Our Youth and the Intellectual Disturbance
Be aware!
The intellectual and theological disturbance and perplexity our teenagers are exposed to today through social media, eventually, if we don't immediately and seriously react, our younger children may even be its advocates!
The level of exposure to misleading information that the smart devices generation are confronting is appalling. The same is practiced through main stream media and even children's cartoons!
Our duty, as parents, is to initiate preemptive intellectual actions to safeguard our children. And ensure that they know the source for sound information and know how to confidently disassociate themselves from the unsound one.
Imagine this petrifying scenario, which, sadly, happened for some families within some Islāmic countries. Your son or daughter gets influenced by his/her peers on social media, decides to disaffiliate himself from Islām and goes to extreme to question the existence of God! This means, Islām in your family is going to terminate with you. Later, your children or grandchildren may recall by saying our father or forefather was Muslim!
In order to preclude such annoying prediction, it is incumbent upon us to take the following actions:
First and foremost, we need to establish the fundamentals of belief within ourselves and families through reading and acquiring sound knowledge from credible scholars.
Strongly comprehend the proofs of God existence, Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad pbuh, divinity of the Qur'an and credibility and authenticity of Islām. At this stage make sure you share this knowledge with your children.
Get acquainted with contemporary doubts by reading and watching the refutations of scholars and specialized students of knowledge. And utterly avoid directly reading or watching what the adversaries of Islām are promulgating.
Establish a close relation with your children and be more of a friend to them than just a father or mother.
Make them feel comfortable to share with you whatever goes in their mind.
Never leave a doubt unanswered. If you fail to answer any of them, read, ask others and share with them the answer. Be calm, confident, articulate and logical when presenting your answers and arguments to them.
Every once and then show them documentaries which display Allāh's fascinating creation and attribute all that to Allāh's Majesty.
Be selective on what your children watch and read.
Before all that and throughout this mission, seek Allāh's support and perpetually supplicate to Him with sincerity to grant you success.
Bear in mind, our children are our utmost valuable asset; we'll spare every possible effort to safeguard them; and we'd rather die but not lose them!
