How Should Muslim In Non-Muslim Countrt Live - Part 4

Points For Safeguarding Deen And Iman:

I had already shared  some points in my previous posts. In this post the points that I will highlight are:

• Reading Religious Books. 
• Refraining From Haraam Wealth. 
• Keep Your Mother Tongue Alive In Your Homes. 

Reading Religious Books:

The next point is the reading of religious books. Although access to religious literature is not so easy in the West. There is now a growing amount of religious literature appearing in English. You should study religious books in English or whatever your mother tongue is. Even if you do not have time to read religious books yourself, you should still have them in the house, for it is possible that another family member make at the time to read them. If you have books in the home then Sooner Or Later someone will read and benefit from them.

Refraining From Haraam Wealth:

Saving yourself from haram wealth is also an extremely important point. It has been seen that the consequences of some sins are such that they give birth to many other sins. Haram wealth is just such a thing. When someone consumes haram the effects are so dangerous that as a consequence other aspects of his Iman become weak.
The scene and punishment of consuming haram aside, further Harms are:

• A consumer of haram starts finding difficulties in practicing upon Deen.
• A neglectful attitude towards Deen developes.
• One's children start to become disobedient and they start drifting away from Deen.

These are some of the consequences of consuming Haraam.
Haram wealth is extremely destructive. There are numerous avenues through which someone can get involved in haram wealth and they must all be avoided. Western countries in particular are centres of interest based transactions, thus you should save yourselves from interest. Neither a haram morsel of food nor a haram sip of drink must enter your homes.
You must also save yourselves from alcohol. Just as haram wealth invites many sins, alcohol is the mother of all evils, the root of all sins. When a person drinks alcohol his reason stops working. Therefore, you must save yourselves in every way you can from eating or drinking Haram.

Keep Your Mother Tongue Alive In Your Homes:

 The next point, which no doubt will be difficult, though not impossible, is to preserve the use of your mother tongue in your homes. With a little effort the problem surrounding this issue can be solved, in fact, it can be brought under control at present, but as time goes by it will get more and more difficult.

Your children should be truly educated in the English language- it is the national language and without progressing in it your children will not be able to compete with others in the world of work. Muslim children should develop proficiency in speaking and writing English and in the skills of composition and authorship. However, it is my request to you that you do not speak English in the home, the mother and father should not speak to each other or to their children in English, but protect their mother tongue in the home.
If your mother tongue is preserved in the home, it will be preserved within your children, and their connection and Bond with their past will be preserved. They will remain connected with the Muslim ummah and with India, Pakistan, the Arab lands or wherever their roots are in the Muslim world.
A language is not only a language, each language has its own mind set and temperament. If our children forget their mother tongue they will be cut off from the past and will only receive the influences of the local language and culture. There is much Islamic terminology that cannot be translated into English and will be lost to our next generation.
I have witnessed children from good religious Indian or Pakistani households who are unable to speak Urdu. The result of this trend will be that as Urdu disappears from our children there will be few of you who will understand my talks in 10 years time , and in 20 years there will be none. In this way our future generations will be cut off from the past and forget their Heritage. They will be cut off from the Scholars and be deprived of the ability to benefit from literature and writings in their mother tongue. And they will start drifting further from Deen.
Therefore, I would like to stress to my brothers and sisters that if up to now you have had the habit of speaking English in the home although it will obviously be difficult to change overnight, it is not impossible to change. Children are a trust granted to you, have mercy upon them. Safeguarding their mother tongue is necessary in order to safeguard their Deen and Imaan. Parents undertake much difficulty to protect their children from cold and illnesses, they should exert some effort for this too.

In-Sha-Allah In Next Post:

• Treating People Well.
• Hurtful Habits.
• Breaking The Law.
• The Revival Of Islam

Till then Allahafix.  Take care and keep sharing.