Importance of our Youth (with British Sign Language) - Shaykh Aqeel Mahmood

Khutbah al-Ula (First Sermon)

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.

Whom Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whom He misguides, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O you who have believed, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, about whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory.

As for what follows: the truest speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The worst of affairs are newly invented matters, and every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

And we ask Allah that He gives ease and relief and victory to the Muslims wherever they may be.

The Importance of Our Youth

If we look throughout history, we will notice that sometimes some trials and tribulations don't end after a short number of years. It may be the case that one generation sees a calamity, and then they pass away, and the next generation of Muslims are the ones that overcome those trials and tribulations. And victory is given to the Muslims, maybe in the second or third generation.

And so it's very important for us, brothers and sisters, to think ahead, to plan ahead. And for us, more importantly, to reflect on our own education of our children. Or is it just a case of neglecting them when they're in school? And we don't really have a connection with them, and a link with our children.

The Righteous Father in Surah al-Kahf

Our children, brothers and sisters, will benefit as a result of our righteousness that they see when we're alive, and they'll also benefit from our righteousness even after we've passed away. In Surah al-Kahf, Allah speaks about the story of Musa and Khadir. One of the things Khadir, peace be upon him, did was he rebuilt a wall in a village which refused to give them any food and drink.

And when Khadir, peace be upon him, told him about the wisdoms behind why he rebuilt the wall, he says to Musa, peace be upon him:

As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was a treasure beneath it for them, and their father was a righteous person. As a result of the righteousness of the father, Allah guided and protected the interests and the affairs of the two orphan boys.

So even after we pass away, brothers and sisters, our righteousness, our connection with Allah, the state of our iman and the level of our iman, will benefit our children after we pass away.

A Righteous Child Who Supplicates

And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, spoke about some things which will benefit a person after he passes away. From them, he said, peace be upon him:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 1631)

A righteous child that supplicates for him. When a person dies, a righteous child that you leave behind — and righteousness is something which we instil in our children through our tarbiyah and our education of them — this child, after we pass away, will benefit us through his duas, through his supplications for us after we die.

Examples from the Young Companions

Ali ibn Abi Talib — Accepting Islam at Nine

There are many examples, brothers and sisters, of the young companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who were given that nurturing, that education, that tarbiyah, when they were of a young age. From them was one of the greatest companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him. He was living with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, a nine-year-old boy. And he saw the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Prophet's wife Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, praying together.

Unaware of what they were doing, he inquires as to what they were doing. He asks the Prophet, peace be upon him, what were you doing? And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, doesn't see this nine-year-old boy and say, "It's nothing, don't worry about it. You're too young to understand. When you're older, I'll explain to you." Instead, he starts teaching him about tawhid, about Islam, about how he is the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

As a result of this small and short conversation, Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, there and then, at the age of nine years old, accepts Islam — one of the first few people to accept Islam, after Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her. Some say the one who accepted Islam first, after Khadija, was Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. And this was as a result of the wisdom of how the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was speaking to Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.

He wasn't neglecting him. He wasn't ignoring him. He started to teach. He took this opportunity, didn't think this child is way over his head and won't understand. Our children have the capacity to understand things that maybe we don't think they're able to understand. They may be far more intelligent than we think.

Ibn Abbas — The Prophet's Du'a for a Child

From the other companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who were given this tarbiyah when they were young, was Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. When he was a child — and he was still a child when the Prophet, peace be upon him, passed away — he brought wudu water for the Prophet, peace be upon him. And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, made du'a for Ibn Abbas:

O Allah, give him knowledge of the religion, and give him understanding and knowledge of the Qur'an. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, became one of the greatest scholars among the companions. That du'a had an effect, and it was said in the presence of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. Think about the psychological benefit this would have had upon this child — hearing the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, supplicate and make du'a for him.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was still a teenager, during the leadership of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, Umar would take him to the meetings that he would have with the senior companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him — people who were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, people who were at Badr and Uhud and other battles with the Prophet, peace be upon him. And he would include and involve Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, understanding his wisdom and his knowledge. And think about the confidence which is instilled in these young companions when they're involved in the affairs of the Muslims at this young age, still when they're teenagers.

Ibn Umar — The Date Palm Tree

We have the example of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, the son of Umar ibn al-Khattab. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates a story. He says that we were in a gathering with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Inform me of a tree which resembles the Muslim. It gives its fruits throughout the year, and its leaves never fall."

Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I thought of the date palm tree, but I disliked to speak because Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, were present at that gathering." And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, when no one spoke, he said: "Verily it is the date palm tree."

Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "After we left the gathering and I was with my father Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, I said, 'O my father, it came to my mind that it might be the date palm tree.'" Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "What prevented you from saying it? If you had said it, it would have been more beloved to me than a fortune. Simply you saying this in the presence of the Prophet, peace be upon him, would have been more beloved to me than any fortune I would have ever got."

What does it show us, brothers and sisters? It shows us the encouragement that was given by the senior companions to the younger companions to speak up — instilling in them that confidence, giving them that encouragement, pushing them when it came to speaking in public, speaking to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, being involved with these discussions that wasn't just specific to the elderly and to the senior companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

Usama ibn Zayd — General at Eighteen

We look at the example of a companion who was given leadership of an army that was going to be sent to fight the Roman Empire — at the age of 18 years old, by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. 18 years old. And this companion was Usama ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him. He had been made the general of the army to go and fight not just any small tribe in Arabia, but the Roman Empire. And no doubt there were people in his army who were of course much more senior than him — the likes of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and others. Yet he was chosen by the Prophet, peace be upon him.

Just imagine, brothers and sisters, that your boss or your manager is 18 years old. Think about how a person would feel and how a person would think. But what did this do to Usama ibn Zayd? He became one of the greatest generals from amongst the companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. Think about the confidence it must have instilled in Usama ibn Zayd — the fact that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had so much confidence in him at the age of 18 that he appointed him as the general of the army. Just think about the psychological benefit and what it does to a person, instilling that kind of confidence and responsibility in a companion at that tender age.

Zayd ibn Thabit — The Child Who Memorised the Qur'an

We look at one of the young companions of the city of Madinah. This companion, even though the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, hadn't yet made the Hijrah, had memorised many, many portions of the Qur'an. Even though the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the senior companions, the Muhajirun, weren't yet in Madinah. And when the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to Madinah and made the Hijrah, the Ansar brought this child to the Prophet, peace be upon him, so that he could recite in his presence. This was how proud they were of this companion. And this companion was Zayd ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him.

A boy reciting Qur'an in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Look at this child. He's somebody who's memorised so much Qur'an. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he heard him recite, was pleased and happy. Think about the effects that this had on Zayd ibn Thabit.

And we know the effects that it had on Zayd ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him — because a number of years later, when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was looking for someone to compile the Qur'an, he chose Zayd ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, who was a young man at this point in time. And Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, when he speaks to Zayd, says: "Zayd, you are a young man and you are an intelligent man. And we do not know of any occasion on which you were accused of lying. And you used to be the one who would write down the ayat for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, when revelation would come."

Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, chose him because he was young, because he was energetic, because he was somebody who had intelligence. But this wasn't just something that happened when he became older. It wasn't something that caused him to change after he became a young man. It was something which was instilled in him while he was a child — it was the efforts of his family, of the community, of the Muslim Ummah, to make sure that when they eventually passed away, these young companions would step up, and represent the Ummah, and benefit the Ummah.

All of these examples, brothers and sisters, show us the importance of our youth, and making sure that we raise them in the correct manner.

I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you. Verily, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Khutbah al-Thaniyah (Second Sermon)

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the family of the Prophets and the Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.

Brothers and sisters, we were speaking about the importance of our youth, and making sure that we don't just expect our schools or other people to give them that tarbiyah. The parents are the primary teachers and role models of the children. And so it's important for us to have a level of righteousness, such that when they see us, it has a positive effect and not a negative effect — and it benefits us in this life and also in the Akhirah.

And the Messenger of Allah, as we've seen, would give the correct nurturing, the correct type of tarbiyah to the young companions, to such an extent that when the senior and older companions passed away, these young companions — like Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, Zayd ibn Thabit, Usama ibn Zayd — continued to lead the Ummah in their own ways, whether it was through knowledge or through other means.

Anas ibn Malik — Ten Years of Service

Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was a boy, was offered to the Prophet, peace be upon him, as a servant. Anas ibn Malik, years later, after the death of the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "I served the Prophet, peace be upon him, for ten years. Not once did he say 'uff' to me — any word of annoyance or disagreement about what I did in service to the Prophet, peace be upon him. Nor did he ever say, 'Why did you do this?' or 'Why didn't you do this?'" Because this wasn't the way in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, would treat the younger companions.

It was the wisdom of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he understood the effects that severe criticism and constantly criticising children will have on those children when they're older, as we can see with Anas ibn Malik. He still remembers, years later, how he was treated by the Prophet, peace be upon him.

Conclusion

So, brothers and sisters, all these examples should motivate us to, number one, be righteous people ourselves and improve on our deen. We all have our shortcomings. But most importantly, we need to invest in the future through our children, through those that we're responsible for, so that when we pass on, the next generations that come won't be weaker, but rather they'll be stronger Muslims.

We ask Allah that He makes our children and those that we're responsible for righteous children, and that they grow up to serve and benefit the Ummah after we pass away.