Raising Your Children According to Islam will Plant the Seeds of Love for Their Religion for the Rest of Their Life.

Praise Be to Allah - we praise Him, we seek aid from Him, we seek guidance, and we seek from Him refuge from the evils of ourselves, and our bad deeds. It is He whom Allah guides that is on true guidance; but he whom He leaves astray, for such wilts thou find no protector to lead him to the right way. And I profess that there is no god but Allah alone, & He has no partners. And I admit His lordship, compelling this truth for those who denied Him and disbelieved in Him. And I profess that our master Muhammad, May Allah's Peace & Grace be upon him, is the messenger of Allah, the master of the created and the human race, and I keep professing that for as long as sight can be seen with an eye, for as long as news can be heard with an ear.
O Allah, our Lord, have peace and blessings upon our master Mohammed, upon his folks, his companions, his descendants, and those who allied with him and followed him until the Day of Judgment. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, and let us make use of what Thou hast taught us. O Allah and advance us in knowledge. O Allah show us the righteousness as right as it is, and bless us with following it. O Allah our lord make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of it, and admit us, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Thy Vicinity.


Misery is to find your children not as you want them to be:
Dear brothers, some matters in man's life are organically related to him, one of which is his children. No matter how huge your wealth is, how prominent your position is or how superior you are, you will be miserable as long as your children is not who you want them to be. There is a Quranic indication about his point. Allah says:


﴾So let him not get you both out of Paradise, so that you be distressed in misery.﴿

[Ta-Ha, 117]

According to the linguistic context of the Ayah, and due to the eloquent and terse nature of Quran, Adam is the one who is addressed in the Ayah, but his wife is included as well, because the misery of the husband definitely means the misery of his wife and the misery of the children causes definitely the misery of the parents. Some people deviated from the Path of Allah, and they sought the worldly life. As a result, they have lost their own children, and this causes them unbearable agony. They have lost the most valuable thing they have, as their offspring is their continuity in life.

Continuity of one’s existence is closely connected with raising his children:
Dear brothers, each one of us loves his existence and the safety, the perfection and the continuity of his existence. The safety of your existence is gained by obeying Allah, the perfection of your existence is gained by offering good deeds and the continuity of your existence is gained by raising your children properly (according to the Islamic teachings). The only trump card in Muslims' hand is their children, but can we expect to have a good generation on who all the hopes of the Ummah are pinned since the cartoon movies include 58% of sexual scenes, 37% of black magic and the rest are about violence? When the Prophet, peace be upon him, was sent, this Ummah were shepherds. Yet, they led the other nations because of Islam, whereas, nowadays, the nations are racing with one another to attack us, like the hungry people who hurry to eat the dish. Every Islamic country has about thirty allies of the occupying countries.

Dear brothers, the status of the Muslims is "to be or not to be", so it is an issue of being or extermination. The other party wants to impoverish, mislead, corrupt, humiliate and destroy us, and the only trump card we have is our children. We can't be happy unless our children are pious, their Aqeedah is sound,, they are upright and they are constructive, positive, balanced, disciplined and moderate members in society. Bringing up children that way is the mission of parents, schools, universities and media. It is important to reform our homes, our schools and our media. There are 700 hours of continuous programs broadcasted round the clock, and there are 800 satellite channels, 400 of them are pornographic channels. Not to mention that there are 23 million pornographic websites. Muslims in the olden days were like the visitors of a conventional zoo where all the animals are locked up in cages, but today, they are like the visitors of an African safari park, where animals are running at large, so unless the visitors of the zoo are safe inside armored cars, they will be eaten by animals.

Our children is the trump card so we have to take of them:
I would like to repeat, the trump card we have as is our children (the young generation). The happiness of a father, who is blessed with having well-raised children, is indescribable. Your happiness is really beyond description when you have a believing, honest and trustworthy son who has a good reputation, and righteous wife and children. Allah says:


﴾"Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders for the Muttaqun" ﴿

[An-Nisa', 2]

Fifty years ago, you could see your son as you want him to be by giving him few orders, but nowadays and due to the many distractions that might drive him away from the right path and the many barriers between him and that path, you need to double your efforts ten times to maintain the soundness of his Aqeedah. A student, who was studying in a school for foreigners, was asked by his uncle, "What do you know about Umar?" The student answered, "Do you mean Umar Ash-Shareef?" The first name that jumped to his head is the name of an actor instead of the name of the giant of Islam Umar Ibn Al-Khattab. Another person, who studied in a school which doesn't teach anything about Islam, visited Egypt once and asked one of his employees, "Where is the grave of Muhammad, peace be upon him?" He thought that Muhammad, peace be upon him, was buried in Egypt.

Letting our kids be educated in costly schools, where the courses taught don't please Allah, will be make them totally estranged from their Ummah, religion and Aqeedah after they finished their studies in. What will happen to you if you see your son turning out to be different from who you want to him to be?

I was in America once, and I visited the state of Detroit where there are 5000 Syrian Muslim doctors. One hundred of these doctors attended a medical conference in Syria to which I was invited. The wedding of the daughter of one of them took place in that occasion, and I was asked to deliver a speech. In that speech I quoted a phrase I heard once In America from a notable Dai'yah (caller to Allah), "If you can't guarantee that the son of your grandson will be a Muslim in the country where you live, you should leave it at once." By Allah, right after I finished my speech, one of those doctors approached me with tears in his cheeks and said, "You said I should guarantee that the son of my grandson should be a Muslim, but my own son is not a Muslim, so no need to his grandson."

Children's mistakes are the outcome of parents' ignorance or negligence:
Dear brothers, the only precious thing parents have today is their children. Those children represent our future, our advancement, our cohesiveness, our readiness to defend our holy places and regaining supremacy of our Ummah over other nations (if Allah wills). Hence, our children are the cornerstone of our life. This is my own belief to which I adhere, and I also believe that the bitter truth is better than the comfortable delusion, so, please, listen to this irrefutable truth: The mistakes of children are the outcome of the ignorance and busyness of their parents. The heroic father is the one faces his problems and find solutions to them instead of sweeping them under the carpet. Thus, if the father understands his religion correctly, has deep comprehension of it and adheres to Islamic principles and values, these things will be reflected on his children's behavior and his discipline will be the cause of his children's uprightness and righteousness. I met lots of people who are caretakers of orphans, and I keep telling them that the true orphan is the child whose father and mother neglect him because of their hectic life. This is the real orphanhood.

The child's Fitrah is clean, so parents should raise and guide him well:
Dear brothers, the second point which I would like to discuss is that we repeat the word "Al-Murahaqah" (adolescence) a lot, and the accurate meaning of the "Al-Muraheq" (the adolescent) is "As-Safih" (the lunatic). Who told you that there are Muraheqeen (plural of Muraheq) in the real Islamic society? Adolescence does not exist in a religiously disciplined and balanced household where everything is under control, and the moral principles are clear. When the father raises his children properly, and when the school teaches this child the right Aqeedah, there will be no Murahaqah which only exists in a dissolute society. Do you know why (it does not exist in the real Islamic society? Because Murahaqah appears when the child reaches puberty; it is the period of his life when the lust wakes up. However, every lust is controlled in Islam, and it is man's means to exalt in the Sight of the Lord of the heavens and the earth.

In fact every lust installed in man has a pure path to be fulfilled through. I have never had enough from repeating this analogy: Lust resembles fuel, so if this fuel is poured in the confined fuel tank of the car, and it runs into the tubes and was ignited at the right moment in the right place, we will get a useful movement of the car and it will take you and your family to a beautiful place, but if we pour this same fuel on the car and give it a light, it will burn the car and those inside it. Hence, lust can be a driving force or a destructive one. Furthermore, lust is neutral. For instance, you can get married to a woman and have pious children who bring joy to the house and be giving and disciplined members of the society, and so through this marriage, you will exalt to highest levels, but if this lust (the love for a woman) is fulfilled through unlawful means, it will be the cause of destruction of the one who fulfills it and society. Unfortunately, this is what is going on in the dissolute undisciplined Western society. There is nothing Divinely prohibited there. A representative of a Western country once said to me in a conference which was held in America, "There are no taboos in America, and everything could be a subject of research, study, criticism or cancellation." There are no red lines whatsoever in their societies, unlike our society which has red lines, like believing in Allah, believing in the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, acting upon Allah's Order and following the steps of the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, whom were Divinely selected to be his companions. In our countries we have a Divine Method to follow.

Dear brothers, the truth that should every father admit is that the flaws of his children are most likely the outcome of his own. Therefore, instead of rebuking his child, the father should first nip his own flaw in the bud, because the child originally has a clean Fitrah. Hence, when you teach him honesty and trustworthiness, he will become honest and trustworthy, and if you instruct him properly, he will be as you want him to be.

Shari'ah rulings do not restrict man's freedom:
Dear brothers, let me tell you something: Man is the most complicated creature in the universe, and his complication is a manifestation of miraculousness, not deficit. This complicated creature was created by a Wise Creator Who has clarified to us the instructions of usage and maintenance. If you assume that Shari'ah rulings limit your freedom, then you misunderstand the religion, and if you believe that Shari'ah rulings do not restrict your freedom, and that they guarantee your own safety, then you fully understand Islam. Obey your Lord out of your love for your own self, out of your keenness on your own safety and out of longing to perfection, continuity and happiness, for the Method of the Almighty Allah is an objective one. By Allah the only God, whatever positive matter in the Western society that is ascribed to their shrewdness is but an application of part of our Islam. Though they don't believe in Allah, their intelligence makes them do that.

We, as Muslim, do not need to be inflicted by their (Westerners) diseases or affected by their crises. The Western society is dissolute, and it is a place where sins prevail, and unfortunately, we are following their steps; and even if they enter into a lizard's hole, we will follow them. In China I was attracted to their usage of the phrases "Halal food" and "Halal cloths", but what are the opposite of these phrases? The opposites are "Haram food" which is pork and "Haram cloths" which the indecent cloths that incite lusts and distract the youth from focusing on their future.

Respecting the child makes him more confident of himself:
Dear brothers, what are the potentials of a 17 year old young man? A Muslim in Murahaqah period can be appointed as a leader of an army. Usamah Ibn Zaid was appointed in his 17 as a commander of an army in which there were giants like Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. When Usamah's army left for Syria, Abu Bakr (successor of the Prophet, peace be upon him) walked for some distance along with the army to see it depart. Usamah was riding on horseback, and he requested Abu Bakr that he should be permitted to dismount or the Khalifah should also ride on a horse. Abu Bakr said, "No, neither shall you dismount nor shall I mount a horse, for according to a tradition of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, he whose foot becomes dusty in the way of Allah will be preserved from hell fire."

((Sahl Ibn Sa'd As-Sa'idi narrated: A drink (milk mixed with water) was brought to the Prophet, peace be upon him, who drank some of it while a boy was sitting on his right (the youngest at the meeting) and old men on his left. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to the boy, "If you permit me, I'll give (the rest of the drink to) these old men first." The boy said, "I will not give preference to any one over me as regards my share from you, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet, peace be upon him, then put that container in the boy's hand.))

This is the way the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to treat children. Actually, respecting the child's personality strengthens his self-esteem, explode his potentials and give him the needed self-confidence. Accordingly, the believing father should love, respect and council his children:

((The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to the boy, "If you permit me, I'll give (the rest of the drink to) these old men first." The boy said, "I will not give preference to any one over me as regards my share from you, O Allah's Apostle!"))

The rule of making people attracted to you or breaking away from about you:
Dear brothers, I discussed this point once in details. In the Quran there is a rule called "the rule of making people attracted to you (with love) or breaking away from about you." Do you not like to see you children gather around you (out of love for you)? Whoever owns a store likes to see his workers surround him (with love) and devotedly serve him when he is around, and sincerely guard his property in his absence. The following Ayah clarifies this rule (of making people gather around you or break away from about you):


﴾ And by the Mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently. ﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 159]

This means that because of the mercy you have in your heart O Muhammad, peace be upon him, you dealt with them gently. Had you not established a connection with your Lord, they wouldn't have surrounded you with love, so had you been disconnected from your Lord, your heart would have been filled with harshness, which in its turn would have made you cruel and rude, and so people would have broken away from about you.

By Allah, I receive many phone calls weekly about cruel fathers who don't look after their children. They badmouth, rebuke, scold them and weaken their character. Such houses are like hell. Do you know how we can make our household Paradise? Do you know how we can make happiness hover over our household? Happiness doesn't need money, all it needs is affection. It does not matter if the food of the family is poor as long as there is love among the members of the family.

The continuity of your existence is gained by having well-raised children:
Dear brothers, the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave us lessons through his daily behavior, so follow his steps and take care of your son. A notable scholar died in Damascus and he used to be the Khateeb of Umayyad Masjid, and there was a huge reception for those who offered their condolence in the Masjid. On the last day of receiving condolence, his son ascended the pulpit and delivered a speech which made me weep, and I said to myself, "This scholar didn't die." Hence, there is continuity, and your continuity is gained by raising your children properly.

I would like to repeat the rule of making people attracted to you or breaking away from about you:


﴾And by the Mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you; so pass over (their faults), and ask (Allah's) Forgiveness for them; and consult them in the affairs. Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 159]

Such a rule should be applied by the father, the teacher, the store owner, the head of the university, the hospital manager and the one who occupies a leading position. Do you not like to be surrounded by people (out of love for you)?

Our children are part of us, so we should treat them generously and tenderly:
Dear brothers, upon asking a doctor about the reason behind having two holes in the incubator, he told me that the newborn baby needs his mother's touches and those holes are made so that the mother can enter her fingers and touch her baby. In addition to food and drink, the baby is in dire need of his mother's tenderness. A professor in the university told us that the mother who breastfeeds her baby harshly will have a cruel son, whereas the mother who breastfeeds her baby tenderly will have a merciful son. This fact is well-known in raising children. It is good to feed your children and provide them with food and cloths, but they need you to treat them tenderly, to hug them, to sniff them, to play with them and to smile in their faces. Parents shouldn't overlook these needs. The child needs spiritual and emotional nutrition, so he needs his father's love and his mother's hug and sniff. If you want your son to be around you, you should be generous to him, and you should breastfeed him affection and tenderness with the breast milk.

Dear brothers, I had been to so many countries, and I was amazed when I was told that in Malaysia, the penalty of having a satellite dish is nearly one million Liras. That law has been issued, because people there are keen on their children, which indicates a serious control. In another far country, there is only one channel for children and the rest are coded, which reflects discipline. Even in the countries who don't know Allah, people are keen on preventing their children from watching indecent channels, whereas the Muslim in our countries has a satellite dish which contains 800 channels, and he does not care if his young girls and sons watch these channels, while he is out with his wife. This is a big problem, and I know stories that can't be told in public. Our children are the apple of our eyes, they are our future and the Ummah's future and they are the closest creatures to us. By Allah, we will never be happy unless they are who we want them to be.

The prudent father is the one who befriends his son:
Dear brothers, it is important to be a friend to your son. It was narrated in the relic:

((Play with your child for seven years, then discipline him for seven years, then be his friend for seven years, then give him free rein.))

In the first seven years of a child's life, playing is exactly what he needs because everything else is beyond his comprehension. Some fathers punish their 3 year old child severely, because he cries, while he should play with him at this age. Play with your child for seven years and educate him for another seven years. After he is 14 he becomes a whole being, and so he won't accept to be insulted in front of people. You'd rather stand by and watch him, be very carefully while treating him, because he is not old enough to act like adults and please you with his behavior, nor is he a child to be excused. Children in this particular period of their life are described as "Juveniles". After the third seven years (of your son's life), you should watch him from a distance, and you may offer him your advice in private. The following Hadith is outstanding concerning this point:


((Instruct other people and don't rebuke them, because the instructor is better than the rebuker))

[Al-Harith, by Abi Hurairah]

Clarify things to him by telling him why we should pray. Do not say, "O son, you should pray, and that's it", and if he does not, you hit him. It is not a good way of raising your children, so you should get him acquainted with the Almighty Allah, explain to him His Actions and His Greatness and tell him that we were created from nothing for Paradise, and that Allah wants us to worship Him in order to deserve Paradise. You should explain to your son these religious issues, but the problem lies in being ignorant as a father, and a man can do no more than he can". The father should be knowledgeable enough in order to be able to teach his children. When you seek (Islamic) knowledge, you do that not only for your own benefit but also for your family's. The knowledge you have will make you able to answer your son and explain things to him if he asks you an embarrassing question:


((Teach your children three qualities: love of your Prophet, love of his family, and recitation of the Quran.))

[At-Tabarani, by Ali]

Read an Ayah and interpret it for him.

Allah honors the young repentant the most:
Dear brothers, I repeat again, there is no Murahaqah in Islam, but rather there are well-raised young people. Allah says:


﴾Truly! They were young men who believed in their Lord (Allah), and We increased them in guidance.﴿

[Al-Kahf, 13]

The dearest thing to Allah is the repentant young person:

((Allah, the Exalted, takes pride in a worshipping young man before the angels and says, "Look at My servant; he gave up his lust for the sake of Me."))

((I love three among people, but I love other three more; I love the obedient, yet I love the young obedient more, I love the humble, yet I love the humble rich more and I love the generous, yet I love the generous poor more. I hate three among people, but I hate other three more; I hate sinners, yet I hate the old age sinner more, I hate the arrogant, yet I hate the arrogant poor more and I hate the stingy, yet I hate the rich stingy more.))

Dear brothers, as Muslims, we use the term "youth", and by Allah, the power of the Ummah lies in the power of her youth with all their potentials, zeal, activeness and fervent minds. In the olden days, Muslims' youth were participating in Jihad (striving in Allah's Cause), but nowadays, they have hamburger in one hand and a coke in the other, while heading to the arena. All they care about is so and so player, actor or slut. What a young generation we have!

The enthusiastic believing young man makes his parents incredibly optimistic:
Dear brothers, as Muslims we have our youth, and our motto should be:


﴾Truly! They were young men who believed in their Lord (Allah), and We increased them in guidance.﴿

[Al-Kahf, 13]

The accomplishments of the youth are unbelievable. By Allah, I become extremely optimistic when I see a young enthusiastic believer who likes to serve his Ummah, and this young man brings indescribable optimism to my heart. On the other hand, the youth of the West break the social rules and become deviated, playful, mischievous, careless, prankish, sarcastic and naysayers. All the advanced technology of the West is used and enjoyed by the powerful and rich people only, whereas the rest are deprived, and so they are imbalanced (morally and socially speaking). Unlike those people, the believer has a clear goal, and he keeps following the right path.


Whoever rejects the great method of Islam disgraces himself:
Dear brothers, Allah says:


﴾Then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.﴿

[Ta-Ha, 123]

Murahaqah in its precise definition is lunacy (Safah). Allah says:


﴾And who turns away from the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham) (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) except him who befools himself?﴿

[Al-Baqarah, 130]

You might refuse thousands of things, because you despise them, like refusing a bothersome law-paid job, an inconvenient law-paid travel or marrying a young woman who is not religiously committed. Therefore, it is up to you to refuse thousands of things, but if you refuse this great religion, you despise yourself. You might refuse something, because you despise it, but if you refuse Islam you despise yourself, and the proof is in the following Ayah:


﴾And who turns away from the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham) (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) except him who befools himself?﴿

[Al-Baqarah, 130]

It took our Master Khalid a long time before he embraced Islam. After he became a Muslim, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said an outstanding statement to him:

((I wonder about you O Khaled; I have always been aware that you are endowed with great intelligence.))

The prudent man unavoidably should be a believer:

((I wonder about you O Khaled; I have always been aware that you are endowed with great intelligence.))

Allah says:


﴾Then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.﴿

[Ta-Ha, 123]

Islam is a guarantee to our safety, not a limitation to our freedom:

Let me tell you one more thing: There is no deprivation in Islam, and the Divine Orders ordained on us are the guarantee for our safety, not limits to our freedom. Thus, whosoever mistakenly thinks that Islam limits one's freedom is deluded and ignorant. Allah says:


﴾And who is more astray than one who follows his own lusts, without guidance from Allah?﴿

[Al-Qasas, 50]

The opposite meaning is he, who follows his own lusts according to the Divine Guidance is safe. Every lust that has been installed in us has a clean way through which it can be fulfilled and by which we exalt. A scholar once told me, "I have 38 grandchildren, 16 of them are Huffaz of the Noble Quran (the one who memorizes Quran by heart) and 10 of them are doctors". This man got married to a woman, and these pious and educated people were the fruit of this blessed marriage.

Man's behavior reflects his perception:
Dear brothers, I still I have one last delicate matter to discuss. Man's behavior is the reflection of his perception, and each one of us has his own perception, but your heroism lies in teaching your son the right perceptions in order to have straight behavior. You should teach your son the right perceptions and Aqeedah, because his behavior is the reflection of his Aqeedah. What is the crisis of the people of hell? Their crisis is ignorance. Allah says:


﴾And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!"﴿

[Al-Mulk, 10]

Hence, you should get your son acquainted with the purpose of his existence, and you should tell him that he is created for Paradise and that the Divine Orders are ordained on us for our own benefit. I read a story in Tishreen newspaper about a taxi driver who was held by a woman. When he asked her where she wanted to go, she answered him with a seductive manner saying, "Wherever you want." After he fulfilled his desire with her, she gave him an envelope in which she wrote a note that said: Welcome to the AIDS club. Had that man attended one religious session, he would have opened his car door and kicked her out. Every sin is the cause of a serious problem to whoever commits it.

Whoever acts upon Allah's Order is under Allah's Shade and Protection:
You will be under Allah's Shade and Protection when you act upon His Order:


﴾Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is Allah (Alone)," and then they Istaqamu, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): "Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised!* "We have been your friends in the life of this world and are (so) in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have (all) that your inner-selves desire, and therein you shall have (all) for which you ask for*"An entertainment from (Allah), the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." ﴿

[Fussilat, 30-32]

Dear brothers, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said in the following wonderful Hadith:


((Instruct other people and don't rebuke them, because the instructor is better than the rebuker))

[Al-Harith, by Abi Hurairah]

When you are blessed with righteous children, you will be the happiest person on earth.
I say my words, and I ask the Forgiveness of Allah, the Most Great, for me and for you. Dear brothers, ask His Forgiveness, so that you will be forgiven, as those who are forgiven will be the successful ones.
***


The 2nd Khutbah:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds and blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, his noble Companions and his good and purified Folks.

Consumerism is a serious disease which is fed on our households and stability:
Dear brothers, a friend made an appointment to meet me at six AM, so I asked him, "Why did you make it so early? Is this not your time to get some rest?" He answered, "My father, may Allah have mercy on his soul, accustomed me to offer night prayers every day, so we used to wake up one hour before dawn in order to pray then we used to offer Al-Fajr Salah at the Masjid, and then we head to our work." His father died forty years ago, but he made his son get used to the habit of getting up early to head to work and to offer night prayers daily.

Another person who sat next to me in one of my travels by the plane said to me, "My father used to give me a big amount of money and asked me to give it to the needy.". Hence, the father should teach his son how to be generous and how to be religiously committed. I hope that every father takres these things into his consideration, because the majority of fathers are driven away by the daily bread, which is a serious problem. Most of people now are endeavoring to make ends meet which makes them very busy.

The French president "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing" asked 30 sociologists who he invited to a resort, to give him an answer to one question, "Why does violence prevail in the world?" In the fifties, only one criminal was executed every ten years in Marjeh Square in Damascus, and in the crowds used to creep to watch him, but nowadays, we have 100 dead human beings on daily basis. This is how violence increases in the world. You might be surprised by the answer they came up with. They said, "It is the very effect of consumerism."

You can always see a new advanced technical commodity in the markets, in malls or in screen advertising, such as air-conditioners, washers or cars. All these ads tempt you to buy something you can't afford. As a result, people will be before three choices; they forget about the commodity and so feel deprived since they can't afford everything new, they work full time which means to cancel fatherhood, because the father goes to work before his children wake up, and he gets back home after they go to sleep or they accept ill-gotten money. These three choices make you before three situations: you fall from the Sight of Allah, of values and of exalted principles, you cancel your free time or you feel deprived.

Upon entering into a very big mall, a woman said, "O My God, there are lots of commodities which no one needs." Consumerism has been set up by the West in order to consume our resources, and their plan is to make our countries markets for their goods. They wrap their goods up exquisitely to tempt us to buy them. Consumerism has become a dangerous disease; we buy these goods at the expense of our leisure, which is supposed to be spent at home, the stability of our households and the marital bliss.

Heroism lies in acting according to the Divine Method:
Dear brothers, heroism lies in stop following others and acting according to your own conventions. Don't be just a figure included in your enemy's plan. I keep telling you that you have two choices; you either put plans for your life, or others will plan it for you. Don't be an easy prey to your enemy, and be aware that Westerners have planned to promote their goods in our markets, so don't let the pressure affect you to the extent that you sell your religion in order to earn money.

A Companion used to love his young and beautiful wife, but one day she asked him constantly to buy her something he couldn't afford, so he told her, "You should know that in Paradise there are fair females that the lights of their faces surpass the lights of both the sun and the moon if they come to earth. Therefore, it is easier to sacrifice you for one of them than to sacrifice the fair female for you." Man should put his own plans, adhere to the Islamic principles and follow the Path of Allah in order to be safe and happy.

Du'a:
O Allah, we beseech You to show us the way of righteousness together with those to whom You showed it; and to give us good health together with those whom You have healed; and to be our Protector, as You are of those whom You protect; and to bless what You have bestowed on us; and to save us from the affliction that You have decreed –for You rule with justice and You are never judged; and he whom You protect shall never be humiliated, and he whom You make Your enemy shall never be elevated, blessed and dignified are You. We thank You for what You have decreed, we ask You for Forgiveness for our sins and we repent to You.

O Allah, please lead us to the good deeds, for no one leads to them but You; please lead us to the good conduct, for no one leads to it but You; please make us do well in the Deen, which is our dignity, make us do well in our worldly life, in which we dwell and grant us safety on the Day of Judgment for it is our Final Destination. O Allah, please supply our life with all good things and make our death a rest from every evil.

O our Master, Lord of the Worlds, please make us desire what You have made lawful and reject what You have made unlawful, make us by Your benevolence independent of all others and make our obedience to You turn us away from our disobedience.
O Allah, by Your Mercy and Benevolence raise high the word of truth and this Deen, grant triumph to Islam, dignify Muslims and grant triumph to them all around the world. O Allah, show us Your Omnipotence against Your enemies, You are the Most Generous