The Quran and the education of the youth in the present age
The Holy Qur’an approves some of the characteristics that the youth of today have and cultivates them in order that its teachings can be driven home. To imbue its teachings in Towhid (oneness) the Qur’an first relieves the minds of people of the memory of idols and false deities which man has conceived for him, and creates doubt as relates to them.
Then by presenting strong reasons as to the veracity of the Oneness of Allah (Tawhid) calls Unitarians to believe in God more profoundly. Hence raising doubt in the minds of people has somehow been followed by the Qur’an.
The youth of today doubts everything. They renounce dogmatism and indisputable acceptance. They require appropriate reasons for every act.. The privileges that the people of the past age entrusted to the chieftains and trustees of the Holy Ka’ba are known by the youth of today to be unjust discrimination. The youth of today believe that all individuals are on the same footing in the sight of the Islamic law (Shariah).
Surah 104: The Slanderer (Humazah). “Woe to every slanderer, defamer, Who amasses wealth and considers it a provision (against mishap). He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal. Nay! He shall most certainly be hurled into the Hutamah (crushing disaster), And what will make you realize what the Hutamah (crushing disaster) is? It is the fire kindled by Allah, Which rises above hearts. Surely it shall be closed over upon them, In extended columns.”
A Psychological Glance
With the use of the word ‘Weil’ in the above Surah, which means destruction or a bottomless well in Hell, it gives news of faultfinders and slanderers fall into Hell. Or news of the result of their actions, which is a definite casting into Hell. It seeks to inform those who desire perfection and the attainment of sublime qualities to deter from such unacceptable actions.
The Reasons for Mockery and Ways of Prevention
The Holy Qur’an in this Surah then embarks on the reasons for mockery and why people attain these harmful and deep-rooted characteristics. Wealth, materialism and the belief that money can solve all problems are amongst the reasons stated. And on the other hand, in order to prevent contracting this disease one or more of the three shameful foundations need to be destroyed: not collecting money and properties, avoiding materialism – constantly counting and thinking about increasing one’s assets; or at least not depend on it and not view these material things as the only savior to all difficulties. It needs to be understood that money cannot spare one from death.
With a closer look it will be discovered that these three bases are not equivalent or on the same level; rather they are three stages. The first point is that man doesn’t seek to accumulate properties, and views the world as insignificant. If he cannot do this and for particular reasons prefers wealth, then he must not love it. He must not be proud because of it, because signs of pride due to wealth lead to vanity, egotism, and the viewing of others as lowly and abject. At the third level if he is over-powered by carnal desires and materialism, at least he should accept a power greater than money, so that he can control himself at all times. If a person reaches this stage, where he thinks that money can even raise the dead; he makes fun of others, and insults them, he will have a surprise in store.
Relation Between Hutamah and Ultra-Violet Rays
Hutamah means to break or crush. The Qur’an though does not specify what is crushed. It can be assumed though, noting the previous verse that it means the crushing of personal pride. Faultfinders and slanderers view themselves as better than others. The Qur’an tells of the fact that this group will be thrown into a crushing place in the same way that rays are thrown and this takes place in the after life. Now if we take a look at the Qur’anic verses from a scientific point of view, they embody other mysteries. If we ask any schoolboy or university student or even the men in the street, what is the substance that is soft, shining and burning? What can it be? They answer quickly that it is an ultra-violet ray. Because of their short wave lengths, they easily penetrate through substances. For this reason sometimes ultra-violate rays cannot penetrate bones, so that radiography becomes impossible. Unlike ordinary rays that move conically, ultra-violet rays move cylindrically and straight.
In the past, people did not understand the Qur’an scientifically but now people read the Qur’an and draw there from scientific proofs. Today, they remove kidney stones from the urinary canal or malignant cells are diagnosed and destroyed in this way.
Perhaps that is why Allah says to the best, noblest, greatest man He has created, that is, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) that he knows nothing of Hutamah. When the Prophet (SAW) does knows nothing of Hutamah, then how can we know?
The youth of today want to know the real fact of thing and the Qur’an has given to remote hint. They mystery of ultra-violet that was revealed since 14 centuries ago, but there has been no one to delve in the Qur’an in quest of knowledge. The Qur’an is a treasure of immense knowledge with no one diligently and earnestly inquest of it.
The Qur’an embodies thousand of mysteries and scientists have to know thousands of unknown things. But no one is desirous even to be benefited there from.
Practical Applications for the Youth
Are the desired characteristics of the youth mentioned in the Qur’an where there is deviation, how does the Qur’an suggest dealing with them?
- Young people are opposed to direct training and they don’t want to be singled out. We see that the Qur’an doesn’t address anyone in particular. It doesn’t mention city, village, Arab or non-Arab and so on.
- The young people of today enjoy discovering the meaning of secrets and codes, and the Qur’an holds many secrets. The youth of today needs to uncover the inner meanings of the verses of the Qur’an and not be satisfied with only the outer meanings.
- The young people of today are realists and the Qur’an expresses things as they are.
- Since many doubts arise for today’s youth it is possible that doubts arise concerning this topic. It is possible that they may doubt the existence of Resurrection and Allah’s power to create such a devastating fire. But if they pay attention to or their attention drawn to this and other Surahs, which were revealed to produce its like, they will discover Allah’s great power. In the same way that the Qur’an is composed on ordinary words and letters, which are eternal, Allah can also create such a terrible punishment from ordinary light.
- Today’s youth are in search of justice and freedom. The Qur’an also follows these ideals as seen in this Surah where faultfinders and slanderers are attacked so that because of their wealth and status they don’t ridicule and mock others, so that they understand the concept of equality between men.
- Nowadays the youth doesn’t succumb to complete servitude without asking why? The Qur’an also doesn’t invite anyone to complete servitude rather along with every order is its philosophy, wisdom, reason and purpose. It continuously invites man to ponder upon the signs of creation and within themselves. Even the reasons for prayer, fasting, ablution and ghusl (the greater ablution) are mentioned in it.
- The youth of today want to work like detectives in search of very distant reasons and proofs for what is reality. The Qur’an expresses such reasons, but when man cannot understand them, the Qur’an again expresses other reasons and proofs. The Qur’an had described ultra-violet 1,400 years ago but there was no one to discover it. No one was interested in such a science.
Even today there are many undiscovered facts with many various opinions and hypotheses but few people if any seek out these answers and solutions from the Book of Allah in which it states that ‘everything has been expressed’. Get help from the Qur’an start with the distant reasons.
Relation of the Qur’an with the Youth of Today
From what has been so far mentioned which is but a translation brief explanation of the above Surah and it’s relevance to the youth of the present age reveals that the Qur’an is a fountain of knowledge which everyone needs to drink from for life. The Qur’an is a limpid fountain of knowledge that all human beings want to take a drink there from to quench their thirst. The problem is that many do not go towards this fountain. The youth of today are lovers separated from their beloved, the Qur’an. They no longer know one another. For this very reason the Prophet (SAW) complained to his Lord: “O Lord! My people have forgotten all about the Qur’an.”
If we make our main objective familiarizing the youth be they Muslim or non-Muslim, with the Holy Qur’an, we need to ourselves become familiar with the ethical and scientific treasures hidden there. If we can do this then we will be able to reunite the youth with the Holy Qur’an. And if we are not successful then we will make the words of the Prophet (SAW) come true.