abby
14-11-2004, 06:01 AM
Salamu'alaikum, it seems as if sunniforum has a relatively young crowd with many of us in university....as such, I'd like to pass on some advice based on experience insh'Allah.
Well, firstly, Alhamdulillah, many have found their way back to practising Islam through MSA, and many have converted as a result of dawah from brothers and sisters from the MSA.....may Allah give continued success to the brothers and sisters involved.
With that being said, MSA like any group, do have some faults that come with it...
Please keep in mind, that I'm referring to the average MSA group, if you happen to belong to an MSA that doesn't have some of the issues that I will insh'Allah explain, then may Allah keep it that way..
Firstly, what I've noticed is that very often, MSA can be alot about hype...and you can be leading a very exciting lifestyle...going from meeting to meeting, making contacts with other MSA's and various organizations, making a flashy poster for the next event...all this is alright, but way too often, I see people get so caught up into these activities, that they forget the essential things like reading Quran, going to the masjid, taking time to learn their fiqh, and know what's fard on them, etc...Remember withough doing these beneficial things that really give substance to a Muslim, you're going to be one hollow worker for Islam. No doubt, propogate Islam, but have a balance. Take care of your heart and your deen first, then give to the community....how can you expect to truly help others if you yourself are not working on being strong as an individual.
Secondly, and this is related to the first point, MSA can be extremely time consuming...if you allow it to. It can be so time consuming for some, that their families hardly see them, and their school marks slip. SubhanAllah, how can you be an activist for Islam, if you're not doing well in school...not only are you potentially ruinning your own future, but you're also being a poor example to non-Muslims, and fellow Muslims as well. And what kind of example are you being, if your mom and dad or at home always complaining about how they never get to see their son/daughter anymore....or if your kid brother/sister is sad at home because they can't spend time with you doing a fun activity like before..remember, your family has rights over you.. Another result of putting too much time into MSA, is that you'll burn out. Once again, make sure you allocate your time well to different activities in your life, and work on being balanced like the prophet(peace be upon him)....and don't get burnt out by the MSA system, it might make you resent it, and cause you to leave it completely.
Thirdly, as I said, MSA life can be very exciting, with you running around from meeting to meeting, and meeting this person and that person...and it seems like the higher you go up the ladder, the more people know you...you know what that means?...Huge chance for your nafs to get the better of you and for pride to step in...let's analyse the situation here.... now people are depending on you so much e-mailing you constantly, you have to head the next meeting, you have to oversee your MSA message board to check that it isn't getting out of hand...I mean c'mon you're a bigshot now.....right?.....wrong!..never let shaitan fool you, it's only because Allah has allowed you to do work for His sake that you're able to...if Allah wanted, he could take you out of that position in an instant..heck, without Allah's permission, you wouldn't even be able to lift up your finger....so why are you getting all worked up over yourself?..Just remember to keep thanking Allah for blessing you with such an oppurtunity..
Fourthly, never ever look down upon anybody. Being part of MSA, can create a sense of arrogance..."oh, I'm active in the MSA.....I have this position in the MSA...that guy doesn't even come to the meetings"....you NEVER know what the status one holds in the eyes of Allah. Let's not the forget the story of the black woman, who used to clean the masjid of the prophet(peace be upon him). One day he(peace be upon him) noticed her missing, and asked about her. They told him she passed away. He became displeased that they didn't tell him. Maybe for the others she was just another lady...but in the eyes of Allah and His prophet(peace be upon him)....subhanAllah, only Allah knows...so never belittle anyone, and always belittle yourself, and remain humble.
Fifthly, MSA is a dream come true for shaytan to come and to infect the believers with riyaa..which is basically to do acts that are pleasing to Allah, with the intention of pleasing others than Allah.....what happens often is that your name gets printed on a poster that everyone in your school or the local mosque, sees...or you start receiving many compliments on the great work you're doing....stuff like this can cause you to feel happy, and desire the praise of others. The prophet(pbuh) said.."Allah, the Exalted, does not accept any action unless it is done sincerely for Him, seeking His pleasure"..and he(peace be upon him) also said"Allah, the Exalted will say(to those practised riyaa) when He is taking account of people's deeds (on the day of judgement): ' Go to those who you used to show off your deeds to, and see if you will find any reward with them!"..may Allah purify our intentions...On the other hand,we are advised not to fall into the other trap of shaitan which is to lose the blessing of a good deed by avoiding it out of fear of riyaa. We are to strive to set our intentions right and keep doing good insh'Allah.
Sixth, Jealousy tends to occur alot within MSA. There are 2 brothers who are likely to be the next amir, one gets picked...how will the other feel?...He too, worked hard, right?...Well, if his intentions are right, it won't make a difference to him, in fact he won't even want the position because he know what a responsibility that is, and that Allah will hold people in these positions to account as to how they were as amirs/leaders/presidents.Always foster a feeling of brotherhood/sisterhood, work together as a team, and remember that you're working for Allah, not for your own ego.
Seventh, far too often, the communication between brothers and sisters within MSA is too loose...We've all heard of MSA horror stories, where the brother and sister started off just talking about MSA...then things get out of hand...make sure to limit talk to the opposite gender strictly to neccessary talk. Remember, we're not part of some fun club here... we're servants of Allah, we're different, and we must honourably carry out doing good for the ummah the way He has commanded. So don't forget to make sure the brothers and sisters, are properly segregated, and that a truly Islamic atmosphere is being cultivated.
Lastly, MSA is not your religion, Islam is your religion..I remember a brother (he was extremely active in the MSA at the time),who told me, that one time he got so caught up in MSA work, that he forgot to pray....I could not believe what I was hearing....subhanAllah. Just because you're active in your MSA doesn't mean you're safe. Your fard comes before anything. MSA is a means toward gaining baraqah, and coming closer to Allah, it isn't an end within itself.
Wassalam
Well, firstly, Alhamdulillah, many have found their way back to practising Islam through MSA, and many have converted as a result of dawah from brothers and sisters from the MSA.....may Allah give continued success to the brothers and sisters involved.
With that being said, MSA like any group, do have some faults that come with it...
Please keep in mind, that I'm referring to the average MSA group, if you happen to belong to an MSA that doesn't have some of the issues that I will insh'Allah explain, then may Allah keep it that way..
Firstly, what I've noticed is that very often, MSA can be alot about hype...and you can be leading a very exciting lifestyle...going from meeting to meeting, making contacts with other MSA's and various organizations, making a flashy poster for the next event...all this is alright, but way too often, I see people get so caught up into these activities, that they forget the essential things like reading Quran, going to the masjid, taking time to learn their fiqh, and know what's fard on them, etc...Remember withough doing these beneficial things that really give substance to a Muslim, you're going to be one hollow worker for Islam. No doubt, propogate Islam, but have a balance. Take care of your heart and your deen first, then give to the community....how can you expect to truly help others if you yourself are not working on being strong as an individual.
Secondly, and this is related to the first point, MSA can be extremely time consuming...if you allow it to. It can be so time consuming for some, that their families hardly see them, and their school marks slip. SubhanAllah, how can you be an activist for Islam, if you're not doing well in school...not only are you potentially ruinning your own future, but you're also being a poor example to non-Muslims, and fellow Muslims as well. And what kind of example are you being, if your mom and dad or at home always complaining about how they never get to see their son/daughter anymore....or if your kid brother/sister is sad at home because they can't spend time with you doing a fun activity like before..remember, your family has rights over you.. Another result of putting too much time into MSA, is that you'll burn out. Once again, make sure you allocate your time well to different activities in your life, and work on being balanced like the prophet(peace be upon him)....and don't get burnt out by the MSA system, it might make you resent it, and cause you to leave it completely.
Thirdly, as I said, MSA life can be very exciting, with you running around from meeting to meeting, and meeting this person and that person...and it seems like the higher you go up the ladder, the more people know you...you know what that means?...Huge chance for your nafs to get the better of you and for pride to step in...let's analyse the situation here.... now people are depending on you so much e-mailing you constantly, you have to head the next meeting, you have to oversee your MSA message board to check that it isn't getting out of hand...I mean c'mon you're a bigshot now.....right?.....wrong!..never let shaitan fool you, it's only because Allah has allowed you to do work for His sake that you're able to...if Allah wanted, he could take you out of that position in an instant..heck, without Allah's permission, you wouldn't even be able to lift up your finger....so why are you getting all worked up over yourself?..Just remember to keep thanking Allah for blessing you with such an oppurtunity..
Fourthly, never ever look down upon anybody. Being part of MSA, can create a sense of arrogance..."oh, I'm active in the MSA.....I have this position in the MSA...that guy doesn't even come to the meetings"....you NEVER know what the status one holds in the eyes of Allah. Let's not the forget the story of the black woman, who used to clean the masjid of the prophet(peace be upon him). One day he(peace be upon him) noticed her missing, and asked about her. They told him she passed away. He became displeased that they didn't tell him. Maybe for the others she was just another lady...but in the eyes of Allah and His prophet(peace be upon him)....subhanAllah, only Allah knows...so never belittle anyone, and always belittle yourself, and remain humble.
Fifthly, MSA is a dream come true for shaytan to come and to infect the believers with riyaa..which is basically to do acts that are pleasing to Allah, with the intention of pleasing others than Allah.....what happens often is that your name gets printed on a poster that everyone in your school or the local mosque, sees...or you start receiving many compliments on the great work you're doing....stuff like this can cause you to feel happy, and desire the praise of others. The prophet(pbuh) said.."Allah, the Exalted, does not accept any action unless it is done sincerely for Him, seeking His pleasure"..and he(peace be upon him) also said"Allah, the Exalted will say(to those practised riyaa) when He is taking account of people's deeds (on the day of judgement): ' Go to those who you used to show off your deeds to, and see if you will find any reward with them!"..may Allah purify our intentions...On the other hand,we are advised not to fall into the other trap of shaitan which is to lose the blessing of a good deed by avoiding it out of fear of riyaa. We are to strive to set our intentions right and keep doing good insh'Allah.
Sixth, Jealousy tends to occur alot within MSA. There are 2 brothers who are likely to be the next amir, one gets picked...how will the other feel?...He too, worked hard, right?...Well, if his intentions are right, it won't make a difference to him, in fact he won't even want the position because he know what a responsibility that is, and that Allah will hold people in these positions to account as to how they were as amirs/leaders/presidents.Always foster a feeling of brotherhood/sisterhood, work together as a team, and remember that you're working for Allah, not for your own ego.
Seventh, far too often, the communication between brothers and sisters within MSA is too loose...We've all heard of MSA horror stories, where the brother and sister started off just talking about MSA...then things get out of hand...make sure to limit talk to the opposite gender strictly to neccessary talk. Remember, we're not part of some fun club here... we're servants of Allah, we're different, and we must honourably carry out doing good for the ummah the way He has commanded. So don't forget to make sure the brothers and sisters, are properly segregated, and that a truly Islamic atmosphere is being cultivated.
Lastly, MSA is not your religion, Islam is your religion..I remember a brother (he was extremely active in the MSA at the time),who told me, that one time he got so caught up in MSA work, that he forgot to pray....I could not believe what I was hearing....subhanAllah. Just because you're active in your MSA doesn't mean you're safe. Your fard comes before anything. MSA is a means toward gaining baraqah, and coming closer to Allah, it isn't an end within itself.
Wassalam