Dilemmas of the Muslim student: Between Clubbing & the Qur’an
Muslims at university are faced with
many problems, obstacles and challenges. Whether they are in
their home cities or have moved, having left home for the first time.
They prepare themselves for the problems of coping with the workload,
organising their time, accommodation and coursework. Although these problems
are real and cannot be overlooked they are just the tip of the iceberg.
Ironically in the first week at university the first problems they face will
not be organising their time or coping with the workload. In the first weeks
they’re likely to be invited to a party by their department, their colleagues
will invite them to go clubbing and the Student Union will invite everyone to a
pub-crawl. At the fresher’s fair every society will
try and sign them up including the clubbing society with their promises of
cheap beer and discounts at the clubs and the Asian society who will be
promoting their “bhangra do’s” and parties.
This leaves Muslims with a real dilemma: should we go with the flow and
compromise our identity or stick to our principles and risk being called
“anti-social”. So how do Muslim students face this dilemma?
Differing responses
Some people will accept everything from the Kufr
society wholeheartedly and totally forget Islam. So they may not pray all year
and when non-Muslims attack Islam they may even agree. This is seen as extreme;
more commonly people choose to take the ‘middle ground’. So they enjoy the pubs
and clubs but still pray on a Friday, they would indulge in drugs but would
never touch a ham sandwich.
As term progresses, more and more Muslims forget Islam until this becomes
normality. This is the natural consequence of taking the common ground. Surely
the one who drinks but does not get drunk is compromising Islam.
Accepting compromise is the basic reason behind the identity crisis within
Muslims at university. Compromise is what leads people to ‘relax’ some parts of
Islam that don't seem to fit in to their new lifestyle. This is why many
Muslims limit Islam to something they do every Friday or when they return home
for the holidays.
Many see nothing wrong with the ideas of “live life to the max” or “you only
live once”, dreaming that after student life they will settle down and then
think about Islam. Others may fully engage in their study, greeting fellow
Muslims with complimentary Assalamu Alaikum, but leave Islam on the shelf.
Muslims may even lose their emotion for Islam, becoming numb to the problems
the Muslims are facing around the world, justifying to themselves
that it doesn’t directly affect them or that they are only problems for the
people of that nationality.
An Invitation to
Think
As Muslims, we are always in danger of falling into the traps of society, of
abandoning our beliefs or relegating Islam to “spiritual issues” alone. In fact
we must question ourselves and ensure that we understand our life. We are
taught not to question the basic yet most fundamental questions in life; “Why
am I Muslim?”, "What is my purpose in life?", "Is there anything
after death?"
These questions, although basic, may be sidelined or ignored by us and often
remain confused in our minds. Some of us may be dumbstruck with the question
of, “Why are you Muslim?" Others may answer, “Because my parents are”, yet
if posed with the same question about their choice of bank account or degree
course they would reply with an elaborate answer.
Some of us when posed with this question may say, “Islam is the truth” but when
questioned further as to how to prove the truth of Islam they would give a
vague reply.
We need to realise that Islam is the definite truth. Islam is not a belief like
those of other religions and creeds, which resort to notions like, "I can
feel Jesus in my heart that’s why I’m Christian", or "Man is free to
do as he pleases because he is good in nature". Rather we know for sure
that Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) exists and that
the Qur’an is the word of Allah (Subhanahu
Wa Ta’aala). The proof of
Allah’s (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) existence is
found in our surroundings, which leads to the fact that everything in the
universe could not have resulted out of nothing as some may have us believe.
Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) has emphasised
this in many places in the Qur’an. He (Subhanahu Wa
Ta’aala) says:
إِنَّ
فِي خَلْقِ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالأَرْضِ
وَاخْتِلاَفِ
اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ
لآيَاتٍ
لِّأُوْلِي
الألْبَابِ
"Verily, in the creation of heavens
and earth, and in the difference between night and day are signs for those who
have minds" [TMQ Ale-Imran: 190]
We should acquire the knowledge of our belief and our identity so that we have
no doubts and can easily refute any of the erroneous arguments that the society
bombards us with.
Sticking to Islam
As Muslims having firm belief in Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) and certainty in the
fact that the Qur’an is guidance from Him, we can
build our lives according to Islam and must shun the notions of freedom and
"live life to the max" that create a society where rape is common on
university campuses and where crime has become a norm which students attempt to
protect their property from.
Applying Islam selectively in our lives is tantamount to burning the pages of
the Qur’an. We should realise that restricting Islam
to the mosque or merely Halal food is compromising
our position both in this life and in the hereafter. We are accountable for all
our actions and upon this basis Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala)
will assign to us Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hellfire).
أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ
بِبَعْضِ
الْكِتَابِ
وَتَكْفُرُونَ
بِبَعْضٍ
فَمَا جَزَاء
مَن يَفْعَلُ
ذَلِكَ
مِنكُمْ
إِلاَّ
خِزْيٌ فِي
الْحَيَاةِ
الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ
الْقِيَامَةِ
يُرَدُّونَ
إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ
“So do you believe in some part of the
Book and disbelieve in some. The penalty awaiting those who do this is nothing
but humiliation in this life and the severest of punishment on the Day of
Judgment” [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 85].
Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) has warned us
about partaking in the evil gatherings that take place in nightclubs, raves, “bhangra do’s” and the like. Allah (Subhanahu
Wa Ta’aala)
says;
وَتَعَاوَنُوا
عَلَى
الْبِرِّ
وَالتَّقْوَى
وَلَا
تَعَاوَنُوا
عَلَى الْإِثْمِ
وَالْعُدْوَانِ
"Cooperate in righteousness and
piety, and don't cooperate in sin and transgression" [TMQ Al-Ma’idah: 2].
A Muslim must take care to stay away from environments that are dominated by
boyfriend-girlfriend relationships and pre-marital sex. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has encouraged us to control our lust and our
speech.
Sahl ibn Sa’d (ra)
narrated that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said,
من
يضمن لي ما
بين لحييه وما
بين رجليه
أضمن له الجنة
“Whoever can guarantee what is between his two jaw-bones and what is
between his two legs, I guarantee
If we are tempted by intoxicants such as alcohol or drugs whether in large or
small quantities, we should take heed of the words of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) who said:
كل
مسكر حرام ،
وما أسكر منه
الفرق فملء
الكف منه حرام
"All intoxicants are unlawful, of whatever thing a large quantity
intoxicates; even a small quantity is prohibited" [An-Nawawi].
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said,
لا
يزني الزاني
حين يزني وهو
مؤمن ، ولا
يشرب الخمر
حين يشرب وهو
مؤمن ، ولا يسرق
حين يسرق وهو
مؤمن
“No
fornicator commits fornication in the state of being a believer so long as he
is busy in committing it. No thief commits theft in the state of being a
believer so long as he commits this. No drunkard drinks in the state of being a
believer so long as he is busy in drinking” [Agreed upon].
This advice is not aimed at attacking Muslims who don’t follow Islam; rather it
is an advice that is aimed at provoking thought in all of us to enable us to
follow the truth.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) said,
المؤمن
مرآة أخيه ،
إذا رأى فيه
عيباً أصلحه
"Each
of you is the mirror of his brother, so if he sees any fault in him he should
wipe it away from him" [Tirmidhi].
Whilst at university individuals spend hours of thought upon the topics of
their courses and even their social lives. It would be hypocritical not to
think about their belief and their way of life. The most definite thing in life
is death, it would be irrational for us to ignore the
inevitable and attempt to escape thinking about it as so many of the
non-Muslims do.
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said,
“The
clever one is he who disciplined himself and worked for what is after death,
and the feeble one is he who followed his desires, then made (vain) prayers to
Allah.”
If any of us haven't started to think about Islam seriously, now is as good a
time as any. Those of us that are practicing Islam should ensure that we do not
become complacent and should do our utmost to develop our Islamic personality
and guide those around us.
It is important that whilst at university we keep an Islamic atmosphere amongst
Muslim students, we should also support the Islamic activities taking place
such as talks, seminars and debates. This atmosphere will help us to remain
strong amidst the tide of Kufr at university.
Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) says,
قُلْ
لَا
يَسْتَوِي
الْخَبِيثُ
وَالطَّيِّبُ
وَلَوْ
أَعْجَبَكَ كَثْرَةُ
الْخَبِيثِ
فَاتَّقُوا
اللَّهَ يَا
أُولِي
الْأَلْبَابِ
لَعَلَّكُم تُفْلِحُونَ
"The good and the evil are not
alike even if the evil looks like the good and is followed by the majority. So
fear Allah, O you that understand; that (so) you may prosper" [TMQ Al-Ma’idah: 100].
Abdul-Hamid Jassat