ICNA-MAS 2012 The Muslim Youth of Tomorrow

The Muslim Youth of Tomorrow

By Nouman Ali Khan

Opening and Greetings

الله أكبر Allah is the Greatest.

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen.

وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى سَيِّدِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ -Wassalatu Wassalamu Ala Sayyidi Al-Anbiyai Wa Al-Mursaleen Wa Ala Alihi Wa Sahbihi Ajma'een.

I don't know about you, but that was a lot of really awesome talks. And I'm a little dizzy myself.

Personal Reflections and Acknowledgments

I had all these thoughts that I wanted to share with you, but I'm kind of overwhelmed with what I've heard myself. So first of all, I'd like you to give it up to all of our presenters. (جزاكم الله خيراً - Jazakumullahu Khayran).

And it's very intimidating going after heavyweights like that. Not literally, okay. But I do want to share with you, and I don't think I'll take that much time.

I really honestly don't think I'll take that much time. I do want to share with you some thoughts that I have, some convictions that I have. Some things that I have no doubts about in my mind.

Vision for the Future Muslim Community

That (إن شاء الله تعالى - inshallah ta'ala), I will see them in my near future. And if not, my children will see them in the United States in the very, very near future. We're going to see a new standard for the Muslim community.

Academic Excellence in Islamic Studies

We're going to see the standard being that our high school graduates, it's not out of the ordinary that our boys and girls have already memorized the Qur'an by the time they come out of high school. It's gonna be a new standard. Oh, wait for the takbeers, hold on.

That's just the start. It's gonna be a new standard that by the time our youth are in college, that they are fluent and versed in the Arabic language at the very minimum as a second language. And they're already working their way to a third and a fourth language of their choice.

Linguistic Excellence and Cultural Transformation

So when they speak with each other and they want to kick it with each other, they're kicking it in Arabic. They're kicking it in the language of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in Al-Fusha. There is no Amiya.

Amiya dies in America. The dialectical Arabic dies in America and Fusha is born. And doesn't matter if these children are African-American, or they're Indonesian, or they're Pakistani, or Bangladeshi, their Arabic is incredible.

Comprehensive Islamic Education

And by the time they come out of high school and college, they will go on to do their education. And by the way, they haven't just memorized the Qur'an, they've been studying it their entire life too. And by the time they come out of college, their education in the seerah and in the fundamentals of Islam is rock solid.

It is absolutely rock solid. And of course those of them that are Pakistani are still gonna go to med school only. And, you know, the vast majority of the Arab kids will still go on to be engineers (إن شاء الله تعالى - insha'Allah ta'ala) because that's a sunnah, right?

Integration of Islamic and Secular Knowledge

But as they will go into those professional fields for the sake of Islam, as they do, even though they will go into those fields, they will make sure, they will make sure that they have a minor in something that actually means something.

They will at least have a minor, if not a bachelor's before they go on to higher studies in sociology, in political science, in history, in anthropology. They will study the human sciences, the areas of inquiry that actually influence human thought because now that they have the guidance of Allah (عز وجل - azza wa jal), they will study how far human studies have gone in understanding ourselves and they will bring those two worlds together.

A Renaissance Generation

They will understand what it means to... They will understand political science from the Qur'an's point of view. They will understand psychology from the Qur'an's point of view, from the prophetic point of view. They will understand sociology from the prophetic point of view, from the Qur'anic point of view. These will be a renaissance generation.

They will be incredibly intelligent people. And the people all over the Muslim world are gonna say, one day is gonna come... You know how we used to say back in generations, where did you go to get your ilm? And people used to say, I went to Baghdad. And somebody went to Medina.

And somebody went to this institution and that institution. People are gonna say, I went to Delaware. I went to Dallas.

People from all over the world are gonna study the ilm of Islam in America. It is going to happen. It is going to happen.

And you ask, and I'm saying these things, I'm not making it up. I am absolutely convinced we are on a trajectory. We are heading towards this destination.

Character Development and Moral Standards

And this is just from the ilm point of view. I didn't talk about the character of these youth. Because if they've memorized the Qur'an, and they can speak in Arabic, but they don't know what it means to lower their eyes. And they don't know what it means to not be addicted to the next movie that comes out and they have to go watch it. You know, it doesn't mean anything. It's empty, it's hollow.

Intellectual Dignity and Moral Character

So let's talk about what kind of character these people are gonna have. These are gonna be young men and women that understand that the use of filthy language, as I said in a previous session, in their culture, the use of filthy language is beneath their intellect. They don't just do it because it's haram.

They don't do it because they respect their intellect. They respect the fact that they are dignified human beings. When other people see them, when non-Muslims see them, they want to get their act together and say, how do we be like them?

Muslim Women as Role Models

Our Muslim girls are going to go to college. They're going to go to high schools and colleges and whatever profession they go into, whatever area of academics they go into. And other women are gonna be like, how come I don't dress like her? Not the other way around. The Muslim girl is not gonna look at those barely dressed girls in high school and say, how come my parents don't let me dress like that? The standards are gonna change.

Because we are going to become the standard of what it means to be decent human beings. What it means to be role models. This session is about youth searching for role models.

Recognizing Existing Role Models

I am telling you folks, you're already here. You didn't even realize that you are role models for humanity.

"And thus we have made you a middle nation that you will be witnesses over the people (Quran 2:143)."

You are شهداء على الناس - shuhada' ala n-naas (Quran 2:143).

If you keep hiding behind the idea that I have to find someone that will inspire me and then hopefully I can change. Listen, the greatest inspiration as we've already heard, are already here. Umar's great inspiration is his mother.

Personal Family Examples

And hearing that story, I am inspired by my own mother. May Allah protect our parents. You know, I still know, I know every time I write a check to something or give a donation to something, you know what comes immediately in my head? Second grade, my dad taking me to Jumu'ah and saying, never be cheap, always give sadaqah.

And he wouldn't put the money in the donation box, he'd hand it to me to make sure I go put it there. So it gets in my head that it's important. And to this day, he's already retired, I have kids of my own.

But whenever I give sadaqah, my dad, his voice comes in my head. That's a role model. These are our role, we already have them.

We just haven't looked. We haven't looked.

Building a New Society

And when this generation comes up, when this generation rises, they're not just gonna build an amazing Muslim community. They're not just gonna build beautiful, elaborate masajid. And it's not enough that these masajid are gonna be filled at fajr. That's not enough.

Economic and Social Innovation

And it's not enough that these people are going to be entrepreneurs, that are going to start all kinds of amazing things. Alternative, riba, free banking. They're going to start.

They're going to start, you know, Muslim hospitals, and clinics, and medical practices, and pharmaceutical companies, that are not there to pretend to heal people, but actually suck them dry economically. They're not gonna be there to do that. They're going to create a new medical economy.

They're going to create a new financial economy. They're going to make the world a better place, not just for themselves, but for the rest of the world. They're going to save America from itself.

Media and Journalism Excellence

That's what they're going to do. They're going to be the pioneers in media. They're going to be the top journalists in America.

This is what these people will be. And they're already sitting in this audience. They're already the kids that run around and say, Brother Nawal, I saw you on YouTube.

That kid, one day I'm going to be getting his autograph. I'm going to be saying, Sir, I am so proud of you. Thank you for winning the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.

You've made Muslims proud. That's what's going to happen. And we have to think like this.

The Need for Offensive Thinking

It does not require millions and billions of dollars to do this. All it requires is a mentality. We have to stop thinking defensively.

And this is what I want to conclude this talk with. The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was given one of the most beautiful, I find one of the most beautiful ayat in the Qur'an on a sense of purpose, on a sense of mission.

Tell them, this is my path (Quran 12:108).

You know a path always leads to a destination, right? So when the Messenger is told to declare to the people, this is my path. It means he's already indicating to the people that this is going somewhere. We're not there yet, you watch.

And let me tell you, I call to Allah with clear insight (Quran 12:108). You know what that means? That he's visionary. Allah has given him a vision for grand things.

Allah has given him a vision for great things. You know. And so I want to leave you with this idea of, you know, defensive versus offense.

Turning the Tables on Criticism

You know in sports, what do they say? What's the best defense? Offense. Constantly we're worried Islam is under attack. Why do you have polygamy in Islam? Why do you have these violent verses in the Qur'an? Why do you do this and why do you do that and why do you do the other? You know what? It's time to turn the tables on that conversation.

Why do you have no purpose in life? Why don't your youth look like our youth? Why don't your families enjoy the harmony that our families enjoy? Why don't you come enjoy the beauty of life that we've come to see?

We're gonna turn the tables on this. We're gonna be the ones asking the questions. Why do you live with injustice and not speak up against it? Why do you not build communities that build strong youth?

Social Reform and Education

We're gonna be the destruction of the alcohol industry. Not because we're gonna pass fatwas that it's haram. Allah already did that for us. But because we're going to expose its evils and the evils it gives birth to.

We're going to educate the people about the harm, things that bring them harm. This is not just something that brings the Muslim harm. It brings society harm.

And Islam came to save people from harm. Even the non-Muslims. We will be the education.

We have to think like that. We have to think like that.

Practical Application of Leadership

You're gonna be driving with your children, many of you, when this convention is over. You're gonna be taking the highway. And you're gonna see a filthy billboard. You're gonna see a billboard for a casino.

Or you're gonna see a billboard for some beer or something. And you're gonna say, hey kids, look over there, that's haram. Don't look there, okay? Don't look there.

But you know what? Your mentality has changed. You're gonna say to that kids, you know that thing we're not looking at? Our job one day is to take that down and replace it with something better. That's what we're here to do.

Allah brought us here so we can make this a better place. That's what we're gonna do. That's what it means to be role models.

Direct Address to Young People

And you're all gonna be. And last thing I wanna share with you guys and I'm done. I'm absolutely, I'm talking to the younger folks here.

Especially the non-married boys and girls. And I'm calling you boys and girls because you're not acting like men and women yet. Because if you were, I would call you men and women.

So I'm calling you boys and girls and I'm hoping by the end of this talk you leave here men and women.

Responsibility as Role Models

Because the young, young boys and girls, the 10 and 11 year olds, look at you in the conference and say, well he looks, he walks like this. Like he's got some, you know, deficiency in his legs.

So why can't I? My older brother does it. My sister's dressed all weird. Why can't I? You know, she's talking to boys.

Why can't I? They look at you are already role models whether you accept it or not. And you have to take responsibility for how you carry yourself. How you speak.

How you text. How you post. How you troll.

How you hashtag. You have to take responsibility for that. You have to because you already are role models.

The Mirror of Leadership

When you go on a search for role models next time, look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. Allah has already put you in a position of leadership.

You are Muslims. Allah has already put you in a position of responsibility. You are on the ummah of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

And thus we have made you a middle nation that you will be witnesses over the people (Quran 2:143).

The Gift of Faith

It is God's great gift. Allah's great gift that we get to enjoy these treasured words. These words that you cannot put a price on.

This (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ - La ilaha illa Allah). This (مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم - Muhammad Rasul Allah). These words have no price. And we have the gift of saying those words out of our mouth.

The majority of the people that walk this earth do not have this gift. And so since we have that gift, we are a gifted people. We are an honored people.

Closing Prayer

And Allah gave us this honor so we could be role models to the rest of humanity. May Allah (عز وجل) help us recognize our place in the world. And may Allah (عز وجل) help us realize a future that I described for you and even then some.

So we can show this world the beauty of this religion in a way that it's never ever ever seen before.

Bara Allah li wa lakum fil Qur'an il-azim wa nafa'ni wa iyyakum bima fihi min al-ayat wal-dhikr al-hakim.