They are suffocating us- Young Muslims can’t breathe

Today I have allowed this lingering thought about young Muslims take space in my mind.

In Ramadan last year, I passed by our last baby’s school . I observed students go about buying beverages and sweets from outside. I thought of my brother and how he is coping with fasting while in school. His older brother tells me about how the fasting “dey show him styles”. Two days ago I asked him if his body has adjusted to him fasting. He said , “today kraa it dealt with me”.

I can’t help but see beauty and sincerity in our children/young Muslims. Fasting despite not knowing exactly what it means or how much Allah loves it. My brothers, like your siblings are doing this for the sake of Allah. They are identifying with Islam and choosing to embrace this identity and the duties and privileges it comes with.

It is really beautiful to think about.

I remember fasting as a young Muslim too. I enjoyed it so much even though I would be grumpy at 4pm because I was hungry.
However, I would negotiate with my dad to fast from dawn to noon the next day. I would sometimes break it or think it’s just 4 hours more and continue. I like to think it taught me discipline and commitment.

Interestingly, as we grow older the being Muslim challenge increases.. It is therefore not surprising that, part of the ongoing conversation is interpretation of Islamic texts and the sunnah. Many young people are constantly struggling with the norm of the world which often contradicts Islam.

Many Young Muslims are creating avenues for themselves to enjoy certain things like their non Muslim counterparts. The response they often get from Ulama and other Muslims is total rejection. Above all, a feeling of not being Muslim enough for even thinking about such a thing. In a conversation with an unapologetic Muslim, He said, “We can’t breathe, they are suffocating us”.

It is easy to shun young people and ask them to forget about wanting to be like others. In reality , they often are unable to and may end up losing their Islamic identity. This is why it is important for the Islamic scholars (ulama) to take a look at how to deal with this growing phenomenon.

When Napoleon wanted to orient Egypt, he pretended to be on the side of the Muslims. He used the ulama to garner support. This shows the power of the ulama and the role they play in shaping Islamic civilization.

I am in no way advocating for haram. It is clearly stated in hadith that, what is haram will continue to be , even if the whole world was to come together to make it halal and vice versa. I am only asking that we re-consider, dialogue and have better conversations to safeguard our ummah.

It is important to mention that, Islam does not shun the feelings of its followers. Scholars like imam Shafi revised books because it did not apply to the time and context of a people. This is in no way changing Islam, but considering concerns of the people and how to make life bearable.

However, young Muslims also need to understand that, there are areas Islam would forever have a stringent stance on. In this case, their trust and love of Allah must supersede their love for worldly gain or belonging.

The point of all this is , we all have a desire to do what is pleasing to Allah. That we should not kowtow to some liberal standards to gain acceptance. And strive to normalize what is right from the Islamic perspective. Our ulama should not be quick to pronounce things haram without understanding it.

Lastly, we should be grateful for our children. We should not doubt them but give them the amaanah of trust and honesty. Teaching our children who they are from an early stage helps them imbibe it.

Today’s gratitude :
Yaa Allah thank you for opening the Heart of our children to accept what we are teaching them.
Yaa Allah make them firm in the deen and grant us the hikmah in parenting.

Rabbanaa hablanaa min azwaajinaa, wa zuriyatinaa, kurrata aayunin wa ja alnaa lil muttaqeena imaamaa