maisa
Senior Member
- Messages
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- Reaction score
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Where in the world, are the Muslim youth getting their
ideals about love, marriage and family?
In Bahrain, a teenage Muslim princess ran away from
her family, her home and country forever, putting her
life in jeopardy in order to marry an American marine
she hardly knew. She made a decision, that she can
never take back, to Iive a life of exile and sin. If
asked why, she did this, she would naturally say she
did it for "love."
Where in the world, are the Muslim youth getting their
ideals about love, marriage and family? Are we turninq
to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of in Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam? Unfortunately, we do not.
In the Indian subcontinent, we're turning to Indian
films; In America and possibly the rest of the world,
we're turning to Hollywood.
Bombay, a famous mainstream Indian film, features a
Muslim girl who falls in love and ultimately marries
Hindu boy. At the beginning of the film, she is shown
in niqab. By the end, she is dressing like a Hindu.
After her family refuses to allow their marriage, the
girl runs away and does not speak to them for six
years. At the end her parents come to her and all are
happy.
Hollywood, one of the largest influences in the world,
plays a huge role in the formation of concepts about
love, marriage, and family. These films portray men
and women who are "in love." And yet, often times the
individual they "love" will be someone they just saw
or spoke to briefly. Suddenly, however they are
willing to lose their spouse, their family, their job,
their life, and even their Lord. It is, therefore,
more correct to say that they make these sacrifices
because their desires have become their God. Allah
speaks of these people when He says: “Then seest thou
such a one as takes as his god his own vain desire?
Allah has knowing (him as such), left him astray, and
sealed his hearing and his heart (and understanding),
and put a cover on his sight. Who, then, will guide
him after Allah (has withdrawn guidance)? Will ye not
then receive admonition?” [45:23]
But yet these very same people that Allah has
described in His book as most astray have become our
example and ideal. In 1998, Titanic, grossing more
than 1 billion dollars in sales worldwide, became the
most popular movie across the globe. The story
features a young girl of age 17 who is engaged to be
married. After meeting and ultimately falling in love
with another man, the young girl cheats on her fiance
and disobeys her mother. Both the mother and the
fiance are shown as superficial in order to make her
disloyalty more acceptable.
The messages of these films are very penetrating. The
most powerful message is: if you sacrifice for "love",
all will be well in the end. In other words, if you
disregard your religion, your farmily, your God,
following only your desires, you will be rewarded in
the end.
If we look to America, we can see the clear effects of
these misshapen concepts. 'Why has divorce reached the
unprecedented rate of 40-60%? I believe the answer
lies in the misconstrued definition of what true love
and marriage actually is. These movies feature the
wedding as the end of the movie, and thus marriage is
seen as the end of a love story, rather than the
beginning.
What effect does this have on our society, on our
youth in particular? Who are the victims of these
misconstrued ideals? What is the basis of the "love"
portrayed in these movies? What criterion will young
Muslims affected by these images use when choosing a
spouse? Will they follow the Sunnah of the Prophet,
sallallalhu alayhi wa sallam, who says the one who
marries for deen is blessed? Or, will they base their
choice on an empty, fleeting attraction disguised as
"love"? If the youth begin to choose their spouses
based on this ephemeral emotion rather than on deen,
what effect will that have on the Ummah as a whole?
Will not more families be broken due to divorce and
strife? Will not more youth be forced to cut ties with
their families (assuming they do not agree)? Will not
more children be raised far from Islam?
Thus, we should be aware and guard ourselves and our
children from this deceptive tool of Satan. Allah
describes those people who only follow their desires
numerous times throughout the Qur'an. Let us not be
among those who Allah describes as most astray and let
those not become our ideals. "Who is more astray than
one who follows his own lusts, devoid of guidance from
Allah? For Allah guides not people given to
wrongdoing"
[28: 50] Al Jumuah - Vol 13 Issue 8/9
..................................................................................................
from my email....
ideals about love, marriage and family?
In Bahrain, a teenage Muslim princess ran away from
her family, her home and country forever, putting her
life in jeopardy in order to marry an American marine
she hardly knew. She made a decision, that she can
never take back, to Iive a life of exile and sin. If
asked why, she did this, she would naturally say she
did it for "love."
Where in the world, are the Muslim youth getting their
ideals about love, marriage and family? Are we turninq
to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of in Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam? Unfortunately, we do not.
In the Indian subcontinent, we're turning to Indian
films; In America and possibly the rest of the world,
we're turning to Hollywood.
Bombay, a famous mainstream Indian film, features a
Muslim girl who falls in love and ultimately marries
Hindu boy. At the beginning of the film, she is shown
in niqab. By the end, she is dressing like a Hindu.
After her family refuses to allow their marriage, the
girl runs away and does not speak to them for six
years. At the end her parents come to her and all are
happy.
Hollywood, one of the largest influences in the world,
plays a huge role in the formation of concepts about
love, marriage, and family. These films portray men
and women who are "in love." And yet, often times the
individual they "love" will be someone they just saw
or spoke to briefly. Suddenly, however they are
willing to lose their spouse, their family, their job,
their life, and even their Lord. It is, therefore,
more correct to say that they make these sacrifices
because their desires have become their God. Allah
speaks of these people when He says: “Then seest thou
such a one as takes as his god his own vain desire?
Allah has knowing (him as such), left him astray, and
sealed his hearing and his heart (and understanding),
and put a cover on his sight. Who, then, will guide
him after Allah (has withdrawn guidance)? Will ye not
then receive admonition?” [45:23]
But yet these very same people that Allah has
described in His book as most astray have become our
example and ideal. In 1998, Titanic, grossing more
than 1 billion dollars in sales worldwide, became the
most popular movie across the globe. The story
features a young girl of age 17 who is engaged to be
married. After meeting and ultimately falling in love
with another man, the young girl cheats on her fiance
and disobeys her mother. Both the mother and the
fiance are shown as superficial in order to make her
disloyalty more acceptable.
The messages of these films are very penetrating. The
most powerful message is: if you sacrifice for "love",
all will be well in the end. In other words, if you
disregard your religion, your farmily, your God,
following only your desires, you will be rewarded in
the end.
If we look to America, we can see the clear effects of
these misshapen concepts. 'Why has divorce reached the
unprecedented rate of 40-60%? I believe the answer
lies in the misconstrued definition of what true love
and marriage actually is. These movies feature the
wedding as the end of the movie, and thus marriage is
seen as the end of a love story, rather than the
beginning.
What effect does this have on our society, on our
youth in particular? Who are the victims of these
misconstrued ideals? What is the basis of the "love"
portrayed in these movies? What criterion will young
Muslims affected by these images use when choosing a
spouse? Will they follow the Sunnah of the Prophet,
sallallalhu alayhi wa sallam, who says the one who
marries for deen is blessed? Or, will they base their
choice on an empty, fleeting attraction disguised as
"love"? If the youth begin to choose their spouses
based on this ephemeral emotion rather than on deen,
what effect will that have on the Ummah as a whole?
Will not more families be broken due to divorce and
strife? Will not more youth be forced to cut ties with
their families (assuming they do not agree)? Will not
more children be raised far from Islam?
Thus, we should be aware and guard ourselves and our
children from this deceptive tool of Satan. Allah
describes those people who only follow their desires
numerous times throughout the Qur'an. Let us not be
among those who Allah describes as most astray and let
those not become our ideals. "Who is more astray than
one who follows his own lusts, devoid of guidance from
Allah? For Allah guides not people given to
wrongdoing"
[28: 50] Al Jumuah - Vol 13 Issue 8/9
..................................................................................................
from my email....
warahmatullahi wabarakatu,
