seven times and if there is enough time [left], recite Surat Mulk and Surat Ya Sin too.

And pray to Allah Ta`ala,

‘Oh Lord, Give as much reward for this recitation as is worthy to your Grace and not as much that is worthy of my action, and convey it to your favorite slave as an offering.’

After this du`a for your lawful [and] good desires, make the Wali sleeping in this shrine a means in the court of Allah Ta`ala. And then, after offering the greeting, return in the same way. Don’t touch the shrine or kiss it. Circumventing it is unanimously forbidden, and prostration is purely haram.

And Allah Ta`ala knows best!

Source: http://www.marifah.net

Is it haraam to urinate standing up?

Question:
What is the Shari ruling regarding standing while urinating?
There is a hot debate here regarding this. While some claim that it is permissible others claim it is haram. Their argument is that there is a hadith in which Aisha (ra) says that whoever tells you that the Prophet (pbuh) urinated while standing do not believe him. Please clarify the issue.
Praise be to Allaah.

Answer:
It is not haraam for a man to urinate standing up, but it is Sunnah for him to urinate sitting down, because ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “Whoever tells you that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to urinate standing up, do not believe him. He only ever used to urinate sitting down.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, al-Tahaarah, 12; he said, this is the most saheeh report on this topic.

And because this is more concealing, and it reduces the risk of any drops of urine splashing up onto him.

It was narrated from ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Umar and Zayd ibn Thaabit (may Allaah be pleased with them) that it is allowed to urinate standing up on the condition that there is no risk of drops of urine splashing onto one’s body or clothes, and that one does not expose one's ‘awrah,

Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated from Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to a garden belonging to some people, and urinated standing up.

There is no contradiction between this and the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), because it is possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did that because he was in a place where he was unable to sit down, or he did that to show the people that it is not haraam.

This does not contradict the basic principle mentioned by ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) urinated sitting down, because it is Sunnah, it is not something waajib (obligatory) which it is forbidden to go against.

And Allaah knows best.

Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/88 .