INTRODUCTION

The youth is our future. We have heard this often and yet what attempts are we making
either individually or collectively to ensure that our youth are prepared and well equipped
to face the challenges of today and the unknown future of tomorrow. Today’s world of
techno-wizardry and technological advances have ushered in a brave new world which
the youth have embraced with relish while the older people have regarded with
trepidation. The world is changing …very fast. Today’s era is unlike any other in the
history of mankind. There have been major advances in various fields while on the other
hand there have been major devastations & wars . While some parts of the world are
swimming in opulent luxury , the majority of the world ‘s population are sinking in the
depths of poverty, misery, warfare , illiteracy , malnutrition , starvation and death. The
focus is on material gain and technological advances – yet this is happening at the
expense of morality , ethics , spirituality and humanity. What example are we setting for
our youth ? What legacy are we leaving behind for them ? What values are we instilling
in them – are these values based on man-made concept of success or are these values
based on the Quran & the Sunnah ? Are today’s societies and communities based on
ethics , morality and respect for law & order or are societies evolving into lawlessness ,
immorality & degradation. If so , what is the solution to turn the tide towards
righteousness. This short essay examines some of these questions and examines the role
of the Quran & Sunnah in guiding our youth to the Straight Path .

PROPHET (SAW) : THE PERFECT MODEL

It was on the 27th night of Ramadaan , in the year 611A.D. , that the stillness of the night
in the coolness of the Cave of Hira , was pierced with the command “Iqra!”. S96 (Surah
Iqra , also known as Surah Alaq) is the very first Surah revealed to the Holy Prophet
Mohamed (SAW). This revelation ushered in the beginning of a series of revelations that
lasted 23 years , during which time the whole of Arabia and its people were totally
transformed . The most significant transformation was the end of the Period of Jahiliya-
ignorance . The whole of Arabia , nay the entire humanity , was in a period of darkness &
ignorance that were breeding grounds for superstition , idol-worship , oppression ,
discrimination , immorality & abuse. The Prophet (SAW) brought the light of
knowledge through the Quran and through his glorious example. These two sources have
remained beacons of light & guidance for humanity for the past 1400 years and will
continue to inspire , motivate and transform people for all ages until the Last Day. During
his entire life , the Prophet (SAW) laid great emphasis on the importance of acquiring
various forms of knowledge as is shown in the following few examples.

S96V1-5 (Surah Iqra ,also known as Surah Alaq = clot of congealed blood)

Proclaim (or Read) ! In the name of thy Lord & Cherisher,

Who Created –

Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood :

Read ! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-

He Who taught (the use of) the Pen,-

Taught man that which he knew not.

The word “Iqra” has a double meaning . It means “read” and it also means “proclaim.”
Furthermore , the very fact that the very first word of the very first revelation is “Iqra” is
very significant. It ensures that it remains in the memory of muslims –ie it is easy for
people to remember the first verse ; but to remember the 5th or 10th verse is not so easy.
The significance for muslims (and all humanity) is that knowledge is light ; during any
period of Jahiliya & ignorance , it is only knowledge that can bring people out of
darkness. Furthermore , before one can ‘proclaim’ or spread the message , it logically
follows that the proclaimer of the message must first ‘read” – ie it is our duty to first
acquire the knowledge (ie read) and then spread the knowledge (ie proclaim). The
Prophet (SAW) also warned about a period when ignorance will prevail :

Sahih Bukhari Hadith Narrated by Anas (RA)

Allah’s Apostle (SAW) said :” From amoung the portents of the Hour are the following :

(1) religious knowledge will be taken away (by the death of religious men)

(2) ignorance will prevail

To avert the above and to show the importance of seeking knowledge and spreading
knowledge , the Prophet (SAW) urged his followers to spread knowledge as much as
possible :

Sahih Bukhari Hadith Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr (RA)

The Prophet (SAW) said : “ Convey my teachings to the people even if it were a single
sentence”
The Prophet (SAW) also enjoined his followers to ‘seek knowledge even if you have to
travel to China” and “knowledge is the lost property of the believer”. The Quran
challenges the reader to ponder :

S39V9 (Surah Zumar) :….”Say “are those equal , those who know and those who do
not know?”

And furthermore , we are encouraged to ask Allah’s (SWT) help in seeking knowledge :

S20V114 (Surah Ta-Ha) :”O Allah ! Increase me in knowledge”.

Hence , the importance of acquiring knowledge and spreading knowledge is indisputable.

Muslims throughout the ages have been motivated & inspired by the numerous verses in
the Quran and by the advice of the Prophet (SAW). The early Muslims thus heralded the
Golden Age of Islam.

EARLY MUSLIM’S SUCCESSES THROUGH KNOWLEDGE : in brief

The Quran & Sunnah inspired thousands of scholars to branch out in various fields and in
far corners of the world in search of knowledge as well as in spreading the knowledge , in
keeping with the concept of “Iqra.” They did this with enthusiasm and became world
class experts in various fields such as Medicine , Science , Astronomy , Mathematics &
sea-voyages. As a result of this , the Muslims became the Superpower of the world for
more than 800 years. They were world leaders in military & technology and science . Yet
they neither abused the power that they acquired , nor did they hold on to this knowledge
selfishly . Instead , they used this knowledge for the upliftment of humanity and also
shared this knowledge with others. Arabic became the international language of the
world in the same way that English , today, is the international language . Modern
Universities and institutes of learning together with huge libraries , were established in
Cordova, Spain & in Iraq (Baghdad). These institutions gave birth to thousands of
students and scholars in various fields of endeavours . Non-Muslim students from the
West , specifically learnt Arabic so that they could attend these Muslim Universities ,
which had the status of the “Harvard’s” , “Cambridge’s” & “Oxfords” of today. Many of
these Western students went back to their homelands and plagiarized the Muslim
discoveries and cloaked them as personal discoveries. Hence , we find that Sir William
Harvey had been credited with the discovery of the blood circulation in 1615, while in
fact , the Muslims knew about this 300 years previously. Another example is the
discovery of America. History books inform us that Columbus discovered America while
in fact , America was discovered by the Spanish & West African (Morroco) Muslims 500
years prior to Columbus’s voyage. Interestingly , Columbus documented in his journal
that as he approached the shores of America , he noticed several minarets of Mosques.
Two of the Captains of his fleet of ships were in fact Muslim navigators who already had
detailed cartographic information on the route to traverse across the great Atlantic Ocean
to reach the far distant land of America. There are however , some Non-Muslim writers
who acknowledge the important role played by the Muslims :

Bertrand Russel : “The brilliant civilization of Islam flourished from India to Spain
while the rest of Western Europe was still in the dark ages”
Napoleon Bonaparte : “ I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the
wise & educated men of all the countries & establish a uniform regime based on the
principles of the Quran which alone are true & which alone can lead men to happiness”

Sir George Bernard Shaw : “If any religion had the chance of ruling over England &
Europe , it would be Islam”

The above achievements of the Early Muslims during the Golden Age of Islam , clearly
indicate that the Muslims are the intellectual forbearers of the West. Western civilization
owes a debt of gratitude to the Muslims , far greater than it can ever imagine. Just as the
world benefited from the Islamic Intellectual revolution, so too is the world hungry today
for a spiritual revolution and a return to ethics, morality & good conduct.

DISTRACTIONS

There are 3 major sources of distractions that prevent our youth from acquiring
knowledge. These 3 sources are prevalent on a local level as well as on a global level :

(a) entertainment

(b) War

(c) Poverty
Today’s youth are influenced by many more entertaining distractions that were not
available 1-2 decades ago. The youth of today has to divide his/her time between
television , video’s, cinema’s, shopping malls, cars, fashion trends, cell phones, dating ,
Video-Games , Internet and interactive TV. There is ‘so much to do , so little time.” Life
becomes a treadmill and there simply isn’t the time to study or read or acquire knowledge
. Hence , the youth of today is very ‘techno-savvy” –very knowledgeable regarding
modern technology , but is actually illiterate when it comes to knowledge about the Deen
or about morality , ethics, character & spirituality. This is the modern version of the age
of Jahiliya – a new age of ignorance – ignorance about the Deen. War in communities
usually occurs between leaders or prominent personalities in the community over
difference in interpretation of Fiqh or Shariah or on optional matters. These differences
split the community and the youth (& new reverts ) become confused by all the fuss
because the ‘leaders’ themselves are not good role models.

On a global level , these 3 forms of distraction have the following effects :

(a) entertainment

The Roman’s devised a clever scheme to keep the masses happy and not ask any
questions : they had various gladiators fighting the lions in the amphitheatres of ancient
Rome , and they termed this “sports”. By keeping the masses occupied by this
entertainment , the ruling elite had control over the people and their thinking. The modern
day version of these Roman Games are the various World sporting events , where
hundreds of thousands of people attend games at stadiums while millions more are glued
to their television . In addition , there are various other game shows, musical programs,
quiz shows, lotteries and a whole buffet of seemingly endless choices of entertainment.
The result is that few people bother about world affairs or politics or justice or the truth.
A classic example of this phenomenon was aptly demonstrated with the recent World
Cup Soccer in Korea – while the world’s attention has been focused on soccer , Israel has
continued carrying out various incursions & brutal atrocities in Palestine ..this has been
with the public support of the US government ; yet the world has been too busy watching
soccer (“Roman Games” – keep the masses occupied) to even utter protest about the
ongoing genocide. The consequence of this brainwashing is clearly evident. When you
hear our muslim youth talking , they will tell you the minutest detail about the latest
soccer match, the names of all the players , their history etc. Yet , this same muslim youth
will not be able to tell you about what is going on in Palestine or in other areas of the
Muslim world . Why not ? Are they not our brothers & sisters who are suffering ?
Hence , the youth has followed the command of “Iqra” in sports & entertainment but not
in Deen or issues affecting the Ummah.

(b) Warfare

Many areas of the world are gripped in wars that have been inflicted upon them. Recent
examples include the devastation in Afghanistan , ongoing sorties in Iraq , war in
Chechnya, Bosnia , Palestine and various other parts of the world. Carpet bombing
destroys entire villages including schools , hospitals , factories and homes. These
institutions of learning are totally destroyed and the muslim youth therefore grow up
without having access to basic education. Many countries that have been devastated by
war , do not recover immediately but remain in a state of underdevelopment for decades .
Warfare which is being inflicted throughout the world , & the current phobia against ‘war
on terrorists” is causing massive devastation in muslim countries and is affecting the
literacy level of our youth.

(C) Poverty
Various parts of the world are in the grips of poverty. There are many muslim nations &
countries who are also similarly affected . Some examples include Afghanistan , Palestine
, Indonesia . Pakistan, India, Kashmir, Chechnya, Bosnia, Malawi, Sudan , Ethiopia and
various parts of Africa. Everyday becomes a battle for survival. There is no opportunity
to gain an education because of the abject poverty levels of these people. The starvation
modes of living leads to malnutrition & disease which stunts the intellectual and physical
growth of these children .

(D) Various

(i)In Palestine , the border posts & security checkpoints make it extremely difficult for
the students to reach their school. It can typically take a few hours for a child to go to a
school which would normally take 20 –30 minutes in a free country. In addition , many
school hours are interrupted by indiscriminate tear-gas firing at schools . A bomb
explosion in a schools playground recently martyred several children and injured scores
of others . The journey to and from school is an exercise in survival and terror.

(ii)In Turkey , girls wearing Hijab are denied entry into the school yards . yet they will
persevere and stand outside the school gates in bitterly cold winter , crying when riot
police would come and teargas them. Yet , they will return the next day . Contrast these
examples with the relative ‘luxury’ that our students and scholars have with regard to
access to education & yet we do not appreciate what we have – we often take life for
granted without pausing to think and ponder..
(iii) In some Muslim countries , scholars have been imprisoned , tortured or assassinated
for speaking out for the truth ; in addition , many Mimbars are muzzled and the Imam has
to get approval for his speech beforehand . Alternatively , a prepared speech will be given
to the Imam for the Jumam Khutbah. If Islam commands us to read & proclaim the truth ,
what example are we setting for our youth when leaders go to great lengths to keep the
masses uninformed & uneducated.

EDUCATING OUR YOUTH

Knowledge is light. The Quran & Sunnah removed the darkness of the world in the days
of Jahiliya . Knowledge is enlightenment . The greatest threat to governments and
oppressive regimes is a free thinking mind that asks difficult & uncomfortable questions.
We have to train our youth to be leaders and to develop thinking skills on a foundation of
sound knowledge. There will always be periods in humanity or in various societies where
ignorance will prevail ; it is then the duty & responsibility of a few individuals to stand
up and seek knowledge and then share this knowledge with everyone :

S14V1 (Surah Ibrahim): “ A Book which We have revealed unto thee , in order that thou
mightest lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into light…”

Learning is everyone’s birthright . We need to inculcate the love for learning in our
young & old, in male and female , in rich and poor , in black & white , in employer and
employee . This love for learning should be entrenched from an early age and should
continue throughout life. Matric is not the end of learning , but it is simply the beginning
– school should not be viewed as a burden , but rather a joy , privilege , opportunity and a
great blessing . Youth is an age of many distractions and temptations and these energies
have to be channeled in the right direction :

S30V54 :” Allah is He who created you of weakness , then He appointed after weakness
strength, then after strength He appointed weakness and grey hair”

The above verse clearly highlights the age of strength ,namely , the youth. Mankind is at
its peak , intellectually and physically , during the age of youth . These energies have to
be harnessed otherwise we will be left with a ‘lost generation” ; in the youth of today lies
our destiny . Depending on what values we instill in our children today , the future of our
community and society will either be a dismal failure or a resounding success. We need
to encourage our children to pursue their studies & be world class in their efforts and
regain the Golden Age of Islam and the Muslims. Nuclear families of today are having an
impact on the lost values of the community . In extended families , the parents &
grandparents transmit moral, ethical values , respect and good manners to the children. In
contrast , todays youth are trained by the 24 hour babysitter , namely the Television and
they learn their manners & language from the TV.

ACTION PLAN & WAY FORWARD

(1) Inculcate a love for learning in all fields of endeavour

(2) Knowledge should be utilized for the benefit of mankind

(3) Fight procrastination and avoid the comfort zone thinking of “I’ll start
tomorrow”

(4) Share knowledge

(5) Revive the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) ; start with basics such as “Assalamu-
alaikum wr wb” ; every Friday Khutbah should end with a simple Sunnah that the
Mussallees , especially the youth , can implement in their life

(6) Knowledge can be acquired through reading , educational video’s, audio-

cassettes , attending lectures & seminars and through the internet

(7) When attending any lecture , make it an active process and try and remember
some points , even if it is one single lesson . When you go home after the lecture ,
discuss the contents of that lecture with your family over supper so that all can
benefit from that knowledge ;

(8) Transform the knowledge into action – ie do something with the knowledge that
you have gained

(9) Encourage our youth to learn the Quran & Sunnah and to be inspired by these
timeless teachings and lessons
 (10) Encourage our youth to emulate the example of the Holy Prophet (SAW)
; the logical way to emulate someone is to study that persons life – hence , our
youth should be encouraged to learn & study about the glorious life of the Holy
Prophet Mohamed (SAW)

(11) “Iqra” should be a term frequently used in every home & communities

(12) Community leaders should invest financially (and by other means ) in all
educational institutions , be they Islamic Schools , Libraries , Universities ,
Training schools, Adult Literacy Classes , Arabic learning , and other learning
centers for the betterment & upliftment of every member of the community

CONCLUSION

Education is the best gift that a parent can give to his/her child. Our youth is our
future . Each and everyone of us has the responsibility to ensure that the community
that we live in , looks after its youth and inculcates in them the love for knowledge ,
development of sound character & sound values , enjoining the good & forbidding the
wrong , looking after the widow and the orphan and be sterling examples of the
strength & vigour of youth. Distractions are many. Fashions are forever changing.
But the one steady , consistent , rock solid , timeless Message , is the Message of the
Quran & the Sunnah. By holding firm to the Message , mankind will always find the
Straight Path. The greatest disservice we do to the Qur’an is to keep it in velvet
chambers on our shelves and regard it as an ‘ancient text.” The Qur’an is timeless – it
 is prevalent for all time : it is in fact the Book of the Future , the most modern text
with a universal message for all humanity for all time to come. The Golden Age of
Islam can be rejuvenated again . Islam can once again be the moral force that leads
mankind out of degradation and despair into hope and contentment by its
transformational Eternal Message. There is only one pre-condition for this :

Verily, never will Allah (SWT) change a condition of a people unless they change it
themselves , with their souls.

May Allah (SWT) Guide us and our youth to the Straight Path . Ameen!

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