From: "DDN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Youth: Prophet Muhammad - The Best Example For Youth Today
B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m
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Youth Youth
Prophet Muhammad
The Best Example For Youth Today
By Idris Tawfiq
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"Muhammad
is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of
Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets, and Allah has full knowledge of
all things."
(Al-Ahzab 33:40)
Young people today see a lot of pomp and ceremony
when it comes to politicians and leaders. It seems as though the
more authority you have, the more the red carpet is laid out, the
more special attire and finery you are expected to wear, and the
more freedom you have to express your opinions whether they are
held up by evidence or not, and no matter how much they may offend
others.
But let's take a look at the final Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) and see the stark difference between what
is now and what was before.
"Which one is Muhammad?" So humble was the Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that strangers looking
for him in the mosque in Madinah had to ask this. Sitting in the
row of believers for the daily prayers, Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him), with his simple and modest bearing, could
not be distinguished from anyone else.
He was so calm, so dignified, and so peaceful that no
one could single him out as the leader. Children and youth could
approach him to receive a warm greeting or to ask this great, yet
humble, man a question or some advice. In quiet prayer he looked
like any other simple man. There was no sign here of the great
warrior, the skillful negotiator in times of war and peace, the
statesman. There was no sign either that this was the man, from
among all men, was chosen to receive the Creator's final message to
mankind.
In the mosque his focus was on Allah alone. He was
like every Muslim who enters the mosque to pray. And yet, unlike
any other Muslim, he had been chosen as the Seal of the Prophets,
the most honorable and the noblest of men. He was the one whom
Allah selected to guide all mankind.
Disadvantages in Youth
Orphaned by the age of 6 and born in a relatively
unimportant region of the world to a simple family, Muhammad could
neither read nor write. When commanded by the Angel Jibreel to
recite the first glorious verses of the Qur'an, Muhammad could
only respond that he was unable to read or recite them.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
had neither power nor wealth. He possessed none of the things that
the world considers important. Yet Allah chose him from all men in
the world to be what the Qur'an calls "a mercy to mankind."
A Mercy
This is the role that young Muslims should take on in
this world that is so full of turmoil and hate. The youth are the
standard-bearers of the message of Muhammad (peace and blessings
be upon him) and it is a message of mercy.
In his person, the Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) was a mercy to all the people on earth. One so kind, so
pious, so devout in prayer and obedience to the will of Allah had
been chosen as the guide for mankind.
We should ask ourselves, how closely are we living
our lives according to the message of Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him)? If we are living in his way, no problem
will be too great to overcome, our future will appear clear before
us, and the challenges of young adulthood will seem small. If
young Muslims join in the ranks of the followers of Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him), they will be joining the ranks
of the merciful, pious, and just people through all the ages, from
the beginning of time. Indeed, Allah opens the way for those who
sincerely obey Him and His Messenger.
Your Friends
Good people should surround themselves with good
friends. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was
surrounded by people who sought the pleasure of Allah. Ask yourself:
Who do you mix with and why? Your friends reflect who you are.
At the end of his life, when Prophet Muhammad (peace
and blessings be upon him) was laid to rest in the earth, his
funeral was attended by his heartbroken friends and Companions.
They had been with him for so long, many since the time of the
first revelation of the Qur'an some 23 years before, and now they
were to be left alone, without a guide for the first time in so
many years.
Imagine yourself living at the time of the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him); imagine walking in his blessed
footsteps. If you follow his Sunnah, you are walking in his
footsteps today.
His body was not laid to rest in some grand tomb as
one might expect for so important and so influential a man. Rather
it was placed in the earth beneath the spot where he used to sleep
on a simple mat. It fell upon Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with
him), his friend from before the time of the first revelation, to
deliver the funeral sermon. Abu Bakr had to try to make sense out
of this tragedy for the crowds assembled before him. At this key
moment in the development of Islam, they eagerly awaited what Abu
Bakr, the closest friend of the Prophet, would have to say. His
words to them were filled with wisdom. "O men," he said, "if
anyone worships Muhammad, let him know that Muhammad is dead. But
if anyone worships Allah, then know that Allah is alive and will
never die."
Only Human
Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) told the Muslim
faithful that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
was the greatest man to have lived but he was not the Lord of all
creation. He was a man like all men. And this is what makes Islam
so extraordinary. There are now nearly two billion Muslims in the
world, and we are attentive to what our beloved Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said or did. Each one of us proclaims at
least five times a day that there is no god but Allah and that
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of
Allah. It is the core of our faith. In the same breath in which we
declare belief in the One true Lord of mankind and all that
exists, we declare belief in His Messenger.
The love and reverence which we have for Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is both real and deep.
We see him as the gentlest, the kindest, and the sweetest of men,
and yet he remains for us precisely that: a man. Neither a god nor
a saint. We do not ascribe to our Prophet magical powers. It would
be a blasphemy for us to do so. We see him as a simple man, chosen
from among men, with the same cares and worries we might have.
But in Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) we see that it is possible for us to dedicate all our lives
to Allah and to live under His guidance, yet live in the midst of
life. Not divine, but human like us, Prophet Muhammad showed us by
his life and example that Islam is the perfect way of life and
that it is possible to achieve happiness by following this way.
If you find your life is taking you in another
direction, stop and think. Don't make decisions in your youth that
will take you on a different path that heads away from that of the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Something Special
In Islam there are no priests or popes. That,
perhaps, is the secret of Islam. There is no special knowledge
reserved for a professional religious class. There are no
go-betweens between the Creator and the created.
Islam is ours for the taking. How many of us reach
out and take what Islam has to offer? How many of us are shining
examples of mercy and justice that Islam can develop in us?
Each of us can fall prostrate before our Maker and
say what we need to say without the help of anyone else. Just you
and your creator! We can see this clearly inside any mosque.
Muslim men and women, each in their own place, gather in the
mosque for the five daily prayers. They pray together as a
community, in congregation, receiving blessings for doing so, yet
it is obvious to anyone who looks on that each Muslim is concerned
with speaking to his or her Lord individually. It is perhaps this,
more than anything else, that makes the place of Prophet Muhammad
so strong in the heart of every Muslim.
Muhammad was a man and he found it possible, with
Allah's help, to live out every requirement of Islam. So you and
I, then, can try to do the same and, with
Allah's help, we can live out our faith like our
beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1162385855954&pagename=Zone-English-Youth%2FYTELayout#**1
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Idris Tawfiq is a British Muslim writer
who lives and works in Egypt. He has spent many years working with
young people. He was head of religious education in different
schools in the United Kingdom and, perhaps more remarkably, before
embracing Islam he was a Roman Catholic priest. You can visit
website at www.idristawfiq.com.
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Previous "Youth" installments at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DDN/links/The_Muslim_Family_001125780118/
Your_Self_001128215671/Your_Self___The_Musl_001174982089/
1. Anti-Islamic Rhetoric: Respond with Dialogue and
Discussion.
Karima-DDN
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