Request for a guiding word for the youth who fall short in obeying Allah, neglect the obligatory, and engage in stunting and playing ball during prayer times.
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Our esteemed Shaykh, may Allah delight you: What is your advice to many of the young men who have fallen short in obeying Allah? We often see, during prayer times, some of the young men, may Allah guide them, playing ball and stunting with their cars, thereby exposing themselves and others to destruction. We ask for a beneficial word of guidance for such young men. May Allah benefit you and delight you.
The Shaykh : My advice to these young men, and to others who are negligent in abandoning the obligatory, is that the youth are not the only ones who waste the obligations of religion; the youth and others alike have negligence and carelessness regarding the obligatory.
So my advice to my Muslim brothers in general, and specifically to the young men whose condition you described, is to fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and to know that this world is a place of work, not a place of permanent residence. And with this, a person does not know when he will depart from this world; he may live to see the morning and not the evening, or live to see the evening and not the morning. It is obligatory to hasten to repentance and return to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Let the repentant person be glad that if he repents, Allah will erase from him what has preceded of sin, however great it may be. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Furqan 25:68] These are the major sins and great transgressions: shirk (associating partners with Allah), killing the soul that is forbidden to be killed without right, and zina (unlawful sexual intercourse). He says: [Al-Furqan 25:68-70].
So my advice is, first to myself and second to my Muslim brothers, to hasten to repentance before the term comes, because when the term comes, repentance will not benefit. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:18] There is no repentance for this.
This is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and the evidence from reality is the story of Pharaoh.[Yunus 10:90] What did he say? [Yunus 10:90] It was said to him: Meaning: Do you repent now? [Yunus 10:91].
So the result is that I advise my brothers, first myself, to repent to Allah for what I have done, and second my brothers, to hasten to repentance before the term comes, for then repentance will not benefit. How great is the regret at that moment! No one dies but that he regrets; if he was a wrongdoer, he regrets that he did not seek forgiveness, and if he was a doer of good, he regrets that he did not increase. Every person who dies regrets:[Al-Mu'minun 23:99-100] There is no return. [Al-Mu'minun 23:100] The work is finished.
As for the young men whom Allah has blessed with the strength of youth, I advise them to utilize this strength and this youth in what pleases Allah the Mighty and Majestic. If they train themselves to obedience, it will become easy for them; indeed, they will find it difficult to be without it. They can play ball at another time. We do not forbid them ball if they play without neglecting an obligatory duty, without speaking of what is forbidden, and without exposing the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), because of the rest it provides to some extent and the strengthening of the body. A person cannot always be in seriousness; the soul becomes bored. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 1369Sahih (Al-Albani).
Our esteemed Shaykh, may Allah delight you: What is your advice to many of the young men who have fallen short in obeying Allah? We often see, during prayer times, some of the young men, may Allah guide them, playing ball and stunting with their cars, thereby exposing themselves and others to destruction. We ask for a beneficial word of guidance for such young men. May Allah benefit you and delight you.
The Shaykh : My advice to these young men, and to others who are negligent in abandoning the obligatory, is that the youth are not the only ones who waste the obligations of religion; the youth and others alike have negligence and carelessness regarding the obligatory.
So my advice to my Muslim brothers in general, and specifically to the young men whose condition you described, is to fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and to know that this world is a place of work, not a place of permanent residence. And with this, a person does not know when he will depart from this world; he may live to see the morning and not the evening, or live to see the evening and not the morning. It is obligatory to hasten to repentance and return to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Let the repentant person be glad that if he repents, Allah will erase from him what has preceded of sin, however great it may be. Allah the Exalted said:
And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse
وَالَّذِينَ لا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهاً آخَرَ وَلا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلا يَزْنُونَAnd whoever should do that will meet a penalty. (69) Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - (70) Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَاماً * يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَاناً * إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَحِيماًSo my advice is, first to myself and second to my Muslim brothers, to hasten to repentance before the term comes, because when the term comes, repentance will not benefit. Allah the Exalted said:
But repentance is not [accepted] of those who [continue to] do evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now,"
وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَThis is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and the evidence from reality is the story of Pharaoh.
until, when drowning overtook him
حَتَّى إِذَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُhe said, "I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims."
قَالَ آمَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرائيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَNow?
آلْآنَAnd you had disobeyed [Him] before and were of the corrupters?
وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَSo the result is that I advise my brothers, first myself, to repent to Allah for what I have done, and second my brothers, to hasten to repentance before the term comes, for then repentance will not benefit. How great is the regret at that moment! No one dies but that he regrets; if he was a wrongdoer, he regrets that he did not seek forgiveness, and if he was a doer of good, he regrets that he did not increase. Every person who dies regrets:
until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back (100) That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind." No!
حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ * لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحاً فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلَّاIt is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.
إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا وَمِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ بَرْزَخٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَAs for the young men whom Allah has blessed with the strength of youth, I advise them to utilize this strength and this youth in what pleases Allah the Mighty and Majestic. If they train themselves to obedience, it will become easy for them; indeed, they will find it difficult to be without it. They can play ball at another time. We do not forbid them ball if they play without neglecting an obligatory duty, without speaking of what is forbidden, and without exposing the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), because of the rest it provides to some extent and the strengthening of the body. A person cannot always be in seriousness; the soul becomes bored. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: