Advice to Rulers Regarding the Deviation of Youth and Being a Good Role Model

Question:
The questioner says: In this time, many young men and women have become immersed in pleasures and desires, while their fathers, or those who have authority over them, are aware of this but do nothing about it, which has led to widespread corruption and exposure to corruption. We ask Allah for safety. We hope for advice from Allah, then from you, for the rulers, and may Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
It is obligatory upon the rulers and upon every person to give advice to Allah and His servants. So the one in charge of a household must fear Allah regarding the people of the household, his children, his wives, and others, until they are upright in truth, until they fulfill the trust, and until they avoid what Allah has forbidden and stay away from what Allah has forbidden. He must also be a role model for them in good. He must be a role model. If they see that he does not pray, they will imitate him in not praying. If they see that he smokes, they will imitate him in that. If they see that he shaves his beard, they will imitate him, except for whom Allah has mercy. And so on. So he must fulfill the trust by obeying Allah and His Messenger. He must first start with himself. He must strive against his soul for the sake of Allah so that he becomes a role model in good. He must also strive to reform those under his care. And so the trustee, and so the manager of any place, a school principal, a police chief, a manager of any job, it is obligatory upon him as a manager, and so the minister, and so the head of the city, the head of the municipality, the head of such and such, the head of such and such. Every person who is entrusted with something must fear Allah in this care, give advice in it, and start with himself so that he becomes a role model in good. The authentic hadith: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then he does not treat them well or advise them, so he does not enter into the work with them. The other wording is: . And each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is a lamp.
The Shaykh said: There is a general hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The ruler is a shepherd over the people and is responsible for his flock; the man is a shepherd over his household and is responsible for his flock; the woman is a shepherd over her husband's household and is responsible for her flock; and the servant is a shepherd over his master's wealth and is responsible for his flock. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Every person is responsible for what Allah has placed under his control. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the ruler of the country, the mayor, and others who have taken on any responsibility to fulfill the trust, strive to perform what is right, and be a good role model. It is incumbent upon the scholar, the judge, and the teacher to fulfill the trust so that he may be entrusted with it. Likewise, every person should fulfill the trust and start with himself, so that he becomes a good role model for his family and employees to follow. If they see him racing to the congregational prayer and racing to do good, his children and employees will emulate him. If they see him deviating, late to prayer, and immersed in sins, many of them, or all of them, will emulate him, except perhaps on another occasion. So one must be cautious; one must be cautious not to be a role model in evil. One must strive to be a role model in good, a role model in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, a leader in good. For this reason, among the supplications of the righteous servants of Allah, the servants of the Merciful, is the statement: "And those who, when they are addressed, respond with 'We hear and obey,' and those who, when they pass by, pass by with dignity, and those who, when they are reminded, do not fear the jinn, and those who say, 'Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and our offspring a comfort to our eyes, and make us leaders for those who fear You.'" So they asked Allah to grant them from their spouses and offspring a comfort to their eyes, and to make them among the righteous in faith. The believer is a leader in good and a role model in good. This is a great blessing, and he obtains the like of the rewards of those whom he guided, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever guides to good will have a reward like that of the one who does it." If the ruler, the minister, the manager, and others are role models in good, they will have the like of the rewards of their followers and those who emulate them in good. If they are role models in evil and callers to evil, they will bear the like of the burdens of those who followed them in the evil to which they called and emulated them in that. There is no power and no strength except with Allah. Yes.