Adults
My Advice to my Muslim Brothers and Sisters in Universities and Colleges.
I ask Allah, the Most Generous, Lord of the Great Throne, to protect you in this life and in
the hereafter, and to make you blessed wherever you may be. I ask Him to make you
from those who are thankful when given, patient when tested, and repentant when you
sin. Certainly, these three, are the keys to happiness!
Always remember that the Best Gift you have in your life is your Emaan;
your correct belief in Allah, the Greatest; and the righteous deeds you do
for His sake, alone. You are bound to enter your grave soon and will
continue in the ‘forever after’, only according to the deeds you perform in
this short life which can end at any time, either in a state of enjoyment, or
in a state devoid of that – may Allah protect us.
Moreover, Emaan and Happiness, increase with the obedience of Allah and decrease by disobedience
The higher that one's Emaan is, the happier one will be.
This life is short compared to the eternal one after death,
regardless of how long you live; even if you were to live for 200 years. Our time in this
world has already been set by the Creator. The timer is only ticking down
until it reaches [00:00:00]! This life is but a test to see who truly deserves to
enjoy in the eternity. Don't be sure that your end cannot come before you
graduate.
One of the biggest tests, of this life, is the un-Islamic University environment,
for those who attend it. This is due to the many prohibitions that are violated therein, which Allah hates, since it leads to the destruction of one's Emaan. One mustn’t forget that going to university is only a means to an end, and it mainly benefits you for just a few years in this short life,
while Emaan will benefit you FOREVER!
My sincere advice for you is :
1. Study beneficial knowledge sincerely, for the sake Allah; to help oneself in becoming obedient to Allah, and to help His religion, the Muslims, and everyone else achieve the eternal happiness.
2. Make sure that the knowledge you are seeking is permissible knowledge, which will help you make a permissible living after you graduate; i.e. through permissible work in a permissible environment.
3. Obey Allah wherever you are. Remember that Allah is the All Seeing. He Sees even the smallest black object in the darkest of the places. He is the All Hearing; hears every single sound in the universe, at the same time, without any difficulty. He is the All-Knowing; He Knows the past and the future; and also knows of that which will never take place in the future and also what would happen, if it were to take place. Ultimately, He Knows what is best for us. Thus the intelligent one, who wants good for themselves, obeys Allah, the All Wise.
4. Be diligent in discharging religious obligations and stay away from that which Allah has prohibited. Indulging in the latter will lead to the decrease of your Emaan, and erodes the sentiments that constitute the internal setup of a faithful muslim, leading, perhaps, to the death of your heart.
5. Close the door to temptation from afar and stay away from the ambiguous.
Don’t be confident you can control yourself against shaytaan’s devious plans by even partially letting yourself get exposed to them, rather try to consciously keep away from them, by proactively taking steps to stay far away from it. Eg. Avoid walking down corridors which you know might be populated by people of the opposite gender, towards whom shaytaan can tempt you, even if that means you have to walk longer to go around, you will be rewarded for that extra effort, many times over. “Verily, you will never give up anything for the sake of Allah Almighty but that Allah will replace it with something better” (Musnad Aḥmad 22565). Avoid spaces where music could be playing. Also avoid the grey areas between what is clearly halaal and what is clearly haraam, as lingering in the boundaries, can eventually lead one to jump over to the haram side, without even realising it (Muslim 1599). Eg. Interactions of Muslim brothers and sisters, to help each other out, say, among MSA members, during meetings or social events.
6. Remember that you are in a place greatly affected by the devils, both from among jinn and people. Therefore…
7. Make sure you begin your day with the obedience of Allah; pray Fajr and after that take some time every single day to remember Allah by reciting the morning remembrance from the 'Fortress of the Muslim' . You should keep this book in your pocket and recite the different du'as throughout the day until you have memorized them. Allah, the All Capable One, has promised to help and protect you " So remember Me and I will remember you"(Qur'an 2:153).
8. Say the Du'a(s) when leaving your house. "O Allah I seek refuge with you that I misguide someone or I get misguided…" (Abu Dawood). Our noble Prophet – may Allah praise and send him peace - would not leave his house without saying this, as Umm Salamah – may Allah be pleased with her - informed us.
9. Seek refuge with Allah every time you step in the campus. Ask Him sincerely to protect you from ALL the evil which exists in it; apparent and hidden. Before every lecture you attend, every tutorial, and ideally, even before every book or course kit you open to read, ask Him to protect you from the potential evil found within it.
10. Fear the trial of the Doubts and Desires. Do not ever feel safe from misguidance. Even if your Emaan has reached high degrees, it is certainly not higher than that of Ibraheem – peace be upon him - who begged Allah "keep me and my sons far away from worshiping idols" (Qur'an 14:35). Despite being a prophet and messenger, he feared for himself and his children the clearest form of shirk: worshipping idols! So how much more shouldn’t we fear shirk, kufr, atheism, and all the other doubts, both clear and hidden, for ourselves and our children!
11. Minimize your time in the campus in order to minimize the decrease of your Emaan; be there only when you must be there.
12. Lower your gaze; do not needlessly look at other people, since most of what you will see is that which will decrease your Emaan. "Do not even come close to zina" (Quran 17:32). The goal of shaytaan is not zina (adultery), music, and other major sins, in themselves! Even though these may take a Muslim to the fire, for a specific period of time, shaytaan uses them as a means to destroy your Emaan and lead you to disbelief. If you still happen to see or hear any haram, then seek refuge with Allah from the shaytaan. You must hate with your heart all the sins you witness, even if you can't speak against it, and that is the lowest part of Emaan! Moreover, thank Allah for protecting you from that which He has tested them with: "All praise and thanks are for Allah who has protected me from that which He has afflicted you with and has favored me, over many of those whom He has created, with great favors". The Prophet – may Allah praise and send him peace - said that whoever says this "will not be afflicted by that calamity" (Tirmidhi).
13. Stay as far away as possible from the opposite gender. Sit away from them if you attend lectures and tutorials together. If you must work in groups, then work with the same gender. Study in the quiet areas, away from the other students.
14. Dress modestly in order not to attract the opposite gender or the sinners from the same gender. The brothers should wear modest pants (not body hugging/figure revealing ones), above the ankles, without imitating the disbelievers. Similarly, the sisters should wear proper Islamic clothes covering the entire body except the hands and face. Unduly beautifying yourself (clothes, brother's hair style, sisters make-up) will only attract the shaytaan to come and decrease your Emaan. Be merciful to yourself, since certainly Allah has been merciful to you!
15. Pray at the MSA (Muslim Students Association) with the Muslims whenever you are in the campus, during the obligatory prayers. Visit the masjid as much as you can.
16. Be in the company of righteous Muslims. "An individual is upon the religion (way) of one's close friend, so be careful who you take as a close friend" (Ahmad and others).
17. Set a time alone or with other righteous Muslims every day to read the Qur'an, study it, and study other obligatory knowledge. Read that which will increase your Emaan. Learn about Allah; His beautiful Names and Perfect Attributes. Read about the Life of Al Barzakh (the grave). Read about Jannah and the Fire.
18. Don't be shy to practice your religion. One of my professors asked us on the first day of class to write down everything which may prevent us from participating in the course. I wrote down everything I could remember such as working with opposite gender etc. and the professor tried to accommodate me throughout the course! Likewise, I had a test during the maghrib time in Ramadaan. I went to the professor right before the test and explained that I don't mind writing the test, but I would have to leave at sunset, to pray. He – may Allah guide him to Islam - told me that if 'I let you go during the test, I would have to send someone out with you and I don't want to do that. You can write the test another time'. " And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect. Whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a decreed extent" (Qur'an 65:2-3).
19. Work hard to free yourself from interest. Try finding a job which pays tuition reimbursement. It is only a favor from Allah, the Provider, that some brothers I know of, graduated debt free! They worked at UPS across the street from York University and UPS paid most of their tuition. Jaabir said: The Messenger of Allah – may Allah praise and send him peace - cursed (La’n) the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and the two who witness it, and he said: they are all the same "(Muslim). La'n means being distanced from the mercy of Allah! Which shows how severe this major sin is.
20. Seek forgiveness from Allah often. Our noble Messenger – may Allah praise and send him peace - used to do so more than 100 times a day!
"Allah wants to accept your repentance, but those who follow their desires want you to digress into a great deviation. And Allah wants to lighten for you your difficulties; and people were created weak" (Qur'an 4:27-28).
May Allah protect you from all that which may lead to the decrease of your Emaan. May He, the Truth, keep you firm upon His way until your last day.
Your brother,
Granit Binaku