Preserving faith and acquiring knowledge in a corrupt environment
21-8-2011 | IslamWeb
Question:
We are young Muslims who long for a religious environment where we can learn our religion and preserve our faith, but, as you know, all we have today is just one or two religious lectures a week. This is alongside the oppression of governments towards religious gatherings, to the extent that manya religious young men no longer adhere to their religion.
Therefore, I want you to find a solution for us other than the internet, because the majority of those who resorted to the internet to seek knowledge ended up seeking prohibited actions instead.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, we supplicate Allaah The Almighty to count all of us among those who have been granted knowledge and faith. Then, we stress the fact that we should cooperate to find ways that enable us to preserve our faith and acquire knowledge.
A righteous and religious environment is, as you have mentioned, a key factor in this regard. This is why the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, kept encouraging his Companions 
to emigrate to Madeenah, meaning, to leave their original evil environments for a righteous one. However, some people did not do this and most of these were Bedouins, therefore many of them apostatized after the death of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
The importance of one’s environment is also reflected in the Hadeeth in which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, narrated the story of the man who had killed one hundred people and then wanted to repent to Allaah The Almighty. He went to a scholar for advice and this scholar told him to go to a place where there are people devoted to prayer and the worship of Allaah The Almighty, and to join them in worship. He also warned him not to return to his homeland because it was an evil place. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Hence, it would be great if these young men manage to leave the place where they cannot worship Allaah The Almighty and support His religion freely to another place where they could preserve their faith and uprightness. This would be so even if it were only for long enough to strengthen their faith and learn more about their religion to help themselves and others.
Frequent reading about encouragement and admonition, and the horrors of the grave and the Hereafter helps people to maintain their faith. This is because reading about these things is a powerful factor that prevents people from surrendering to desires and evil inclinations. This is supported by the Hadeeth in which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told his Companions that if they knew what he knew, they would laugh little and weep much, and would not enjoy their wives in bed, and they would rush into the streets and forests, seeking refuge with Allaah The Exalted. [At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and Al-Haakim. Al-Haakim: Saheeh (Authentic) and Ath-Thahabi: Saheeh (Authentic)]
It is also beneficial to work in the field of individual Da'wah (Islamic propagation) as much as possible, together with performing prayer at night, making self-reckoning a habit, and making good use of Islamic magazines, tapes and booklets.
When dealing with state oppression against religious youth, it is important to know how the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, dealt with the different problems that faced the Da'wah in Makkah and Madeenah.
In Makkah, all the circumstances were against Da'wah, therefore, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to meet his Companions secretly in the house of Al-Arqam ibn Abi Al-Arqam 
in order to teach them. [Ibn Katheer in Al-Bidaayah Wa An-Nihaayah, Ath-Thahabi in As-Siyar and other scholars]
During the Makkan period, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was not interested in large public gatherings, and when his Companions grew in number he commanded them to emigrate to Al-Habashah (Abyssinia), and then to Madeenah.
In Madeenah, the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to gather his Companions in the mosque to teach them and command them on different occasions and at different places such as after the daily prayers, Friday prayers, ‘Eed prayers, special sessions, and inside homes.
Taking this into consideration, a Muslim should determine which case applies to him. If his circumstances are like those of the Makkan period, then he should be careful but should nonetheless try to undertake activities in the field of Da'wah and learn as much as possible. In this case, he should keep in mind the Hadeeth in which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told us that the most beloved deed to Allaah The Almighty is the one that is performed regularly, even if it is a simple deed. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Also, a Muslim should take care to supplicate at times when supplication is more likely to be accepted by Allaah The Almighty, and seek refuge with Allaah The Exalted from all evils. Among the supplications that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told us about in this regard is the recitation of the Chapter of Al-Ikhlaas and Al-Mu‘awwithatayn (the Chapters of Al-Falaq and An-Naas) three times at dawn and dusk. As the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said this protects Muslims from all evil and brings all that is good by the will of Allaah The Exalted. [Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi and Al-Albaani: Saheeh (Authentic)]
It was also narrated that Ibn Mas‘ood said that if anyone feared the oppression of a tyrannical ruler, he should say the following supplication, "Allaahumma Rab as-samaawaati as-sab' wa Rab al-‘arsh al-‘atheem kun lee jaaran min fulaan ibn fulaan wa ahzaabih min khalaa’iqik an yufrit ‘alayya ahadun minhum aw an yatgha, ‘azza jaaruk wa jalla thanaa’uk wa laa ilaah illa ant (O, Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the great throne! Be my protector against so and so and his supporters. I beg You to protect me from their oppression and injustice. Glorified be Your protection and praise, and You are the only God)." [Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad -Al-Albaani: Saheeh (Authentic)]
It was also narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas recommended that whoever is brought before an unjust and tyrannical ruler should say the following supplication thrice, "Allaahu Akbar, Allaahu a‘az min khalqih jamee‘an, Allaahu a‘az mimma akhaafu wa ahthar, a‘oothu billaah allathi laa ilaah illaa huwa al-mumsik as-samaawaat as-sab‘ an yaqa‘n ‘ala al-ardhi illaa bi’ithnih min sharr ‘abdik fulaan wa junoodih wa atbaa‘ih min al-jinn wal-ins, Allaahumma kun li jaaran min sharrihim, jalla thanaa’uk wa ‘azza jaaruk wa tabaarakasmuk wa laa ilaaha ghayruk (Allaah is the Greatest. Allaah is more powerful than any of His creatures, as well as anything I fear. I seek refuge with Allaah The Exalted, who restrains the sky from falling upon the earth, unless by His permission, from the evil of the slave (so and so), his soldiers and followers from among humans and Jinn. O Allaah, be my protector against their evil. Glorified be Your protection, and praise; Blessed be Your Name and You are the only God)." [Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf, Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad and Al-Albaani: Saheeh (Authentic)]
Those who oppress religious youth must know that adherence to Islam is the source of the success, victory, security and glory of the Muslim Ummah (nation). Adherence to Islam is the only thing that makes us attain the love, protection and blessings of Allaah The Almighty, who Says (what means):
· {Certainly will the believers have succeeded.} [Quran 23:1]
· {And to Allaah belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know.} [Quran 63:8]
· {And incumbent upon Us was support of the believers.} [Quran 30:37]
· {They who believe and do not mix their belief with injustice - those will have security, and they are [rightly] guided.} [Quran 6:82]
· {Allaah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.} [Quran 24:55]
· {Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection.} [Quran 19:96]
· {And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allaah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning."} [Quran 7:96]
· {Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.} [Quran 16:97]
It is apparent that the entire Muslim community must cooperate to achieve this aim. The wealthy should do their best to provide Muslim youth with work opportunities that make them abandon the idea of migration to evil places. For their part, the youth should marry as early as possible, and the community must remove any obstacles that prevent them from marriage.
Concerning the internet, it will be good if two or three young men agreed to meet at a certain time to visit some important sites, listen to a lecture, follow up a series in the field of Da'wah, search for Fatwas, and communicate with a scholar. Being a group makes it difficult for the devil to seduce them into visiting evil sites. This is why the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, guided us to remain united and close to each other, for the wolf only eats the solitary sheep that strays far from the flock. [Ahmad, Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i, Al-Haakim, and Al-Arnaa’oot who judged its chain of narrators as Hasan (Sound)]
Allaah Knows best.