My fellow students, there is no shortcut to success other than to read and pray. As it implies, “reading is the pillar of success while prayer is constant”. If you want to succeed in life, you must be focused and determined on the entire goal you have planned for your future. As a student, the most important business you have is your studies not making friends or any other distractions, not that you shouldn’t make friends only make friend with academically and Islamically sound fellow students. It is very important that your entire focus should be on your studies. Avoid distractions especially when lesson is going on. At home, do your assignments and read your books. Do not do your assignment in front of television or on the bed in order to avoid distractions. It is my advice for you to have a reading timetable. If you feel bored, sleep and wake up in the midnight. Complete your assignments and always read. After that, pray to God. These tips will make you be the best in your academics.
By Maryam Ayandeji (JSS3)
And the author of a book titled: ‘The Pious Abdus-Salam’
I have a dream, You have a dream,
My dream is to grow up,
And become successful in life,
What is your dream?
Your dream is to grow up
And become successful in life
I have a dream
A dream of hope
A dream of peace
A dream of joy
A dream of fulfillment
To achieve your dream
To change your dream
You have to read and
Pass through many
Problems in life
To achieve your dream
You have to read
Do the right thing at
The right time
Make hay while the sun shines
To achieve your dream.
Some years ago,
You began a journey,
To the land of success;
The journey was so long,
Tiring and tough,
But thanks to Allah;
You have to go to the end of a long tunnel,
Saying good bye now is so saddening,
Letting you go brings tears,
But you have to go after many years of learning,
My dear seniors, your consciousness is your property,
Uphold the tenets of Islam,
Allah will be with you.
An atheist will continue propagating atheism while pagans will not relent their efforts in spreading paganism. The reason is not far-fetched as that is what they uphold and believe in. As such, a dedicated Muslim should ceaselessly propagate Islam as its propagation is a duty of every Muslim. Muslim students should take up this responsibility more than any other groups of Muslims as they possess one of the tools needed in Islamic propagation which is knowledge. Allah in the Glorious Qur'an says: قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ "Say: This is my Way: I call on Allah with sure knowledge. I and whosoever follow me - Glory be to Allah! And I am not of the idolaters." Q.12:108 In line with the above, the remaining of the discourse shall be on the following sub-headings:
In the real sense of it, one learns and remains a student till death as learning in Islam is from cradle to grave. Learning is a continuous and endless exercise. It is a life time affair. A real student should forever remain insatiable and hungry for knowledge. But in this context, we are referring to those youths who are very agile and still pursuing knowledge be it at high schools or tertiary institutions of learning. Youths who fall in this category have a lot of roles to play in Islamic propagation. They are usually zealous and inquisitive at this stage. They have ability to excellently carry out any given task. The intellectual and physical power to succeed in the tasks assigned to them is never a problem. Dynamism and ability to conquer whatever challenges faced during the process are other good qualities of Muslim students. All these among others are reasons why Muslim students should be actively involved in Islamic propagation. The Almighty, Allah, remarks about Ashabul-Kahf as thus: "ﺇِﻧَّﻬُﻢْ ﻓِﺘْﻴَﺔٌ ﺀَﺍﻣَﻨُﻮﺍ ﺑﺮَﺑِّﻬِﻢْ ﻭَﺯِﺩْﻧـﻬُﻢْ ﻫُﺪﻯً" "Indeed they were youths who believed in their Lord and We increased them in guidance." Q.18:13
By Islamic propagation, we mean calling people to the pristine Islamic teachings as contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah with wisdom and good admonitions. It is this kind of Islamic propagation that is capable of changing any society positively. It saves society from all evils and results in righteousness and uprightness. Allah says: "ﻭَﻣَﻦْ ﺃَﺣْﺴَﻦُ ﻗَﻮْﻟًﺎ ﻣِّﻤَّﻦ ﺩَﻋَﺎ ﺇِﻟَﻰ ﺍﻟﻠَّـﻪِ ﻭَﻋَﻤِﻞَ ﺻَﺎﻟِﺤًﺎ ﻭَﻗَﺎﻝَ ﺇِﻧَّﻨِﻲ ﻣِﻦَ ﺍﻟْﻤُﺴْﻠِﻤِﻴﻦَ" "And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, ‘Indeed, I am of the Muslims." Q.41:33 In another verse of the Qur'an, Allah says: "ٱدْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِٱلْحِكْمَةِ وَٱلْمَوْعِظَةِ ٱلْحَسَنَةِ" "Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good admonition" Q.16:125 While propagating Islam, one should be cautious of extremism and laxity as authentic teaching of Islam is between the two extremes.
The roles of Muslim students in propagating Islam are numerous. They are the future leaders of any nation. They control affairs of different individuals as stakeholders in any development. In achieving the task of Islamic propagation, Muslim students should note the following:
In disseminating Islamic teachings, the relevance of knowledge cannot be underestimated. Muslim students should seek knowledge from cradle to grave. Their seeking knowledge should be all encompassing, modern and religious inclusive. They should avoid being half baked. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ" "Seeking knowledge is compulsory upon every Muslim." (Transmitted by Al-Baihaqi) Islamic propagation that is devoid of beneficial knowledge and full of exuberance, emotions and whims will destroy more than it builds.
All Prophets of Allah started their da'wah by calling people to pristine and authentic beliefs. The most paramount of them all is belief in oneness of Allah and avoiding polytheism. Allah says: "ﻭَﻟَﻘَﺪْ ﺑَﻌَﺜْﻨَﺎ ﻓِﻲ ﻛُﻞِّ ﺃُﻣَّﺔٍ ﺭَﺳُﻮﻟًﺎ ﺃَﻥِ ﺍﻋْﺒُﺪُﻭﺍ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﻭَﺍﺟْﺘَﻨِﺒُﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﻄَّﺎﻏُﻮﺕَ" "And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Taghut besides Allah).” Q.16:36
A person who wants to propagate Islam must be an embodiment of virtues. People being invited should see the caller as a role model. Allah describes the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Qur'an as thus: “لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا" "Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow, for him who hopes in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much." Q.33:21
A sincere Islamic preacher should invite people to believe in oneness of Allah and worship Him alone. Thus, he too must exemplify that in practice. He needs to move closer to Allah during the day and night and be fervent in acts of worship. He should supplicate to Allah to soften the hearts of his invitees. His fervent acts of worship can contribute to the success of his Islamic propagation or otherwise. Our Mother A’ishah (Radiyallahu Anha) narrated that when Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) occupied himself in night prayer, he observed such a (long) qiyam (posture of standing in prayer) that his feet got swollen. A’ishah said: O Allah's Messenger! "Why do you do this while your past and future sins have been forgiven?" He said, "Should I not be a grateful servant of Allah?" (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim)
Generosity and kindness turn people to be subservient to a particular cause, be it good or bad. Those propagating Islam should not be stingy. Despite the fact that the noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was poor, he was extremely generous and kind. Numerous ahadith reported his kindness and generosity. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Every act of kindness is a sadaqah (charity).” (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim) In another hadith, Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “It never happened that the Prophet withheld anything that was asked for by anyone in return for embracing Islam. Once a man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Prophet gave him sheep that were enough to fill the space between two mountains. Hence, the man returned to his tribe, and said, ‘People, embrace Islam, for Muhammad grants as generously as if he does not fear poverty". (Transmitted by Muslim)
Mind always inclines towards people that tolerate it while it flees away from those that are intolerant. Islamic propagators should be lenient and tolerant in their propagation so as not to send people away from accepting the truth. The Almighty, Allah, says: "ﻓَﺒِﻤَﺎ ﺭَﺣْﻤَﺔٍۢ ﻣِّﻦَ ﭐﻟﻠَّﻪِ ﻟِﻨﺖَ ﻟَﻬُﻢْ ۖ ﻭَﻟَﻮْ ﻛُﻨﺖَ ﻓَﻈًّﺎ ﻏَﻠِﻴﻆَ ﭐﻟْﻘَﻠْﺐِ ﻟَﭑﻧﻔَﻀُّﻮﺍْ ﻣِﻦْ ﺣَﻮْﻟِﻚَ..." "And by the Mercy of Allah, you were lenient with them. And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you...“ Q.3:159
Establishing good habit with people will drive them to accept your Islamic propagation. Many a sahabah accepted Islam through exemplary characters of the noble Prophet (peace be upon him). It is on record that the noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Fear Allah wherever you are and follow up the bad deed with the good one, it will cancel it out. And be nice toward people. “(Transmitted by Tirmidhi) Bad attitudes such as arrogance, pride, looking down upon people, backbiting, slander, jealousy, envy, telling lies, mockery, extravagance among others should be shunned by Muslim students who propagate Islam. They should instead focus on gaining Islamic knowledge and practising its ethics of forgiveness, forbearance, tolerance, humility, simplicity, commitment, truthfulness, kindness, generosity among others.
This can be achieved through admonitions, enlightenment programmes, authoring of books, social media, radio/television da'wah, pen da'wah, articles in newspaper among others. Below is a reported hadith of the noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): ﻋَﻦ ﻋَﺒْﺪ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪِ ﺑْﻦ ﻋَﻤْﺮﻭ، ﺃَﻥَّ ﺍﻟﻨَّﺒِﻲَّ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ﻗَﺎﻝَ " ﺑَﻠِّﻐُﻮﺍ ﻋَﻨِّﻲ ﻭَﻟَﻮ ﺁﻳَﺔً" 'Abdullah bin 'Amr (May Allah be pleased with them) narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it will be a single verse." (Transmitted by Bukhari)
This will make Muslim students to be relevant in their Islamic propagation as Islam is a universal religion. Knowing what is going on in the world will assist them in learning from people's mistakes. It will avail them the intrigues of their enemies and how to deal with them.
Muslim students should be ready to work with other individuals or organizations who are working towards spreading authentic teachings of Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: An-Nu’man bin Bashir narrated: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The similitude of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim)
One of the areas where some contemporary Muslim students get it wrong is dissipating their energy on contentious issues over which erudite Islamic scholars express divergent views. This usually results in hatred and conflicts among youths. Let us refer controversial issues to ebullient Islamic scholars. Always put into practice, the one that is evidence-based and closer to the truth. We are worshipping Allah not scholars' opinions. You respect scholars even where you disagree with their views based on other strong, convincing and authentic proofs available at your disposal. Tolerate others' views as the most authentic view to you (Rajih) may be less authentic to another person (marjuh) and vice versa. Enough is for the wise.
This is the little I was able to put together. The topic is inexhaustible. I only focused on selected points hopefully they will be beneficial. May Allah forgive me and readers wherever we might err. Subhanakallahumma Wabihamdika ash-hadu anla illaha Illa anta astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk.
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