Final Concluding Address in the Conference: ‘The Muslim Youth… Pioneers of Real Change’

A MESSAGE TO THE MUSLIM YOUTH

O Beloved youth of this Ummah! O honourable sons and daughters of Islam! You are the treasures, the energy, the vitality of this great nation of Muhammad (saw). The legacy that you inherit as the youth of this noble Deen is one of greatness: The establishment of Islam and its great civilization was built upon your shoulders. You were the ones who rushed to the support of Islam when so many rejected it and protected it from distortion and attack. You were the ones who stood against oppression and spoke the word of Haqq in the face of the tyrants, bringing them to their knees. You were the ones who protected the Prophet (saw) with your own bodies, disregarding the harm it brought to yourselves. And you were the ones who opened lands to Islam and brought victory after victory to the Deen of Allah, enabling the light and justice of Islam to spread across the world.

Dear Shabab of Islam, this was the great status of the Muslim youth of the past. Their intellect, courage, noble behavior and contribution to the betterment of their societies built through their Deen was an inspiration to the other nations of the world. This is the high standing that Islam brings you dear youth of this Ummah!

However, the loss of Islamic rule and its values from our lands, and the dominance of capitalist liberal systems and its beliefs in our societies and lives has diminished your great status. It has stifled your potential, squandered your skills, crushed your aspirations for a good standard of life, and sought to narrow your vision for what you can truly achieve for this world. But its greatest crime was its attempt to distance you from your Deen and rob you of ultimate success - a high station in Jannah with its unimaginable rewards.

The secular liberal way of life and system sold a lie! Its promises to deliver for you dignity, prosperity and true happiness proved to be nothing but a glittering illusion. Instead it burdened the youth of this Ummah with a mountain of problems, insecurities, crippling financial hardships and violations of their rights. The shallow celebrities they presented as role models offered nothing but a superficial self-obsessed existence, celebrating promiscuity, and embroiling the youth in lifestyles that degraded their dignity and brought emotional turmoil that wrecked their lives. Indeed, Allah (swt) says,

﴿وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاء حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا﴾

“As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like the mirage in a desert, which the thirsty man deems to be water; until when he comes to it he finds it to be nothing…” [An-Nur: 39]. It is this liberal way of life and system, O youth of this Ummah, that is holding you back from achieving true success and happiness in this life and the next that ONLY your Deen can guarantee.

Dear beloved Shabab of Islam! Always remember that one of the most powerful tools that you have is the ability to think for yourself to establish what is true and what is false. Do not be fooled by the ‘politricks’ of secular governments and media who are spinning lie after lie against your Deen to maintain their grip of power in this world and who have kept you away from the glory of your great Islamic history and true potential of your Deen to lift humanity from the darkness in which it is submerged. Don’t ever feel that you are ‘extreme’ because you stand against injustice, or because you speak up for your Ummah, or because you submit to or support the system of the One who created you, or because you believe that mankind deserves better than the darkness that plagues it today under man-made ways of life. And do not allow the lies of the ignorant about your Islamic beliefs shape the way that people see you or dominate the discussion about your Deen. But rather raise the voice of truth in these debates, dismantle their false accusations about Islam, the Shariah and the Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) and dominate the narratives about your Deen in your societies. And when the pressure to be silent or to abandon your Islamic beliefs and practices becomes unbearable then remember that the rewards that await you in the Akhirah for your steadfastness in the obedience to your Rabb are immense, as Allah (swt) has said,

[وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ ثَمَّ رَأَيْتَ نَعِيمًا وَمُلْكًا كَبِيرًا]

"And when you look there [in Paradise] you will see a delight [that cannot be imagined], and a great dominion."[Al-Insan: 20]. And when fear approaches you from all directions due to your adherence to your Deen, remember that Allah (swt), the Lord of the Worlds is supporting you from every side just as He gave His support to the youth of Al-Kahf who sought refuge in the cave to hold onto their beliefs and escape those who were against their worship of Allah. Their Rabb protected them from the fitnah of their people by putting them into a deep slumber for 300 years, even bending the sun’s rays around the cave opening so that its light would not disturb their sleep. Subhanallah!

Dear youth of Islam! We know the huge challenge and the intense struggle you face in holding on to your Deen today. We understand that the pleasures and temptations of this dunya, urging you to follow your desires into actions which may go against your Deen surround you from every side. However, we remind you that such pleasures of this life are merely a temporary deceiving enjoyment and that your true home lies not in this world but in the Hereafter. Indeed, the joys of this life are nothing compared to the delights that await you in Jannah, for the Prophet (saw) has said,

«إِنَّ مَوْضِعَ سَوْطٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ لَخَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا اقْرَءُوا إِنْ شِئْتُمْ«

“The space taken up in the Hereafter by something as little as the whip of one of you is better than the whole of this earth and what is on it.” So do not let that which ends keep you from that which is everlasting. And know that you are the ones to Whom Allah azza wajjal promises His Shade on the Day of Judgement if you make your youth one defined by the obedience to your Rabb (swt).

Dear Shabab of Islam, we also recognize that the pressures that you face to fit into the dominant liberal culture and lifestyle of your peers or society to be accepted is intense, and that you may be fearful of standing out as different to those around you due to your Islamic beliefs and practices. But know that the truth was never meant to blend into the falsehood and as a Muslim and servant of Allah, you were never meant to merge into your environment but rather to be like the bright stars that stand out in the dark night sky and whose light provides direction to the lost traveler. For the Iman that you carry builds you to be leaders not followers of those around you – leaders who set the trends for others to follow with that which is right and just; leaders in thought, raising the Haqq; leaders in the noble conduct, high moral values, and care for humanity; and leaders in courage in standing for justice and against oppression.

Dear beloved youth of Islam! Our dreams for a better future for this Ummah and for humanity lie upon your shoulders. You have the ability to generate a huge transformation in this world to improve the lives of people through your Deen. Don’t ever underestimate what you can achieve when Allah is by your side. But this requires for you to lift yourself beyond the superficial things of this life and the distractions that may be holding you back – for Islam has built you for greater things. And it requires for you to also embrace a vision that will create real change in this world and not simply recycle failure. This cannot be achieved by anything other than the resumption of Islam as a way of life through the establishment of the System of your Creator, the Khilafah "Caliphate" upon the method of the Prophethood. It is in this that your dreams for a better future and success for yourself and your Ummah should lie. So rise to your rightful position as vanguards of Islam, guardians of your Deen, and protectors of your Ummah! And rise to your great Islamic duty to save mankind from the oppression and darkness that it suffers from today through establishing the glorious Khilafah "Caliphate" state. And embrace your true role as pioneers of real change, through which you will have honour in this life and the greatest of rewards in the Hereafter. Allah (swt) says,

[إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا جَزَاء بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ]

“Verily, those who say, ‘Our Lord is only Allah and thereafter stand firm and straight (on the Islamic belief) on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve. Such shall be the dwellers of Jannah (paradise), abiding therein (forever), a reward for what they used to do.” [Al-Ahqaf: 13-14]

Written by Dr. Nazreen Nawaz

Director of the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir