Transcript for the Final Video of the Conference

“Muslim Youth: Pioneers of Real Change”

The Youth are the Pioneers of Real Change

Since the Dawn of Islam, the Shabab (the youth) have played a great role in its revival. Islam was established upon their shoulders and forearms. They were the quickest to respond to the Da’wah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), graduating from the school of Daar Al-Arqam, the house of Al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam. At the tender age of 12, and for 13 consecutive years, he made his home the headquarters for the Messenger (saw). The Shabab were afflicted by harm and torture but their determination was not weakened. They knew that their standing before Allah (swt) was in accordance to the level of what they sacrificed and undertook. And so they undertook their obligation in the best of manners.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) would consult them in important matters and accede to their opinion, like when he took the advice of the young regarding going out to meet the Mushrikeen in the Battle of Uhud… These youth from the first generation carried the banner of the Da’wah and proclaimed the Haqq (the truth), and so Allah realised the great victory for them and the birth of the young Islamic State in Madinah.

They carried Islam and spread it as a message of light, honour and dignity… Who can forget Mus’ab Ibn ‘Umair (ra), the young man who became the first ambassador of Islam, transforming the society of Madinah through his dawah. He sacrificed a life of luxury and high position in Jahilliyah for a life of austerity and hard living after his mother deprived him of wealth due to his embracing Islam. He sold the life of this world for the Hereafter and preferred the everlasting comforts of Jannah to the temporary ones of this Dunya.

And what about Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood (ra) - a poor weak boy hired to tend sheep, who would fear passing by the seating area of the nobles of Makkah. However, he was given might and honour through Islam - he was amongst the foremost to challenge them with the truth and the first to recite the Qur’an openly without fear or apprehension.

There was Talhah Ibn Ubaidullah - 16 years of age and the most generous of Arabs in Islam - who protected the Messenger of Allah (saw) on the day of Uhud from the disbelievers, warding off arrows with his hand until his fingers were paralysed and protecting him with his own body.

And Abdullah Ibn Abbaas (ra), the ink (scripter) of the Ummah and translator of the Qur’an, the Faqeeh of his time and Imaam of Tafseer, who was only 13 years old when the Messenger of Allah (saw) passed away, yet still memorised over 1600 Hadeeth.

Muhammad Bin Al-Qaasim - was only seventeen years old when he conquered and opened the lands of Sind. He was one of the greatest military commanders of his age. Nor should we forget Muhammad Al-Faatih who conquered Constantinople as a young man of 23, driven by the yearning to be the one whom the Messenger of Allah (saw) praised when speaking of the opening of this great city to Islam:

«… فلنعم الأمير أميرها ولنعم الجيش ذلك الجيش »

‘How good will its leader be and good will that army be…’

Then there was Imam Ash-Shaafi’i who memorised the Qur’an when he was just 7 years old, memorized the great hadith compilation of Imam Malik, the Muwatta, aged just 10 and became a scholar of Islam when he was only 14 years old.

Amongst the inspirational young Muslims of the past were also the female youth, like the Mother of the Believers, A’ishah (ra), who was only 18 years old when the Messenger (saw) departed from her. She was one of the most significant narrators of the Hadeeth and consultant to the Sahaabah (ra).

And Asma bint Abu Bakr (ra) who put her life in danger to protect the Prophet (saw) during his hijra to Madinah. And Fatimah Bint Al-Khattab who did not fear to say the word of truth before her brother ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (ra) despite his forcefulness and oppressiveness before he became Muslim and who aided his path toward embracing Islam.

This is only a drop in the ocean in respect to those Shabab, young men and women, who made ‘Allahu Akbar’ their call, the struggle for Islam their greatest aim, and seeking the Pleasure of Allah their highest objective.  They spread this Deen to the corners of the earth and were pivotal in bringing the light of Islam and justice of Allah (swt)’s Laws to populations across the world.

Indeed, the youth of Islam are the pillars of the Ummah, the secret to its revival, from which its Islamic civilisation will spring, the carriers of its flags and banners and the leaders of the struggle for Islam.

So where are you O youth of today?! Are you preoccupied with important and worthy matters, the issues of the Ummah, its concerns and the paths to elevate and bring honour to it? Or are you concerned with frivolous matters, succumbing to the temptations of society so that we find you where Allah has forbidden you to be and absent from that which Allah has commanded?! What are your aspirations, who are your role models, how are your personalities being formed and what is your goal in life?

O beloved youth of Islam! The true success in life does not lie in acquiring riches, beauty, luxuries or the high positions of this world as some deceptively claim, but rather in entering the Paradise of the Most Merciful. We call you dear Shabab, to emulate the great Muslim youth of the past, the best of role models, having perseverance and making the statement of truth the path that you tread. Be courageous in supporting the Haqq and its people, work and strive, and sharpen your resolve to take on your true role in elevating the Ummah. And be of those who will be honoured in this life and the next, striving for the victory of this Deen, by working for the re-establishment of the System of Allah upon this earth, the Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood.

[فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ ۗ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ]

“And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of a deceptive delusion.” [Al-i-Imran: 185]