As-Salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāh, Yaa Fadeelatakum
The Muslim youth continue to yearn for the truth from you, a truth grounded in the Book of Allāh, the Sunnah of His Messenger (ﷺ), and the understanding of the noble early generations.
Train them, nurture them upon this foundation so they may become beneficial to themselves and to their society.
However, many among the youth become disillusioned when they begin to witness clear deviations from the teachings of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah in the actions and words of the very elders they once looked up to. This disillusionment has led some of them to fall prey to those who, under the banner of “Sunnah,” end up turning them into aggressive and misguided individuals.
The love of worldly leadership and status has also contributed significantly to many compromises made by some of our respected elders in the Sunnah.
The daʿwah of earlier days, which was built upon the principle of remaining firm upon the truth, come what may, has lost much of its force as some elders have begun to align themselves with quasi-democratic ideologies.
Some have come to believe that Muslims cannot achieve anything significant in society unless we ride along with the bandwagon of majority rule, even if that majority is led by ignorance and desires.
In the pursuit of numbers and political relevance, as demanded by democracy, many of our elders have begun to contradict their earlier principles. Now, we are being told to unite with all factions, righteous and corrupt, Ikhwanis and Tahriris alike, in order to fight a common enemy, when in fact, the best method of combat lies in the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“But they threw it behind their backs as if they did not know.” (Āl-ʿImrān 3:187)
Dear elders, we ask Allāh to use you to place our feet firmly upon the truth.
Sadly, many of our brothers have now become active campaigners for democratic causes, especially during election seasons. They now see their old friends, who remain firm, as outdated and irrelevant. They operate in ways that make one wonder: What has come over us?
Dear elders, the youth of today are informed and discerning. They recognize the truth, they only wish for you to fulfill your role as guiding elders.
Do not confuse them. They will respond, some in wise and principled ways, others in misguided and harmful ways. We can all see what we are battling now.
And at the end of the day, you, the elders, will bear a share of the blame.
Take this as the sincere plea, perhaps even the “rant”, of a concerned youth, echoing the voice of many Muslim youth today.
Aboo Aamir, Ibadan.
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