Guidance for Youngsters

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Allāh ﷻ y-zidkum ‘izzan wa sharafan. (May Allāh ﷻ increase you in glory and honor.) Masha’Allah.

May Allāh ﷻ help Muslims, help us insha’Allah. Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam is saying, Muslims in end of times will be many. Lots of Muslim will be around countries, cities. But what Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam is saying is that there’s no value for them, only like the bubbles of foam, he ﷺ said. Bubbles [foam] of water. When the tide from the sea is coming, it makes bubbles and is quickly going; no any effect. This is what Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, with his ﷺ miracle, is saying about this time.

Our time is a difficult time. Why? Because they are not following and not respecting Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. They know, mā shā’a Llāh. There are ʻulamā’. They know everything. But shayṭān does not let them accept Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam and his ﷺ barakah. Still, with his ﷺ barakah, with his ﷺ madad, all these Muslims are still there. Without him ﷺ, they will finish. Because when you don’t have love for Prophet ﷺ and respect for Prophet ﷺ, your īmān is under zero; not zero, under zero.

This is what Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam described about this time, the end of times. He ﷺ said, Muslims – we have, I don’t know, 2 billion or more or less. We have at least around 2 billion Muslims. But small countries, from any European country, are more effective than all these billions of Muslims. Maybe 4-5 million countries are non-Muslim, they are more effective for the world than Muslims.

This is because they don’t have īmān. They are Muslim but no īmān. Īmān is important for Muslims, and without respect and love of Prophet ﷺ, there is no īmān. Because they are not accepting what Allāh ﷻ gave him ﷺ from being the highest creature. Among the whole creation of Allāh ﷻ, the highest one is our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. But they say, “No. He’s a man like us. We are men, he’s a man. He died.”

These people have no respect, no good behavior, no adab. And this is going through everywhere, especially in places which are outside of the Muslim countries; like Europe or other places. They are even affecting Muslim countries also. They cheat them. This is the way of shayṭān. He is not happy to not be obeyed and to be following Islām; he is not happy. But he found a trick to finish īmān, belief, to make it under zero.

This is important for our life. Our life – in Qur’an it is said, ‘قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (162) لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ’, ‘Qul ‘Inna Şalātī Wa Nusukī Wa Maĥyāya Wa Mamātī Lillāh Rabbi Al-`Ālamīna (162) Lā Sharīka Lahu’, ‘Say, “Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. (162) No partner has He.’ (Qur’an 06:162-163). Ṣadaqa Llāhu l-‘Aẓīm. Our life and our death are for Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla.

This is what we are ordered; not for dunya, not for pleasure. We can have pleasure, of course. There is pleasure allowed with Islām, with what Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam had done; we follow him ﷺ. Everything from what’s ḥalāl – Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam is happy for you to do this ḥalāl. Don’t prevent yourself.

There were three ṣaḥābah. They came to Masjid an-Nabawī. One of them said, “I will not sleep at night time. The whole night, I will worship.” The other one said, “I will never get married. I will only work for Islām.” The third one said, “I will fast the whole time without breaking the fast.” They were saying this. And when Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam heard this, he said, “I am sleeping and waking up. I am fasting and breaking my fast also. And I am married. It is my sunnah to marry. I am also married. No need to make this.”

So, Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam was not happy to make it difficult for people. But it is more important to follow him ﷺ, to not make something that’s ḥalāl as ḥarām. It is forbidden. It is ḥarām to make the ḥalāl ḥarām and the ḥarām ḥalāl. This is forbidden. The most important thing in this story, what they are not knowing and not noticing is: to follow the sunnah of Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. To love what he ﷺ loves, and to hate what he ﷺ hates; no other thing.

Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam loves people, especially youngsters. When you hear about the ṣaḥābah, you think this man is maybe 60 years old or at least 40 years old. But all the commanders who were with Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, fighting with him ﷺ, were between 16 or some of them 14 and until 18. They were going with a huge army and they won. This is important, that Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam is giving love for youngsters.

And with his ﷺ miracle, he knew that these people will spread his ﷺ sunnah and his ﷺ way, way of Islām. And especially to make these youngsters remember Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam until they get old, to transmit from one to other what Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam has done, who he ﷺ is, what he ﷺ likes, what he ﷺ didn’t like, how he ﷺ makes everything; everything. Not any Prophet you can see about.

Maybe you can hear some about Sayyidinā ‘Isa, Sayyidinā Musa or others; a little bit of what they had done, how they were doing. But our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam: every movement, everything from every minute is registered with the ṣaḥābah. Because they were also very clever people. Especially with the du’ā’s of Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam.

Sayyidinā Daḥyā al-Kalbī was also young. He was maybe 17 years old when Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam ordered him, “You must learn Hebrew.” Hebrew is not easy to learn. In 15 days, he was speaking like them, like the Jewish people and writing also. This is how those people were. And Allāh ﷻ can give you, if you are following Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, [power] that you can do everything.

But these days, they make our youngsters and old people also, all of them, only on this small machine, from night to Fajr, not sleeping. They are looking at this. After that, maybe sleeping at four until night. Waking up and eating hamburger or something, to become fat and fat and fat. Not eating curry, not eating rice. When we were in madrasah, our mashāyikh used to say, “When you eat too much, you become not understanding too much.” “البطنة تُذهِبُ الْفِطنَة”, meaning to make your stomach big, your cleverness goes away from you.

AlhamduliLlah for this, it is very important for our youngsters to control [their ego], and obey their family. My children were also doing the same. I was forcing them only half an hour, not a day but a week [on the phone]. They were waiting for this half an hour, or one hour. But others now, they give this for children, even one-year-old children, two-year or three-year old. After that, they say, “Oh, my son became autistic.”

This is coming from this [machine], not coming from air. You find easiness. After easiness, difficultly. If you find difficultly, after it comes easiness. This is the rule Allāh ﷻ put and mentioned in Qur’an, “فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ﴿5﴾ إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ﴿6﴾”, ‘Fa-inna ma‘a l-‘usri yusra (5) Inna ma‘a l-‘usri yusra (6)’, ‘For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease (5) Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease (6).’ (Qur’ān 94:05-06). Twice. Meaning after the difficult comes the easy. A second time also to be sure: also, after the difficult, easiness; ease is coming.

For this, people now are only thinking of enjoying themselves, not thinking [of anything else]. But they have many old stories also about this summer cricket. He is all summer singing, and in the winter he dies. But the ant is working the whole time. And in the winter, what it gathered can suffice for many winters. This is from old times. They were saying this good advice for people. But people are running away from work. They are running from job, and they think it is a win for them.

In old times, even in the time of Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, on Friday there was no holiday at all. Seven days: you work as much as you can. If you like to work, you can work. But only half an hour or one hour, it is forbidden. When is it? Juma’ time. When it is time for Juma’ prayer, you must go pray and then come continue work. Because you know, Muslim countries, on Friday they have holiday. They close everything. But now, there are many different countries that close only on Sunday or Saturday. But normally, Allāh ﷻ made people such as they can work as much as they like. But now they are making people work less and run after their desires, running after shayṭān.

Mawlānā Shaykh was saying, shayṭān comes to those who have nothing to do. If you are busy, you cannot find time to make soḥbah (acquaintance) with shayṭān. But when you are not doing anything, you will find something to enjoy yourself, and shayṭān catches you that time. For this, you must help people or not leave yourself without doing anything. At least, read Qur’an, read a book, go walk, come, help people. Don’t stay without doing anything; especially for youngsters also. They must be hard-working, looking after their parents, helping their parents, helping people, learning something, not only studying.

Study – everybody studies, there’s no benefit. But if you find something you are happy with, it will be good for you, for your community and for your family, and Allāh ﷻ will be happy with you. Without this, you’ll be the whole day only looking at this trap of shayṭān [phone]. We hear many bad stories also; not only playing [on it]. People are doing – they spoil them, they make them to be with no brain, so they can do anything for themselves or for others with this. And now coming a more dangerous thing. They want to control humanity and to make them as a slave for themselves. Normally, who does this is a slave for himself, for his ego. Because he is not leaving this bad thing from his hand and he is destroying himself and destroying families.

Allāh ﷻ knows better. But alhamduliLlah we are Muslim. We know that after this, after darkness there will be light. Somebody will help us. Because there are many kinds of Awliyā’uLlah, many kinds of men of Allāh ﷻ. Some are not interfering with anything. If they see that you are burning, you are falling down, people torturing you, other things, they do not care. Why? Because they are saying, “This is Allāh’s ﷻ will.” They are not even moving their finger. There is this kind and there is another kind who are helping. But these people are also waiting for the order. And the order is, in shā’a Llāh, coming with Sayyidinā Al-Mahdī ‘alayhi s-salām. Without this, nobody, no hope for the world. With Mahdi alayhi s-salam, in shā’a Llāh, he will save the world.

Now is a very dangerous time, but it is also a time for trading. Allāh ﷻ gives you a thousand times more than the normal time. Because you are obeying and doing what He ﷻ wants. For this, we are saying, for youngsters especially, to be in this way because they are more acceptable when worshipping in the Divine Presence of Allāh ﷻ. This what Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam told us. May Allāh ﷻ help them. May Allāh ﷻ keep them safe. Here and everywhere in the world, they are the same. Muslim or non-Muslim countries, all have now became the same; no difference.

For this, we are asking, praying for Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla to keep our children, youngsters, safe from badness, from shayṭān and his followers. Really, we are sorry for them because in our time we cannot find such a chance to do what they can do in this time. They have very, very much easiness for them to do [badness]. So, when they are away from this, Allāh ﷻ rewards them a thousand times more than our time. May Allāh ﷻ bless you. May Allāh ﷻ, in shā’a Llāh, make us meet Sayyidinā Al-Mahdī an-Qarību z-Zamān (soon), in sha’a Llāh. Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 

7 February 2025/ 8 Sha’ban 1446

Madni Masjid; Bradford, UK