A Muslim must know how to be serious

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to shed some light on the importance of “Seriousness”. Don’t under estimate your importance, because you are the meter by which the potential of our ummah (community) is measured. What does that mean? I’ll tell you. When sociologists what to predict which country will rise in the following few decades and which country will fall, they look at the youth, they study the condition of those who will be in charge of the country in the future. Let me give you an example of how this was applied.

The Muslims ruled Spain for 8 centuries during which they built a civilization that was superior to any other European country at that time. The Portuguese were always trying to end the Muslim presence in Spain but they knew that they could never confront them with military. So they sent their spies into Al-Andalusia to investigate the condition of the youth. When the reports came in describing how the Muslim youth used to compete in memorizing Quran and Hadith, or practicing Chemistry and reciting poetry, the sociologist would conclude that its impossible to drive them out of Spain as long as their youth were that serious about self-improvement. The centuries passed by until the time came when the spies would investigate the condition of our youth in Spain to find a young man weeping because his girlfriend left him. There was no longer interest in knowledge or anything fruitful. They were no longer serious about life. Then, and only then the Portuguese sociologists wrote their recommendations stating that the time was now suitable to root the Muslims out. We lived in Spain for 800 years, and we were driven out in 20 days!

Now take a look at us, the youth of the Muslim Ummah (community), do you think we are serious about self-improvement? Do we feel that we have a mission to
accomplish in this life? Do we feel that we have a message to convey? Are we serious enough to take the responsibility of this Ummah from those before us
and get it back up and running? How are Muslim students ranked in schools and universities? Are they serious about their education? How’s your younger
brother doing? Does he ever get up from in front of those video games? I’m not trying to depress you; there truly is an awakening amongst the youth of
our Ummah. I would be denying a fact if I didn’t notice that, but still we need to be more serious with our lives and dreams. They say that childhood
is energy without wisdom, and being an elder means having wisdom without energy, but youth and early adulthood is the best time you could achieve the
combination between both. So lets take advantage of it!

How big are your dreams? How dedicated are you to accomplish your dreams and your plans? Do you think you’re too young to contribute and have an impact
on your Ummah? Do you know how old Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was when he destroyed all those Idols and was thrown into the fire? The verse says,
“They said, ‘Who has done this to our gods? He must indeed be some man of impiety!’ They said, ‘We heard a youth talk of them: He is called Abraham.’”
(21:59,60). He was a youth, below twenty years of age!! You are not too young to contribute, but you must be serious about your mission in life, and
dedicated to it. What about Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist pbuh)? How old was he when Allah made him a Prophet? Allah says, “‘O Yahya! Take hold of
the Book with might’: and We gave him Wisdom even as a youth” (19:12). Can you feel the dedication in Yahya the young man? Take hold of the Book with
might! Come brothers and sisters, lets take hold of the Quran with might!!

You don’t have to conquer a city to prove you’re serious. Lets take some examples to show people that were dedicated in a different way. Look at
Margaret Thatcher, she is a non-Muslim, but she was a great example of seriousness and dedication. When Britain was at war with Argentina she
continued to wear only dark clothes for four years. Whether she wore dark or light clothes wouldn’t have an impact on the battle, but it was to show her
people that she was dedicated and serious, and that her life during this war has changed. Salahuddin promised himself not to smile until Jerusalem was
liberated; he wanted to prove to himself that he was dedicated to this mission.

Once Omar ibn Al-Khattab (rAa) saw a young man walking slowly like a weak, sick person, and asked him, “Are you ill?” When the man replied with no,
Omar rebuked him and said “We do not like, or accept that someone from the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) walks like that!” So lets get up and raise
our heads, we’ve got a mission to accomplish. Look at Germany and Japan, how did they recover so quickly after World War 2? They had serious youth. They
are non-Muslims and look at how they developed themselves. Imagine if we become as serious, not only will we excel materially but also spiritually,
we will have a balanced civilization, we will deserve to be as Allah said about us “You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what
is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah” (3:110).

-Amr Khaled

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