Youth under the Shade Part 1 (Hadith): 3 Golden Lessons

By Amina Edota

Bismillah

Hadith

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wassalam said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade; a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position (for illegal intercourse), but he says: ‘I fear Allah’; a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.” [Narrated by Abu Hurairah & collected in Sahih al-Buhkari (english trans.)vol.1, p.356, no.629 & Sahih Muslim (english trans.) vol.2, p.493, no.2248]

Beautiful Reward

The above narration speaks about seven different categories of people; all engaging in distinct acts of worship and practice of faith yet sharing a similar kind of reward. The enormity of this reward stems from reflecting on the fact that the Day of Resurrection has been described as a day......

“...when the sun would draw so close to the people that there would be left a distance of only one mile. And the people will be submerged in perspiration according to their deed, some up to their ankles, some up to their knees, some up to the waist and some would have the bridle of perspiration and while saying this, the Messenger of Allah put his hand towards his mouth.” [Narrated by al Miqdad ibn Aswad & collected in Sahih Muslim (eng. trans) vol. 4, p.1487-8, no. 6852]

For people who reside in the tropical regions or have visited extremely hot areas, can you begin to imagine the sun coming any closer than it is without any air conditioning or cooling system to soothe the discomfort? No trees or buildings to seek shelter under; And no iced drinks, sunshades or hats to use as protection What better treatment can humble servants seek for from their Beloved Master on such a day!

While the hadith refers to seven different kinds of people, this article will focus on just one category - the youth; who have been distinguished as ‘youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.’

Why the Youth?

The youth of today are the basis and foundation for the future of all nations. As potential leaders of tomorrow, Islamic law (Sharee’ah) has encouraged giving priority to such youth in guiding them to that which is right. If education and reformation of the youth is based upon the solid pillars of the religion and good character, the future of the society will be filled with honour and righteousness, by Allah’s Will.

The body, thought processes and the mind undergo rapid changes especially in the youthful stage of development and as such it is a period of great importance. Many distractions and temptations fill up the society nowadays and these are targeted explicitly at the youth, thereby making them much more vulnerable. For any youth to be guided to correct practice of faith and to remain firm on it is a great achievement and mercy to the entire nation. This is particularly striking in today’s world of fashion, freedom of expression, music, free mixing, social media and networking, games, clubs and porn.

The rightly guided youth (as described by Muhammad Saalih al-Uthaymeen) worship Allah sincerely and follow the Messenger of Allaah Muhammad sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in his speech and actions. Such types of youth will be the pride of the nation and a symbol of its prosperity and faith and they will obtain the good of this world and the hereafter.

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Posted in: Amina Edota,Education,shade of Allah,youth