A Blessed Land

A Blessed Land

A land so blessed you truly are
I wonder and dream of you from afar
I dream of walking over your golden-green land
Which many a prophet of Allah did once stand
Bilaad ash-Shaam! Oh place of purity and truth
Oh land of the glorious days of the believing youth
Oh land of Tawheed! That upright , true deen
Oh land of martyrs the greatest any man has seen
In you many pure blood was spilled 
But for a just cause were they killed
To you , Ibraahim and Lut did migrate
From the takbeers of Ibn al Waleed and alQa'qaa did your walls shake!
I hear your painful cries my beloved land 
To Allah only do I complain and raise my hand
I hear your cries yet I do not respond
So I ask my Lord, All Mighty to pardon me 
and fear not O Children of Dimashq for the morning of victory is but near dawn! You shall see!

-Muhibbatu-shaam 

The Sunnah is like the Ark of Nuh

Bismillaah,

It is reported that Imam Malik ibn Anas (rahimahullah), the imam of Darul Hijrah (Madinah) of his time, said:

"The sunnah is like the ark of Nuh (AS). Whoever goes on it is saved and whoever leaves it will drown." [Taareekh Baghdad: 3850]

What does it mean to say that the sunnah is like the ark of Nuh (Noah peace be upon him)? We should first look at the definition of this word, "sunnah."

Linguistically, sunnah means "the path/way that is to be followed."  According to the scholars of Aqeedah, sunnah means, " the guidance of the prophet, Islaam, the sharia of Muhammad."

The sunnah is what every muslim is required to follow. It is the guidance of Muhammad ibn Abdullah (sala Allahu alayhi wassalam). It is what corresponds with the book of Allah. It is among the sources of this great deen. We have the book of Allah, the Quran and second, the sunnah of His final prophet and messenger. Where can a person go without these two sources? True success lies in following the Quran and sunnah and being attached to these two. If we abandon the sunnah then we have also abandoned the Quran.

Allah azza wa jall says, "Say, obey Allah and obey the Messenger . Then if they turn away, Allah does not love the disbelievers." [Surah 3: 32]

Allah also says, " And obey Allah and obey the Messenger and be cautious; but if you turn back, then know that obligated on our messengers is only the clear delivery (of the message of Islam, Quran and sunnah)." [Surah 5:92]

The sunnah has its role in Islam. In fact, the sunnah is what explains the Quran for us. This is why we find many verses in the Quran where Allah is telling us to obey ALLAH and the MESSENGER. The sunnah is our guiding light. It is what brings us from the darknesses of ignorance , guiding us to worshipping the Almighty upon insight and knowledge.

Oh Muslim! Know that we are living in a strange era where the sunnah is looked down upon by people. A strange time is upon us in which those who follow the sunnah are seen as radicals, extremists and show-offs. Do not listen to these false claims and ignore the barking of the dogs. All they wish to see you is drown in the ocean of ignorance and falsehood as they are.  However, be wise and intelligent and stick to the anchor of this great ship of the sunnah.

Indeed, Allah's Messenger prophesied these tricky years we are living and advised us greatly.
"For surely, he lives from amongst you shall see much differing, so it is upon you to be upon my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided caliphs. Bite on to it with your back molar teeth..." [Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi from the hadith of Irbadh ibn Saariyyah, saheeh by al Albani]

So there you have it. What are we to do in such miserable times where the sunnah is abandoned and people differ with one another regarding the religion? We are to follow the sunnah of our beloved and those who followed him in righteousness. We are to follow the path  of those who follow the sunnah even if we must go through a dark, scary forest. The tests are plenty but the fruits are sweet. We must ask Allah for firmness and steadfastness.

Remember those before you who were thrown in prisons for defending this great aspect of Islam, the sunnah. Remember the likes of Sufyan ath-Thawree, Imam Ahmad, Ibn Taymiyyah, and the rest. Remember your brethren who were killed for preserving what may seem to us a small act of the sunnah but was a great deal to people at the time.

Be proud of who you are my brother and sister. Realize the end is for the believers even though the tyrants and aggressors may detest it. The sunnah of Allah is what will be the final decree to come to pass and no creation can prevent this.

Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none but Allah, and sufficient is Allah as a Reckoner.

Al Nahw al Waadih: LESSON 4

LESSON 4: الفاعل or The Do-er

Examples of Sentences:
 1. طار العصفور - The sparrow flew
 2. جرى الحصان - The horse ran
 3. لعب الولد - The boy played
 4.يعوم السمك - The fish is flowing(in the water)
 5. يلسع البعوض - The mosquito is biting
 6. تأكل البنت - The girl is eating

 All of the words above are examples of sentences and each sentence is made up of a FI3l (action) and an ISM (noun), and if we look in the first sentence for example, we see that the one who TAARA(flew) is the sparrow(al3usfur), and the one who JARA(ran) is the horse, and the one who LA3IBA(played) is the boy.

 So the sparrow is the one who did the act of flying and the horse is the one who did the act of running and so on.. And if we look at each ISM ( noun) , we find that the FI3L(verb) has perceded it.
EXAMPLE: طار العصفور. The verb(طار) is before the ISM(sparrow).

 We also find that the ISM in this case is MARFU3(ending with a dhamma).

EXAMPLES: al 3usfuru, alhisaanu, alwaladu, as-samaku, albu3udhu, albintu)

 القاعدة السابعة: الفاعل: إسمٌ مرفوعٌ تقدمه فعلٌ ، ودل على الذي فعل الفعل
  The Seventh Principle: ALFAA3il (The Doer): is an Ism(noun) that is marfu3( ending with dhamma) and has a fi3l(verb) proceeding it and it(the faa3il) shows the one who did the action.

تمرينات (some exercises for this lesson) ضع فاعلاً لكل فعل من الأفعال الأتي (Place a doer for each verb from the following verbs)
1. نبح - barked. EX: نبح القلب (THE DOG BARKED)
2. يضحك - laughing EX: يضحك محمد (MUHMMAD IS LAUGHING)
3. يبكي - crying EX:يبكي الولد (THE BOY IS CRYING)
4. نطح - burped EX: نطح سليمان (SULAYMAN BURPED)
5. يشرب - drinking EX: يشرب الطبيب كوب من ماء بارد (THE DOCTOR IS DRINKING A CUP OF COLD WATER)
6. عطس- sneezed EX: عطس موسى ثم حمد الله ( MUSA SNEEZED AND THEN HE PRAISED ALLAH)
7. سافر - travelled EX: سافر التاجر إلى بلده (THE BUSINESSMAN TRAVELLED TO HIS COUNTRY)
8. يركب -riding EX: يركب المقاتل فرسه (THE FIGHTER IS CLIMBING HIS HORSE)

  تمرين في الاعراب (an exercise in i3raab-the breaking down of grammar) 

EXAMPLE:
 حضر الغائب 1 meaning: "The absent one came."

 حضر - فعل ماض HADAR- Is a past tense verb

 الغائب - فاعل مرفوع ALGHAAEB - Is faa3il (do-er) that is marfu3 (ending with dhamma).

 2.يطير الذباب meaning: "The fly is flying"

 يطير - فعل مضارع YATEERU- Is a present tense verb

 الذباب- فاعل مرفوع ADh-Dhubaabu- Is faa3il (do-er) that is marfu3 (ending with dhamma).

 END OF LESSON 4

Al Nahw al Waadih: LESSON 3

Lesson 3 from the book An-Nahw al Waadih 

النحو الواضح الدرس الثالث : تقسيم الفعل بإعتبار زمنه Lesson 3 - Dividing the fi'l (verb) according to its time Examples from sentences.

 1- فعل الماضي THE PAST TENSE VERB 

Examples of sentences:

 1. جرى الكلب -the dog ran
 2. وقف الرجل - the man stood up
 3. ضاع الكتاب - the book was lost
 4. دقت الساعة - the clock rang
 5. جاءت البنت - the daughter came
 6.باضت الدجاجة - the hen laid the egg If we look at the sentences above , we see that all of them include an action taking place in a specific time.
All of the verbs highlighted above are in the past tense.

  القاعدة الرابعة : الفعل الماضي هو كل فعل يدل على حصول عمل في الزمن الماضي. 

THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE: Alfi'l almaadi (the past tense verb) is every verb that shows an action taking place in the past.(alzaman almaadi means the past time). 

2- الفعل المضارع THE PRESENT TENSE VERB

1. اغسل يدي - I am washing my hands
 2. ألبس ثيابي - I am putting my clothes on
 3.نلعب بالكرة - we are playing with the ball
 4.نمشي في الحقول - we are walking in the field
 5.ينبح الكلب - the dog is barking
 6. ينتبه الحارس - the guard is alert
 7.تأكل البنت - the girl is eating 8. تذبل الوردة - the rose is blossoming

 The highlighted verbs are all in the present tense or MUDAARI3. In arabic, the action and the person doing the action are put together. so for example in sentence 1 it says AGHSILU which means "I wash" or "I am washing" AGHSILU shows us washing taking place in the present time or the the future. The same for sentence 2, ALBASU THIYYABI "I wash my clothes or I am washing my clothes" shows us an action taking place in the present time (zaman al haadir) or in the mustaqbal(future )If we also look at each of the above sentences, we see that each fi3l(verb) at the start of the sentence begins with either a TAA, YAA, NUN, or HAMZA. تاءً ، ياءً، نوناً، همزة.

 These 4 huruf are known as "ahruf al mudaari'a" أحرف المضارعة

 For sentences 1 and 2 , AGHSILU and ALBASU both have the harf of hamza before them, this makes it singular. So it is one person talking. AGHSILU( I WASH) ALBASU ( I DRESS) For sentences 3 and 4, the NUN in the verbs NAL3AB and NAMSHI signify a group of people talking. SO the NUN corresponds to "WE" in ARABIC. NAMSHI(WE WALK) NAL3AB (WE PLAY) for sentences, 5 and 6, the YAA is talking about a male person. So in sentence 5, YANBAHU means HE IS BARKING and by the end of the sentence , we know who is barking. THE DOG(alkalb) In sentence 6, YANTABIHU means HE IS ALERT and we finish the sentence, we find out who is alert (THE GUARD, al haaris). And in sentences 7 and 8, the TAA is used for feminine terms, So the first sentences reads TA'KUL ALBINT which means (THE GIRL IS EATING). TA'KUL OR تأكل MEANS "SHE IS EATING" In sentence 8, TATHBUL or تذبل means "SHE IS BLOOMING or BLOSSOMING" and this is referring to the warda(the rose). which is a feminine term since it has the feminine TAA at the end.

  القاعدة الخامسة : الفعل المضارع هو كل فعل يدل على حصول عمل في الزمن الحاضر أو المستقبل ولا بد أن يكون مبدوءًا بحرف من أحرف المضارعة وهي الهمزة والنون والياء والتاء . 

THE FIFTH PRINCIPLE: THE PRESENT TENSE VERB IS EVERY VERB THAT SHOWS AN ACTION TAKING PLACE IN THE PRESENT TIME OR IN THE FUTURE AND IT IS NECESSARY THAT IT STARTS WITH ANY HARF OF THE HURUF OF THE PRESENT VERB WHICH ARE: THE ALIF HAMZA, NUN, YAA, AND TAA.

  3-الفعل الأمر THE IMPERATIVE VERB 

1. إلعب بالكرة - Play with the ball.
 2. أطعم قطك - Feed your cat.
 3. نظف ثيابك - Clean your clothes.
 4. نم مبكراً- Sleep early.
 5. تمهل في السير - Slow down in walking.
 6.أجد مضغ الطعام - Chew the food.

 The first words in the above sentences are all verbs(af3aal). because all of them are showing us that an act is taking place in a specific time. And if we look at the sentences we see that the mutakallim(one talking) is seeking something from the mukhaadib(one being talked to) here and is ordering him to do something in the future.For this reason, every verb from amongst these verbs is called "فعل أمر" OR ORDERING VERB(imperative)

  القاعدة السادسة : فعل الأمر هو كل فعل يطلب به حصول شيءٍ في الزمن المستقبل 

The Sixth Principle: The Fi3l al Amr (imperative, commanding verb) is every verb that demands an action to take place in the future.

Al Nahw al Waadih: LESSON 2

LESSON 2: Parts of a Sentence - أجزاء الجملة 

This lesson is telling us the categories of a basic sentence structure in the Arabic language.

 The examples of the sentences we shall use:

1. ركب إبراهيم الحصان - Ibraahim boarded the horse.
2. يداعب إسماعيل القط - Ismaaeel is playing the kitten.
3.يحصد الفلاح القمح - The farmer is harvesting the wheat.
4. تأكل الشاة فولاً وشعيرا - The sheep is eating grain(barley).
5. سمعت النصيحة - I listened to the advice.
6.يسطع النور في الحجرة - The light is entering (pouring in) the room.
7. تجري السفينة على الماء - The ship is sailing the water.
8.هل تحب السفر ؟ - Do you love travel?

We learned in the previous lesson that jumla mufeeda is made up of parts which are words(kalimaat). If we look at the above sentences and their meanings, we will find that Ibraahim, Ismaaeel, and the farmer are all words that name people(ashkaas, individuals). And the words; hisaan(horse), qidd(kitten), and shaat(sheep) are all words that name types of animals. and the words; qumh(wheat), fool, and sha'eer are all words that name type of nabaat(plants, etc), and the words; room(hujra), safeena(ship), and water name inanimate(nonliving) things. So each one of these words is an ism.

 And if we look at the other words such as; ركب، يداعب ، يحصد ، تأكل are all words that show us what is taking place in a specific time(zaman khaas), so RAKIBA(he went on) shows us an action taking place in the PAST tense.( this is known as fi3l maadi) , YUDA3IB(playing with) is a verb that is in the PRESENT tense(known as fi3l mudaari3).

 Finally, if we look at the words or expressions : في، على، وهل . FEE means, "in" ALA means "on or upon" and HAL means " do" These words are all HURUF or prepositions. If they are used alone, one will never get a complete understanding and therefore, these expressions are used with in the sentence and NEVER alone.

 PARTS of sentence are divided into 3 categories:

 إسم - كل لفظ يسمي به إنسان أو حيوان أو نبات أو جماد أو أي شيئ آخر

Meaning: ISM is a noun, which is every word that names a person, animal, plant, inanimate things or anything else of that sort.

فعل -كل لفظ يدل على حصول عمل في زمن خاص

Meaning: FI3l is every word that leads or shows an action taking place in a specific time(zaman khass)

 حرف - كل لفظ لا يظهر معناه إلا مع غيره

Meaning:  HARF means every lafdh (word, expression) whose meaning is not clear by itself. EX: feehi, 3ala, ilaa, min, bi, are HURUF(prepositions)

    القاعدة الثالثة : الكلمة ثلاثة أنواع : إسمٌ ، وفعلٌ وحرفٌ

The Third Principle:The kalima is of 3 types: 1. ism ( a noun) 2. fi3l ( a verb) 3. harf( a preposition)

  SOME EXERCISES (HOMEWORK): EXERCISE 1

اقرا الجمل الآتية وبين الأسماء التي تدل على أشخاص والتي تدل على حيوان والتي تدل على نبات والتي تدل على جماد

  Read the sentences and make clear the nouns that name people and the ones that name animals, and the ones that name plants and nonliving things.

 فريد يجري في الشارع - Fareed is running in the street.

 علي يركب الحمار -Ali is riding the donkey.

 يحب الولد البرتقال - The boy loves the orange.

 يحترق الحطب - The firewood is burning.

 الكلب ينام في البستان - The dog is sleeping in the garden.

 يتسلق الغلمان في الجبل - The boys are climbing the mountain.

 الثعلب يأكل الدجاج - The fox is eating the chicken.

 البستاني يجمع الأزهار - The gardener is collecting the flowers.

إفترس الذئب كبشاً - The wolf hunted a lamb.

 يسبح الأولاد في البحر - The boys are swimming in the ocean.

 الحديد يدوب في النار - The iron is melting in the fire.

 المداد في الدواة- The ink is in the inkstand.

Al Nahw al Waadih: LESSON 1

 LESSON 1 الجملة المفيدة 

 What is jumla mufeeda means a sentence with a complete meaning(in other words, a sentence can not really be a sentence unless it makes sense and has a complete meaning)

Examples from sentences:

 1- الْبُسْتَانُ جميلٌ which means "the garden is beautiful"
2- الشَّمْسُ طَالِعةٌ which means "the sun is rising"
3- شَمَّ عَلِيٌّ وَرْدَةً which means "Alee smelled the rose"
 4- قَطَفَ مُحَمَّدٌ زَهْرَةً which means "Muhammad picked a flower"
 5- يَعِيشُ السَّمكُ في الْمَاءِ which means "the fish lives in the water"
6- يَكْثُرُ النَّخِيلُ في مِصْرَ which means "the palm trees increase in Egypt"

  Explanation: If we look at the first example الْبُسْتَانُ جميلٌ, we find that it is composed of 2 words. One being الْبُسْتَانُ (the garden) and the other being جميلٌ (is beautiful). If we were to take just the first word (al bustaan), we would not have a complete understanding except a single word, which is not enough to carry on(the speech). The same goes for if we took the other word (jameel). However if we put these 2 words together, (al bustaanu jameel), then we would have a complete understanding of what is being said.

 Therefore, this is the jumla mufeeda. It is every sentence with a full, making-sense meaning.

THE FIRST PRINCIPLE:  التركيب الذي يفيد فائدة تامة يسمى جملة مفيدة، ويسمى أيضًا كلامًا. الجملة المفيدة قد تتركب من كلمتين، وقد تتركب من أكثر، وكل كلمة فيها تعد جزءًا منها.

MEANING: 1. the words that make a complete meaning is called JUMLA MUFEEDA and is also called KALAM 2.the jumla mufeeda can be composed of 2 words or more, and each word in the jumla mufeeda is counted as part of it.

  Some exercises: (For vocabulary)

 اقرأ الجمل الآتية وبين الكلمات في كل واحدة منها: Read the sentences and make clear the meaning in each one.

1- السَّماءُ مُمْطرَةٌ - the sky is raining
 2- الْحَديقَة جميلة - the garden is beautiful(al hadeeqa is another word of bustaan)
3- يَنقطِعُ المطرُ - the rain has stopped
4- يَسِيرُ السَّحابُ - the clouds are moving
 5- تَطْلُعُ الشَّمْسُ - the sun is rising
 6- تجِفُّ الْأَرْضُ - the earth is shaking
 7- الطَّائرُ فَوْقَ الشَّجرَةِ - the plane is above the tree
8- يقطِفُ علِيٌّ الْأَزهارَ - Ali is picking the flowers
 9- يَلْعَبُ الْغِلْمانُ بالْكُرَة - the boys are playing with the ball
 10- يَنْزِلُ المطَرُ مِنَ السَّماءِ - the rain is falling from the sky
11- تَسِيرُ السُّفُنُ في الْبحار - the ships are sailing the seas
12- يَشْتَدُّ الْبَرْدُ فَوْقَ الجبال - the cold is worsening above the mountains OR the cold above the mountains is worsening

Which sentences show a jumla mufeeda(sentence that makes sense and has complete meaning)??

 1- لَيْسَ الْجَوُّ - NO " The weather is not..."
This sentence is not a jumla mufeeda because we do not have a complete sentence

2- أَكلَ فريدٌ YES "Fareed ate" We have a complete meaning

3- القِطارُ سَريعٌ YES "The train is fast"

 4- إن اجْتهَدْتَ NO "If you work hard..." not complete

5- ليتَ الْمريض NO "The sick is not.."

 6- الثوْبُ نَظيفٌ YES "the garment is clean"

 7- الْكِتابُ الَّذِي NO "The book which.."

8- البنتُ المُتَعَلِّمة NO "The learning daughter.."

  Optional Homework: (4) اجعل كل مثال من الأمثلة الآتية جملة مفيدة بوضع كلمة ملائمة في المكان الخالي

Make each of these sentences a jumla mufeeda by placing a word in the middle that would make sense
 1- الْعُصْفُور .... الْقفَض meaning " The sparrow(bird)...cage" PLACE A WORD

 2- الْولدُ .... الْفَاكِهةَ "the boy...the fruit" PLACE A WORD

3- الثَّورُ ... الأَرض "The ox..the earth" PLACE A WORD

 4- الْولدُ الْمُهَذَّبُ ... "the well behaved boy..." ADD WORD

5- الحِذاءُ الضَّيِّقُ ... " The narrow(squishy) shoe..."

6- القمَرُ ... السَّماء "the moon...the sky" PLACE A WORD IN THE MIDDLE

 (5) ضع كل كلمة من الكلمات الآتية في جملة مفيدة مركبة من كلمتين:

PUT EACH OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS INTO A JUMLA MUFEEDA MADE UP OF 2 WORDS ONLY

 الحَديقة - THE GARDEN

 (EX: THE GARDEN IS BEAUTIFUL الْحَديقَة جميلة
 الشَّجرة- THE TREE

 الأَزهار - THE FLOWERS

 الشَّمْس - THE SUN

 (6) ضع كل كلمة من الكلمات الآتية في جملة مفيدة مركبة من أكثر من كلمتين:

 PUT EACH OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS INTO A JUMLA MUFEEDA MADE UP OF MORE THAN 2 WORDS

 الْماء - THE WATER

 الْفاكِهة -THE FRUIT

يَلْعَبُ - HE IS PLAYING

 EXAMPLE FOR يَلْعَبُ 

  يلعب محمد في البيت يَرْكَبُ  meaning, "Muhammad is playing in the house."

End of Lesson 1

The Youth in Islaam

The Youth in Islaam By Umm Abdullah 

 Ibraahim, the father of the prophets- Abul Anbiyaa'. The noble Messenger of Allah, who particularly introduced the concept of tawheed and hanifiyyah(the upright way) to the land of the Two Rivers(as they call it-Mesopotamia) . The greatest of the five greatest messengers(ulul 3azm min ar-rusul) according to some scholars like Ibn Kathir (rh). He was also known as Khaleel ar Rahmaan , the close companion of the Most Merciful. Indeed, this man was none other than Ibraahim (alayhissalam). The man whom Allah called a nation(ummah)! 

As Allah says,

{ إن إبراهيم كان أمة قانتا لله حنيفا ولم يك من المشركين } 

"Verily, Ibrahim (Abraham) was an Ummah (a leader having all the good righteous qualities), or a nation, obedient to Allah, Hanifa (i.e. to worship none but Allah), and he was not one of those who were Al-Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, and those who joined partners with Allah). "[Surah al Nahl:120] 

 Ibraahim(AS) is one of the most spectacular figures in history;therefore, it is no wonder that he is 

revered not only by us, Muslims, but also by the Christians and Jews, although they have tampered 

with his image and life somewhat (within their books). It is quite interesting that these religions attribute monotheism to Ibraahim (Abraham in English). Ibraahim(AS) is a truly unique Messenger. He lived in a very strange era, but what he did is something an ordinary human without the help of Allah could never do. Ibraahim grew up in a society where kufr and shirk where rampant. He saw the worship of paganistic idols right and left. He saw animal sacrifices to these so called gods, who were in reality powerless and speechless carved stones. Ibraahim was such a great thinker although he was a mere teen, who could have ignored such thoughts of religion. He could've chosen to just enjoy his youth and life. NO. After thinking and watching, and watching and thinking, Ibraahim realized that surely this is not the right way and something clicked in him. Ibraahim was given these inspirations by Allah and his story is well-known by all; therefore, I will not go into the story of Al Haneef(The Upright, Man of Tawheed), Ibraahim (Alayhis-salam). However, what we need to understand and carefully think over is the strength and high station of one who believes in Allah, calls others to Him, and endures in the rough path ahead. What Ibraahim did was not easy, if some people may think so. Indeed, what He (AS) endured in the path of Allah was something that is an example for all youth and youngsters in today's day and age. Islaam has become the most unpopular subject in the world. In our day and age, the enemies are striking at the ummah from an internal and external point. Muslims have become subject to the western lifestyle of the disbelievers and many of us have given into the dhulm(oppression) and hawan(humiliation) of this time. We have forgotten who our ancestors were and we have forgotten to contemplate and ponder(at-tadaburr) in the stories Allah (SWT) has revealed to us in His noble Furqan(criterion). Ibraahim(AS) acted against his whole society and challenged them with regards to their belief system. SubhanAllah! Imagine this O reader! A young boy , who was perhaps 15 or 16 years of age did this! Allah (SWT ) says, concerning what the people of Ibraahim said about him,

{ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا فَتًى يَذْكُرُهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ }

 They said: "We heard a young man talking (against) them who is called Ibrahim (Abraham)."[Surah al Anbiyaa':60] 

 SubhanAllah!! Imagine this Oh fellow Muslim! He was a teenager and he challenged his whole nation, including his flesh and blood-his father! This just goes to show us how the youth were when they had tawheed and Islaam and what the youth have become without tawheed and by abandoning the Islamic practices. What a huge difference. Ibraahim (AS) knew very well what would be the consequences of his action when he went forth to break the idols of the temple;however, he took it upon himself to take the first steps in introducing the concept of tawheed to his people,regardless of the consequences and outcome. His father being at the top at the top of his list. Ibraahim(AS) was a very dutiful boy. He did not wish to fight with his father nor disobey him , but he knew that it was his responsibility to protect him from the fire.

 Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,

  وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صِدِّيقًا نَبِيًّا إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لَا يَسْمَعُ وَلَا يُبْصِرُ وَلَا يُغْنِي عَنْكَ شَيْئًا يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي قَدْ جَاءَنِي مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَمْ يَأْتِكَ فَاتَّبِعْنِي أَهْدِكَ صِرَاطًا سَوِيًّا يَا أَبَتِ لَا تَعْبُدِ الشَّيْطَانَ ۖ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ عَصِيًّا يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يَمَسَّكَ عَذَابٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ فَتَكُونَ لِلشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيًّا قَالَ أَرَاغِبٌ أَنْتَ عَنْ آلِهَتِي يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ ۖ لَئِنْ لَمْ تَنْتَهِ لَأَرْجُمَنَّكَ ۖ وَاهْجُرْنِي مَلِيًّا قَالَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ ۖ سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّي ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِي حَفِيًّا وَأَعْتَزِلُكُمْ وَمَا تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَأَدْعُو رَبِّي عَسَىٰ أَلَّا أَكُونَ بِدُعَاءِ رَبِّي شَقِيًّا 

"And mention in the Book (the Qur'an) Ibrahim (Abraham). Verily! He was a man of truth, a Prophet.When he said to his father: "O my father! Why do you worship that which hears not, sees not and cannot avail you in anything? "O my father! Verily! There has come to me of knowledge that which came not unto you. So follow me. I will guide you to a Straight Path."O my father! Worship not Shaitan (Satan). Verily! Shaitan (Satan) has been a rebel against the Most Beneficent (Allah). "O my father! Verily! I fear lest a torment from the Most Beneficent (Allah) overtake you, so that you become a companion of Shaitan (Satan) (in the Hell-fire)." [Tafsir Al-Qurtubi]He (the father) said: "Do you reject my gods, O Ibrahim (Abraham)? If you stop not (this), I will indeed stone you. So get away from me safely before I punish you." Ibrahim (Abraham) said: "Peace be on you! I will ask Forgiveness of my Lord for you. Verily! He is unto me, Ever Most Gracious. "And I shall turn away from you and from those whom you invoke besides Allah. And I shall call on my Lord; and I hope that I shall not be unblest in my invocation to my Lord."[Surah Maryam: 41-48] 

 In this dialogue, we see the beautiful mannerisms of Ibraahim(AS) and how he was with his father. We also see the harshness and roughness of his father, Aazar.Allah showed us the interesting dialogue of monotheism Ibraahim had with his father in Suratul Maryam, which shows Ibraahim (alayhi-ssalam) was indeed one who practiced birrul walidayn(being dutiful to one's parents). This also shows the seriousness of the issue of giving da'wah to one's family and that they come first. One should not rush to calling others to pray and fast when his or her own family are corrupt and disobeying Allah! Did not Allah ta'alla say, 

وأنذر عشيرتك الأقربين

"And warn your nearest kinsmen." [Surah alShu'ara: 214] 

 Oh Muslim! Oh believer in Allah and His oneness and in the Day of Recompense! Realize that the role of the young in Islaam is indeed a great one. Islaam is not and was not a deen that was established on its own. The youth are the ones who can make a society or corrupt it. We have a great role and responsibility  therefore, we should take this issue seriously. It is up to us and upon us to decide and change our situation. The era of our parents has passed, this is our era so let us wake up to the call of Allah azza wa jall.

Allah is calling you oh youth of Islaam to that which will bring us to life. Allah ta'alla says in His noble revelation:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ ۖ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ

"O you who believe! Answer Allâh (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he (SAW) calls you to that which will give you life, and know that Allâh comes in between a person and his heart (i.e. He prevents an evil person to decide anything). And verily to Him you shall (all) be gathered." [Surah al Anfaal: 24] The Quran and Sunnah are what give life to us. If we stick to these two sources, we are promised and assured guidance. Why then do we not turn to these two and stick to them? Do we not fear the Almighty's warning after the above mentioned ayah? {وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْكُمْ خَاصَّةً ۖ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ}

"And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people), and know that Allâh is Severe in punishment."[ Surah al Anfaal: 25] We may wonder why is Allah punishing the entire ummah for the actions of some? This is to show us that we are one ummah and our victory and pain is one. We should guide one another to what is good and forbid one another from what is false and wrong. Only then, will Allah give us the victory we deserve.

May Allah use us for the victory of His deen! 

 And Allah knows best.