Youth Development in Islam

Islam, as a religion and a state, believes so much in taking care of its citizens according to their ages and status. It recognizes the fact that everything except Allah, has a beginning and shall have an end.

That is why the existence of man on earth has been categorised into four stages:

Infanthood

Childhood

 Adulthood

Old Age

The youth chronologically fall between the childhood and the adulthood ages.

 Some scholars describe the youth age as a transition from childhood to adulthood.

In Nigeria, the youth are defined by the National Youth Policy as “young persons (boy/girl) of ages between eighteen and thirty-five years. This nearly conforms with the Islamic scholars description of the youth as young person’s attaining  puberty till the mature age of forty.

This is evident in Qur’an 46:15: “... at length when he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years...”, whereas some scholars opined that a youth is a person between ages 15 and 30.

Notwithstanding the variance in this categorisation;  the youth is a stage when the child develops the intellectual strength to learn and develop the skills needed for a sustainable future. It is a period when the parents are expected to equip their wards adequately, give them the spiritual, intellectual, academic and ethical training that will enable them to be both spiritually and financially independent in the future.  The Holy Prophet (SAW) says, “... maximise the good use of your youthful age before serenity sets in...”

Islamic history has more than enough to reach the present day Muslim youths on how our scholars utilised their childhood to acquire knowledge and later became reference points to their contemporaries. If any nation is to develop at all, the leaders of that nation would not only propound policies on the development of their youth but also establish institutions that are well equipped to train the youth and engage them in useful endeavors 

To achieve this, the youth, in the first instance, must be made to know the essence of creation by understanding Allah (SWT) as their creator and sustainer.

In Suratul Kahf (Qur’an chapter 18: 9-24), Almighty Allah relates the story of some youths and how they later developed their nation.  People of the cave (Ashabu Kahf) where seven young lads out of their ardent desire  to meet Allah’s pleasure shunned idolatry  and embraced true monotheism, Allah (SWT) increased them in guidance.

Islam abhors idleness as well as engaging in unproductive activities that is why the perfect curriculum (Al-Qur’an) stipulates that the child should be well brought up on the threshold  of true faith (Iman). Faith is the bedrock of Islamic ideology.

Youth development is a very important pre-requisite to the bright future of any society. Muslims who constitute over sixty per cent of the population of this country are faced with the challenges of training their children and giving them a balanced education that enables them play the role of future leaders well.

 In the first instance, the child should be made to identify his Lord and creator as Allah (SWT).

This is evident in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Abass (R.A) where the Holy Prophet (SAW) held him and said:  “O young lad; be conscious of Allah (SWT), you’ll find Allah (SWT)  at your disposal  always; be conscious of Allah (SWT), Allah (SWT) shall take care of your needs, if you must ask for anything, ask Allah (SWT) and if you must seek assistance, seek  Allah’s assistance ...” This beautiful advice of the holy prophet applies to every fertile soul for true Iman (faith) to germinate and grow.

Essentially, a growing child should have his feet established on true belief.This is closely followed by the child’s knowledge of servitude to Allah (SWT) as primary purpose of creation.  The Prophet (SAW) enjoined us to command our children to observe the five daily prayers at age of seven and be reprimanded for abandoning solat at age of 10, then separate their bedrooms. At this age, the child is taught simple etiquette of eating, drinking, sleeping, dressing, kindness to parents, attending to guests or visitors etc. The child before attaining the youth age should learn good characters and behaviors from their parents and teachers both at the madrasah (Arabic School) and western schools.

The youth at the age of learning should be at school (whether secondary, vocational or tertiary) to lay a solid foundation for the future. In developing youth, Islam stipulates that we train our children in striving (positively), swimming and riding so that they can develop the spirit of escaping from danger and also self-defense.

The present day Nigerian youths tread the path of perdition instead of the path of salvation. This manifests in their reluctant attitude towards learning with sweat and obtaining credible certificate, their blind love for football and gambling where precious time is wasted and their own potential buried. Our youths prefer fun to hard work and desire pleasure against creativity, their thirst for cheap wealth has reached its climax and that constitutes nuisance to our development.  Anticipating a brighter future for our society, parents, teachers and especially the government are called upon to salvage the ugly situation on ground by designing good programmes for the youth, especially in the area of sound education, that do not  exclude religion, providing jobs for the unemployed youth, promulgating and adequately implementing the laws that bar the youth and entire populace  from all forms of corrupt practices like examination malpractices, drug addiction, robbery, fornication, adultery, among others.

The supreme goal of Islam is a peaceful society and this can only be achieved  if the Muslims resort to engaging their youths more in the mosques for Qur’an memorisation, hadith expositions, listening to sermons on weekly basis to instill the fear of Allah (SWT)  in their hearts and creating more Islamic scholars in them.

Islamic oganisations, which include NGOs and Institutions, should introduce youth orientation programs and event to give an average Muslim youth a sense of direction in life.