~ The Role of Muslim Students.

[Mayana]

Salamalaikum, brothers and sisters..

I came across this very interesting video. It's Imam Suhaib Webb (AMAZING Khatib, A-freakkin'-mazing Khatib mashAllah) talking about the role of Muslim students.. what precautions we must take and why, who and what we are in this society, what being young means, etc.


http://vimeo.com/11399221


What are your opinions? What is the role of young Muslim Students, what are our responsibilities?

[Mayana]

I think the first thing we should all do is watch that video.. it's very insightful =P

On a different note, yeah, I always say "Study Islam, not Muslims" because many people misinterpret it.. but yet, we should try the best we can to bring benefit to mankind and prevent harm.. what if you're the only Muslim someone knows? If you leave a good image the person's gonna think highly of you and trace that back to your religion and read up on it and who knows.. tell their family and friends about it, maybe even convert..
We're responsibly for all of our actions and only OUR actions.. so let's make them the best we possibly can inshAllah so that we can take our part in bringing benefit to mankind and preventing them and ourselves from harm, iA. =)

[Mayana]

I agree, Pakistani, that's why I said "Let's make our actions the best we possibly can so we can bring benefit and prevent harm."
What I meant by "only our actions" and what GoPashtunGo was getting at is that we shouldn't be held accountable for what some insane terroist does and we shouldn't even have to justify what terrorist do in the name of Islam because we should not define ourselves as that.

[Admin Khan]

Assalam-Alaikum,

Mayana, Do you think there is a correlation between Islam and a Muslim?


I hope you are in great health.

[Mayana]

Assalam-Alaikum,

Mayana, Do you think there is a correlation between Islam and a Muslim?


I hope you are in great health.

Walaikumasalam..

Oh of course.. there is a correlation between Islam and a Muslim.. but how strong that correlation is depends on the literacy of the person in terms of Islam; it depends on how much that person knows about Islam as opposed to superstitional pseudo-Islam. If a person misinterprets Islam, if he goes around commiting sins in the name of Islam, claiming its his God-given right or even duty to do so, clearly the correlation between him and Islam is close to zero because his actions are not in agreement with Islamic teachings..

we should not have any role. We should follow our religion and follow Islamic principles.

who cares about what others think.

I disagree.. As Muslims, Daawah is our duty. We have to invite people to Islam or at least to understanding the teachings of Islam. As Muslims, it is our duty to seek knowledge and inform those around us.
And regarding the "Who cares what others think" notion.. there is actually a very interesting quote from the Qur'an that Imam Suhaib brings up in the video (I'm telling you guys, watch it =P):

Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance. Thus unto every nation have We made their deed seem fair. Then unto their Lord is their return, and He will tell them what they used to do. [6:108]

In other words, do not insult the Gods of others or they will insult ALLAH in their ignorance. Even though their belief might be wrong from an Islamic viewpoint, faith in something is still better than nothing at all.
And on a different note, this Aaya does show that it is important what others think about our religion.. because if it weren't we would be allowed to insult all other religions and not even care about what they think about us or the consequences such as insulting of Allah etc.

[pukhtana]

Mayana.

I thin our role should just be trying the best we can. If I am in a bad mood one day and I curse what does that have to do with Islam as a whole?

[Mayana]

Oh of course we're not perfect.. but still we should try our very best to be outstanding citizens. Cursing can be a one day thing, but even a single bad word out of someone's mouth can make that person look ridiculously bad. No matter how well you carry yourself, just one bad worth out of your mouth.. and it's all gone. And it's really not that hard to stop cursing. Plus, if a person doesn't curse and carrys him-/herself respectfully, it gains them a LOT of respect, people look up to them etc.

Again, cursing once in a while isn't as bad. But what I'm saying is.. what if you're the only Muslim someone knows? No matter what the impression, the impression left behind is huge - be it a good one or a bad one..

[Khan Gul]

As always, great topic from you. God bless you Khor Jani.
In my view the problem arise when we satisfy ourselves by thinking that Islam came to civilize mankind and it's done its work, so maybe for now it is enough for us to believe in Allah and His Prophet. The nature of our belief has therefore confined to a belief in theory of a religious system without belief in the necessity of acting on its teachings. The first and foremost responsibility of a Muslim is therefore to come out of this delusion and begin acting on what Islam teaches.

[Mayana]

For all those who believe that we shouldn't play any role.. or that it doesn't matter what others think of us there is a very powerful quote from that video..

"Quit shutting the doors and then wondering why people don't like you. You know why they don't like us? Because we are not defining ourselves, we are letting other people define us."
~ Imam Suhaib Webb



We have to open our door to all and practise Jihad fi Sabilillah - Effort on God's path and allow Islam to bring benefit to mankind and prevent harm..