Peer Pressure The Most Powerful Weapon

Peer Pressure: The Most Powerful Weapon

Opening and Introduction

As-salamu alaykum. (بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim). Alhamdulillah.

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. Brothers and sisters, my short talk is nothing more than an extension of Sister Dunya, Brother Sa'ad and Brother Hamza.

The Challenge Facing Our Children

We want to talk this afternoon about peer pressure. We have in New York City about 1,300,000 Muslims. It's an incredible number. Yet, our children are suffering under enormous pressure, peer pressure. 95% of our children go to non-Muslim schools. Most of them in public school.

Pressure. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 2262)

My talk today is actually a dua that Allah can bless the parents, all of us, to do a better job despite our deficiencies and our weaknesses.

The Encounter in Atlanta

I was in Atlanta, Georgia at a Walmart, I'll never forget this, last year, two years ago. And a Chinese man and what looked to be his wife and his daughter, about 11 years old, said to me (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ - as-salamu alaykum). There was nothing about this man that would make you think he's Muslim.

He didn't have a beard, he didn't have a kufi, he didn't have, you know, a kameez, his wife didn't have hijab, his daughter didn't have jilbab. There was nothing about them that would make you think they're Muslim. Yet, he said to me, (السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ - as-salamu alaykum) Why he say that to me? Why he say to me (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ - as-salamu alaykum)? Why? Because he don't know what I am but I look like a Muslim. He said, I'm a Muslim from China and I'm here for a few weeks and I need to know where I can go to get halal food. I said to him, give me your name, I will get it for you and give you the information I did and we have been in contact since.

The Best Form of Islam

He's in China now, every once in a while I call him. The Prophet was asked أَيُّ الْإِسْلَامِ خَيْرٌ "Which Islam is best?" He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 12, Sahih Muslim 39)

Why he give me salams? Because he looked at me and I look to be a Muslim. I'm not telling you tonight or this afternoon how to dress and this and that. That's not my point. I'm making a deeper point about who we are. The psychology of the Muslims, who we are.

The Reality of Being Muslim in America

In Brooklyn, there's a store that I go to and I go to that store once a week just to get a weekly newspaper that I can only get from that store. It's a store owned by and operated by Koreans. And I've been going to that store for years. Recently, I went into the store and the Korean woman said to me, where are you from? I said, America.

She said, no, no, where are you really from? I said, America. No, where are your parents from? I said, America. She said, but your dress. I said, I'm a Muslim. She said, oh, terrorism. Now, she was half joking, but there's something there that the people, they look at us as Muslims and our children are watching that.

The Immigration Experience

Went to Australia. And when I landed in New York, JFK, when he got off the plane, they said, American citizens this way, everybody else that way. And I am an American citizen and I went that way and the lines were going fast and I can hear the immigration officer asking two questions.

Where did you come from? What country did you visit? How long did you stay? Go. What country did you visit? How long did you stay? Go. What country did you visit? How long did you stay? Go.

He got to me. He said, what country did you visit? I said, Australia. How long did you stay? I said, one week. He said, have you ever been to Saudi Arabia? I said, yes. When were you last there? Last year. Why did you go for pilgrimage? Do you know anybody in Saudi Arabia? None of your business.

Is what I wanted to say. What's my point? All of these strikes against the Muslims, against Islam and our children, 95% of them going to non-Muslim schools are responding this enormous peer pressure. What to do? Really, again, I agree with all the speakers here and their summary.

The Lesson of the Shepherd

I'll say this. Every prophet was first sent as a shepherd. Why? Because if you study animals, you will see that all the animals, Allah put in it a way to defend itself or to attack. It is the enormous size of an elephant or the shell of an animal. Some animals have spikes and some animals can fly and some animals have blinding speed and some animals that have teeth and some have claws and some animals can get away by clawing in the earth.

Some animals can get away by climbing up a tree.

And there are some animals that can camouflage themselves. Even there are some animals that Allah has given the ability to give off a scent. And all of these animals have a way to defend itself except the sheep. Why? What did Allah give the sheep? He gave the sheep the shepherd. Our children have this enormous pressure. I don't want to be different. I want to be like everybody else. I don't want to be Muslim. Sister Dunya, she mentioned that some Muslims even hide their identity.

The Ultimate Non-Conformist: Ibrahim (AS)

How are we going to get them to have confidence in themselves? A few things. If you want to see the ultimate non-conformist, and that's what we're asking our children to be, be non-conformist. A non-conformist is not like everybody else. A non-conformist is a person who has his own idea. He's not going to be influenced by anyone because he has, she has within themselves a knowledge of themselves, and they're not afraid to be themselves.

Can I give you the ultimate non-conformist? The ultimate non-conformist was Ibrahim (AS). Let me tell you how non-conformist he was.

A conversation that he had with his wife, Sarah. Yes, Sarah. Oh Sarah, there's not one believer on the face of the earth other than you and I. Non-conformist, not be like everybody else, but being as Allah would have him to be. How great was Abraham? Abraham was so great. Everybody claimed him. Jews say that we began with Abraham. Christians say we began with Abraham. Muslims say Abraham was one of us. We are followers of Abraham.

And then the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 3349, Sahih Muslim 2860)

Why? Because Abraham was a non-conformist.

The Story of Desmond Doss

Now, I know that none of you have ever seen a movie in your life. Now, I don't usually tell you to go to movies. But today I am. Now, I'm not talking about you uncles and aunts who don't go. I'm talking about those of you inclined to go see a movie, go see this movie. It's called Hacksaw Ridge.

Hacksaw Ridge. It's a true story about a man named Desmond Doss, D-O-S-S. Study his life. He was a seven-day Adventist. And he was called upon to participate in World War II. And he applied as a conscientious objector. Why? He said, because according to my religion, according to the Bible, God said, thou shalt not kill. And I won't kill anyone. And he got the status.

But he said, I want to serve. So I'll go and I'll serve as a medic. But I don't want to carry any weapons. And he got a lot of pushback from the soldiers. Not only did he go and participate, he was in the front lines. Front lines. No weapon. His story is amazing. And you know what he did? He went and saved 75 lives.

Men wounded. He would pick them up on his back and run and bring them to safety. He got three bronze medals, three Purple Hearts, and one Medal of Honor given by the President of the United States of America. How interesting. When I'm watching the movie, I said, this guy going to get killed. He was wounded four times.

And you know the irony? That even though he was on the front lines, and he was wounded, and he fought in World War II, he lived to be 86 years old. Which makes you understand, no soul can die except by the permission of Allah that's already written in a book.

Your Strength Is in Your Differences

What's my point this afternoon? You, my young brothers and sisters, your strength is in your differences. That's what makes you who you are. Listen to the way Allah said in the Quran:

You are not like the other women.

You're Muslim. And when Allah made you Muslim, he made you to obey him. It is an insult to Allah to tell Allah that I was pressured to do it by my peers. It's an insult.

The Day of Judgment

Let me give you a picture, fast forward, Yawm al-Qiyamah. Yawm al-Qiyamah, my young brothers, all the brothers 21 and under, raise your hand. Okay. Alright. You know what? How old are you? 15 years old. Incredible. I remember being 15 years old, about 100 years ago. And at that age, you know, everybody would like to be liked, to be popular, to be respected, not to be looked down upon.

So everybody, you know, we try to, you know, fit in. But in 1969, as a freshman in New York University, I made a decision to be a Muslim. I didn't go to a Muslim school. I went to public school. And then I went to New York University. And when I went to New York University, me and my friend named Andrew, we became Muslims.

Nobody in our family Muslim. Two Muslims in the entire university. But yet, we were proud to be Muslim. You know, 1993, I was the first Muslim to open a session of Congress. Congress never opens except through a Jewish rabbi or Christian minister. For the first time in the history of our nation, 1993, a Muslim imam opened a session of Congress. And when I went, you know how I went? Just like this. I dressed just the way I dress. You know why? Because this is who I am.

Be Different

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 5892, Sahih Muslim 259)

Be different. Why? Your strength. Hamza, I agree with you. Your strength is in your differences.

The Reality of the Day of Resurrection

Yom al-Qiyamah, we be resurrected. You want to sneak on the internet and go look at women? You want to go look on the internet and social media to look at men and women? On Yom al-Qiyamah, everybody going to be resurrected naked. And you know what? And nobody going to be looking at no one else, because that day would be too difficult. Yom al-Qiyamah.

What is Yom al-Qiyamah? We stand before Allah, and everybody going to be judged by Allah, the Almighty. How long? 50,000 years. Standing in line, waiting to be judged by Allah. And when that day come, let me tell you something. Have you ever read a hadith that Allah will say, I am the king, where are the kings of the earth?

Have you ever read that? You ever read that? I am the king, where are the kings of the earth? I'm going to ask you a question. Who is Allah speaking to? Who is Allah speaking to? Huh? Yeah, let me tell you the truth.

When the Horn Is Blown

You ever read the Quran about:

And the horn is blown, and when the horn is blown, everything in the heavens and earth will die except whom Allah exempts." (Quran 39:68). The scholars of Islam say, those who are exempted are twelve. The eight angels that hold the throne of Allah. Jibreel, Mikael, the angel of the horn, and the angel of death. Allah will teach the angel of death to take the lives of the other prophets, of other angels. And Allah would ask the angel of death, who's left? You and me.

Now die. And he will die. And there will be no one left in the universe. No one. Everything is dead. Why? Every soul shall taste the death. Everything, except Allah. And when everything and everyone is dead, you know what he will say? I am the king, where are the kings of the earth? Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant ones? And you know what? No one can hear. But him.

And then he will bring the angel of the horn back, he will make the blow on the horn, and everything will come back to life again. And now you will stand before Allah. An accountant of your deeds. What will you say? I want to be like everybody else. For real? Honest? That's what you're going to tell Allah? You want to be like everyone else? I thought you wanted to be a non-conformist. Because the prophets are non-conformists.

Prophets Who Stood Alone

Conformists. Do you know the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, He said that there are some prophets who had two or three followers. Some had none. (Sahih al-Bukhari 5705, Sahih Muslim 220). And that means they stood alone, and they did it for Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

Be Grateful to Be Muslim

My conclusion, I am so thankful to Allah to be a Muslim. You got to be careful. You want to fit in with the crowd? If you study the Quran:

"The majority of the people, they don't believe."

"The majority of the people are ungrateful."

But the few, these are the ones, the few that are thankful to Allah. Be careful.

The Story of Abu Talib

I'm going to give you two examples in history, and then I finish. One, Abu Talib. Have you heard of Abu Talib? The uncle of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was on his deathbed. And here was the Prophet. يَا عَمّ قُلْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ "Ya'um! Say, La ilaha illa Allah. Say, La ilaha illa Allah." But the problem, there was some

Quraysh, Abu Jahl and others there, saying, don't do it. Are you going to leave the religion of Abd al-Muttalib? And the Prophet kept saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الله But because of peer pressure, Abu Talib said, I will die on the religion of Abd al-Muttalib. And he died. (Sahih al-Bukhari 1360, Sahih Muslim 24).

And the Prophet was asked, peace and blessings be upon him, your uncle did so many things for you. Will you help him? He said, yes. Because of my intercession for him, he will be in the hellfire, but the least punished in the hellfire. But he's there. Why? Peer pressure. You see, brothers and sisters, they had it right.

Love for the Prophet

The Prophet, he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 15, Sahih Muslim 44)

Be careful.

The Story of the Fire

The second example, and then we close. So being non-conformist means that, you know what? I'm sorry. I fear none but Allah. I love Allah, and I love his messenger. I'm a Muslim. You know, it's funny now, if you study trends, any of you a New York Mets fan, baseball fan? If you notice now, a lot of the baseball players are wearing beards in a New York Met. On a radio program, someone called in and said, what is this, all these Mets wearing beards? What, are they trying to be Muslims? And by the way, we don't think that a beard make you righteous.

If a beard made you righteous, let's go to the park, let's find a hobo with a beard and say, behold the righteous man. You're not righteous because you have a beard. You're righteous because you're following the sunnah of the Prophet, and you want to have your Islamic identity.

This case, the Prophet sent out the Muslims on an expedition and said, you should obey this man. And they went out and he got mad at them. And he said, did the Prophet say obey me? They said yes. He said, build a fire. And they built the fire. And then he said, go into the fire. And they hesitated. And they hesitated so much until the fire went out. And the word got to the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, and he said this. (Sahih al-Bukhari 7257, Sahih Muslim 1840).

Three variations, I'll give you all three. One he said, had you gone in that fire, you would not have come out. Because obedience is only toward that which is right. Number two, had you gone in that fire, you would not have come out until the day of judgment. Obedience is only toward that which is right. And the last one, I say for last, is the scariest. Had you gone in that fire, you would never come out because obedience is only toward that which is right.

Conclusion: It's You and Allah

My young brothers and my young sisters and the rest of you, our parents, inshallah, inshallah, we have to do a better job of strengthening you. As all that the speakers have said, I agree. But the main thing, you got to go to Allah yourself. It's you and Allah. It's your faith. And when the faith is deep enough, you don't have no peer pressure. Because you are non-conformist. May Allah bless you. Assalamu Alaikum.