Youth in Islam: The Future of This Ummah

Youth in Islam: The Future of This Ummah

The deen of Islam is not a deen that requires three decades of experience. It's not a deen that glorifies gray hair. It is a deen that glorifies the initiative, the sincerity, and the hard work of people no matter what their age.

The Youth at the Battle of Badr

You had 15-year-olds lining up to be part of the battle of Badr and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is telling them away. Sorry, too young. Sorry, no. Go back. You have two 16-year-old young men who went after Abu Jahl.

Our target is to finish the great enemy of Islam. Today, what are two 16-year-olds doing? Playing Fortnite, watching TikTok videos on repeat, finding some Netflix series that they can watch, wasting their time. This deen was carried by young people.

Usama ibn Zaid: A 17-Year-Old Commander

Imagine the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is about to die, about to pass away from this world. And he decides: I'm going to send an army to fight the Roman Empire. Because the world at his time was a world in which either you show your force or you get eaten alive by the other empires — the Persian and the Roman Empire.

So he has to show what he's made of. He's going to send an army to the great Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire — an army inside of which is Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. Who's going to be the boss? Who's going to lead the army? A 17-year-old teenager: Usama ibn Zaid.

When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم passes away, he passes away having made the decision — this young man is going to lead the army of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. The Sahabah push back: Hey, hold on a second. Who is this young guy? Let's change it up. Let's get someone more experienced. We need 20 years of work experience in the battlefield.

But Abu Bakr as-Siddiq says:

Usama — you're telling me to overturn the decision Rasulullah made? No way. Over my dead body. This 17-year-old is going to lead the greatest army ever seen. Watch.

Why did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم do this? To prove to the Sahabah: it is not years of experience, but it is youth who know how to lead that are the future of this world.

Abdullah ibn Abbas: Wisdom at Eleven

Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه was 11 years old when he heard:

Everybody is happy, because the surah is about victory. And Abdullah ibn Abbas is crying. Why? This 11-year-old boy — why are you crying? Why are you upset? He said: this surah means the Prophet's صلى الله عليه وسلم time is finished.

Nobody understood it. None of the senior Sahabah saw this. But this 11-year-old boy understood what nobody understood.

Two Messages: For the Young and Those Who Used to Be Young

This Ummah will never be revived until its young people step up and are pushed to revival. What is the practical way for this to happen? I have two messages today — one for the young, and one for those who used to be young. We don't want to say old people. Mashallah, you're all young at heart.