Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.
To proceed:
Dear brothers and sisters! Understand that out of all the people ever created, you are amongst those whom Allah has guided to His religion – the only way to success in this life and the next. Not only that, but Allah has made you from the nation of the last and best of the Messengers – in fact, the best of all creation – the nation of Muḥammad ﷺ, the best nation of all nations that have ever existed. You have been given the best of books, – al-Qur’ān – the best of laws, – the sharī‘ah of Muḥammad ﷺ – and the best of all ways of life – Islam. What a great favour and blessing indeed!
So if such is the case, why then should there be any reason for us not to follow it? One reason people will often mention is peer pressure – negative, external pressure. We're told to do one thing whilst our religion tells us to do the opposite. We're encouraged, for example, to free, liberal interactions with the opposite gender as well as free, liberal attitudes towards them, whilst our religion teaches us otherwise. We're encouraged to live by the idea that life was made to be enjoyed and so we should in indulge it and just "have a good time" before we die – because, as they say, "you only live once" – whilst our religion teaches us otherwise: that this one life we have is a preparation stage for the next everlasting life. We're encouraged us to dress, talk and act in a manner contrary to what our religion teaches us. And so as a result, some people become overwhelmed by all the pressure and end up giving in. They start dressing like everyone else. They start speaking like every one else. They start acting like everyone else. Of course, by this we mean in the ways which contradict Islamic teachings; i.e. they starting imitating the others in ways that go against Islamic teachings – we're not talking about those things that don't clash with Islamic teachings. So they dress not covering the ‘awrah. Their speech is filled with gossip, lies, hurtful statements and filthy words. Their actions do not reflect Islamic teachings of having manners and a sense of shame and dignity. All this because "everyone's doing it."
But dear brothers and sisters, realise: you can be better than that! Such people are indulging themselves to destruction. But Allah provided a way out of this destruction: Islam. And He chose YOU as one of those people who would be guided to following that way. Isn't that such a great blessing? YOU were one of those fortunate ones whom Allah guided to Islam (provided you hold on to the religion until death). So why feel pressured to act contrary to Islamic teachings? Why feel embarrassed about your Islam? Why feel ashamed in following it?
Perhaps you fear being "that strange guy", isn't it? The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange as it began. So, glad tidings for the strangers.”
He was asked: “O Messenger of Allah, who are the strangers?” He replied:
“Those who are righteous when the people are corrupt.” And in another narration:
“Those who correct what the people have corrupted of my sunnah.” And in another narration:
“A tiny group of righteous people in the midst of a large number of corrupted people. Those who go against them are more than those who go along with them.”
So if anything, be proud of the strangeness that arises from following the religion! It's a good thing.
Honourable believers! Why would you want to fit in with the evil that's around you? You as a Muslim are supposed to stand out! You are not inferior to them! What makes you inferior is abiding by the standards of evil and corruption because you no longer have a sense of self-identity and thus need to derive your identity from such evil. But Islam provides you the best identity – slave of the Almighty – achieved by abiding by the standards of the Almighty.
I will end with two quotes. ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍiya Llāhu ‘anhu) once said:
“We are a people whom Allah has honoured with Islam and if we seek honour in other than it, Allah will humiliate us again.”
And Allah states in His Book:
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” (Qur’ān 33:21)
To proceed:
Dear brothers and sisters! Understand that out of all the people ever created, you are amongst those whom Allah has guided to His religion – the only way to success in this life and the next. Not only that, but Allah has made you from the nation of the last and best of the Messengers – in fact, the best of all creation – the nation of Muḥammad ﷺ, the best nation of all nations that have ever existed. You have been given the best of books, – al-Qur’ān – the best of laws, – the sharī‘ah of Muḥammad ﷺ – and the best of all ways of life – Islam. What a great favour and blessing indeed!
So if such is the case, why then should there be any reason for us not to follow it? One reason people will often mention is peer pressure – negative, external pressure. We're told to do one thing whilst our religion tells us to do the opposite. We're encouraged, for example, to free, liberal interactions with the opposite gender as well as free, liberal attitudes towards them, whilst our religion teaches us otherwise. We're encouraged to live by the idea that life was made to be enjoyed and so we should in indulge it and just "have a good time" before we die – because, as they say, "you only live once" – whilst our religion teaches us otherwise: that this one life we have is a preparation stage for the next everlasting life. We're encouraged us to dress, talk and act in a manner contrary to what our religion teaches us. And so as a result, some people become overwhelmed by all the pressure and end up giving in. They start dressing like everyone else. They start speaking like every one else. They start acting like everyone else. Of course, by this we mean in the ways which contradict Islamic teachings; i.e. they starting imitating the others in ways that go against Islamic teachings – we're not talking about those things that don't clash with Islamic teachings. So they dress not covering the ‘awrah. Their speech is filled with gossip, lies, hurtful statements and filthy words. Their actions do not reflect Islamic teachings of having manners and a sense of shame and dignity. All this because "everyone's doing it."
But dear brothers and sisters, realise: you can be better than that! Such people are indulging themselves to destruction. But Allah provided a way out of this destruction: Islam. And He chose YOU as one of those people who would be guided to following that way. Isn't that such a great blessing? YOU were one of those fortunate ones whom Allah guided to Islam (provided you hold on to the religion until death). So why feel pressured to act contrary to Islamic teachings? Why feel embarrassed about your Islam? Why feel ashamed in following it?
Perhaps you fear being "that strange guy", isn't it? The Prophet ﷺ said:
بَدَأَ الْإِسْلَامُ غَرِيبًا ، وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا كَمَا بَدَأَ ، فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ
“Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange as it began. So, glad tidings for the strangers.”
He was asked: “O Messenger of Allah, who are the strangers?” He replied:
الَّذِينَ يُصْلِحُونَ إِذَا فَسَدَ النَّاسُ
“Those who are righteous when the people are corrupt.” And in another narration:
الذين يُصلحون ما أفسد الناس من سنتي
نَاسٌ صَالِحُونَ قَلِيلٌ فِي نَاسٍ كَثِيرٍ ، مَنْ يَعْصِيهِمْ أَكْثَرُ مِمَّنْ يُطِيعُهُمْ
So if anything, be proud of the strangeness that arises from following the religion! It's a good thing.
Honourable believers! Why would you want to fit in with the evil that's around you? You as a Muslim are supposed to stand out! You are not inferior to them! What makes you inferior is abiding by the standards of evil and corruption because you no longer have a sense of self-identity and thus need to derive your identity from such evil. But Islam provides you the best identity – slave of the Almighty – achieved by abiding by the standards of the Almighty.
I will end with two quotes. ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍiya Llāhu ‘anhu) once said:
نحن قوم أعزنا الله بالإسلام فإن ابتغينا العزة بغيره أذلنا الله
And Allah states in His Book:
لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْءَاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
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