Chapter Two: Young People areAttracted
to Religion
“If a faithful young person reads the Qur’an, the Qur’an will be mixed with his flesh and blood and will affect all the members of his body.”
ImamJa‘far
Sadiq
Interest in religion is one of the intrinsic human inclinations that emerge in young people as they mature and like other natural inclinations, it urges them to make certain efforts.
Young people by nature are strongly interested in understanding religious issues. Therefore, they openly accept discourses on religion with love and interest. This opinion is held by many great thinkers and educational psychologists.
John B. Cyzyl said, “According to tests that have been carried out, generally the force of faith in religion begins at the age of twelve.”
According to most scientists, at the age of twelve, i.e. the beginning of youth, another interest emerges in young people and this is love of and interest in religion.
This tendency develops along with the other natural interests and inclinations in young people and increases until it reaches its peak at the age of sixteen.
As a result, young people are troubled by the wrongdoings and bad conduct of others and lament the deviations of others while always seeking the development of moral virtues throughout the world and attempting to promote true values.
The Effect of Religious Teachings upon the Youth
The teaching of religious precepts and the development of faith and moral virtues among young people have two great effects:
1. The intrinsic religious feelings in youth are thus satisfied.
2. The force of belief and religion controls the other natural and instinctive feelings in young people and prevents them from going to extremes or becoming rebellious. Consequently, they are saved and protected against misfortune and misery.
It is important to note that Islam has developed programs for training and for increasing faith and morals as essential aspects of the most basic elements for the development of young people in harmony with their intrinsic needs.
Therefore, when the desire to learn more about religion is aroused in the youth and they become interested in learning religious precepts, without wasting this opportunity, religious leaders must offer them constructive religious programs and encourage them to learn the Qur’an, religious precepts, ways of serving [God], ways of preventing violations and concentrating on doing good.
Imam Sadiq said, “One who reads the Qur’an, if he is a faithful young person, the Qur’an will become mixed with his flesh and blood and will affect all the members of his body.”
He also said, “Boys play to the age of seven, learn writing for seven years and learn the religious permissions and prohibitions for seven years.”
Imam Baqir said, “If I see a young Shi‘ite, who is not learning religious precepts and who compromises this responsibility, I will punish him.”
Therefore, young people who want to grow up with valuable moral and human qualities and who want to acquire the brightest spiritual personalities, exercise control over their personal desires in normal and critical conditions and spend their lives in purity and righteousness, must pay attention to religious beliefs from the beginning of youth and, by applying practical programs and following religious orders, consolidate their spiritual commitment with God and always remember Him.
The Result of Inattention to the Religious Feelings of the Youth
Inattention to the feelings of adolescents and young people contradicts the nature of creation. Refusing the orders and regulations of creation will not remain unpunished because the result of these refusals will be increased perversities and the uncontrollability of the youth throughout the world. Statistics show that crimes committed by youth are increasing in the western world and in countries that are away from religion and religious beliefs. Such tendencies towards violations, theft, breaking laws, inattention to education and the acquisition of knowledge, drug addiction and promiscuity are the outcome of a faithless upbringing and violating the laws of creation because sins and impurity are the result of irreligiousness which makes life undesirable for young people and difficult for all.
Therefore, in modern countries today, the issue of young people is one of the biggest social problems which occupy the minds of scholars.
The 3rd United Nations Congress for the Prevention of Crimes and Control of Criminals, which was held in Stockholm with the participation of thousands of judges, sociologists and police, ended after one week of meetings. In this Congress, all the countries of the world were asked to rise up against juvenile delinquency and take the necessary steps for the prevention of such crimes of which the world has grown tired.
The National Crime Prevention Committee (Canada), Annual Report, 1991, stated:
“In 1991, 1,200,000 children lived in poverty, 500,000 of whom were less than 7 years old, and who had the highest delinquency rate. The cause of the crimes of these children was parental inattention and watching violent TV programs and movies.
“Children growing up in highly violent families are seven times more likely to commit suicide than those growing up in other families. This group is 24 times more prone than their peers to sexual violation and 76% of delinquent children in the United States are from among such families.
“The cause of murder of 63% of the fathers killed by their children who were between the ages of 11 to 20 was that these children had witnessed domestic violence in the home, i.e. their fathers beating their mothers.”
The 1993 report by the National Advisory Council for the Status of Women in Canada stated:
“Every 17 minutes, one woman in Canada is sexually assaulted and 25% of Canadian women are surely sexually assaulted once in their lifetime while 50% of the men assaulting women are so-called respectable married men of the Canadian society and 49% of such assaults are done in daylight. 80% of assaulted women are between the ages of 14 and 24.
“In 1993, 26.8% of female students in Canadian universities and colleges were sexually assaulted by male students and 13.6% of these assaults were committed while intoxicated.
One out of three females and one out of six males were sexually violated by the age of 18 and 98% of the criminals were young people.
“80% of children less than 10 years of age, whether male or female, are sexually violated by their fathers and therefore, sexual relations between fathers and daughters are increasing.
“It is worthy of note that 80% of incarcerated juveniles have confessed that they were sexually assaulted by their parents or other men in childhood.”
The Prophet and Youth
Young people are by nature, fond of truth, piety and salvation. Therefore, they are very keen to do right and good. They take pleasure in doing so and always think of piety and divine values while trying to base their words and deeds on righteousness and true values.
Young people regret when they see that others are not following the right path and they suffer on seeing people doing wrong. They also think that they should gain the power to prevent such unrighteousness.
When the Prophet publicly invited the people to Islam, the first people who followed him were young people. The important point to note is that these youth were the sons and daughters of the nobles, rich and renowned families of the Quraysh.
The youth who were tired of the miserable conditions of the backward Arab nation, and the outdated superstitious practices of the Age of Ignorance, warmly welcomed the spiritually liberating invitation of the Prophet of Islam.
The valuable words of the Prophet were effective for all walks of life but the young people expressed more interest than others. The Prophet’s words responded to their internal thoughts and nourished their spirits. When Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr, the Prophet’s special representative for teaching the Qur’an and propagating Islamic teachings arrived in Madinah, the number of young people who accepted his teachings was larger than that of the elderly. Mus‘ab resided inAs‘ad
ibn Zararah’s house. During the day, he would go to where the Khazraj tribes gathered and invite them to Islam and mostly young people accepted his invitation.
The Struggle of the Youth against the Ideas of the Age of Ignorance
As we have already mentioned, the valuable words of the Prophet of Islam made a great impact on the youth, to the extent that they would defend their religion and religious beliefs at all times and in all places and would resist the ideas of the Age of Ignorance.
Sa‘d
ibn Malik was one of the passionate young Muslims during the early period of Islam. He converted to Islam at the age of seventeen, expressed his faithfulness to Islam and his opposition to ignorant ideas everywhere. This caused the polytheists to persecute him. In order to be safe from persecution, young people would pray during the day in the mountain passes of Meccan so as not be seen by the Quraysh infidels.
One day a group of infidels saw some young people engaged in worship. They began deriding them and insulting their beliefs.
This madeSa‘d
ibn Malik very angry. He took a camel’s chin bone and struck one of the polytheists on the head so hard that it began to bleed. This was the first bloodshed in defense of Islam.
On another occasionSa‘d
said, “I loved my mother very much and was very kind to her. When she found out about my conversion to Islam, she said to me, ‘O son, what religion is this that you have adopted? You shall give it up and remain an idol-worshipper or else I will stop eating and drinking until I die!’
Sa‘d
, who loved her mother very much, told her politely and kindly, “I will not give up my faith and I ask you not to stop eating and drinking.” But his mother did not pay any attention and did not eat for one whole day and night. She thought Sa‘d would give up his faith, rather he told her, “I swear by God, if you have one thousand souls and you lose them one by one, I still will not give up my faith!” When his mother realized that he would not abandon his faith under any circumstances, she began eating again.”
Sa‘d fought against the mode of thinking prevalent during the Age of Ignorance and the other young people joined him and broke the idols, destroyed idol temples, eliminated oppression and founded a new society based on faith, knowledge, piety and moral values. In this way they brought the most backward nation to the highest degree of spiritual perfection and moral values.
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Author: Muhammad Ali Chenarani
