We will try to describe the average young Pakistani in today’s world. (This may apply to all youngsters around the world) + (This could apply to females but for the sake of this article, we will use ‘he’ as most of our interaction on the streets is with the guys!)
If you feel you can relate to this, then please read the article till the end.
Reflect upon this deeply. Remember, Allah knows us better than we know ourselves- and the first step to correcting ourselves is to realise where we’re going wrong!
We have observed that your average youngster will sin so much on a daily level, that we fear, it will come back to bite him later in his life and definitely in the hereafter. No matter how menial it may seem at the time, this is divinely guaranteed to happen.
“..And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
Surat Az-Zalzalah (The Earthquake) – سورة الزلزلة 99.8
The moment you step outside your house, if you see a female dressed in bright clothing, you will crane your neck to see her better. You’ll want to see her face and the whole of her. Just a couple of seconds- that’s all, before you move on..
Is this you?
When your parents call you and ask you to do them a ‘favour’, for example, “Betaa, waapsi par thora sa doodh le anaa,” (Get some milk on the way home), you will most probably mutter “ufff” or “oho” or wear a frown on your face. Don’t your parents realise that the shops are completely out of your way, and that you already have a lot on your mind?
Whilst you are walking towards your school or college, your friends who are in a car, drive up beside you offering a lift. You jump in. There is loud music blaring through the sound system. There are swear words in the song. There are detailed lyrics describing the body of a woman. You and your friends listen attentively and nod your heads in approval throughout the whole journey. You’re having a good time chilling, that’s all.
Does this happen to you?
Whilst playing cricket or football on the streets or on a pitch, a slightly mistaken decision takes place and for some reason, it boils your blood, gets you very angry and makes you lash out. Long before you know it you begin swearing at your opponents, followed by flying fists. You need to teach these kids a lesson. You need to teach them who’s boss.
Recently, you’ve gotten to know this girl from school or college/university. You started off with being ‘just friends’ a few months ago, but now strong feelings have developed. You exchange text messages all night long. You are secretly speaking to her on the phone, trying to keep your voice low, so that your parents do not hear you. You send her Facebook messages. You sometimes use whatsapp or viber. The nature of these messages, becomes increasingly ‘flirtatious’. What began as innocent compliments like ‘you have amazing eyes,’ have now been upgraded to ‘that top you were wearing earlier got my heart racing ‘ and so on and so forth…
Because we don’t consider most of the things above as ‘sins’, we increasingly justify our actions with excuses like:
‘That was only a 2-second lustful glance’,
or
‘I’m listening to music but not producing it’
or
‘I’m very close to a girl from college but at least I don’t have a physically intimate relationship with her’,
or
‘all I said was ‘uff’ to my parents, I’m not exactly swearing at them or abusing them physically’,
or
‘Ok I get angry during matches, but I’m not spilling blood and it’s not anger…it’s passion!’.
We all have a thousand excuses ready at a split second, don’t we?
Yes, indeed, you could argue all the above but think about it for a moment …are they not still SINS?!
And if you multiply these daily, weekly, monthly and for years, will they not add up? Don’t these so called small sins lead to major ones? Don’t they create a habit so bad, that it’s almost impossible to rid yourself of them?
The above were just a small fraction of potential sins that the average youth commit today; there are many many more that we tend to overlook.
After going through the list, do think about all the actions that you engage in daily. Maybe there are certain acts you commit, which you genuinely do not consider as a sin or a ‘Gunnah’, but which fall into the category. The only way you could identify if something is an error in the sight of your Creator is by seeking knowledge about that act, and by studying religion. Knowledge is truly the only way to dispel darkness.
To conclude, if you have realized that you have committed way too many sins and want to change but your mind keeps telling you that it is too late (and that you’ve gone too far) then do not worry. Satan, as man’s enemy, is making you feel helpless and defeated. Take up the offer of repentance that Allah gives to you with open arms, regardless of what your mind tells you. Sincere tawbah (repentance) can help you inshaAllah. Take strength from the following powerful Hadith gives great hope for all of us:
Allah, the Almighty, has said:
“O Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins as great as the earth, and were you then to face Me ascribing no partners to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it!” (Hadith Qudsi)
Sincerely,the YC Street Dawah team.
