Ideal Muslim Youth

Three core principles for a strong ummah

Published in

Halal Hustle

6 min readMar 11, 2024

DISCLAIMER
I do not have a professional background in Islamic Studies. Nonetheless, I wanted to share some valuable information that I've come across listening to lectures and reading books. Take everything with a grain of salt and if you happen to find any mistakes, please notify me.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“There are two blessings that many people are deceived into losing: health and free time.” — Sahih al-Bukhari 6412

Both of these blessings are in direct relation to adolescence. Health declines as we get older, and once we begin to work and start families, free time becomes a luxury.

Islam is a religion of young people. Many of the Sahaba were young when entering Islam, seven out of the ten great Sahaba proclaimed with Jannah in their lifetime, known as Ashara Mubashara, were not even in their thirties.

If youth is so important in Islam, wouldn’t we want to spend it as best as possible? There are three recommendations that I have compiled from different scholars and books to help us spend our flourishing times as effective as possible.

I. Akhlaq

Akhlaq represents all the good manners of Muslims. Unlike ethics, they do not change depending on time and space. It is a way to return to our natural, uncorrupted state known as Fitrah.

This covers countless aspects. Some important ones are patience, trustworthiness, respect and shyness (Hayā). There is much more to Akhlaq, but this is a topic for itself.

Abu ad-Darda’ (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“The heaviest thing which will be put on the believer’s scale (on the Day of Resurrection) will be good morals.” — Bulugh al-Maram

One of the most important morals, a good Muslim should have, is the fear of sinning, especially in his young and wild years. What would you do, if a fire would break out next to you? Its heat begins to burn your skin, the smoke makes breathing impossible. I am sure you would flee.

This is exactly what sins are. Sins are a part of hellfire, distancing us from our true destination, Jannah. A Muslim must guard his purity and avoid all wrongdoing.

One really important deed I want to stress is being respectful to our elders and visiting them. Do you want to have a huge advantage over everybody? Look no further than your (grand-)parents, provided that they are still alive. Visiting or calling them is an easy, but rewarding action. When I call my grandparents, it takes me no longer than five minutes, but they are so grateful and make great Dua for me.

I once heard about a comparison of Akhlaq that I’ve found highly enlightening: A Muslim’s Akhlaq is like the digit “1”. Everything else adds a “0” to it. So he may be handsome, smart or wealthy, each ten folding his value. But if he loses his morals, his value is only a couple of zeros, worth nothing. So a Muslim must be aware of his behavior and Akhlaq in order to be successful.

II. ‘Ilm

A Muslim is a seeker of knowledge. However, not every knowledge is equal to the believer. He or she knows that studying Islamic sources, especially the Qur’an, ‘Ilm Al-Hâl and Tafsīr, have to be prioritized.

Anas (ra) reported God’s messenger as saying,

“He who goes out in search of knowledge is in God’s path till he returns.” — Mishkat al-Masabih 220

But what about other fields of study? Should Muslims only study religious knowledge and leave the rest for the nonbelievers? Every beneficial knowledge is sacred for Muslims. Succeeding in this world requires not only spirituality, a Muslim must also be equipped with today’s weapons, which is education. Think physics, programming, psychology, politics, marketing, economy, sociology and so on. This will allow us to play a significant role in society.

A seeker of knowledge must protect his time more than he protects his belongings. Time is one of the few assets that is gone forever. Can you go a minute back in time? Take responsibility for every single minute of your life, and constantly learn new things.

You can compare your life to a bird: One of his wings represents the Dunya (world), the other one the hereafter. Both of these wings must flap in order to fly. A bird with a single wing will surely crash to the ground. Work both on your religion and worldly matters, and never forget about death.

III. Courage

You have good morals and are knowledgeable? Fine. But this is useless unless you take action. Think of action like the engine of a car. You may have a great interior, a superb chassis and world-class tires. But if the car lacks an engine, it’s useless. It is nothing more than a decoration.

Have you ever read the translation of the Holy Qur’an? You might have noticed that the word “believers” is always accompanied by “good-doers” (except a single time, actually). Doesn’t this indicate the importance of not only believing, but also taking action and doing something? For example, take a look at the 25th verse of Surah al-Baqarah:

Give good news ˹O Prophet˺ to those who believe and do good that they will have Gardens under which rivers flow. (…) — 2:25

Look at how it says “believe and do good”! Not “believe”, “believe and have a pure heart”, or “believe and speak well”! It is all about doing, moving, changing, making — being active for short.

A requirement for being a person of action is bravery. Being afraid will stop you from trying things out and performing your best.

You know, as a young Muslim, that you are not alone. You remember that it is quite the opposite: You have the greatest of powers, Allah (swt), at your side. Let this be an endless source of motivation for you.

Also remember our beloved Prophet (saw), and how Islam started with a single person. Decades later, it expanded to the whole world, from Venice to Damascus, from Cape Town to Oslo. Without Allah (swt)’s help, this would not be possible. Our Prophet (saw) knew that, he trusted in Allah (swt) and His plans and did everything he could. This is known as tawakkul.

Once you make a decision, put your trust in Allah. Surely Allah loves those who trust in Him. — 3:59

Furthermore, people can typically be assigned to one of two categories. The first ones are regular people. They are like sheep, they don’t think much and do what they are being told. Scrutinizing and generating ideas isn’t of their strengths. Most people can be assigned to this category.

And there is a second category of people. They are very different from the first ones. You can compare them to shepherds. Blindly obeying is foreign to them. Rather, they are the ones that set the rules and shape society. They open the ways for their sheep. We should always strive to be a shepherd rather than a sheep.

In this time of fitnah, it is not easy to adhere to our moral values. This shall not be an excuse, however. We should use this as a motivation and resist the temptations. The principles explained above — Akhlaq, ‘Ilm and Courage — are a good starting point. Expand on these and you will be successful إن شاء الله.

Ideal Muslim Youth

Three core principles for a strong ummah

I. Akhlaq

II. ‘Ilm

III. Courage

Further Reading:

Written by Ahmet E. Sarac