The love and compassion that is shown to the Youth

Everyone has an opinion about the period of youth which is the most colorful and
enjoyable times of our lives but also a very critical and dangerous period. It is possible to
find plenty of books in the market about our youth.

Have you ever thought what our beloved Prophet (PBUH) said about the youth? What
advice did he make? How did he treat them?
While addressing the youth, our honorable Prophet (PBUH), who is the greatest teacher
of all humanity, proved that he is the one who knows them, their characteristics as well
as their psychological aspects best.
He behaved them so compassionately, warmly and affectionately that they became his
shadow and loved him wholeheartedly.
Since the prophet (PBUH) knows that youths have an inclination towards novelties,
change and beauties, he said, I advise you beneficent youths because they have more
tender hearts. Allah sent me with trueness and tolerance. Youths came to me but elders
opposed.
Youths supported the holy cause of Islam at first; our honorable Prophet (PBUH), who
is the prophet of mercy, embraced them with compassion, warned them against the
dangers of youth and gave them advise so that they could pass this test.
This work has been prepared with the collection of hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) especially for the youth. We have not only presented these hadiths about the
youth as a text but also explained them by supporting them with the related verses of the
Quran and hadiths.
If this work has a beauty and effect, this is because of the life-giving words of our
honorable Prophet (PBUH,) which we referred while preparing it.
If you have benefitted from this work, then head towards the hadith resources which are
like ocean and drink from them as much as you can.
May our Lord make us and all of our youth brothers be worthy of our honorable Prophet
(PBUH) and attain his intercession.

Beware of the dangers of the Youth

Our glorious prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who pulled all humanity from darkness to
the light upon his arrival, is an example for all of us with all of his words, actions and
behavior. Our Lord stated that His apostle (PBUH) is a guide for all people of any age
and class with the following the verse of the Quran; Ye have indeed in the Messenger of
Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final
Day, and who engages much in the praise of Allah. (al-Ahzab: 21)

Our glorious Prophet (PBUH) is the best teacher, warner and announcer of good news
for us.
The following hadith, Beware of the dangers of the youth (Kanzul Ummal, 2:258) for
the youth who are living the roughest and the most active times of their lives, is a very
important warning of that greatest teacher and educator.
There are two terms in the hadith that are closely connected with each other: The youth
and dangers.
The youth is the most emotional period of human life. Human beings face the most
critical problems at this time, when both their material organs and their spiritual
emotions are very active.
For, during youth, while the soul of man orders him to commit evil, the potential that he
owns gives him the chance to commit evil.
For example, illicit joy, alcohol, gambling, fornication and theft can easily be committed
during youth.
Young people rarely think of death since they are leading the most powerful, dynamic
and active times of their lives.
However, death does not make a distinction between young and old people. Many young
people meet death at the spring of their youth. None has made an agreement with Azrael
(A.S) (Death Angel) about how many years they are going to live.

Moreover, Allah does not order worship for the old people only. Islam is not a religion of
old people but for every age. Thus, a person who started to perform five daily prayers at
an old age will not attain salvation immediately on the Judgment Day. He/she will be
surely asked about why he/she did not worship from the time of youth until his/her old
age and if not forgiven, he/she will be tormented.
Allah gives infinite sustenance to everybody and meets their needs. The majority of
bounties are given in the period of youth. For this reason, it is the period of youth
when we should worship Allah most.
While the truth is this, the youths who are covered with dangers might not obey the
orders and rules of Allah by having been deceived by their souls and Satan.
So, the prophet (PBUH) warns the youth with this hadith and advises them not to fall
into heedlessness and not to be deceived by human and jinni satans.
Is Satan the only enemy of youth?
No!
Satan is not actually the greatest enemy.
For, the glorious prophet (PBUH) warns us about this issue with the following hadith,
The greatest enemy among your enemies is your soul, which is between your two sides
(Kashful Khafa, 1:412)
So, the foremost enemy of man is his soul. That is, it is the feeling that leads man to sins,
evil and desires.
The period when the soul is the most powerful and demanding is again the time of
youth.
So, the youth must be also careful not to fulfill the evil wishes of their souls.
Some young people may think that they can control their souls since they have already
had a calm life far away from sins.
In fact, this is a trick of the soul. A person who thinks like that does not struggle with his
soul and loses his sensitivity.
For, the soul is unreliable. Despite being a prophet, Hazrat Yusuf (Joseph) said: "Nor do
I absolve my own self (of blame): the (human soul) certainly prone to evil, unless my

Lord do bestow His Mercy: but surely my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surah
Yusuf:53)
Even Hazrat Yusuf (A.S), who is sinless like other prophets says so, we must be very
careful about the tricks of our soul.
We can summarize the dangers of the youth as follows:
1- To have greed: To have infinite plans as if we are going to live forever by not thinking
that we are going to die. This way of thinking immerses man into the transitory life and
prevents him from working for his hereafter.
2- Acting upon desires: Since the youth is the healthiest, powerful and sensible period,
emotions are in the foreground rather than logic. Transient pleasures, games and joys
are attractive. The entertainment places are generally full of youth. In the middle and
old age, people cannot act with their emotions due to the weakness of the body, illnesses
and responsibilities of life.
3- The youth is more open to sins and bad habits: The period of youth is a time when
there is more possibility of falling into sins like alcohol, gambling and fornication.
In the face of these dangers, we should stick to the advice of the glorious Prophet
(PBUH) more and more.

The bounty of youth will be questioned in the Herefater

The apostle of Allah, (PBUH) who warns all humanity with his life-giving words,
strongly emphasized the issue of using the given bounties properly.

As a matter of fact, he says the following regarding the issue in one of his hadiths:
A man shall not leave the presence of his Lord before being asked concerning five
things on the Day of Resurrection: concerning his life, how he spent it; concerning his
youth, how he grew old; concerning his wealth, whence he acquired it, and in what way
he spent it; and what was it that he did with the knowledge that he had. (Tirmidhi,
Sifatul Qiyama: 1)

As it is seen from the hadith given above, the five bounties which interest people of any
age shall be asked about.
In a sense, the question of where the life was spent is related to where the time was
spent. Since the life and time are given by Allah to man, this bounty should be used
according to His consent and orders.
Our glorious Prophet (PBUH) said the following in a hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas,
There are two bounties about which the majority of humans are deceived: Health and
leisure time (Tirmidhi, Zuhd: 2405) By saying this, he emphasized one of our
important weakness. Unfortunately, most of the young people who have plenty of
opportunities in terms of health and time are deceived about this issue.
The question where the youth grew old is directly related with young people. This
questioning shows that the youth is not given for living in joy, spending time nicely and
entertainment with laughter. Since the youth is a period which is full of positive
elements in terms of Allahs bounties, one can thank for it by using it according to the
consent of Allah. If the bounties of the youth such as power, strength, health and
welfare are not used as means of getting more rewards, they may become troubles both
in this world and hereafter.
The question from where the wealth is acquired and spent is a kind of alarm warning
all humanity. For, with this statement, people are asked to earn and to spend through
halal (legitimate) ways. It is necessary to earn money by halal ways in which Allah has
consent and to use it properly according to His consent and to avoid wasting in our
worldly expenses.
The question "what he did with the knowledge he had" shows that what matters is not to
learn but to practice what one learns. In the Quran, our Lord likens those who do not
practice what they learn to "a donkey carrying books" because neither of them benefits
from what they carry. The following hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) should make us shiver
and be more careful: "All people are destroyed except scholars; all scholars are
destroyed except the ones who practice what they know. All scholars who practice what
they know are destroyed except the ones who practice them sincerely; and those who
practice them sincerely are in great danger."
Along with the explanations above, the hadith includes an answer to an important
question:

The hadith shows that the young people who say, "we will worship when we get old"
make a big mistake. Thus, people are warned that they will be held responsible for what
they did not only when they were old but also when they were young.
As a matter of fact, the following is stated in the chapter of az-Zilzal in the Quran: "Then
shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done
an atom's weight of evil, shall see it." Thus, it is stated that man will be held responsible
for all of his life.
It is necessary to heed the following warnings in the hadith below, which complements
the hadith above:
"Take advantage of five matters before five other matters:
1.Your life, before your death,
2. your health, before you fall sick,
3. your free time before you become busy,
4. your youth, before you become old,
5. and your richness, before you become poor." (Hakim: Mustadrak)
May my Lord make all of us those who spend their "lives, helath, time, youth and
wealth" for Allah's sake and consent.

Angelic Young People

In one of his hadiths, the glorious Prophet (PBUH) said, Women are Satan's snares.
The youth is a group of lunatics (Kashful Khafa, 2:4) Here there is an emphasis on an
important weakness of young people and also a great trap.

As it is known, in Turkish, the young people are called delikanl. (A term used for lads
which describes the lunacy of the youth) This definition defines the mood of young
people perfectly.

For, lunacy does not mean foolishness but the inability of the mind to perform the
functions since young people may generally do things that are contrary to reason.
This is so clear that they are surprised by what they themselves do. They usually use
expressions like Rubbish, going crazy, madness
So, it is necessary to discipline the mind of youth which is very close to madness, to keep
them in line and direct them positively. This is only possible through belief, Islam and
worship. A young person who knows the mortality of the world life and who thinks of
death will listen to his reason instead of his emotions. A young person who believes in
Allah and the hereafter will control his/her emotions. He/she will spend a legitimate
life.
Then, the youth who are a group from lunatics will resemble angels. Our Creator says
the following in a hadith al Qudsi which is narrated by Abdullah Ibn Umar:
A young believer who believes in my Qada and judgment, obey the rules and advice of
the book (Quran), is satisfied with the sustenance I give him and abandons his lustful
desires for my consent is at the level of some of my angels in my eyes. (Daylami)
Again a hadith regarding the youth is as follows: Indeed, Allah says the following to His
angels by being proud of a young person who worships: O the youth who abandons his
lust for Me! O the youth who sacrifices his youth for Me! You are like one of My angels
in my eyes. (Ihya Ulumid Din, 2:432)
In two hadiths given above, there is good news for the youth that are more valuable than
the universe. So, in order to resemble some angels, the following qualities must exist:
Believing in every decree of Allah, obeying the rules and advice of the Quran, Being
satisfied with the given sustenance, giving up the lustful desires of the soul for Allah's
sake, worshipping, and sacrificing the youth for Allah.
Young people who grow up by belief and worship and who spend their lives in the way of
serving the religion of Allah are freed from making serious mistakes that destroy their
lives like a group of lunatics who jump through a ring of fire both in this world and in
the hereafter; thus, they can be elevated to the rank of angels superior to man.
The Prophet (pbuh), who gave great importance to young people, gave great glad tidings
to them by saying, "Allah loves the young person who spends his youth by obeying
Allah." (Daylami)

What makes man happy is to attain an eternal youth while one spends his youth. The
way to attain eternal youth is to obey Allah.
So, spending one's youth by obeying Allah makes him both attain eternal youth and be
elevated to the rank of love. A person who attains love of Allah attains the rank of a lover
and becomes a lover of Allah.
May Allah make our young people abandon their lust for the sake of Allah, sacrifice their
youth for Allah, spend their youth in His way and attain His love.

The Best Youth

The glorious Prophet (pbuh) says the following about the youth in one of his hadiths:

"The best of your youth are those who resemble your elders, and the worst of your elders
are those who resemble your youth." (Faydul Qadir, 15:776)
Of course, resembling in the hadith does not mean imitating each other in dressing or
the whiting of hair and wrinkles of face. As a matter of fact, Badiuzzaman says the
following while explaining this hadith:
The best youth is he who thinks of death like an elderly person, and working for the
hereafter, is not one of those who become captive to the passions of youth and drown in
heedlessness. And the worst of your elderly people is he who tries to resemble the young
in heedlessness and passion, and follows the lusts of the soul like a child.
The thought of death has a great impact on youths comprehension of the mortality of
the world life and working for their eternal life. A person who does not think that he is
going to die one day and does not work with that consciousness will waste his wealth of
life, which has been given to him to gain the hereafter, for nothing. He/she would
plunge into mortal pleasures and regards this world life as a place of joy and
amusement.
The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wanted to save us from this heedlessness by saying:
Frequently mention death which dispels pleasure and makes it bitter (Tirmidhi, Zuhd:
4)

As a matter of fact, the following event which is narrated by Abdullah Ibn Umar
(PBUH), is so noteworthy:
A man from Ansar came to the prophet (PBUH) and asked him:
O apostle of Allah! Which believers are more clever and conscious?
He answered: Those who remember death mostly and are prepared in the best way for
life after death. (Ibn Majah, Zuhd: 31)
Abdullah Ibn Umar (RA) also narrates the following:
The apostle of Allah (PBUH) grasped one part of my body and said:
Be a stranger (a foreign lander) in this world or even become as if you are a traveler and
consider yourself to be one of the dead people.
And then, Ibn Umar (PBUH) continued as follows: When you live till the morning, do
not talk about the evening and when you live till the evening, do not talk about the
morning. Take care of your life and benefit from it before you die and take care of your
health and benefit from it before you become ill. O Abdullah! You cannot know whether
you will be happy or miserable tomorrow. (Tirmidhi, Zuhd: 25)
In fact, there cannot be a better description than this, which indicates the mortality of
world life, because, the time and life that a person has is only a moment. No one can
grant that he will live one year more, one day more and even one hour more. So, he must
utilize the moment in which he lives in the best way and become a good slave of Allah.
However, understanding the mortality of world life and leaving its pleasures aside does
not mean depriving oneself from the benefactions of Allah.
The following hadith explains this truth very well:
Leaving worldly pleasures aside does not mean depriving yourself from Halal things or
throwing them away. However, it means to be more willing for the reward of a calamity
that befalls you and considering what you have is not as reliable as what Allah offers
you (Tirmidhi, Zuhd: 29)
It is not enough for young people to think about death only in order to prevent
themselves from plunging into the world. It is also necessary to meditate on what will
happen after death. It is necessary to think about the life in the grave, the Doomsday,
the Gathering Place, reckoning and questioning, Weighing, Sirat bridge and Hell in

order to be able to be saved from the torture of those places, to take refuge in Allah and
to spend our remaining time in a way that Allah wants.
The first station man goes to after his death is the grave. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "The
grave is one of the destinations of the hereafter. If man's reckoning is easy there, his
remaining reckonings in the other destinations will be easy, too; if his reckoning is
difficult there, his remaining reckonings in the other destinations will be difficult too.
The torture of grave is real. Man will be tortured in the grave due to the evil deeds he
commits in the world. Hazrat Uthman reported the following word of the Messenger of
Allah by crying: "I have not seen a view worse than the grave." (Tirmidhi, Zuhd : 5)
When the Prophet visited graves, he saw the situation of the people there and would tell
his Companions about them. Since the hadith above tells us how horrible the grave is, it
is necessary to work hard and avoid the torture in the grave.
The most terrible period of time after the grave is the Day of Judgment. The Prophet
(pbuh) states the following about it:
"On the Day of Judgment, the sun will be made approach the people as nears as one
mile or two miles. The sun will virtually melt them and they will be in sweat in
accordance with their deeds. Some of them will be in sweat up to their heels, some up to
their knees, some up their waists and some up to their throats. (Tirmidhi, Qiyama: 2)
The way of salvation on such a horrible day is to obey the orders of Allah in the world, to
keep away from His prohibitions and to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet.
In the Gathering Place, a person will accounted for what he does in the world. He will be
accounted to such an extent that a tiny good or bad deed will be questioned as it is
stated in the chapter of az-Zilzal. The rewards and sins of man will be weighed, if his
good deeds outweigh, he will be sent to Paradise; if his bad deeds outweigh, he will be
sent to Hell.
Before we undergo this tough reckoning, it is necessary to take lessons from the
following hadith:
According to what is reported from Abdullah bin Masud (r.a.), the Prophet stated the
following:
"Every one of you will be alone with his Lord like the full moon. Allah will address each
one of you as follows:

'O son of Adam! What deceived you about Me?

O son of Adam! What deeds did you do for Me?
O son of Adam! To what extent did you feel ashamed because of fearing Me?
O son of Adam! What answer did you give to the prophets?
O son of Adam! Did I not see your eyes when you looked at haram things?
O son of Adam! Did I not see your ears when you listened to haram things?
O son of Adam! Did I not hear you when you uttered haram things?
O son of Adam! Did I not see your hands when you held haram things?
O son of Adam! Did I not see your legs when you approached haram things?
Did I not know what was in your heart when your heart was busy with haram things?
Or, did you deny that I was near you and I had power over you?'"
The address of our Lord makes us shiver even now. Think of the same address with all
its awe and horror on the Day of Judgment. This address is so humiliating, tragic and
distressing.
Therefore, it is necessary to work hard for the hereafter when it is possible.
We should think of the torture in Hell and pray in order to be saved from it.
The following hadith reported from Numan bin Bashir (r.a.) is sufficient to understand
the torture in Hell:
"The person with the least torture among the people of Hell is the one who has a fire
between his two feet and whose brain boils because of it. (Tirmidhi, Jahannam: 12)
If this is the weakest form of torture of Hell, it is not difficult to think of what the most
horrible form will be like.
May Allah make us one of those people who think of death, who do not plunge into the
pleasures of the world and who are saved from the torture of Hell.

What kind of young people does Allah love?

The prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who is one of the most important example and the
greatest guide for us with his life, said: Allah loves the youth who does not follow the
unlawful lust very much (Musnad, 4:151)

In this hadith, there is good news for the youth who are undergoing the stormiest and
dangerous period of their lives: Being liked by Allah.
This is such good news that it is more valuable and loftier than all individuals whom a
person love and want to gain their fancy.
For, as Badiuzzaman said, Whoever befriends Allah, everything becomes a friend and
everything will be useful for him.
The famous Hikam al Ataiyya said, What will a person who has found Allah lose? And
what will a person who has lost Him gain? That is, a person who finds Him will have
had everything and a person who cannot find Him is not considered to have found
anything. If he finds something, it will become a misfortune for him.
After all, the way to gain the consent of Allah which is worthy of the world is not to
follow unlawful lust.
In the hadiths about the youth, the following is stated: Allah regards the youth who
abandons his haram lust as some of His angels.
This is so clear that, the meaning of a hadith which was narrated by Hz. Jabir (RA) is as
follows: When a young person gets married in his young age, his Satan says the
following by screaming: Alas, He saved his religion from me (Ramuz al Ahadith, v.1
p.179)
The glorious prophet (PBUH) attracted attention to this subject, which is very
important, by stating the following: The evilest ones of you are those who are not
married (Kashful Khafa, 2:6)
I wonder where the importance of lust comes from; abandoning it gains someone the
love of Allah and makes the youth like angels?
Why does protecting the feeling of lust with marriage is regarded the same as protecting
the religion from Satan?

And why are the evilest people those who are not married?
We must say that, the ruling in the last hadith is not a general one. This hadith is for the
ones who are single but unable to protect their chastity. Otherwise there were many
single companions from ashab as-Suffa. There are many heroes of Islam who did not get
married. People who do not run after haram lust and who protect their chastity by being
single are of course out of the scope of this hadith. On the contrary, if they are not
married just because of the intention of serving Islam more, they are worthy of
congratulation and appreciation.
For, what is essential is protecting the chastity. Marriage is a means of it. If a married
person cannot protect his chastity though he is married, he is more harmful than a
single person.
Now let us answer the questions that we have listed above.
Yes, why is chastity regarded so important and why are people advised to refrain from
lust?
First of all running after unlawful lust is an indecent act. It destroys the institution of
family, which is the foundation of the society, and mixes the generations.
Besides, running after unlawful lust destroys the time, health, work power and school
life of the youth. It also leads people to commit suicide.
There are so many young people who fight and commit murders due to lust and who
spend their lives in hospitals or in prisons. There are so many young people who get ill
and die because of it.
If we have a look around us, we will see so many young people who abandon their jobs
or schools, who become ill, who waste most of their time and who lose their own money
or their parents' money due to lack of chastity.
Brilliant, talented and intelligent young people are eliminated and destroyed.
Therefore, especially young people, who are in the middle of the danger, are warned
seriously in the verses and hadiths; they are advised to be chaste.
In order to prevent young people from being trapped, it is insistently stated that the
whole life will be destroyed when a person is captivated by lust and that the lives and
talents are given to people so that they will know and worship Allah.

Do not look at Haram

Let us see how the use of lust in unlawful ways is viewed in the light of hadiths.

An important danger of the youth and singleness is briefly explained in the following
hadith which was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (RA):
Any share of fornication of the son of Adam is written and no doubt he will reach it:
The fornication of the eyes is looking at that which is forbidden. The fornication of the
ears is listening to that which is forbidden. The fornication of the tongue is saying that
which is forbidden. The fornication of the hand is grasping that which is forbidden. The
fornication of the feet is walking to that which is forbidden. The fornication of the heart
yearns and desires and the genitals either confirm it or contradict it. (Muslim,
Qadar:21)
So, the way of using lust in an unlawful way which is called fornication has varieties.
They are as follows; thinking the forbidden act, looking at an illegitimate thing,
talking, listening, touching and approaching. The heart desires them and the
genitals either confirm or reject them.
As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a verse: Do not come near to adultery.
The choice of the expression as Do not come near instead of Do not commit
fornication is remarkable. So, this short verse includes the points of the hadith given
above. The verse forbids all kinds of approaching.
Though there is a riwayah by Abu Hurayrah (RA) that thinking a forbidden act is
forgiven, There is no doubt that, unless a person utters or commits a sin, Allah will
forgive of what my ummah have had in their hearts (Muslim, Iman: 58) However, it is
not true to make this a habit and waste time by keeping the talent of thinking and
imagination busy with nonsensical things which have been given by Allah in order to
contemplate Him and to think of beauties and to make plans about them.
The subject of looking at harams which was explained above is forbidden by verses and
hadiths.

The following is stated in the verses 30 and 31 of surah of an-Noor, Say to the believing
men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for
greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the
believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty.
These verses are both for men and women and forbid them to look at people whom are
not permissible for them to look at.
The following hadith, which was narrated by Ibn Burayda (RA), is also related with our
subject:
The apostle of Allah (PBUH) said to Hz. Ali (RA), O Ali! Do not turn round to look! The
first look is all right but you have no right for the second look. (Abu Dawud, Nikah: 43)
Here the first looking is used for someones necessary look in order to walk in places
such as bazaars or shopping centers where his eyes have a contact involuntarily. Since a
person cannot walk with his eyes closed, his involuntary looks in necessary places are
regarded as the first look. Sometimes a person can see another being involuntarily while
looking at something. This is valid especially in the Era of Bliss.
However, it is not appropriate to walk by inspecting around by thinking that the first
look is permissible because today there is nothing like seeing non-mahram people
suddenly and involuntarily; it is possible to see non-mahram people and immodestly
dressed people anytime and anywhere today. Therefore, it is necessary for a person to
control his gaze.
There are a lot of harms caused by looking at non-mahram people. It harms a person's
time, memory and attention. Not to look at non-mahram makes a person gain millions
of rewards and makes him attain the spiritual flavor mentioned in the following hadith
qudsi:
"To look at non-mahram people is one of the arrows of Satan; if a person gives up
looking at non-mahram people by fearing Me, I will give that person such a belief in
return for this act that he will feel the flavor of the belief in his heart." Tabarani and
Hakim)
There is a great glad tiding in this hadith. If our young people act carefully regarding
looking at haram, they will feel great peace and joy; they will virtually be isolated from
materiality and attain a luminous state.

The Irshad (guidance) of the Prophet

The warning and guidance of the prophet for the youth (PBUH) is extremely powerful.
The following dialogue with a young person who came to him has a quality of solving
social problems which the modern world cannot overcome:

One day a young person came to the prophet (PBUH) and said, O Apostle of Allah, let
me to have sexual intercourse Those who were there got very angry, blamed and
blocked him. The prophet said, Bring that young person to me. When he came,
The Prophet asked him Do you want this act to be done with your mother?
The young person answered:
No, Wallahi (I swear by Allah) I dont want it."
The prophet said,
Other people dont want their mother to have this act, either.
And then asked him Would you agree if this act is done with your daughter?, with
your sister, with your aunt, and with your aunty? and every time when the
prophet received from the young person the answer "I swear by Allah, No! he said,
Other people wouldnt like and accept this, either.
Then the Prophet put his hand onto the young person and prayed as follows, O Allah!,
forgive his sins, make his heart pure and let his sexual organ be protected After that,
the youth did not have any negative inclination. (Musnad, 5:256)
In this hadith, the most important way of protecting the individual and the community
from fornication has been shown.
Especially the formula of destroying whorehouses, brothels and den of thieves exist
within this hadith.
Some people who are deprived of chastity and bashfulness see the selling of chastity in
return of money by some people as normal. However, prostitution is a humiliating act
for human beings. It is not suitable for someone who has honor, chastity and pride.

Islam teaches the youth to consider their brothers as well as themselves. As a matter of
fact, in a hadith the Prophet said, Do not do to your believing brother what you do not
want to be done to you.
We need to listen the following hadith in order to understand what kind of solutions the
prophet produces in order to solve the problems of the youth:
Narrated by Alqama (RA): The Apostle of Allah (PBUH) approached some young
people and said the following to them: Whoever from you is rich enough to get married
should get married because, marriage saves the eye from harams, protects chastity and
honor. Those who are not rich enough to get married should fast because, fasting
diminishes sexual desire. (Muslim, Nikah: 1)
It is a social duty to marry young people off. As a matter of fact, in the 32nd verse of the
surah of an-Noor, the following is stated Marry those among you who are single, or the
virtuous ones among your slaves, male or female: if they are in poverty, Allah will give
them means out of His grace: for Allah encompasseth all, and He knoweth all things.
Marriage is not for satisfying the lust but for the continuation of generations. That is, for
raising Abdullah (slave of Allah), more worshipping humans and ummah for the
Prophet. (PBUH) However, sensual desire is a small prepaid fee (pleasure) given to
humans in order to make them fulfill this duty.
Unfortunately, marriage has become a problematic issue in the last century since social
institutions have been ruined.
In the Ottoman period, a young person used to get marry at the age of 15-18 and could
set up his business. The social life was so perfect.
Now it is necessary to help the youth who want to get married so that they can save
themselves from the great dangers of this age. A nice attempt on this issue is
foundations and institutions founded in different cities to help the poor young people to
get married. Similar foundations should be founded everywhere.
May Allah save our youth from all kinds of disorders of this age.

The Youth between Fear and Hope

The Apostle of Allah (PBUH) entered into the room of a youth who was at his deathbed
and asked him How do you feel? The youth answered, I expect the forgiveness of
Allah, O Apostle of Allah (PBUH)! I also fear from my sins. Upon this, the Apostle of
Allah said: When the hope of being forgiven and the fear of sin have come together into
the heart of a believer at this time, Allah will certainly accept the wish of His slave and
ensure him of what he fears. (Nasai, Zuhd: 31)

Though this is an event that happened to a young person, it is valid for everybody.
However, the importance of a young person as being the subject of this event is as
follows: In fact, the period of youth is a time when fear and hope have no balance.
Sometimes, a young person has so much hope that he thinks that he will go to Paradise
directly. And sometimes he has so much despair that he thinks that he is not going to be
forgiven because of his sins.
This hadith is good news and warning for the youths whose mood change very quickly.
Our religion encourages us to be between fear and hope. Our Almighty Lord states the
following: Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not
of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Turn ye to your Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the Penalty comes on
you: after that ye shall not be helped. (az-Zumar: 53-54)
Our creator stated that he could forgive any kind of sins except shirk (associating
partners with Allah). For this reason, we should not be hopeless because only Satan
abandons hope. However, to have hope does not mean to continue to sin and not to have
fear from the wrath of Allah because of being sure of being forgiven somehow.
Thus As a matter of fact, Hz. Umar (RA) explained the following rule, which is a guide
for all of our youths: If they said all people were to go to Hell and only one would go to
Paradise, I would hope by saying Is that person me? If they said, all people were go
to Paradise and only one would go to Hell, then I would fear by saying the following Is
that person me?
Such a thought is the peak of being between fear and hope. That is a person should both
fear from the wrath of Allah by thinking about his/her sins and hope the mercy of Allah.
If you pay attention to this subject, you will see that such a thought is not a
contradiction because what is discussed here is fear and hope. The opposite of them are

recklessness and despair. What is advised to us is not both to have fear and not to have
fear or being hopeful and hopeless at the same time. We are expected not to be
hopeless because of excessive fear and not to be reckless because of excessive hope.
For this reason, a person can both have fear and hope at the same time.
What is emphasized in the hadith is the truth which stated in a hadith al Qudsi: I
(Allah) follow the presumption of my slave to me. According to this hadith al Qudsi, we
will be treated accordingly if we expect the mercy of our Creator. Besides, we should not
think of any negative things about our Creator. That is saying the following, Im very
sinful, He will definitely torture me means to intervene the will of Allah. It is necessary
to repent and seek forgiveness for sins by saying the following, Im very sinful but My
lord has mercy and forgiveness
It is wrong and a great sin for a person to say, "I am definitely a person of Hell."
Similarly, it is a great sin for a person to think as follows: "I am definitely a person of
Paradise." The most appropriate way of thinking is as follows:
"I have committed a lot of sins. I fear the wrath of Allah. However, I feel regretful; my
Lord can forgive me. Allah made me do some good deeds, too. My good deeds are His
grace. I hope He will treat me with His grace."
The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Nobody will go to Paradise due to his deeds; not even me. I
cannot go to Paradise but for the mercy of my Lord." He also stated that a person who
had killed one hundred people was forgiven by Allah when he repented sincerely.
This is the state of being between fear and hope. On the one hand, Allah's greatest
Prophet states that he will not be able to go to Paradise through his own deeds; on the
other hand, a person who killed one hundred people was forgiven because he asked for
forgiveness with absolute repentance.
If a person relies on his own deeds, it is called "ujub" (self-conceit), which is a spiritual
illness; it is as bad as hopelessness.
May Allah keep us between the state of fear and hope until we end our life with a nice
ending and die as a believer.

One should repent when he is young

In one of the hadiths, the glorious prophet (PBUH) said the following:

Justice is good but it is better if it exists in rulers. Generosity is good but it is better if it
exists in the rich. Sensitiveness in religion is good but it is better if it exists in scholars.
Patience is good but it is better if it exists in the poor. Repentance is good but it is better
if it exists in the youth. Modesty is good but it is better if it exist in women. (Daylami,
Musnadul Firdaws)
As it is seen, it is stated above that the good characteristics that are listed above will be
much better for the people who need them the most. Since a manager pass judgment on
others so much, he will need justice more than anyone else. Generosity is better for the
rich, because they have the opportunity to do the requirement of this characteristic.
Everyone should be sensitive in religion but scholars who guide people and set an
example for them should be more sensitive. Everyone needs patience. But a person who
suffers from poverty should be more patient in order not to commit sins. Everyone
needs repentance but it is good for the youth who are more inclined to commit sins. The
feeling of shame (shyness) is good but when it exists in women, they will not show their
beauty to others and they will avoid sins.
Now, let us concentrate on repentance by the youth.
The following hadith of the Apostle of Allah (PBUH), whose words have a light and
hope, contains an important warning and good news for the youth.
Repentance is the penitence of a person who has sinned. Our Creator said, O ye who
believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: in the hope that your Lord will remove
from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow (at Tahrim: 8)
Since the repentance is penitence, it should be performed by its doer personally. A
person cannot repent for any other person. However, he/she can ask forgiveness for
others because, forgiveness means asking to be forgiven by Allah and we can want this
for others.
In order to be forgiven, one should repent at first. Such a person must be regretful so
that he/she can beg Allah in order to be forgiven.

There are many hadiths that encourage repentance. As a matter of fact, while this hadith
gives an important good news for sinners: a person who has repented is like a person
who has not committed any sins (Ibn Majah, Zuhd:30), in the following hadith, the
contentment of our Creator for His slaves who repent is mentioned. No doubt that
Allah becomes more pleased than a person who finds his lost cattle when one of His
slaves repents. (Ibn Majah, Zuhd: 30)
One of the names of our Creator is Tawwab. That is, He accepts repentances very
much. This is so clear that our Prophet said that if people did not commit any sins, Allah
would create new human beings and let them commit sins and forgive them. For, the
existence of sinners and repenters is a requirement of Allahs name Tawwab. The
following verse states that repentance brings about love of Allah: "Allah loves those who
repent.
As Allah said, My mercy prevails over my wrath, (Muslim, Tawba: 4), we should also
repent and seek forgiveness from Him in order to summon His mercy.
Though the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is sinless, he said, I repent and seek
forgiveness 70 times a day because of the beauty of repentance and forgiveness.
The prophet (PBUH) said to Abu Dharr (RA): Wherever you are, fear from Allah and do
a good deed immediately after committing a sin so that it will destroy the sin. Besides,
get along well with other people. (Tirmidhi, Birr: 55)
So, it is necessary to repent after committing a sin along with a good deed. Thus, that sin
is destroyed.
Why is repentance, which is so good, better in the youth?
Firstly, let us quote two verses that will explain the subject:
Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil, in ignorance and repent soon
afterwards; to them, will Allah turn in mercy; for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.
Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil, until death faces one of
them, and he says; "Now have I repented indeed"; nor of those who die rejecting Faith:
for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous. (an-Nisa: 17-18)
As it is seen, the real repentance is the repentance which is made during the summer of
one's life before indulging into the sea of sin. For, senses and talents are cleaner and
nicer during the youth. Those who repent during the youth will spend their life with

good deeds. Doubtlessly, regardless of age, repenting is certainly good and should be
performed.
The verses and hadiths given above explain us how the following words are meaningless
and silly; You are still young. Eat, drink, and enjoy your life. Give up praying, you will
pray when you get older.
The following hadith should enable us to repent Allah loves the youth who repent
(Jamiussaghir: 1866). There cannot be a greater bounty than Allahs loving us.
Nevertheless if we have committed too many sins or if we realize the truth when we get
old, we should not be hopeless. The mercy of Allah is great. We should repent and seek
forgiveness as much as possible and help the poor.
May Allah make our youth among His slaves who repent when they are young.

Knowledge Should be Acquired During Youth

The apostle of Allah (PBUH) emphasized the permanency of knowledge which is

acquired during youth with the following words: The knowledge acquired during old
age is like a person who writes on water and the knowledge acquired during youth is like
the seal on stone (Kashful Khafa, 2:66)

There are a few points that secure the permanency of the knowledge which is acquired
during youth.
One of them is the ability of memorization of the brain is more powerful during youth.
That is why, acquiring knowledge starts during childhood. The activity of memorizing
the Quran also starts at childhood. Sufyan bin Uyayna (RA) memorized the whole
Quran at the age of four. Nowadays, there are children who have completed memorizing
the Quran at the age of 8-9.
Another reason that makes the knowledge permanent in this period is that it has
advantages in terms of time. Learning knowledge requires attention, repetition and

concentration. The most comfortable period of a person is the age of youth. As time
passes, a person becomes more occupied with work along with his children and this
reduces his time for acquiring knowledge leaves no time at all.
Another reason of it is that as the years pass, the areas of interest and attention of the
brain weakens. The fields of interest of a person during youth are more limited. That is
why, a young person can concentrate on knowledge. This does not continue in the same
degree at an old age.
Young people may list many problems that they come across as excuses which are
obstacles for acquiring knowledge. Although the period of youth is rough and
problematic, it is the most suitable time in terms of obtaining knowledge.
In addition to this, our Prophet advised us to seek knowledge from the cradle to the
grave because another statement of him is as follows, it is fard to have knowledge for
all Muslims, both men and women.
Another hadith that encourages our youth to acquire knowledge is as follows:
When a young person is brought up with knowledge and worship and matures in this
manner, Allah will give him the reward of seventy-two siddiq (loyal) people on the
Judgment Day (The Book of Kabir by Tabarani)
Knowledge and worship are expressed together in this hadith, which gives great good
news for the youth. Here we can understand that acquiring knowledge is not enough on
its own and the knowledge should be put into action.
As a matter of fact, the Apostle of Allah (PBUH) said, All men will perish, except the
scholars, and all scholars will perish except those who act in accordance with their
knowledge, and all of them will perish except the sincere ones, and the sincere ones are
in great danger,
So, learning knowledge is not enough on its own; it is necessary to put this knowledge
into action with sincerity.
In another hadith, the Prophet emphasized the following; Both the scholar and
knowledge are in Paradise. When the scholar does not put his knowledge into practice,
both the knowledge and his deeds are in Paradise; but the scholar goes to Hell.
From the following hadith, we understand that those who act in accordance with their
knowledge will be taught of what they do not know by Allah:

The knowledge is the life of Islam and the pillar of belief. Allah will give complete
reward to His slave who acquires knowledge. Allah will teach His slave what he does not
know if he acquires knowledge and puts this knowledge into action.
So, a person who puts the knowledge that he has acquired into action with sincerity will
be able to acquire new knowledge easily.
There is no doubt that the activity of acquiring knowledge is not only composed of
education at schools. The education at schools is insufficient even if they are based on
religion.
Acquiring knowledge and becoming a scholar is very important and difficult. As a
matter of fact, the following hadiths show what a great rank being a scholar has:
Scholars are the candles of the earth, caliphs of prophets, inheritors of me and other
prophets.
Scholars are leaders. Those who have taqwa are masters and chiefs. Staying with them
means increasing goodness and benefaction.
Scholars are inheritors of prophets. The beings in the sky love them. When they die, the
fish in the sea demand forgiveness from Allah for them until Doomsday. (JamiusSaghir: 5703-5704 and 5705)
We can understand that being a scholar is a very great position when we also consider
the following hadiths: Looking at the face of a scholar is worship and The sleep of
scholar is also worship. As a matter of fact, our glorious Prophet (PBUH) stated the
following and showed that reaching this position is not easy, The scholars of my
ummah is like the Prophets of the son of Israelites.
Of course, our aim should be working hard, increasing our knowledge with our power
and talents as much as we can and acting in accordance with it.
No matter what age it is, education institutions show only the way of acquiring
knowledge and guides people. Getting diplomas from some schools does not mean
learning knowledge truly. What is essential is the self-effort of a person. Such a person
always wants to learn.
An important problem here is selecting which knowledge is to be acquired.
The knowledge that believers can acquire is divided into two. The first one is the
indispensable and essential one; the other is the dispensable one.

Indispensable knowledge is the essential subjects of the religion: Basics of belief,

learning how to worship.
The other type is supererogatory.
The first one is to know the religious knowledge in summary; the second one is to learn
them in detail.
A believer should learn especially the issues about belief very well and in detail. He must
comprehend what he believes and why he believes because the master of knowledge is
the knowledge of belief.
It is necessary to learn the issues of worship, foremost about salah (prayer), along with
halals and harams.
How can a person who does not know what is halal and what is haram gain the consent
of Allah?
Learning to read the Quran and memorizing some parts of it, acquiring the knowledge
of Islamic jurisprudence and reading hadiths are the beginning stage of learning
knowledge. One step further is getting deep in every field, foremost in the knowledge of
belief.
Let us quote the following hadith in order to understand the relation between
knowledge and action:
When the Prophet was asked the question, What deed is superior? he answered as
follows:
The knowledge that informs about Allahs names and attributes is superior to
anything.
The companion who asked the question said, O Apostle of Allah, we did not ask the
virtue of knowledge but asked the greatest deed. You answered as knowledge. Upon this,
the Apostle of Allah continued as follows:
No matter how little is a deed which is performed with knowledge that informs about
Allah, it is useful for man. On the other hand, the deeds which are performed without
knowing Allah are not useful for man.
There is an important point that must not be forgotten here. What is meant by
knowledge is not religious knowledge only. The knowledge about our world life is also

very important. Every branch of science informs about the manifestation of Allahs
names and is based on one of His names.
For this reason, someone who has learnt necessary religious knowledge and has
specialized in worldly knowledge is regarded to have received the reward of acquiring
knowledge. Since worldly knowledge has progressed so much in this age, believers
should have worldwide achievements in this field. For, worldwide knowledge which is
under the command of belief along with matter which is directed by spirituality is a very
important power.
Let us complete our subject with the following hadith:
Demand useful knowledge from Allah. Take refuge in Allah from useless knowledge.
(Jamius-Saghir: 4702)

Warning and Good News

The Apostle of Allah (PBUH) said, When a young person treats an elderly person with
respect and honour, Allah will put somebody who will treat him with respect and honour
under his order when he gets older. (Tirmidhi, Birr: 75)

The Apostle of Allah (PBUH), who orders obedience and kindness towards parents and
close relatives in many of his hadiths, orders people to treat all elderly people with
respect and honour in this hadith. Such a kindness of a young person will not only be
rewarded in the hereafter but its benefit will also be seen in this world. In fact, the
kindness of a young person towards his elders and the same kindness that will be shown
towards him when he gets old has become a proverb.
Treating with respect and honour does not mean only materially. Helping the old in
their works, having sweet talk with them along with a smiling face and giving your seat
up in buses are also a kind of kindness. The following event in the era of bliss is a good
example of it:

An old man who wanted to talk to the Apostle of Allah (PBUH) came but the people who
were there hesitated to give up a seat for him. Upon this, the Apostle of Allah (PBUH)
said the following, Those who do not show respect to the elderly and compassion to the
young are not of us. (Tirmidhi, Birr: 15)
As it seen here, giving up seats for elderly people is kind of obedience and kindness. The
phrase not of us in the hadith is a quivering warning for every young person. All
believers are dying for being an ummah worthy of the Prophet (PBUH) and they work
hard for this aim. No young person wants to be in the group who are excluded from his
group. So, we should be included in his ummah, which he named as we by showing
kindness to elderly people and compassion to the young.
Receiving the blessing of the elderly is treasure both in this world and in the hereafter.
We need to help and please them on all occasions because, the power and strength in
youth is a benefaction given by Allah. The elderly were also young once. Young people
will get old one day. It is wrong for a young person not to know the benefaction that he
has, without thinking of his future by not showing kindness to the elderly or upsetting
them.
Amr bin Humq (RA) narrates the event that he experienced as follows:
I gave a glass of milk to the Apostle of Allah (PBUH). He drank it and then he prayed
for me by saying: O my Allah! Let the benefaction of youth of him be permanent.
In fact, Hz. Amr lived nearly 80 years. His youthfulness continued during this time. No
white hair was seen on his body. (Abu Nuaym; Ibn Asakir)
If it were not for the youth fearing Allah, innocent animals and helpless elderly people
among you, calamities would flood onto you. (Kanzul Ummal, 9:167; Kashful Khafa)
One of the groups of the three that keep calamities away in the hadith given above is
the elderly. In this regard, they are our benefactors with what they did in their youth
and they prevent possible calamities that may come to us by summoning the
compassion of Allah when they get old.
It is necessary to show great respect and kindness to elders without fail since they
prevent calamities both in this world and hereafter and cause us to become happy.

The Youth that will rest in the Shade on the Day of Judgment

The glorious Prophet (PBUH) says the following in one of his hadiths:

Allah will give shade to seven people in His shade on the Day when there is no shade
except His shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up by worshipping Allah, the Mighty
and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to mosques; two men who love each other,
meet and part for Allah's sake; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position
[for illegal intercourse] and who says: 'I fear Allah' (and does not commit that sin), a
man who gives away money to charity secretly; and a man who remembers Allah in
private sheds tears. (Bukhari, Adhan: 4)
Though there are lessons for all people in this hadith, it is clear that there are especially
parts that are related to the youth.
First of all, it is necessary to mention the Day of Judgment in short. This is such a day
that people will not think of anybody other than their own souls. On that day, all people
except the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will say, My Soul, my Soul. A person will run
away from his/her mother, father, spouse and children since they may want help. The
most needed thing when the sun is to be lowered one mile down will be shade. It is
mentioned in the hadith who will be given shade on that terrific day.
The youth can enter into any of the seven categories listed here. However, becoming a
president is not an opportunity and responsibility that all people can have, maybe only
one in millions. However, from the phrase president, we can understand anyone who
has control, authority and responsibility. In that case, many just young people can enter
into the first category.
The second group is the youth who grew up worshipping Allah; any youth can enter
into this category. A youth who keeps his/her soul away from sins, especially avoids the
mischief and corruption of the age, sacrificing his/her youth in the way of Allah by not
obeying his fancy and lust will attain this great news.
The following is stated in another hadith: The superiority of a youth who has been
worshipping Allah a lot since his childhood over an old person who starts to worship
Allah a lot after getting older is like the superiority of prophets over other people.
(Daylami, Musnad al Firdaws)

Here, there is good news greater than the universe, happiness which is worthy of all
worldly pleasures and success that is worth spending all days pass in our lives in pain.
This hadith shows what a valuable treasure and a great rank to be envied growing up by
worshipping Allah is.
The third group is the person whose heart is attached to mosques. If our youth
performs five daily prayers and continue praying especially in congregation by
overcoming all internal and external obstacles, they can feel the happiness of reaching
this glad tiding already. The young whose heart is connected to mosques will worship in
peace and comprehend the reality of unity and solidarity along with the consciousness of
congregation. Of course, what is meant by masjids are firstly mosques. However, any
place used for worshipping Allah is in this category based upon place and potential.
The fourth group is each of the two men who love each other, meet and part for Allah's
sake. Young people can easily enter into this group because real friendship, selflessness,
sincerity, generosity and self-sacrifice reach their peak in the period of youth. So, any
youth will attain the happiness of this good news when they come together with one or
two friends in the way of Allah in order to serve and work for the advancement of Islam
and predominance of the Quran. Especially those who come together every week or
even every day in the way of belief and the Quran are lucky people who deserve this glad
tiding.
The fifth group is the man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal
intercourse], and who says: 'I fear Allah' (and does not commit that sin); those who are
exposed to this hard test especially nowadays are generally young people. It is always
possible to be exposed to such a test especially in this age. May our Lord save any young
person who comes across with such a test and enable him to pass the test by overcoming
his lust.
The sixth group is the man who gives away money to charity secretly. It is possible and
easy for our youth to enter into this group. Giving alms means to be useful or to help a
believer. This can be performed with property as well as with deeds, manners or
knowledge. Smiling, inquiring after health and commiserating with a person are also a
kind of giving of alms. The most perfect alms is conveying the knowledge of belief and
Islam to a brother who needs it.

The seventh group is the man who remembers Allah in private and sheds tears. In
order for our youth to enter into this group, they should repent and pray Allah by
shedding tears.
Thus, it is possible to gain the reward of being given shade by Allah in seven degrees by
having the qualities of the seven aforementioned groups.
Then, we can immortalize our youth in the way of Allah and enter Paradise by acquiring
the secret that is mentioned in the following hadiths:
An inviter will exclaim the following: There is real health for you; you shall not become
ill again. There will be life for you; you shall not die. There is youthfulness for you; you
shall not get old. There is benefaction for you, you shall not be poor. (Muslim, Paradise:
22)
The man who goes to Paradise will not suffer poverty; his clothes will not become worn
out and his youthfulness will not be exhausted. (Muslim, Paradise: 8)

The Youth Fearing From Allah

In a hadith, the glorious Prophet (PBUH) said, If it were not for the youth fearing Allah,
innocent animals and helpless elderly people among you, calamities would flood onto
you. (Kashful Khafa, 2:163)

In this hadith, there is severe warning as well as good news. According to this, the three
aforementioned mentioned things in the hadith is a cause of averting calamities. The
youth who fear Allah and thus avoid committing sins, pure animals that submit to the
will of Allah and helpless elders who look like children attract the mercy and
compassion of Allah. Thus, mercy and compassion of Allah appear instead of calamities
that come like flood despite the denial, rebellion, mistakes and sins of some other
people.
According to what we understand from other riwayahs, giving alms and serving Islam

also prevent troubles and calamities. So, the youth who fear Allah and avoid sins, who
tend to gain rewards and worship by controlling their feelings become effective like
giving alms.
The following can be said here: A youth is already supposed to avoid sins and tend
towards worship; so what is wisdom behind the fact that they are as effective as giving
alms?
A persons avoiding harams and inclining towards fards gain him a definite reward.
However, when a young person does the same, he will have both the reward of avoiding
harams, performing fards and gets an extra reward as if he has done extra deeds. More
precisely, many times more rewards are given for the deeds of the youth because though
their souls, feelings and desires encourage them to do mischief, they avoid committing
sins by fearing Allah and tend to worship.
There are also other good results of a young person who avoids misdeeds. As a matter of
fact, the glorious prophet (PBUH) gave important good news to our youth with the
following hadith: Allah makes a young person who is not interested in misdeeds
superior to others. (Faydul Qadir, v.2, p.263, no: 1799)
Nowadays, our young people are in a race with their fellows. The friends who are
studying in the same school and even in the same class are in a constant race from high
school examinations to university entrance examinations. In every phase of life, there is
an exam for the youth and they strive to get a job or become successful in schools with
one another. A young person wants to be at the top of his school; a young businessman
wishes to earn more, a young sportsman wants to eliminate his competitors.
So, it is the favor of Allah that will help us in every kind of race of in this life, in which we
want to become successful. The occurrence of that favor on us depends on not being
interested in misdeeds. Any young person who is not involved in misdeeds and avoids
sins will surpasses his fellows.
Otherwise, a young Muslim youth cannot become successful only by saying I have the
power of belief. Of course, a powerful belief which is not based on words but deeds is an
essential and important key to success. However, in addition to this, it is necessary to
avoid misdeeds, to do good things and work hard in the field in which we compete in
order to be successful.

Two Reasons of Dying Without Belief

Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (r.a.) narrates:

When we were at the presence of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), somebody turned up
and said to him,
"O Messenger of Allah! There is a young man who is at his deathbed. Although they say
to him 'Say La ilaha illallah', he cannot utter it."
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked,
"Did he use to perform prayers?"
The man answered,
"Yes, he did."
Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah stood up. We stood up with him. The Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) went to visit the youth and said to him,
'Say La ilaha illallah'. The young man said,
"I cannot say it."
When the messenger of Allah asked 'Why?' the man who came with him said,
"He used to disobey his mother."
The Messenger of Allah said,
"Is his mother alive?" The people who were there said,
"Yes, she is." The Messenger of Allah said,
"Call her here. They called the woman. The Messenger of Allah said to her.
"Is he your son?"
The woman said,
"Yes, he is". The messenger of Allah said to the woman,

"If there were a big fire here and if they said to you, 'If you intercede for your son, we
will not burn him. If you do not intercede, we will burn him.' What would you do?
Would you intercede?"
The woman said, "I would be his intercessor." The Messenger of Allah said,
"Then, show Allah and me witnesses that you are pleased with him." The woman said,
"O Allah! I show you and the Messenger of Allah as witnesses that I am pleased with my
son; I have forgiven him."
Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to the young man who was ill,
"Say, 'La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu
wa rasuluh'." The young man uttered kalima shahada at once. Thereupon, the
Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
"Praise be to Allah! He saved this young man from Hell through me." (The hadith was
reported by Tabarani, and by Ahmad bin Hanbal in the form of a summary.)
This formidable hadith is a very important warning related to "dying with belief", which
is the greatest cause of man.
Firstly, not performing prayers can cause a man to die without belief.
Secondly, not winning one's parents consent can cause a man to lose the great cause.
This reality should make us shiver. We cannot say that all of those who do not perform
prayers and disobey their parents will die as unbelievers. However, this is a formidable
boundary of risk unless Allah saves us by creating a means like the one in the hadith.
Woe on us if we are not careful about these two issues even if we are believers
throughout our lives and we may seem to be working for Islam!
Let us deal with prayer at first since it is very important.
We congratulate our young brothers who perform five daily prayers fully and wish them
to continue worshipping.
We would like to address our young brothers who do not perform prayers and to
mention a few points related to the importance of prayers.
My aim is not to blame our young brothers because I know that the way to Allah is full of
merciless enemies, formidable obstacles and barriers, injurious stones and thorns.

I believe that when adhan is recited, a voice coming from the depths of your hearts says
to you, "Come on! Make wudu and go to the mosque" and on the other hand, the soul,
Satan, bad friends, the people around you and some harmful means of media say,
"Come on! Take it easy! You are young. You can pray when you get old." I know very
well that the soul and its desires tell you that you have a lot of things to do when adhan
is recited and that they whisper to you different ideas when it is time to pray.
Therefore, I understand the feelings and the situation of our young brothers who do not
perform prayers. However, I cannot tolerate them being away from performing prayers
and I cannot help warning them.
Our young brothers who do not perform five daily prayers probably perform Friday and
eid prayers.
Then, we should ask our soul, which prevent us from performing prayers this question:
"Why do we perform the other prayers?"
Is it not because our Lord commands?
Is it not because it is ordered by the Quran?
Is it not because the Messenger of Allah advised his umma to perform Friday prayers?
What else can be the reason why we perform Friday prayers?
Do the love and fear of Allah, the warnings and the intercession of the Prophet not lead
us to Friday prayers?
Do the desire for Paradise and fear from Hell not encourage us to perform Friday
prayers?
The reasons leading us to perform other prayers should also lead us to perform five daily
prayers because the same reasons are valid for five daily prayers.
For instance, we should ask ourselves,
"Why should we perform prayers?"
Because our Lord commands it.
Because the Quran orders it.
Because the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) orders and encourages his umma to perform
prayers.

Should the love of and fear from Allah, the warnings and intercession of the Prophet not
lead us to perform prayers?
For, we feel a spiritual pain when we do not perform prayers and we feel happy and
joyful when we perform prayers.
The desire for Paradise and fear of hell should lead us to perform five daily prayers as
they lead us to perform Friday and eid prayers.
We can definitely say that there is no other worship that our Lord gives so much
importance to, emphasizes so much and orders so insistently.
We are ordered to perform prayers in exactly 70 places in the Quran. There is no other
worship that the Quran orders so much.
For instance, in verse 3 of the chapter of al-Baqara, "being steadfast in prayer" is
mentioned among the characteristics of believers having taqwa; We are ordered, "be
steadfast in prayer ", in verse 43 of the same chapter and, "seek (Allah's) help with
patient perseverance and prayer " in verses 45 and 153 of the same chapter.
Who gives these orders?
Allah, who created everything, who holds the existence of everything in His hand of
power and controls everything, does.
Should we, who obey the order of ordinary chiefs, not obey the orders of the Creator of
the universe and shiver at the thought?
When the teacher at school, the chief at work or the commander at the army orders us to
do something, we fulfill their orders in order to attain their love and consent. How can
we remain indifferent to the orders of our Lord? How can we abandon performing
prayers as if we say to God Almighty, "no matter what you order I have important things
to do" and as if we challenge Him?
Every adhan is a divine call that reminds us the order of Allah and calls us to His
presence.
Think about it:
If a friend of us, whom we like a lot, a notable person or the head of a state called us to
his presence, would we not go there? If there were a feast at the palace of the head of the
state, would we overlook it?

Think of a person who is addressed as follows: "Our Sultan invites you to his palace. He
will treat you and grant valuable presents from his treasures. If he says, "I have
something to do; I cannot come", can we call this person a clever person?
Suppose that the Prophet (pbuh) calls us to his presence. We will see him and talk to
him like his companions, whose nice reminiscences we read. We will rush to such a call,
won't we?" Believe it or not, I will go even if I crawl and I will kiss the hands of the
Prophet. Let alone seeing him alive, we go to visit his tomb enthusiastically; don't we?
In fact, our Lord, who orders us to perform prayers, is our most faithful friend, who
listens to our problems the most, who finds solutions to our and who gives us bounties
and gifts every second.
He is so lofty that we cannot survive even for a second if He stops sending His bounties
and grants.
Think of it:
If our eyes could not see, would we not spend millions of lira in order to be able to see
again? Would we sacrifice our hands or feet if they gave us the whole universe?
What about our mind or spirit? Would we sell our nice feelings in return for worldly
goods?
Our Lord, who orders us to perform prayers, gave all of them to us along with numerous
bounties and grants. In fact, He states the following in the Quran: "If ye count the favors
of Allah, never will ye be able to number them."
We cannot even thank for those bounties by performing five daily prayers.
However, what does our most compassionate Lord do? He gives us Paradise and saves
us from Hell.
Is it not necessary to perform daily prayers and to rush to the mosque when adhan is
recited in order to please Him, to be saved from eternal torture and to live happily and
eternally in Paradise with our friends?
We already perform some prayers for His sake; is it not necessary for us to perform five
daily prayers in order to please Him more?
What we have mentioned are some of the orders of our Lord related to prayers. What
about our Prophet? What does he say about prayer?

Our Prophet says that prayer is one of the "5 foundations on which Islam is based".
The first one of those foundations is kalima ash-shahada, the second one is prayer and
the third one is fasting. Thank God, we believe in Allah and His Messenger heartily. We hopefully - perform fasting. Since they are fundamentals of Islam and since we say that
we are Muslims, is it not necessary for us to perform prayers? How can a person who
does not perform one of the fundamentals be a Muslim? Do not misunderstand me; I do
not say that such a person exits religion; I say what the level of our Islam will be like.
A young Turk married a German girl who accepted Islam. His wife saw that her husband
did not perform prayers. Once, she scolded him, "What kind of a Muslim are you? I
never see you pray. You do not go to the mosque or to the church. Are you an atheist?"
Should we not question ourselves regarding the issue?
The Prophet (pbuh) gave so much importance to prayer that he performed prayers with
his Companions in congregation in turns during the Battle of Badr while they were
struggling to stay alive. Our Prophet never quit any daily prayers; he did not regard any
other worship more important than prayers.
He said, "The first thing a person will be accounted for is prayer." He also said, "The
grave is one of the stops on the way to the hereafter. If a person accounts there easily,
the accounts at the other stops will be easy, too."
If we do not perform prayers, the first torture we will suffer in the grave will be because
of not performing prayers. If it becomes a difficult test, the Gathering place will be
difficult for us, too. Sirat Bridge will also be difficult. What will our situation be like in
the Gathering Place, where the sun will be only a mile away from our heads, where
everybody will think of their own problems and run away from their mothers, fathers,
spouses and children? Should we not be afraid of hellfire? When we light a match and
try to hold it until it burns out, we cannot put up with the pain. We cannot put our
hands in hot water at 100 degrees. How can we risk entering Hell, which has a
temperature of 200 thousand degrees?
Our soul and the people around us can say, "You are still young; you can pray when you
get old." However, do we have a guarantee that we will live until we get old? Who has a
contract with Azrael (Angel of Death)? Suppose that we were given a special guarantee
and we will live 100 years. Do you think we will not be accounted for what we have done
since the age of puberty? Does Allah say, "O old people! Perform prayers!" or does He
say, "O believers! Perform prayers"? Is practicing Islam something that old people have

to do? The Prophet says everybody will be accounted for in the presence of Allah where
he spent his youth. How can we remain indifferent when adhan is recited though we
know those realities?
Why does the Prophet ask about prayer first in the hadith mentioned above? For, he
says, "Prayer is the thin line between belief and unbelief." This statement of the Prophet
should make us shiver That is, abandoning prayers is the level just below unbelief and
polytheism. If you go one level down, you fall into unbelief and polytheism. That is, a
person who abandons prayers approaches the level of denying the existence of Allah and
associating partners with Him. That is, prayer is a big barrier against unbelief and
polytheism.
Our Lord has given us a long life and He wants us to allocate only one hour of the day to
perform prayers. He is so compassionate and merciful that He wants only an hour from
us though it is clear that even if we spend 24 hours a day praying Him, we will not be
able to appreciate Him enough. If a powerful person gave you 24 gold coins and then
demanded one of them and said, "If you give one of them to me, I will give you a bag full
of gold after a while", would you reject this offer? Never! Then, how can we abandon
performing prayers?
Maybe our soul will say,
"These prayers never end. We get bored because we always perform prayers."
These words are the trick of our soul because we eat every day, we drink water every day
and we breathe in the air every day but we never get bored. Have you ever heard anyone
say, "I am sick of eating?" Never! For we find pleasure in them.
Do we not find pleasure in prayers? Is it not the greatest pleasure to go to the presence
of the Creator of everything, to present your troubles to Him, to ask help from Him, to
attain the comfort of the heart and the tranquility of the spirit granted by Him?
Have you ever seen anyone perform prayers and complain? "I am so bored; I feel tired. I
performed prayers and I deviated from the right path." On the contrary, anyone who
performs prayers is in peace and tranquility because prayer is the food of the mind,
heart and spirit.
Some of our young brothers might say,
"We know them but we cannot overcome our damned soul and Satan. No matter how
much we want to pray, we feel unwilling. We sometimes start performing prayers in

Ramadan but abandon after eid. We pray in some months of the year; then, we
abandon. We perform Friday and eid prayers but we cannot keep on performing five
daily prayers. Tell us such a thing that will make us start performing prayers and never
give up."
Indeed, some of our brothers who cannot perform five daily prayers are just like that.
There are some who received religious education and read the whole Quran among them
but they still have difficulty in performing prayers.
There is a cure for it. The Quran, which finds cures for all of our troubles, has shown us
the cure for it, too.
However, we need to believe this: No cure can be found via magic formulae. No problem
can be solved at once.
Suppose that you caught an illness. Can you just take one or two pills and get rid of it?
Sometimes, a treatment that lasts for years and sometimes an operation is necessary.
How do we earn the money that we use for our family? Is it possible to work one or two
hours a day and earn the money enough for your family for a month? Think of a student.
Is it enough for him to study for only one or two hours to pass?
Similarly, it is necessary to struggle in order to overcome our soul and Satan. Can we
win an important battle by lying down somewhere and without doing anything?
Our belief has to be very strong in order to be able to perform prayers willingly because
belief is the base; prayers and other kinds of worship are built on it. The way to
transform an imitative and weak belief into an investigative and strong belief is to
understand the verses of the Quran related to belief very well. We have to read the
interpretation (tafsir) of those verses and strengthen our belief.
It is necessary to read Risale-i Nur Collection of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi a lot because
these books teach belief and meditation. Besides, there are very important chapters that
explain the importance of prayer and that encourage people to perform prayers.
Therefore, it is very useful to read 4th, 9th, 11th and 21st Words in the book called Szler
(Words) by understanding them. In addition, 6th and 15th rays are also important.
Meanwhile, it is necessary to nullify the excuses that our soul uses in order to prevent us
from performing prayers.

For instance, our sole says, "I do not know how to pray fully; I have not been able to
memorize some of the prayers to be read. cannot perform prayers like this."
In fact, we learn so many things for the world life; why do we not spend a few hours
learning some prayers (duas) for our eternal life? Our religion is so easy; a person who
memorizes only the chapters of al-Fatiha, al-Kawthar and al-Ikhlas together with the
dua at-Tahiyyat can perform all fard prayers. Besides, it is not difficult to learn the
others. If we ask any believer about the issues related to prayer, he will tell us about
them. Furthermore, there are so many books, audio and video cassettes regarding the
issue. We should never hesitate to ask someone who knows the issue. We ask people so
many things about worldly affairs; why do we not ask about an issue related to our
eternal life?
Another excuse of the soul is statements like these: "I am very busy; I do not have
enough time. They do not let me pray at work. I have classes at school."
Is prayer not something important? Is it not possible for us to allocate 5-10 minutes
during lunch hour, breaks and stopovers to perform prayers? Besides, performing
prayers makes things easy for a person. Furthermore, if a person performs prayers, his
other deeds done with a good intention are regarded as worship. Thus, the statement,
"Working is also regarded as worship" becomes true. A person who works without
performing prayers cannot get the reward of worship when he works. A person who
performs daily prayers is regarded to have spent all his life worshipping.
Performing prayers is a means of being forgiven; it prevents us from committing sins
because a person who makes wudu and performs prayers always feels that he is in the
presence of Allah. Can a person who is in the presence of Allah commit sins?
Prayer is the best remedy for the fear of death and the spiritual torture of sin. A person
who performs prayers and avoids committing sins does not fear death. He thinks, "I
perform prayers and avoid sins. I definitely have faults and deficiencies. What I do is not
enough. I fear the torture of my Lord but I expect His mercy." Thus he feels relieved.
Prayer means knocking on the door of Allah's mercy. He has invited us and opened His
treasure. He says, "O my servant! Come to my presence. I will give you whatever you
want." Is it reasonable to remain indifferent when one hears this call?
In short, there is no excuse for abandoning prayers. There cannot be any excuse except
death for abandoning prayers. A person has to perform prayers when he is ill, is on a

journey and in a difficult situation. There are only some easy or short forms of
performing prayers in some cases, which are explained in catechisms.
If you are not performing prayers, start to perform prayers now by deciding at once.
Then, keep on praying insistently. You will see that you will manage to perform it
constantly with the help of Allah. If you are already performing five daily prayers, it is
necessary to pay more importance to prayers, not to skip any prayers and to perform in
peace and awe.
Since the Prophet (pbuh) asked, "Did he use to pray?" for the young person who was
about to die without belief and whom we have mentioned in the hadith above, there
cannot be any worship more important than prayer.
According to what is clearly stated in the hadith, the sin of the young man that almost
sent him to the grave without belief was not being able to please his mother. It is
necessary to think about this issue. The period that people generally oppose their
parents and break their hearts is the period of youth.
Now, we will quote some verses and hadiths that order us to obey our mothers and
fathers.
Our Lord states the following in the Quran:
"Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents.
Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of
contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness,
lower to them the wing of humility, and say: "My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even
as they cherished me in childhood." (al-Isra: 23-24)
The following two verses also show how important the issue is:
"And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did
his mother bear him, and in years twain was his weaning: (hear the command) "Show
gratitude to Me and to thy parents: to Me is (thy final) Goal." (Luqman: 14)
"We have enjoined on man Kindness to his parents: in pain did his mother bear him,
and in pain did she give him birth" (al-Ahqaf: 15)
The Prophet (pbuh) regards disobeying one's parents among major sins.
The Prophet (pbuh) said, "May his nose be rubbed in dust!" for a person who has
parents with him while they are old but cannot enter Paradise." (Tirmidhi, Daawat: 100)

Once, a person asked the Prophet (pbuh) "Whom should I do favors to?" he said, "To
your mother, then to your mother, then to your mother, then to your father and then to
your relatives."
The following hadiths are also thought provoking: "Obeying parents is better than
supererogatory worship." (Muslim, Sila: 2) "The prayer of a father is accepted." (Ibn
Majah, Kitabuddua, 1)
In our religion, it is very important to do favors to parents and relatives and to help
them. As a matter of fact, the following hadith states the seriousness of the issue: "A
person who stops visiting his relatives cannot enter Paradise." (Abu Dawud-Muslim)
Regarding the issue of having good relations with people, it will be appropriate to
mention the following hadith, which is of particular interest to young people:
"Gabriel advised me about neighbors so much that I thought he would say they would be
my inheritors." (Muslim, Birr: 42)
In another version of the hadith about the young man who was about to die without
belief, the mother was reported to have said about her son, "he used to regard his wife
superior to me" and "he used to enter his wife's room first when he came home."
Is it possible not shed tears here? Is it possible to prevent tears?
This is the heart of the mother. The mother who sacrifices everything for her son cannot
put up with such treatment. She wants to be treated better; she wants priority.
Every young man loves his wife. However, it is necessary to give priority to the mother.
We must please her after all. We have no right to break her heart even if she is wrong.
Our parents sacrificed their lives for us and they are ready to die for us. It is necessary to
please them using every occasion, to beg them and to kiss their feet if we have broken
their hearts. If they have died, we should pray Allah to forgive them, give sadaqah on
behalf of them, pray for them and do favors on behalf of them.
Can trivial things that cause us to break the hearts of our parents be important when
compared to losing the eternal cause of belief?
There is something here regarding the issue that will make us feel responsible, that will
exasperate us and that will make our heads throb:
The young man in the hadith was a Companion. The Companions who are the guiding
stars of humanity and the best people after prophets deserve all kinds of praise. He

regularly performed five daily prayers. However, he was close to the boundaries of
danger. He had approached the precipice because he was not able to please his mother;
he was saved thanks to the Prophet (pbuh), who was sent as mercy humanity.
The Companions are also subject to this test like everybody else. We have to be very
careful and work very hard.
May our Lord make all of our young people perform prayers and please their parents.

The Youth who have High Ethics

The prophet (PBUH) who said, I was sent to complete the high ethics said the
following in one of his hadiths about high ethics:

A generous youth who has high ethics is more pleasant to Allah than a stingy elderly
man who worships but has a dissolute character. (Daylami and Mukhtarul Ahadith: 88)
While there is an encouragement of high ethics for the youth in this hadith, there is a
comparison, too. According to this, an elderly person who has no high ethics though he
worships is not as pleasant as a young who has high ethics.
The following hadith also encourages our youth to have high ethics:
When you see a youth with his trimmed moustache and wearing clothes worthy of a
Muslim and keeping his lower parts of his trousers legs above in order not to let them
hang down on ground, know that he is one of the best ones among you. And an elderly
person whom you see with a long moustache and his clothes nearly touching the ground
is one of the evilest ones among you. (Ramuz al-Ahadith, v.1, p.47)
As Hazrat Aisha (RA) said, the Prophet whose character is completely from the Quran
becomes a guide for us with all of his behaviors. Thus, the following word of Anas bin
Malik (RA) who lived with the prophet during his Madina life is remarkable:

I served the Apostle of Allah (PBUH) for ten years. He never huffed and puffed and
asked me, 'Why did you do this?' for something I had done or 'Why didnt you do this?'
for something I hadnt done." (Tirmidhi, Birr: 68)
In fact, it is difficult to comprehend the explanations given above. More precisely, what
is difficult is to comprehend the miracle of the Prophet (PBUH). For, let alone ten years,
it is possible to have difference in thinking with people whom we stay for ten days or
maybe ten hours. The Prophet of the prophets (PBUH), who is at the summit of
sympathy, toleration, compassion, patience and tender mindedness, did not scold,
disappoint or break the heart of a young person who served him for ten years. In fact,
Anas bin Malik (RA) was given to the apostle of Allah (PBUH) by his mother at the age
of ten. Although the ages between ten and twenty is the most dangerous and stormy
period of a youth, the prophet who is a symbol of compassion never hurt him.
There are many lessons that should be taken from it.
The hadith of the Prophet (PBUH), If a person is deprived of treating other people
leniently, he will be deprived of goodness, either. (Muslim, Birr: 23) is both a warning
and an encouragement. So, while not being lenient results in deprivation of goodness,
gentleness gains very good benefactions.
Our Prophet always warns us against roughness, rage and hurting people.
With the following hadith The strong man is not the one who is strong in wrestling, but
the one who controls himself in anger. (Muwatta, Husn al Khulq: 12) the Prophet
emphasized the importance of controlling the anger.
Once, a man came to the Prophet (PBUH) and asked him: "Which deed is more lovable
for Allah? Every time he asked, he received the answer; High Ethics. Upon this, the
man asked the same question for the fourth time. The prophet (PBUH) answered; Why
dont you understand? It is high ethics; that is, not being angry if you can. (Muhammad
ibn Marwazi, Kitabussalat)
Even the hadith itself given above shows the success of the Prophet for not being angry.
Many people who are asked the same question four times may get angry and insult that
person. However, he continues to answer with patience.
Another wisdom of praising the youth who has high ethics in the hadith we mentioned
above is as follows: It is difficult to have high ethics during the youth. During this age,
there are youths who get angry quickly, break heart for no real reason and disturb other

people by being under the influence of their feelings. Having high ethics and treating
other people with tolerance and leniently despite this make him loveable by Allah.
This is also good news for our young brothers. There cannot be any other important
goodness other than Allahs love for us and His appreciation. The way of attaining such
a rank is to gain high ethics.
May our Lord let our youth have high ethics.

Youth and Friendship

Friendship and brotherhood are of great importance in mans life. There are such
friendships that they affect a persons whole life positively or negatively; furthermore,
this may cause a persons hereafter to be either good or bad.

Since people need the help and cooperation of one another due to their nature, there are
rarely any people who do not have any friends. A person who has a social life must have
a community where he belongs, and sincere and intimate friends.
The necessity for a friend is of more importance especially during the youth because
people who establish new relationships especially spouses and children at advanced ages
may become unable to give importance to friendship as much as they did during the
youth.
However, the youth who always complain about not being understood and live the
stormiest period of their lives need a social circle which they can share their sorrows and
pleasures very much.
For this reason, they establish friendships with youths whom they find close to
themselves in the street, school and workplace. They are attached to them so much that
they share many material and spiritual properties with their friends and have a strong
liking for them; they even sacrifice their lives for them.
Here, the most important point to be considered is to decide what kind of a friend to
have.

The glorious Prophet (PBUH) who warned the youth in every subject said the following
about this subject: A person is upon the religion of his close friend, so be careful when
you choose your friends. (Tirmidhi, Zuhd; 45)
What is meant by being upon the religion of your close friend" is the condition of
practicing the religion. In fact, a good friend encourages his friends to do good things;
however, a bad friend leads his friend to commit sins.
As a matter of fact, our glorious Prophet (PBUH) said the following about this subject in
the hadith which was narrated by Abu Musa (R.A):
"A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The
perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him,
or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your
clothes, and at the very least, you will smell the fumes of the furnace."
The glorious Prophet (PBUH) who advises about whom we should befriend said the
following in a riwayah narrated by Said al-Khudri (RA): Do not befriend but a believer
and let only pious people eat your food (Tirmidhi, Zuhd: 55).
What we should understand from the expression of believer here is that a perfect
believer who has belief in Allah properly. A perfect believer performs the orders of Allah
and avoids harams. As a matter of fact, the words that come after pious people and
believer have been explained.
Why is the subject of friendship very important?
For, A person will be with whom he loves. (Tirmidhi, Zuhd: 50) When a young person
befriends someone, it is certain that he loves him very much. After all, he will not
befriend someone whom he does not love. Thus, he will be with the person he loves both
in this world and in the hereafter.
A youth who spends his life with worship and obedience to Allah, is with his friend in
the service of belief and Quran, will benefit from the benefactions of Paradise together
and immortalize their friendship.
If two friends are together while rebelling Allah, and in the pursuit of fancies and
pleasures, harmful and useless entertainments, then God forbid, they will be together in
Hell and share the same environment.

Our glorious Prophet (PBUH) showed the best example of friendship. All Companions
foremost Abu Bakr (RA) became his friends, showed a strong interest in him and
sacrificed their lives and property.
Besides, companion means friend. Companions presented unmatched examples of
friendship and brotherhood and showed perfect examples of love and respect, selfsacrifice and devotion.
In fact, a believer is a friend of another believer since they are brothers. In other words,
our religion orders any believer to show the favor and support to his believer brother
which are expected from friends.
The Apostle of Allah (PBUH) said the following in a hadith which was narrated by
Abdullah bin Umar (RA):
A Muslim is the a brother of another Muslim; so, he should not oppress him, nor
should he leave him alone. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill
his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring
him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim,
Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection." (Muslim)
The two necessary requirements of friendship are emphasized in the hadith given above.
One of them is fulfilling his need, the other is screening him. Besides, doing the
opposite, that is, not helping when necessary or revealing flaws are the most important
illnesses that kill friendship.
Being pleased with the bad situation of your brother kills friendship, too. The following
hadith which is narrated by Wasila bin Asqa (RA) is exemplary:
Do not show happiness during the bad days of your brother; otherwise, Allah almighty
shows mercy on him and gives the trouble of him to you. (Tirmidhi)
So not putting the requirement of brotherhood and friendship into action and even
being happy because of his trouble will show its bitter result in this world, too.
The following hadith which was narrated by Muaz bin Jabal (RA) repeats the same
meaning:
A person who criticizes his brother/sister for his/her sin will not die before he commits
the same sin. (Tirmidhi)

A believer should not despise his brother and friend but give value to him. The following
hadith is full of lessons that show how a big sin to despise your Muslim brother:
The property, honour and blood of a Muslim are haram to another Muslim. It is enough
evil for a man to despise his Muslim brother. (Muslim, Birr: 43)
Despising your brother is a sign of arrogance and conceit; it is the result of haughtiness.
However, a dignified Muslim does not love his soul or become haughty but always sees
his brother superior to himself.
The nourishment of brotherhood and friendship is love, unity and help. What kills it is
looking for flaws, being offended and leaving your friend.
The glorious Prophet emphasized the problems that destroy friendship in the following
hadith: Hate not each other, nor be jealous of each other, and do not stop
communicating with each other. O Allah's servants! Be brothers to each other. A
Muslim is not to leave his brother more than three days. (Muslim, Birr: 7)
Backbiting is another thing that kills friendship. Criticizing your friend or brother when
he is absent and telling things of what he/she does not like to hear. The following
riwayah which was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (RA) is very remarkable.
Do you know what backbiting is?
They said, "Allah and His apostle knows.
Mentioning your brother with something that he/she does not like.
What would you say if the thing I say existed in my brother?
If the things you say about him/her exist in him/her, then, it means that you have
gossiped. If it does not exist in him/her, then you are regarded to have slandered
him/her. (Muslim, Birr: 20)
May our Lord let all our youth become friends with good people and work for the
religion of Allah in this world and be neighbors in Paradise.

The Youth and Bad Habits

Bad habits are among the biggest dangers that the youth who are open to novelties and
changes by creation come across. They may easily fall into the trap of bad habits because
of their emotional natures and desires for differences

As a matter of fact, many harmful habits are formed during the period of youth.
We can list many harmful habits foremost smoking, alcohol, drugs and gambling. Our
glorious prophet (PBUH) warned us against harmful habits and wanted us to spend our
time with useful and good things.
There are scholars who considered smoking makrooh and there are even scholars who
considered it haram. for, the judgment about it changes according to the state of the
person. If the person has financial difficulty and if smoking causes him a vital damage,
then it is a grave sin.
Smoking is at least makrooh and it is considered bad because, it has no benefit and it is
harmful. Besides, it harms other people with its stink.
There are certain verses that prohibit alcohol and gambling. Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) explained the quality of haram drinks with the following hadith: Any beverage
that intoxicates is haram. Accordingly, anything that has the quality of intoxicating
human beings is haram.
He also answered another important question with the following Whatever intoxicates
in large quantities, a small quantity of it is forbidden, too. (Tirmidhi, Ashriba: 2)
Nowadays, there are people who say, The beer contains a small amount of alcohol; is it
haram, too? This hadith indicates that anything that intoxicates in large quantities is
haram in a small quantity.
Another hadith about alcohol is as follows:
May Allah damn the one whodrinks alcohol, who distributes, who sells, buys, produces
alcohol, the one for whom it is produced, the one who carries and the one for whom it is
carried and the one who spends the money earned from alcohol. (Tirmidhi, Buyu: 58)
In the hadith, ten people are cursed; we should avoid not only drinking but also being
among the other nine groups.
The centers who want to deceive clean and pure minds and who want to abuse them for
their dirty interests present cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, drugs and gambling in attractive

wrapping. Those people, who want to trap our young people and earn a lot of money,
use every means in order to encourage young people to fall into bad habits.
In fact, the worst and most sorrowful news in newspapers and on TV is related to bad
habits. The Prophet (pbuh) warned us 14 centuries ago by saying, "Alcohol is the mother
of all evil." Many murders, thefts, muggings and traffic accidents take place every day
because the warning of the Prophet is not heeded.
The way to be protected from bad habits is to obtain sound religious knowledge and to
practice Islam. People fall into these habits because the mind and the spirit are left
hungry. However, if we feed our spiritual feelings with belief and worship, spend our
days by serving our religion and conveying the beauties of our religion to others, we will
not need any bad habits; nor will we have time for them.
The best thing to do is not to approach bad habits and not to fall into the trap. Those
who encourage us by saying, "Just taste it; there is no harm if you drink it only once" or
"Everybody drinks at weddings" are not our friends but enemies. They are not aware of
the harm that they cause by speaking like that. Those fake smiles and pleasures will be
transformed into tears and torture both in the world and the hereafter.
Some weddings, birthday parties, parties and proms are like the traps of bad habits.
If a person is trapped once, he may easily be trapped again because the soul, feelings
and Satan lead people to evil.
Therefore, we should keep away from the places where bad habits are abundant. Pubs,
discotheques, bars, etc are places that darken the world and the hereafter of the young
people.
We should keep away from those places and meet our friends at clean places, religious
talks and religious services.

Youth and Fashion

One of the issues that put our youth into trouble is fashion.

Fashion changes based on four seasons. Frequent changes that take place in clothing,
hairstyle, household appliances, jewelry, decoration and everything that affects lifestyle
are called "fashion".
Young people keep up with the fashion in accordance with their pleasures and income
levels. While some of them change their clothes once a year, others do not wear their
clothes that they wear at a meeting or a wedding again.
There is not a "fashion" understanding like that in Islam, which is a religion of beauty
and wisdom. However, there is change and innovation.
Why does Islam approach fashion, which originates from worldly and sensual desires,
negatively?
Continuous and frequent change, which is the basic aspect of fashion, causes
extravagance. Extravagance is forbidden in our religion. Our Lord states the following in
the Quran: "Eat and drink: but waste not by excess for Allah loveth not the wasters." (alA'raf: 31)
Fashion does not originate from real and vital needs but from feelings, desires and
pleasures.
The origin of fashion is the West, which is based on worldliness. They have no religious
concerns. Therefore, what emerges as "fashion" can conflict with our basic religious
principles.
For instance, it is not permissible to wear garments that are not in accordance with
tasattur because it is fard to cover certain parts of the body for both men and women
though the parts to be covered are not the same.
The essence of fashion is to resemble other nations. Believers are ordered not to
resemble other nations. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "A person who imitates another
nation is regarded as one of them." (Abu Dawud, Libas: 5)
As hadiths indicate, the Prophet (pbuh) acts contrarily to other nations even in terms of
the days and style of worship.
Therefore, a young believer cannot imitate the clothing style, hairstyle, entertainment
forms and lifestyle of another nation.
The following statement of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi is remarkable:

"O sons of this land! Do not try to imitate Europeans! How can you reasonably trust in
and follow the vice and invalid, worthless thought of Europe after the boundless tyranny
and enmity it has shown you? No! No! You who imitate them in dissoluteness, you are
not following them, but unconsciously joining their ranks and putting to death both
yourselves and your brothers. Know that the more you follow them in immorality the
more you lie in claiming to be patriots! Because your following them in this way is to
hold your nation in contempt, to hold the nation up to ridicule." (Lem'alar (Flashes),
p.116)
We need to take lessons from the following hadiths:
"May Allah damn a woman who wears men's clothes and a man who wears women's
clothes!" (Abu Dawud, Libas: 28)
"May Allah damn women who try to resemble men and men who try to resemble
women!" (Bukhari, Libas: 61)
"Gold and silk are permissible for the women of my ummah but forbidden for the men
of my ummah." (Tabarani, Kabir)
"May Allah dam those who dye faces red and have their faces dyed red!" (Musnad, 6:
250)
As it is seen, one of principles of our religion is to preserve the properties of genders
peculiar to them. Therefore, the clothing style, hairstyle and attitudes of women and
men must not resemble each other. A woman has modesty and tasattur peculiar to her;
a man must also be serious and solemn.
Fashion has no such concerns.
Besides, fashion does not take the principles of religion into account since it is worldly,
emotional and sensual. The orders and prohibitions of Islam cannot be abolished due to
worldly and sensual reasons.
Therefore, a young believer cannot follow fashion and resemble other nations.
We should preserve our own values instead of resembling others. When a lifestyle is
imitated, it comes with all of its bad aspects. For instance, in the Western style, it is
necessary to accept a lot of pictures, statutes and the bar in house decoration. However,
in our decoration style, it is essential to have an arrangement with calligraphy and qibla
location.

However, there is innovation and change in our religion, but this change must not cause
extravagance, resemble another nation and contradict the orders and prohibitions of our
religion.

Youth and Music

Music is one of the means of entertainment that young people are interested in and
spend time. Our religion, which has introduced criteria and limits to all of our attitudes,
has introduced the best and most appropriate criteria regarding music.

The view of wisdom which evaluates every sound in the universe as the melody of divine
music will definitely view music that man produces through his efforts from the
viewpoint of Allah and the hereafter.
From this point of view, we can divide music into two categories:
The first one is the music that expresses lofty and spiritual meanings and that gives man
lofty joy and otherworldly blues; it is permissible.
The second one is the music that expresses lustful and worldly feelings that provoke
sensual desires and brings about painful sorrow; it is haram.
They are evaluated based on the effect they have on a person.
The lyrics of a song must not contradict the basic principles of Islam. The Prophet
(pbuh) said, "The poem that deals with illegitimate issues and unbelief is the melody of
Satan." (Jamius-Saghir: 1609) Therefore, the lyrics of a song must have pure words and
lofty meanings; they must not be immoral and contrary to the principles of belief and
they must not be mean.
The following hadith of the Prophet must be a criterion for us regarding music:
"The money that a woman singer receives is haram. It is haram for her to sing. It is
haram to watch her. The money she earns is like the money received in return for selling

a dog. The money received in return for selling dogs is haram. A person who eats haram
deserves to go to Hell." (Tabarani, Kabir)
"When female singers and musicians become abundant in the ummah and alcohol is
consumed a lot, sinking into the ground and transforming into animals will take place
and stones will rain." (Tirmidhi, Fitan: 21)
Music is a very strong and common means of spreading all kinds of thoughts and
messages. People accept the ideas that are propagated through music more easily and
readily. This way, positive or negative understanding of ethics, attitudes and lifestyle can
be settled.
Therefore, people who listen to some kinds of music regularly become influenced by
some negative ideas and act without noticing.
Therefore, our young people should be very careful about what they listen to and they
should select carefully what they listen to.
Another important point is that it is necessary not to listen to too much music and not to
spend too much time. It is a major sin to keep listening to music at the expense of
delaying our important tasks and worship.
What should the attitude of a young person who heeds the warnings of the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) be toward music?
What kind of a way should a young person follow so that he will be saved from
committing haram and that he will satisfy his music pleasures and needs?
To this end, we should protect ourselves against negative music at first. We should keep
away from the kinds of music that do not comply with the criteria mentioned above and
the worthless, mean music in the market.
We should it prefer our own music.
The best music is reciting the Quran and listening to it.
Along with the Quran, hymns, chants, religious songs and positive songs, which are
abundant, can meet our music needs.
There have been successful works and positive pieces of music recently. In a sense, the
young people of today are luckier than the young people in the past. There was not much
music to listen to but a few hymns and mehter (janissary band) music 10-20 years ago.
Today, we have thousands of some really elaborate nice pieces of professional music.

Our young people should act knowing that they will be accounted for every moment they
spend and that they will be responsible for all kinds of music performed by the tongue,
hand and ear, and the music that is listened.
As it is the case with everything, the best music is the music performed within legitimate
boundaries.

Youth and Entertainment

One of the means that kill the time and ideals of our youth is the entertainment
prohibited by our religion. Cafeterias, pubs, discotheques, nightclubs, music halls,
casinos, etc, which have becomes centers of illegitimate games and entertainment
of especially today, steal the golden years of our youth.

First of all, it is necessary to make this determination: Excessive entertainment is

needed because of problems. If a person has a spiritual, hearty and emotional problems,
he resorts to games and entertainment.
We can say that the more troubles a person has the more entertainment he desires.
The types of entertainment that people prefer in order to relax and have fun are divided
into two:
Some of them have been prohibited by our religion; others are permissible.
Prohibited kinds of entertainment are alcohol, gambling, illegitimate music and
occasions where women and men entertain together
The way to keep away from them is to have a strong belief. If a person does not have a
strong belief and if he does not worship, the mind, heart, spirit and feelings will remain
hungry and idle. This will bring about trouble and discontent.
Belief and worship provide peace and happiness; so there is not much need for
entertainment.

The kinds of entertainment prohibited by our religion bring about unhappiness both in
the world and in the hereafter. It is necessary to listen to the following warnings of
Badiuzzaman Said Nursi:
"Youth will go. And if it goes being squandered, it results in thousands of calamities and
pains both in this world and in the Hereafter. And if you want to understand how the
majority of such youths end up in hospitals with imagined diseases arising from
misspent youth and prodigality, and in prisons or hostels for the destitute through their
excesses, and in bars due to the distress arising from their pain and suffering, then go
and ask at the hospitals, prisons and graveyards." (Szler (Words), p.153)
In fact, those young people who spend their youth outside the boundaries of the religion
lose their health, freedom and peace due to the mistakes and excessive acts end up in
hospital, prison and pubs.
In fact, legitimate pleasures and entertainment are enough to satisfy young people. Our
religion does not prohibit the entertainment that avoids prohibited issues like alcohol
and gambling. The following advice regarding the issue is remarkable:
"And so, you unfortunates who are addicted to the pleasures of the life of this world, and
with anxiety at the future, struggle to secure it and your lives! If you want pleasure,
delight, happiness, and ease in this world, make do with what is licit. That is sufficient
for your enjoyment. You will surely have understood from other parts of the Risale-i Nur
that in each pleasure which is outside this, and is illicit, lies a thousand pains. If the
events of the future-for example, of fifty years hence-were also shown in the cinema in
the same way that they show at the present time the events of the past, those who
indulge in vice would weep filled with horror and disgust at those things which now
amuse them. Those who wish to be permanently, eternally happy in this world and the
Hereafter should take as their guide the instruction of Muhammad (PBUH) within the
sphere of belief." (Szler (Words), p.150)
The real happiness in life can be obtained through belief and Islam. "If you want the
pleasure and enjoyment of life, give life to your life through belief, and adorn it with
religious duties. And preserve it by abstaining from sins." (Szler (Words), p. 152)
There are definitely problems, discontent and fights in the games and entertainment
prohibited by Islam. Therefore, the following statement is quite exemplary:
"True enjoyment, pain-free pleasure, grief-free joy, and life's happiness are only to be
found in belief and in the sphere of the truths of belief. While a single worldly pleasure

yields numerous pains. As though dealing ten slaps for a single grape, it drives away all
life's pleasure." (Szler (Words), p.156)
It is enough to have a look at the news about robberies, muggings, murders and
accidents in order to understand how justified those warnings are. They all originate
from the fact that they exceed the limits imposed by our religion. People who have fun
illegitimately lose their temper so much that they may kill one another.

Legitimate Entertainment

Our religion opposes meaningless and useless games and entertainment that are away
from the purpose of life. Our Prophet attracted attention to our important and eternal
aims: "I have no connection with games. Games have no connection with me, either. I
have no connection with meaningless things; and meaningless things have no
connection with me." (Jamius-Saghir: 7241)

However, our religion does not regard it appropriate to display lofty and ideal attitudes
all the time because man has feelings and desires. Therefore, the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Entertain and play games within legitimate boundaries. I do not like the religion of
Islam to be seen as a strict religion." (Jamius-Saghir: 1582)
Therefore, all kinds of games and entertainment that do not contradict the principles of
our religion and that are not within the prohibited area are legitimate. However, the
amount of games and entertainment is determined by the abilities, age and
responsibilities of a person. Man who is sent to this world with a short lifespan to
deserve eternal Paradise should not go to extremes in entertainment even if it is
legitimate.
Therefore, we can say that
1- The types of entertainment that our young people prefer must not contain alcohol,
gambling, and violation of privacy and tasattur rules.
2- Games and entertainment must not prevent our worship and essential duties.

3 The time spent on games and entertainment must not be so much as to be regarded as
waste. Time is our most important thing; it should not be wasted.
4- One aspect of our games and entertainment should be educative and didactic and
should serve the cause of belief.
The dinners, trips, picnics, music programs to be organized for this purpose should
entertain us and they should be a means of useful talks and scholarly discussions; they
should also cause some young people to meet and learn Islamic life.
Then, entertainment will also gain us rewards.
The dinners, trips and picnic programs organized by our young people in order to make
their friends like the service of belief and Quran and to encourage them are regarded as
worship. The Prophet (pbuh) often gave dinners to Makkans in order to tell them about
Islam.
It is a legitimate and reward gaining kind of entertainment for young people to come
together with their friends and to have religious talks, to read poetry and to perform
legitimate music.
Sketches, theater plays and films that are about our religion's eternal messages are nice
means of entertainment and conveying the message of Islam.
Besides, day and night programs, youth and friendship feasts, competitions and music
programs that aim both to entertain and to convey the message of Islam are also very
useful and important.
The period of youth is a period of emotions and excitement. It is necessary not to ignore
enthusiasm and excitement while serving the religion of Islam during this period.
Besides, it is necessary to maintain alternative legitimate entertainment today when
forbidden entertainment is abundant.
Not everyone has the same nature and properties. The young people who are always
busy with serious and intensive work can be suppressed by the desire for entertainment
and relaxation. The best way is the wide and peaceful way of our Prophet (pbuh) where a
person can walk without having much difficulty.
May Allah protect our young people from the illegitimate entertainment of our time!

Youth and Free Time

It can be said that the period that a person has the least responsibility and the most free
time is the period of youth. After that period, having a family, business life and social
relations will deprive us from free time.

Therefore, it is necessary to use the free time during the youth period very well.
What we mean by free time is the time that is not used regularly and based on a
program. In fact, there is no such thing as free time. A person fills his free time by doing
something even if it fills it by sleeping.
The Prophet (pbuh) stated that people were unaware of two valuable things: health and
free time.
Therefore, we should appreciate our free time before we lack time.
How can we make best use of our free time?
The first thing that comes to the mind is to read books. Its importance was mentioned in
the chapter related to learning knowledge.
It is also important to be involved in a branch of art. For instance, we can learn a
branch of art like calligraphy, illumination and marbling. In addition, if we have music
lessons, join a choir, to learn to play an instrument, we will use our time well and relax.
It is important to take up a sport or to learn to drive if it is possible.
It will help us to improve ourselves and to catch up with the world if we take up a
computer course or a new language.
We may not have enough time to do them all; we may not be willing to do some of
them. However if learn one or some of them, we will obtain a skill, know some new
people and make new friends.
They say he has ten skills in his ten fingers for some people. It is not easy to obtain those
skills. The activities we have in order to make use of free time during youth will make us
acquire a second profession.

We cannot know what will happen in the future. It will make a person more relaxed and
happy to be equipped with skills that will solve the problems to arise in the future.

Youth and Tasattur

Tasattur is an issue that young people need to give importance.

Tasattur, which means to cover the parts of the body that have to be covered and not to
show them to non-mahram people, is fard. It is haram and a major sin not to cover the
parts of the body that have to be covered.
However, the parts of the body that a woman has to cover are different from those of a
man.
Tasattur for a man is to cover his parts between his navel and knees. It is permissible for
a man not to cover the other parts of his body. However, what is appropriate in clothing
is not to dress contrarily to the common and generally accepted style. Therefore, it is
not a common way of dressing to cover the parts of the body between the navel and the
knees and to leave the remaining parts uncovered. It is a way of dressing in places like
public baths originating from a necessity. The common way of dressing for a man is to
cover all parts of the body except the arms feet and head. Strangely enough, it is the
women who need to be covered but men are more covered in general.
The parts of the body that need to be covered for a woman are the whole body except the
face, hands and feet. In addition, it is not permissible for a woman to wear garments
that show the contours of her body. It is necessary for her to wear garments that are not
attractive and that are loose.
Why is tasattur especially important during the period of youth?
It is because young people like a fast, active and showy lifestyle. They want to act freely
and show their beauties; they do not want to be restricted by rules.
It is observed that many women cover their bodies when they get old because their
feelings originating from youth weaken; they have no desire to show their bodies.

A young girl who covers her body and acquires a discipline will be at ease as she gets
older. Those who do not act determinedly when they are young might not act seriously
and sensitively toward tasattur as they get older.
Let us read the following verses in order to understand the importance of tasattur:
"O prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should
cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient,
that they should be known (as such) and not molested: and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful." (al-Ahzab: 59)
"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what
(ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not
display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their
sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons,
or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess or male servants free of
physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they
should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O
ye Believers! Turn ye all together towards Allah that ye may attain Bliss." (an-Nur: 31)
As it is seen, a long list of people, most of whom are very close relatives, is given in the
second verse in order to state in the presence of which people it is necessary for women
to cover their bodies. It does not mean that they can wear short and immodest dresses in
their presence; it is also necessary to cover certain parts of their body even in their
presence.
The Prophet (pbuh) states the following regarding tasattur:
"Allah is very modest and He covers mistakes. He likes modesty and tasattur. When you
have a bath, cover your private parts." (Abu Dawud, Hammam: 1; Witr: 23)
Since tasattur is a definite command of our Lord and since Allah loves those who cover
their bodies, it is necessary for us to exert great efforts about tasattur.
Tasattur is fard for everybody but it interests young girls more than others. Our young
girls should pay great attention to tasattur because those who obey the rules of tasattur
will protect themselves from sins and will obtain double rewards.
The first reward is due to obeying the definite command of Allah.

The second reward is due to doing their best to cover their bodies and declaring tasattur
to everybody at a time when it is ignored. A girl or woman who covers her body forms a
barrier against those who oppose tasattur and encourages the women and girls who
cover or want to cover their bodies.
A girl who covers her body protects herself from evil looks; her tasattur becomes a kind
of castle for her. A covered person rejects all kinds of evil intentions with her
appearance; therefore, she is always shown respect.
If we are in tasattur, we should pay more importance to it. If we are not in tasattur yet,
we should make an important decision soon and obey the command of Allah and His
Messenger (pbuh).
If we draw reaction from our family and people around us due to tasattur, it is necessary
to show patience. We should not offend them but we should not make any concessions.
We should not heed those who condemn and criticize us due to tasattur.
We will enter the grave alone. We will be on our own with our deeds in the Gathering
Place, where people will run away from one another. Nothing but our belief and
righteous deeds can help us there.
Another important issue is how to apply tasattur. It is necessary to wear loose garments
and coats that do not show the contours of the body and headscarves. The name of the
garment is not so important as long as it ensures tasattur. It is wrong for those who wear
coats and jilbab (burqa) to offend one another. It is necessary for them to tolerate one
another and not to quarrel because we have more important things to do.

Youth and Sport

Sport has an important place in young people's areas of interest. Qualities like action,
emotions, excitement, curiosity, power, competition and dynamism that are inherent in
man are at the peak during the period of youth. Therefore, young people are in majority
among the people who play and watch sports.

The young people who take the Prophet (pbuh) as an example should know the decrees
of our religion regarding sports.
The most popular sports during the time of the Prophet (pbuh) were wrestling, archery
and animal racing.
The Prophet (pbuh) made camels race, watched young people who wrestled and
encouraged archery.
"The best kind of entertainment is archery." (Daylami, Musnadu'l-Firdaws), "Learn to
shoot arrows because it is the best one of your games." (Tabarani, Awsaf) The hadiths
above attract attention to archery because it was important in the wars of that time.
The Prophet (pbuh) made his grandsons, Hz. Hasan and Husayn wrestle. Once, he was
watching them wrestle. In order to encourage Hasan, he shouted, "Come on Hasan!
Catch Husayn!" Hz. Ali (r.a.) was also there. He said, "O Messenger of Allah! You should
support Husayn. Hasan is older." The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Look! Gabriel says to
Husayn, 'Come on Husayn! Catch him.'"
The Prophet (pbuh) also attracted attention to swimming by saying, "Teach boys to
swim and to shoot arrows; teach girls to spin yarn."
The branches of sports we have mentioned above help human body develop and
strengthen; they are also necessary during battles. People who can wrestle well, ride
horses and camels fast and shoot arrows well will definitely fight better than others.
They serve to train people for battles; they serve an important cause rather than being
unnecessary and temporary entertainment.
As a matter of fact, when the Prophet (pbuh) saw some young people wrestling, he said,
"The real wrestler is the one that stops his soul and fury." Thus, he reminded us that it
was necessary to bear in mind an eternal reality while playing sports.
When we view the sports of today under the criteria of the hadiths, we can mention the
following branches: "football, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, boxing, athletics, weightlifting, swimming and archery". They are the main branches. There are some more
branches of sports that are not as common.
It is necessary to mention a rumor here. The claim that the football represents the head
of Hz. Husayn is wrong; it is not true.
The basic criteria while evaluating the branches of sport should be as follows:

The branch of the sport should not contradict the rules of our religion in terms of its
nature and practices. For instance, the branches of sports that kill and wound people
cannot be approved. Besides, women and men cannot play together; it is also necessary
to be dressed in accordance with tasattur rules.
There must not be any material interests like betting based on the result of the sport. If a
prize is given by someone or an organization other than the competitors, it is not
regarded as betting or gambling.
Sports must not prevent us from worshipping, especially performing fard prayers. If
worship is ignored due to sports, it is haram.
Sports must not cause people to fight and become enemies but to meet and make
friends.
No branches of sports must consume our time so much as to prevent our necessary
services and tasks. Wasting is haram in sports as it is haram in everything. However, it
is valid for amateur sportsmen. If a person is a professional sportsman, he will naturally
spend most of his time training for that sport. However, he must not abandon learning,
meditating religious issues and fard worship.
What such a person does in sports can be regarded as religious service because being a
prominent sportsperson can cause the religion and culture of that person to be known
and loved. Sport is also a means of conveying message like science, art and industry. A
sportsperson who arranges his life in compliance with his religion will gain the
sympathy of large masses of people if he becomes successful. This will pave the way for
the belief and lifestyle he represents to be known and adopted by a lot of people. Thus, a
sportsperson can serve his religion as much as a great scholar does as long as he
maintains his sincere intention.
We must not spend much time on sports, especially football. Everybody needs to
establish a balance regarding the issue. We need to find a middle way that will be in
compliance with our eternal aims and that will satisfy our interest in sport. Its criterion
cannot be the same for everybody. It is necessary to deal with the issue flexibly. There
are some people who devote themselves to the realization of their lofty aims; they are
not interested in sports at all. There are some people who are interested in sports a lot.
It is not appropriate to impose strict rules regarding the issue. It is not appropriate to be
fanatics and hooligans, either.

However, it will be useful for our young people to play sports as long as they are in
compliance with the rules mentioned above. Thus, they will deal with a legitimate kind
of entertainment and will keep fit and remain healthy.

Youth and Love

Love means strong liking.

Love means to love something a lot, to have a crush on somebody, not to be able to do
without somebody, to think of him/her all the time, to laugh and cry together with
him/her, to be happy and sad together with him/her and not to be able to be happy
without him/her.
There is so much to say about love; we refer those who want to have more information
to our book called "Youth and Love".
However, we will try to summarize the issue here.
First of all, it is necessary to state that there are a lot of beings that one can fall in love
with: Allah, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), saints of Allah, one's mother, father, son,
daughter, spouse, etc.
However, we want to deal with the issue in terms of emotional relationship with the
opposite gender, which interests young people more than the other aspects.
We are living in an age unprecedented in the history of the world. Events that normally
happen in one thousand years happen in one day. The mischief, traps and tests of this
century are so many that our young people should be very alert and conscious.
The first trap that is used in order to drive our young people away from Allah and the
religion is the mischief of women. When we say mischief here, we mean a means of
testing.
They do whatever they can in order to make women attractive. The most important
activities in the world of music, sports, entertainment, fashion, media, ads and art focus
on women.

Furthermore, instead of the lofty feelings and the valuable inner world of women, only
their sexuality is emphasized.
Most of our young people, who are urged and provoked by newspapers, magazines,
televisions, cinemas, etc, undergo great troubles and hesitation.
Opposite genders, who are directed toward the sexual aspect of each other through
intense campaigns, are put under heavy pressure. In addition, since there exists a mixed
social life in terms of gender, the problem doubles, triples, etc.
Young people who encounter the opposite gender at school, work, market, etc face
complicated problems.
Our young people are made up of flesh and bones, not stones and iron; so, they cannot
remain indifferent to so much pressure and provocation. Besides, they undergo the
strongest and most intense period in terms of sexual desires.
However, on the other hand, there are religious beliefs, ethical rules and value
judgments of the community customs and traditions.
Girl-boy relationships do not have unlimited freedom anywhere in the world. There are
obstacles everywhere whether few or more.
The main problem starts at this point.
On the one hand, there are rules that one believes in that he has to obey willingly or
unwillingly and that he cannot exceed. On the other hand, there are strong urges
around him and powerful desires inside him.
Yes, the problem is great.
However, there is no need to be hopeless because our religion, which introduces
solutions to all of our problems, guides us regarding this issue too. The Quran, which
finds solutions to all of our problems, and our Prophet (pbuh) who enlighten us
regarding the issue, too.
They show us how to preserve our religious beliefs without any contradiction and
happiness; and they show us the ways of satisfying the feelings inside us.
First of all, our religion says this: "You are not you; your feelings do not belong to you.
Act in accordance with the criteria imposed by the one that your feelings belong to."

Yes, we do not belong to us. We belong to our Lord, who created us out of nothing. He
decorated the vast universe with beauties. He gave us love and created the beings that
we would love.
Then, the first place to use this love is Allah, who gave us this feeling. If He had not
created us, we would not have known love and the people we loved. The beauty,
perfection and pleasantness in the things that we love come from His beauty, perfection
and pleasantness. He is the beauty of the beauties that makes everything beautiful.
Then, we need to love Him, His beloved Messenger (pbuh) and the ones that he loves.
If we love Him, we will try to attain His consent. In order to attain His consent, we obey
His orders and avoid His prohibitions.
Then, we will obey Allah's orders and prohibitions that He regards good for us regarding
love as it is the case with every issue.
We will love what He asks us to love and will not love what He does not want us to love.
Thus, to love Allah and the Prophet (pbuh), to know Islam and to live in accordance with
Islam will make us strong against the strong sexual motives. It will teach us that a
feeling that we think to cover the whole world of us does not settle everything and that it
is as important as its value.
Thus, it will be possible to learn the realities better. Then, the mind will replace
emotions; the reality will replace dreams and the heart will replace the soul.
A young lover thinks that everything consists of his/her darling. His/her darling is in the
center of everything. Life, love, happiness and peace move around him/her; it looks as if
all beings serve him/her. It looks as if the world will stop turning, life will end and
Doomsday will strike if one leaves his/her darling.
No, the reality is not like that. There are other and even more valuable things than
him/her in life: beauties, happiness and peace! Life will not end when he/she does not
exist. The world will go on moving; it will go on raining; birds will go on singing.
A young person who fills his feelings with belief and Islam will see this reality in the first
place. He will give everything their due. He knows that his/her darling is not everything
and that he/she is not unimportant, either. He/she believes that his/her darling has a
certain value within legitimate boundaries.

A person who does not know these realities or knows but does not act in accordance
with them falls in love with a person of the opposite gender. He/she is too young to get
married. He/she will get married 5 or 10 years later. He/she has not finished his/her
school yet. He/she has not known his/her darling very well yet. He/she acts upon a
desire.
He/she suddenly finds himself/herself in the middle of a lot of problems. Besides, there
are three important pains in such a love that Allah does not allow. As Badiuzzaman Said
Nursi puts it, they are "the pains of jealousy, separation, and unreciprocated love".
A young lover never wants to leave his her darling. However, it is not possible. They may
even split up completely due to some obstacles. Besides, 95% of those who love like that
cannot marry the people they like. There is great pain and agony at the end of it.
Besides, a young man is jealous of his darling. He is not married; so he cannot protect
her. His spirit remains in pain wondering where she is and how she is.
The main problem is "unreciprocated love". This situation sometimes occurs at the
beginning. One party becomes crazy but the other party is not aware of the situation.
The heart might not love. However, the loving party is obsessed with the feeling that
he/she cannot do without him/her. His/her spirit is in agony.
Some lovers believe that it is not enough even if their love is answered. They always
blame their darlings. They say that their darlings are insincere and that they do not love
enough.
Unreciprocated love may occur years later. One of the lovers may stop loving one day.
He/she may say that he/she will end this love due to any reason. It sometimes occurs
due to the relatives or the pressure of the people around.
These three problems make our young people unhappy and uneasy. They suffer and
shed tears every day. They start to do things that they have never done before in order to
stop their agony. If their beliefs are weak, they start to take alcohol and drugs. After that,
their friends are sad songs and tears. Nobody understands them and nobody listens to
them. They become the most sorrowful people in the world.
There are young people who quit school or work; there are even some young people who
commit suicide.
A great majority of the lovers that get married is unhappy because as the saying goes
"Love is blind." They do not see the deficiencies and mistakes of each other. They believe

that their darlings are the best people in the world. However, one's darling also has
faults and deficiencies like everyone else. However, one can see them only when he/she
gets married. When they are followed by the other problems of the world, arguments
and quarrels start. According to the statistics, the highest rate of divorce is seen in
marriages that young people base on imagination. The result is unhappiness or
separation.
The best thing to do about the issue is to obey the criteria of our religion. The peace and
happiness of the world depends on this.
Our religion introduced certain limitations related to relationships based on sexual
feelings between opposite genders who are not married. The verses and hadiths
regarding the issue were mentioned in the previous chapters.
All phases of relationships that are not based on the intention of marriage are full of sins
and sorrow.
However, there is a problem here:
A young brother or sister arranges their life based on Islam. He/she obeys the orders of
Allah, avoids His prohibitions and performs prayers regularly. The problem we have
mentioned above exists. He/she tries to keep away from traps. However, he/she falls in
love due to a momentary heedlessness or his/her good intentions.
Then, what will he do?
The first rule here is this:
No thought can make legitimate what Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) have rendered
illegitimate.
Therefore, we need to apply the following conditions:
1- Our intention must be sincere. The aim must be to get married.
2- No prohibition of our religion - including, for instance, a man and a woman staying
together in a closed place alone - must be violated.
3- The lover must be a person like what the Prophet (pbuh) advises; that is, a religious
person. Thoughts like, "He/she will learn and practice the religion in the course of time"
are nothing but the delusions of the soul.

4- Both parties should be at or near the age of marriage. An affair that started long
before marriage will end up with lots of sins or separation.
5- The young people should be realistic not dreamy. Sentences like, "I will sacrifice the
whole world for you", "When I am with you, all places are Paradise for me", "I will die
for you" are unrealistic. When they get married, they will be forgotten. When people
need money or things, beauty is not regarded to be so important. Therefore, it is
necessary to have a good job and have enough money to maintain the family when you
get married.
6- It is necessary to inform someone that you respect and trust about the situation and
ask their advice.
7- Lastly, it is necessary to get married soon when you start such a relationship in order
to make it a legitimate relationship. What we mean here is not to have the opinion that it
is legitimate to have a religious marriage years before the official marriage. There may
arise some drawbacks of religious marriages performed a long time before the official
marriage. Some young people who perform a religious marriage and act freely split up
since there is no binding thing. Such a situation can never be approved. What we mean
by marriage is to get married.
To have the idea, "I can do something like that" when one sees the conditions above is
wrong. The conditions above aim to save our young people from the problems and
situations they are in with the least sins possible and to make the time period after that
legitimate.
Our advice to young people is to have an idealistic spirit, to work very hard in order to
spread the cause of Islam and to do their best for this eternal cause. It does not fit an
enthusiastic young person who takes the Prophet (pbuh) as an example to drown in a
drop of water not in an ocean.
However, we are human beings. If we face such a test, it is necessary to struggle and not
to surrender; if it is not possible, it is necessary to get rid of the situation with the least
harm.
It is necessary not to be sorrowful and not to be weary of life, not to abandon our duties
and not even to think of committing suicide.

Since we have our Lord, we have everything. He definitely thinks of us more than us. It
is necessary to surrender to Him and accept that whatever He preordained for us has
some wisdom behind.
Do not worry. The world does not consist of your darling only. Life goes on despite
everything; everything works for our happiness.
There is no need to make life unbearable.

Youth and Suicide

In fact, "youth" and "suicide" are two words that should not be related to each other and
that are opposite to each other; they should not be mentioned together.

For, youth is vitality, energy, happiness and success.

On the other hand, suicide is death, end and defeat.
Therefore, they should not exist together.
Unfortunately, the reality is not like that.
The people that commit suicide most are the young people.
Young people who are very emotional can think of committing suicide when they face a
big problem.
There are various reasons that lead young people to suicide.
Some young people commit suicide because they fail their exams or cannot enter a
university.
Others commit suicide because they are scolded by their parents or because they are
slapped by them.
Some people commit suicide because their lovers abandon them or because their family
members prevent their marriage.

Our religion forbids suicide.

For, only Allah can take the life that He has given.
We do not belong to us.
We belong to Allah.
How can we interfere in Allah's property though He forbids it?
How can we eliminate our body, which manifests thousands of names of Allah?
Committing suicide is a major sin. It is not permissible by any means.
In fact, a young person should be too proud to think of committing suicide.
For, youth is a period when strength, power, will and determination are at the peak.
Committing suicide means to abandon struggle, to accept defeat in the first place, to
surrender without fighting and to give in readily.
How can a proud honorable young person surrender readily no matter what the reason
is?
We need to show patience no matter how hard the misfortune is, how unsolvable the
problem is and how unbearable the trouble is.
For, a person who keeps on struggling by showing patience will reach victory because
Allah is together with and loves those who show patience.
Committing suicide does not comply with our aim. Suppose that you wanted to marry
someone you loved a lot but you could not marry him/her. Committing suicide is an end
that you cannot return from. Do you think you will attain what you want when you
commit suicide? On the contrary, even if the person or the people that rejected you
agreed afterwards, it would be too late. However, if you try to attain your aim through
patience, prayer, by avoiding the prohibitions of Allah and through good intentions,
Allah will make you successful.
Even if He does not, it is not the end of the world. Whatever happens may be better for
us.
We have so many aims in the world that if we tried to commit suicide for each aim that
we could not realize, we would need a thousand lives.
Therefore, committing suicide is not a solution.

Life is the most important valuable and the first capital man needs in order to attain his
goals.
It is not logical to sell it cheap by eliminating it.
There is only one person that deserves to be died for: Our Lord, who created us.
Some young people want to take revenge from the people who are their enemies and
who do not fulfill their wishes by committing suicide. They think like this: "You did not
do what I wanted. I am committing suicide. Suffer a pang of conscience forever."
Unfortunately, some of your enemies might not take any lessons from your suicide.
Then you will have died in vain.
Or, suppose that those who did not fulfill our wishes got very sorry and pulled their hair
out.
Would it be all right?
How can we be happy when our parents feel pangs of conscience? There are also our
innocent friends whom we upset by committing suicide. Do we have any right to make
them cry?
Suppose that we taught the people around us a lesson by committing suicide. They
realized that they had made a mistake when they did not fulfill your wishes.
Is it not an expensive lesson? Is this lesson very important when their most valuable
being dies?
What is more important is not only our worldly but also otherworldly life is destroyed;
because of committing suicide, we commit a major sin. Is it worth risking?
Is it chivalrous to end a life in vain?
Does it fit a young person who is loyal to Islam to commit suicide?
Above all, to commit suicide is contrary to Allah's consent. To oppose the Being who
puts the whole universe at our disposal and to virtually say, "I do not want the life you
gave me because you did not give me what I wanted" does not comply with belief and
reason.
Besides, suicide is a sin that cannot be repented because a person who commits suicide
dies and cannot repent.

We should take lessons from the people who try to commit suicide but fail or give up
because they say, "Fortunately, we could not manage; death is hard; life is very nice after
all." Then, we should avoid and not mention such a thing that we will repent.
You can say, "We are believers; it is not possible for us to commit suicide."
A young believer never thinks of committing suicide.
However, we are human beings. We are in the world of testing. We have feelings.
Therefore, it is necessary to be alert against committing suicide.
Once, I heard that a very idealistic young believer who performed prayers regularly
thought of committing suicide due to a girl. I shivered and felt shocked. I learned that
man was very weak. Therefore, we must be very careful. When we are heedless, the soul
and Satan can trick us and everything can become destroyed.
If our problems are very big and unbearable and we think of committing suicide despite
what we know, we must not take action immediately.
We must stop. It is necessary to talk to someone we like and respect like a relative,
mother, father, uncle, grandfather and inform them about the situation. They may have
a solution. They may think of a way of that we have never thought of. We should make
use of their experience.
Do not forget!
A person who is in trouble cannot think healthily. He has difficulty in finding solutions.
A person from outside acts more realistically and thinks more soundly.
You may think, "How can we talk to an elderly person about a private issue and say that
we are thinking of committing suicide?"
Why should we feel ashamed?
Since he/she is an elderly person, he/she has to take care of us. Do not feel worried.
Which one is preferred: to commit suicide and be exposed to eternal torture or to feel a
bit ashamed?
Suppose that you are very strong about the issue. However, we sometimes hear our
friends around us talking about committing suicide.
We must help them at once. If someone has a problem, we should try to listen to them
and console them. We should try to help through action not through words.

We should tell them that committing suicide is not a solution. We should make that
person meet a wise man or take him to a psychologist.
To save a person's life is a great reward.
We should never forget this:
There are a lot of things worth do in this world. We can attain our goals only if we keep
living.

Young People who were Always around the Prophet

Our Prophet (pbuh) stated the following in a hadith: "I recommend you good young
people because their hearts are softer. Allah sent me with honesty and tolerance. Young
people supported me but old people opposed me." Then, he read the following verse:
"Long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard.For many among them are
rebellious transgressors." (al-Hadid: 16)

Indeed this hadith expresses a great reality. Young people of Makkah and Madinah
helped the Prophet a lot but the old people opposed him and tried to eliminate him.
Hz. Ali (r.a.), who was honored to be the first male Muslim, was only 10 years old when
he embraced Islam. When the Messenger of Allah had to migrate and make jihad and
asked his Companions who would help him, Hz. Ali, who was a young person of 12 years
old shouted, "I will."
The Prophet stated the following for Zubayr bin Awwam, who became a Muslim when
he was 15 years old: "Every Prophet has a disciple. My disciple is Zubayr." He spent his
whole life serving Islam. The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following for him and Talha bin
Ubaydullah: "Talha and Zubayr are my neighbors in Paradise."
Abu Ubayda bin Jarrah (r.a.), who had to leave his family when he was very young,
received the following compliment from the Prophet pbuh: "Every ummah has a reliable
person. The reliable person of this ummah is Abu Ubayda bin Jarrah." When the people
of Yemen wanted someone to teach them about Islam, the Prophet sent him to Yemen

Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (r.a.), who was an active young person, became a Muslim when he
was 19. He was a soldier of belief and mujahid of Islam. During the most crucial time of
the Battle of Uhud, he was one of the Companions that formed a wall of flesh around
him. He received the following compliment from the Prophet: "Throw, Sa'd throw! May
my mother and father be sacrificed for you!"
Sa'd bin Zayd (r.a.) became a Muslim when he was about 19-20 years old. He dedicated
his whole life to the spread of Islam.
Mus'ab bin Umayr, Abdullah ibn Umar, Anas bin Malik, Muadh bin Jabal, Usama bin
Zayd, Bara bin Adhib, all of whom led legendary lives, were young mujahids who
became Muslims and who did not leave the Messenger of Allah and who never opposed
his orders. When young people approached the Prophet and obeyed him, some of their
parents oppressed and tortured them in order to dissuade them from Islam.
With this hadith, the Prophet made a historical determination and stated that the young
people would form the locomotive power of the religious services. The statement "Their
hearts are softer" shows that young people are tend to accept innovations and beauties
more and that old people do not get rid of old knowledge and habits easily.
This hadith also serves as a warning to young people. It sounds as if the Messenger of
Allah said, "O young people! Your hearts tend to accept the good and the truth more.
Then, make good use of this period. Learn what is good and right, and practice them.
Young people gathered around me. Be mujahids for the cause of Islam."
The following hadith is also important in that it shows this aspect of the young people:
Samura bin Jundub (r.a.) reported this hadith: "Kill the old polytheists but not kill the
young ones." Abdullah said, 'I asked my father to explain the hadith on killing the old
polytheists. He said, 'An old polytheist might not accept Islam easily. The nature of
young people is closer to accept Islam; so, they can accept Islam.'" (Musnad, 5: 13)
As a matter of fact, the following hadith explains how man is affected in a negative way
in the world: "Every child is bornwith a natural belief in Allah. Then, his parents convert
him to Judaism, Christianity or polytheism." (Tirmidhi, Qadar: 5) In a sense, a person
who is nearer to childhood is purer; on the other hand, a person who has lived longer
and has approached death is confused and is more sinful. However, this situation is
valid for those who do not know the beauties of Islam and who do not practice Islam.
Those who arrange their lives in accordance with the religion of Allah and Islam, and
work in order to spread it will improve as they get older.

May Allah make our young people gather around the cause of Messenger of Allah.

The Masters of the Youths of Paradise

The Prophet stated the following in a hadith:

"An angel who had never come down to the earth before came and greeted me. Then, he
gave me the good news that Hasan and Husayn were the masters of the young people in
Paradise and that Fatima was the master of the women in Paradise." (Tirmidhi,
Manaqib: 31)
In a similar hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated the following: "Five people are
the young people of Paradise: Hasan, Husayn, Abdullah ibn Umar, Sa'd bin Muadh,
Ubayy bin Kab" (Jamius-Saghir: 4858) Thus, he encouraged people to take their lives as
an example in a sense.
For, to be the master of the young people in Paradise is a high rank. The young people
who take their lives, ethics and service of those who reached this rank as an example will
approach them. The young people who love them and who live like them will be the
neighbors of those masters in Paradise with the permission of Allah.
The Companions whom the Prophet (pbuh) described as the masters of Paradise spent
their youth worshipping Allah and serving His religion and they served as an example to
all young people through their lifestyles.
Now, we will narrate some anecdotes from their exemplary lives and introduce them
briefly.

Hz. Hasan (r.a.)

Upon the order of Allah, the Prophet (pbuh) married his daughter Fatima off to Hz. Ali
(r.a.). Hz. Hasan (r.a.) was born out of this marriage in the third year of the Migration.

The Prophet (pbuh) loved his dear grandson very much. He caressed, kissed and carried
him on his shoulders. He advised his ummah to love him, too: O Allah! I love him. You
love him, too. Love those who love him, too." Thus, he stated that Allah would love those
who love him. The love of the Prophet pbuh toward him did not originate from kinship
only. His love was due to the luminous people to come from his descent that would
continue with Hz. Hasan (r.a.) and to serve Islam.
Hz. Hasan (r.a.) lost his grandfather when he was eight years old and his mother six
months later; and he became very sorrowful.
He was a Companion that was famous for his generosity. He gave away all of his fortune
twice and half of his fortune three times. He loved giving his property away so much that
if he had two pairs of shoes, he would give away one pair.
He loved worshipping a lot. He performed prayers and fasting a lot. He went from
Madinah to Makkah on foot 25 times for hajj.
After the death of his father, Muslims paid allegiance to him and elected him as their
Caliph. The number of those who paid allegiance to him amounted to 40 thousand. He
became the Caliph of the Muslims living in Iraq, Hejaz, Khorasan, Yemen, Makkah and
Madinah. However, the Muslims living in Egypt and Damascus did not recognize his
caliphate. Besides, they had paid allegiance to Hz. Muawiya (r.a.) before.
Unity was not restored among Muslims. As a matter of fact, in the seventh month of his
caliphate, the armies of both parties confronted in Madayin. Hz. Hasan's army was very
strong. It was so strong that when Amr bin As, who was in the army of Muawiya, saw it,
he could not help saying 'Now I see such an army that it will not go back unless it
eliminates the army against it."
However, Hz. Hasan did not want the blood of Muslims to be shed. Therefore, he
accepted the offer put forward by Muawiya and waived his right to be the Caliph based
on two conditions. The conditions demanded by him were: The Caliphs would be chosen
by Muslims and Muawiya would not appoint his son Yazid as his heir to the caliphate;
Muawiya would send a certain amount of money as sadaqah to be distributed to the
poor.
It is a great example of sacrifice that Hz. Hasan waived his right though he was strong
because he did not want the blood of Muslims to be shed. This event displayed a great
miracle of the Prophet (pbuh). Once, the Prophet said the following about his grandson:

This is my son; he is an honorable master. I envisage that Allah will make two groups of
Muslims compromise thanks to him."
Hz. Hasan was poisoned and became a martyr in the 49th year of the Migration when he
was 46 years old.

Hz. Husayn (r.a.)

Hz. Husayn, the second grandson of the Prophet, who would continue the Prophet's
descent, was born in the fourth year of the Migration. After his birth, the Prophet started
to go to his daughter, Fatima, more often and loved his grandsons. He said the
following about them: "Hasan and Husayn are two basils that I smell in the world."
The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following about him: "Husayn is of me; I am of Husayn. A
person who loves Allah loves Husayn, too. Husayn is a grandson among grandsons."
After the death of the Prophet (pbuh), Husayn was brought up and trained by Hz. Ali,
his father. He led a simple and plain life. He led a life that would serve as an example to
all humanity.
After the death of Hz. Muawiya, he did not accept the caliphate of Yazid, his son,
because he was an oppressor and a sinner. He did not act in accordance with the orders
of Allah. It was impossible for Hz. Husayn to pay allegiance to him. When the people of
Kufa saw that he did not pay allegiance to Yazid, they invited Hz. Husayn to Kufa and
said that they would pay allegiance to him. Thereupon, he set off toward Kufa with his
family and relatives.
Yazid got furious when Hz. Husayn did so. He ordered Ubaydullah bin Ziyad, the
governor of Kufa, to prepare an army. The followers of Yazid made Hz. Husayn settle in
a place where there was no water, stones or trees. Yazid's men blocked the way to the
water. When Hz. Husayn saw that they were determined to kill him, he asked the people
who were together with him to leave him. However, his relatives did not accept it.
All of the peace attempts of Hz. Husayn turned out to fail. The mob was definitely
determined to kill him. They attacked at once and martyred him and the people who
were together with him. They cut off his head and sent it to Yazid. It was the 61st year of
the Migration. The people of Ghadiriyya village buried the martyrs the next day. They
wanted to keep the place of his grave a secret but the nice scent coming from his grave
revealed his grave.

There was an eclipse of the sun on the day he was martyred. The sky became red. People
thought Doomsday would strike. Not only humans but also jinn cried because he was
martyred.
The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following for the virtue of his grandsons:
"Hasan and Husayn are my sons. Those who love him love me, too. Allah loves those
who love me. Allah puts those whom He loves into Paradise. A person who does not love
them and becomes their enemies will become my enemies. Allah does not love those
who become my enemies. Allah puts those whom He does not love into Hell."

Abdullah ibn Umar (r.a.)

Hz. Abdullah is Hz. Umar's (r.a.) son. When his father became a Muslim, he was a fiveyear old child. Therefore, he never worshipped idols. When he migrated to Madinah, he
was only 13 years old.
When Abdullah became 15 years old, he wanted to join the Battle of Badr. However, the
Prophet did not allow him and a few more young people to join the army. Abdullah
narrates:
"The Prophet did not allow me to join the army because I was small and short. I do not
remember any other night that I cried so much and did not sleep a wink."
Hz. Abdullah could not participate in the Battle of Badr because he was too young.
However, he took part in all of the other battles together with the Prophet. He fought
heroically and was appreciated by the Prophet.
After the Migration, he joined the People of Suffa, who spent all their life learning Islam
and obtaining knowledge. In a very short time, he became one of the distinguished
people of the People of Suffa. After Abu Hurayra, he is the Companion who narrated the
most hadiths.
The dream that Abdullah had while he was staying in the mosque is exemplary to the
young people. He saw two angels take him to Hell. He said the following prayer 3 times:
I take refuge in Allah from Hell. Meanwhile, another angel met them and said to
Abdullah, "Do not fear." Abdullah asked his sister Hafsa to tell the Prophet about his
dream. The Messenger of Allah said, "Abdullah is such a nice person. If only he

performed tahajjud prayers. After that, Abdullah started to sleep a little at night and he
never quit performing tahajjud prayers.
He followed the sunnah of the Prophet very closely. Everybody knew that whatever he
did was sunnah. Once he had all of his hair cut. Then, he said to the people around him,
"O people! This is not sunnah. I have had my hair cut because they give me trouble."
He was very generous. He never avoided sacrificing the things that he loved in the way
of Allah. He helped the poor, orphans and helpless people. He died in the 73rd year of
the Migration when he was 86 years old.

Sa'd bin Muadh (r.a.)

Sa'd bin Muadh spent only six years of his life as a Muslim but he served the religion of
Islam a lot. The Prophet said that he was the most beloved person among Ansar.
Hz. Sa'd was the leader of the Ashhal branch of the Aws tribe; he was the actual leader of
the Aws tribe.
Hz. Prophet (pbuh) appointed Mus'ab bin Umayr to spread Islam in Madinah. Hz. Sa'd,
who became a Muslim thanks to Hz. Mus'ab, summoned Sons of Ashhal and addressed
them:
"O Sons of Ashhal! How do you know me?"
They said, "You are our master; you are the most far-sighted person among us. You are
our most reliable man."
Thereupon, Sa'd said,
"I want to tell you that I will not talk to any men or women among you unless you
believe in Allah and His Messenger like me."
This speech was very influential. All of the Sons of Ashhal, men and women, became
Muslims that day.
Hz. Sa'd took part in the battles of Badr and Uhud. He fought heroically. He was
wounded severely in the Battle of Khandaq and died after a while as a martyr.
The Prophet (pbuh) said after his death, "The dead body of Sa'd made the throne of the
creator shiver. Seventy thousand angels who had never stepped on the earth before
came down for Sa'd bin Muadh.

While carrying the dead body of Sa'd bin Muadh, the munafiqs (hypocrites) said
mockingly, "What a light body!" When the Prophet (pbuh) was informed about their
words, he said, "Angels were carrying his dead body."
The Prophet loved him very much. He mentioned his virtues and spiritual rank after his
death.

Ubayy bin Kab (r.a.)

Ubayy bin Kab, who had great service in the recital of the Quran in the nicest way
received the following compliments from the Prophet: "the person who recites the
Quran in the nicest way", "the master of the reciters of the Quran" and "the master of
Ansar".
He became a Muslim before the Pledge of Aqaba and joined all of the battles together
with the Messenger of Allah.
Once, the Prophet (pbuh) said to him, "O Ubayy! Allah ordered me to recite the Quran
to you."
Ubayy asked, "Did Allah mention my name?"
The Prophet said, "Yes. He mentioned your name at the Highest Assembly together with
your family name."
Ubayy said, "Then, read, O Messenger of Allah! Then, he started to cry when he heard
this divine grace and compliment."
During the period of Hz. Uthman, when different views appeared about the recital of the
Quran, a committee consisting of 12 people from Qurayshis and Ansar was formed. Hz.
Ubayy was appointed as the leader of this committee. He recited the Quran and Zayd
bin Thabit wrote it. With this service, he fulfilled a great duty that will make him gain
rewards until Doomsday.
He died in Madinah in the 35th year of the Migration.

Yes. Dear Youth!

You read about the words of the Prophet (pbuh) that directly addressed you and learned
them.

Who knows what you felt?

Maybe you shuddered, shivered and got goose bumps when you read some hadiths.
For, they warned you and laid a burden on you; they shook you.
You shivered when you read some hadiths.
For, they frightened you; they mentioned death, resurrection and Hell.
When you learned some hadiths, you probably shed tears and cried.
For, they were moving.
When you read some hadiths, you rejoiced and became glad.
For, they gave you glad tidings.
To sum up, you were together with and learned from the Prophet (pbuh), who worked,
struggled and cried for you throughout his life and sent messages by thinking of you
from fourteen centuries earlier.
What did the Prophet want from you?
First, he wanted a strong belief. He advised you to believe in Allah and to obey His
orders fully.
Then, he ordered us to perform all fard worship, especially five daily prayers.
What else?
He wanted us to abandon illegitimate lust, meaningless entertainment and unnecessary
pleasures by saying, "Beware the dangers of youth!"
He wanted us to think of death, the hereafter, Paradise and Hell and he wanted us to
take the masters of the young people of Paradise as examples.
In short, he advised us to live like a sound Muslim and be an idealistic young person.

We should approach the prophet of the prophets (pbuh), who said, "Old people opposed
me; young people supported me."
Since we are young, we should extend a hand to him. We should drink from this lucid
water spring that he made flow fourteen centuries ago.
In fact, this book, which you are reading, is a drop in the ocean.
Many issues in it should be dealt with in separate books.
If you like this drop, jump into the ocean without hesitation.
Jump into the vast ocean of hadiths, tafsir and Islamic sciences.
You will not regret it.
You will be so happy in the paradise of knowledge and worship you will virtually feel
that bodily and lustful desires are sparks from Hell.
If your heart feels disturbed by the sparks of your soul and desires, take refuge in the
nice climate of Islam, which is like Paradise, and never leave it.
And try to save those who are in Hell.
Do not be deceived by so many young people who become drunk due to entertainment
and plunge in pleasure; their spirits are in agony. They resort to entertainment and
numb the mind in order to alleviate the pains coming from his mind and spirit.
They need your care, love and help.
Please forgive me for using a style of giving advice. I wanted to address you directly. I
know that I need these realities more than you. Therefore, I am waiting for your prayers
and I am praying for all young people. This book is a flower of my love to you, a sentence
of my prayers and a drop of my tears.
May Allah bless you!