Muhammad West – Coming of Age of the Seflie Gen

			Oliver noticed a lot of themes a lot of manual or human anatomy, which was was snowing Russia from
listening, saying I'm having one early he also had mine, my beloved brothers, his Islam cinematic
Marco Polo, he was like at home and humbler began. I mean, always, if we will begin with the praise
of a loss partner with Allah insha Allah Allahu Allah, we were witnessing the rise of worship
besides on las panatela, and we send our love and greetings so beloved Nabina Muhammad Sallallahu
Sallam to spice up your family and his companions and all those followers from now until the end of
time. Allah Subhana Allah blesses to be upon the tsunami Mohamed Salah Laura Salem Ameen Al
		

			Hamdulillah Al Hamdulillah. As we know, June in South Africa is youth month, the 16th of June is
Youth Day. And for us, it's important that we talk about a specific demographic, our young people
and what it means young people going forward in South Africa and globally. Unfortunately, when we
look at South Africa, especially with our youth, music, it seems a fear with a sense of
disillusionment is a sense of concern. It's been 40 years since the Soweto uprising, it's been 25
years since the end of apartheid, but one freeze years of Africa, those will often 1994 make up
almost 20% of South Africa's population. And if we look at South Africa, people below the age of 35,
		

			the majority of South Africans more than 55% of South Africa is under the age of 35, meaning we have
a young population, yet the same demographic, two thirds of them is described as living in poverty,
more than 50% of them do not have jobs, many of them that started off in school never matriculated.
And so the is a very bleak future. And the outlook for young people in South Africa and globally, is
concerning. And so inshallah this this lecture is going to be about a specific generation. And the
the characteristics of this generation, my generation really coming to the fore and rising up to
becoming adults. And what this means for us in the future beginning, I'm going to start off by
		

			something called generational feeding. And the idea is that psychologists would say that people born
during a certain timeframe, they would have similar characteristics. So people born during a certain
decade and experiencing the events of that decade, when they grow up, they would be of a similar
nature. And they would have a similar kind of Outlook and would have a similar kind of philosophy.
In life. Of course, it's very specific to one what happens in one country might be different to
another country. But as we move to a global kind of community, people are experiencing the same kind
of events during the lives. And so they are very similar in the outlook. This is, of course, it's a
		

			generalization and very specific to a certain area. When you look at different generations. So
psychologists have been looking at different generations of people over the last 100 years or so.
And they sort of divided this from a Western perspective into six broad generations is the greatest
generation, the generation that basically grew up during the Great Depression. And they would go on
to to pull the countries out of the Great Depression, and they would fight World War Two, then there
was the kids are called the silent generation, these are kids that grew up during World War Two. And
so they're very risk averse. They saw a lot of difficulty as a young child. And so when they lived
		

			in the the prosperous age, after the, after the Great Depression, or the after World War Two, they
were they were really traditional, they were very conservative. They were about you know, living a
life and sticking to you your own sort of needs, and life will be okay, because they lived in in a
time of prosperity. They're big families. And so the generation after them is called the baby
boomers. And there were a lot of kids born between the years from 1945 to 1965. These are the kids
that grew up with JFK, the moon landings, they saw technology really going forward. This was during
the Cold War. And when they became older, they sort of in the 70s, they almost rebelled against the
		

			the traditional views of the forefathers. And so this is the hippie and the counterculture. They
spoke of the civil rights, this is globally, but even in South Africa, you'd find the 70s was really
a decade of changing the Iranian revolution happened in the 70s. A lot of the uprising Soweto
uprisings happened in the 70s. So this is a generation that as young people, they were all about
breaking the mold and the building society that is more fair and more just, they were the
socialists, in their view in the youth. This is also the same generation that is in control now in
governments. And they are also the ones that are very much against socialism. So they've sort of
		

			made a full 180 flip, which gives sort of tension between generations, the generation that were born
in the late 1960s, into the 1980s. And people that are in their 40s and 50s. Now they're called
Generation X men is the millennial generation. That is this is my generation, when between 1990 1985
and 1996. And this is going to be the focus of our discussion today in shall this millennial
generation is a generation that is most spoken about. And it's a generation that has also the most
criticized generation. It is also the biggest generation, you know, believe it or not, this
generation makes up the biggest chunk of all generations, in terms of in terms of numbers of the
		

			millennials are called the Gen Z. And this is the generation that are basically under the age of 25.
from South Africa perspective, and I got this from the Institute of actuarial science. They
obviously look at things differently to the Western world. And of course, the big thing that
influenced generations was apartheid. And so they would say these a generation that lived from the
1940s to the 1960s. This is the apartheid generation. They are the people that actually saw the
advent of apartheid and the response to a party that was on
		

			more accepting, but they were not as radical against apartheid as would happen in the generation
after them. And so they almost saw a pattern happening in May in May time. And there wasn't a huge
counter push against apartheid, then the generation after them so that the kids are called the
struggle generation. They're the ones that lived through the 70s, and 80s. And they're the ones that
really fought and rose up against apartheid, all the, you know, the the protests, the
demonstrations, and the violence that happened, a lot of it happened between the 1960s, the 1965,
and 1980s. This is called the struggle generation, there was a generation between 1980 and 1994, the
		

			transitional generation, so during the 1980s, and coming into 1994. So Africa was on the verge of
transitioning, there was the struggle, you know, was succeeding. And it was very clear that
apparently, eventually, it was just a matter of time when a perfect would fall. And it was about
plotting the future, what is this new South African look like and trying to almost envision the New
South Africa 1994 and beyond is called the born freeze. Those are people that have born outside,
they don't know about apartheid, they have never lived an experience that was born in this rainbow,
Rainbow nation. The generation that we're going to talk about are called the millennial generation,
		

			the generation that was born between 1985 and 1995. So this is a generation that people that are in
the, from 25, to about 3536. This is the most studied generation, this is the generation that some
names they called the Y generation, why because the Generation X came before them. They also called
the me generation, the selfie generation, this is the generation that the first generation that took
pictures of themselves rather than other people. There's also a generation that is the most
criticized generation this generation, but most people both, you know, from generations outside of
those older than them, and those who are within the generation looks at it as a generation that is
		

			not meeting its potential, a generation that has failed in some regards. And so it is a generation
that is very criticized and looked upon in a negative way. So beside it, this is my generation. So
some of these things you might take offense in, but it is also it is is a generation that is
speaking to my peers, and many of you might agree or disagree. So some of the characteristics that
you talk about millennials, you know, so you think of someone 25 and above 25, between 25 and under
40.
		

			Some positive negatives, this generation seems to be more educated than the parents, they are very
skilled, they're very talented, they're very creative. They are ambitious, you know, I have a high
drive, they want to change the world, they have big dreams, they are able to multitask, very, very
comfortable with technology, they have a high self worth thing. You know, they believe that you
know, they are special, they are idealistic, you know, they want to do something big one day, they
believe they're going to do something big one day, very confident, outspoken, very quick,
comfortable. To give you our point of view, we see ourselves as global citizens, we're not part of
		

			one city or one country, you know, we can move around as we as we feel. This is so much potential
that we want to actualize this need to inside of us every you know, millenial wants to do something
great. We believe that we can do something great. Also, when it comes to truth and knowledge, we
value authenticity, we'll rather discover a truth from ourselves, then being told what is the right
way to do it, we want to do it ourselves. The negative side people that are you know, especially
millennials joining the workforce, some of the titles that are given to millennials say that, you
know, Millennials are entitled, they believe that they deserve certain things without even working
		

			with, they're self centered is all about themselves. They are even to point you to even arrogant,
you know, elevated image of oneself. They are impatient, pretty quick to want to move and change.
They can't wait for things to be all about instant gratification. They're unfocused, so not
multitasking, but they're constantly distracted, they are disloyal, that no matter that, you know,
they will join a career. And within a few months, they become they become despondent bacteria, they
want to look for the next thing they're really looking on, you know, searching for the next job.
They if they get married, they become impatient in their marriage. Sometimes they even change jobs,
		

			change managers change companies very quickly. There's there's no sense of seeing it out in Stickney
through and, and, you know, slugging it out, this generation doesn't do that. Some would say that
they are narcissists, narcissistic, meaning they have an elevated sense of themselves, it's, they
believe that they are such a special group of people. And in reality, that's not the case. This is
also a generation that is not identifying more and more as being non religious. They don't subscribe
to organized religion, they don't trust authority. They don't trust the government. They don't trust
the religious leaders. They don't trust the superiors or seniors in companies, and they are a
		

			generation, they do not do homage to authority. And so there is this, as we see there is this
disconnect between the older generation and the millennial generation. And so overall, Millennials
are seen as negative and potentially on the road to becoming a lost generation were described as the
most broke and the most depressed generation that has that has come before them. And why is this? So
if we look at the events that shaped the millennial generation, and this is something that
psychologists have studied and saying what are the things
		

			events that trick the millennials. Number one, if you look at parenting, so millennials, most of my
generation we grew up may be different today, if I compare myself to my parents to my grandparents,
most millennials grew up in a household, we, our moms worked all the way involved in some kind of
economic, you know, they want to just stay at home moms, they had jobs. And so first our
grandmother's biological, I think all our grandmothers were stay at home grannies stay at home,
parents. And so our our upbringing, we there was, a lot of times when we left to ourselves, our
parents would both be working. And so it was sort of a moment where you sort of had unsupervised
		

			time as as a young step, many of us were also exposed more so than our peers to Divorce, Divorce
wasn't really common in our grandparents generation, but you found it when were happening in our
parents generation. And also divorce was not that common, meaning that it will happen to the table.
Now divorce happens, it's not as big a deal as it was when we were growing up. But if you if you if
you came out of a home where there was a divorce, you're almost a broken home. And there was this
this deep sense that of a failed marriage is a big sign of failure. And so this is fear of divorce
in millennials. This is also a concept that maybe from a Western perspective, failed parenting
		

			strategies, our parents were told you need to tell your kids you love them, which is good. And tell
them both of them, tell them feel special, tell them that they are they're going to change the
world. They can do whatever they want. And he wore them for participation. So even if you came last
in the race, you got a trophy. And it was all about, you know, so long as you are happy. And maybe
it could be because parents are working. And to compensate for the time loss they gave. They gave
into
		

			materialistic needs. And so you have a whole generation that believed that they were, they were
amazing that they were great that they are loved and whatever they want, they're going to get. And
so this shape, the the the millenial, the millennial mindset, we also grew up at a time and our
younger youth in the 90s and the early 2000s, a time of positive change. We saw a news of Africa, we
saw the end of the Cold War, we saw economic prosperity, there was a great sense of belief that you
know, this generation is going to be the greatest generation that ever came that we are so much
there's so much promise that this generation is going to fulfill so much potential in them. We also
		

			saw the rise of the Internet and we saw, you know the old world moving into the new world. We know
of a time before the internet, we know what time before cell phones and then saw the change
happening. The generation after us never experienced the world without a cell phone. They don't know
what it's like it's you know, they can't fathom that the meaning of that we saw a time of constant
change. Every year, there was something new, some new inventions, some new technology. We also saw
people becoming billionaires overnight, you know, we're generation, we don't aspire to be
millionaires anymore. We want to be billionaires. And we want to do this overnight. And we're told
		

			by our parents, you could be the next Steve Jobs, the next Bill Gates, you could, you know, invent
the next great thing. And from South Africa from an African perspective, we are also the first
generation that actually were able to study and go to schools go to universities, with different
groups and different ideologies. Being on the internet, we were exposed now to a whole world of new
thoughts and ideas, things that maybe we're not prepared for. We also the defining moment of
millennials is that you were probably in high school or you were in a university, when when
September 11 happens, which means you are very clearly you remember watching September 11 unfold.
		

			And you can remember how it made you feel you were still growing up. And this uncertainty of what is
what does this mean for the new world. So you grew up with a lot of promise and hope and optimism.
		

			You also grew up as a millennial as hosts with technology, the knowledge is a big part of your of
your upbringing. And with all the positives, that is a giant downside of technology. One of it, of
course, is that being part of a global community, you are exposed to all the influences around the
world, you are exposed to different belief systems, different effects and models. you consume media
from all over the world. And this really changes the way you see other world. We are also a
generation of instant gratification because we can do anything on demand one something by clicking a
button, we can get it. If we don't like a movie, we can switch over to any we don't have to wait for
		

			when a movie is play. We can steam things we can on demand and that makes us impatient. whatever we
want, we get now instant gratification. Also social media means that we had we're the first
generation that lived sort of a schizophrenic life. We had a real life, you know in the real world.
But we also had a social media persona. We had a profile on Facebook, where we have hundreds of
friends hundreds of likes, but in the real world we probably had very few friends. And so we have
this idea of what life should be like and what what what we aspire for which is also our social
media, lifestyle, Instagram lifestyle, living our best life online and in reality is a very big
		

			disconnect on what is happening on the ground. And Lisa's since it's a millennial struggle to form
genuine meaningful relationships because of social media. We we have lost the ability to form these
		

			relationships and therefore Millennials are the generation that are getting married much later than
other generations, you know, after 25. Many of them aren't even not married yet, late 20s, early
30s, only now beginning to get married, a deep sense of mistrust in relationships, they saw their
own parents marriage is not working out. And so there's this fear that if I get married, if I have
kids, it's not gonna work out. And so millennials have this struggle in how they connect to one
another. And so the coming of age, woman, email, millennials, you know, grew up with all this hope.
And with all this change, and all this promise and being told they were special. And women really
		

			matured and you know, finished university started working in the, you know, at the end of the 2000s,
they will meet with a very different world, this millennial generation experienced the worst
financial crisis since the Great Depression. They saw that the wars that began during the early
2000s have persisted and just become worse, the Arab Spring became an Arab winter. In South Africa,
the South African dream never materialized. Let's hope that was we expected to actualize it failed.
And we also it coincided our our coming of age coincided with the years of the worst kind of
corruption in a failed government.
		

			The South Africa moving towards a failed state. And now we even moving on to the bigger crisis, the
COVID-19 crisis, which which is the you know, a game changer for all of us, the looming climate
crisis that is that is going to follow the client verba COVID-19. And so this generation found out
that, you know, when we grew up, we were not special, like our parents told us, the hard work that
we put in, didn't pay off, we have our degrees, we've done everything that we're supposed to do. But
it didn't pay off into that expectation that we hoped for. We feel that we are powerless, the
millennial generation is searching for something for meaning, but they feel powerless and unable to
		

			control the future. And so as a result, the millennials, this generation people between the age of
25, and under 40, they have a deep sense of broken promises that I've studied, but didn't pay off. I
have a career, but my career isn't going any way. I have a you know, I'm I'm either not married, or
I'm in a marriage, but it's not living up to the expectation of what marriage is going to be like
that I am not special. I am not what my parents told me my opinion doesn't matter. And the world was
a lot worse than I was told it's going to be.
		

			Many, many millennials believe that they are working and they're not going anywhere in my career on
this hamster wheel, and that they'll be exploited. And they're only there for the benefit of others.
And they can't move themselves forward. As much as millennials believe and want to be hopeful of a
world. They've become so cynical that they believe the only way forward now is survival of yourself.
You need to be self interested and look out for yourself. The the overconfidence, do you see
millennials, Millennials want to speak up and they want to give their opinion they want they were
told as young kids, your opinion counts, parents Listen, to listen to them more than previous
		

			generations, it actually was a deep insecurity versus pressure for millennials to perform, to
achieve all the success and to love that instinct and lifestyle. But they haven't they haven't
achieved those those those dreams. So the is the self blame. And millennials sort of when we become
angry, when we become depressed or despondent, we blame ourselves. So other generations would go out
and they would protest and they would, you know, like the 70s. And they would do the forced change,
we become disengaged, if we're not happy, we just, you know, give up we leave our job we get we get
divorced, we just move on to something else. And that is the the millenial way of of doing things to
		

			become disengaged. And at the same time, there is this constant search, we want performance, we want
our careers to be special, we want to change the world want to be impactful. All of us need to do
something great, but there's no way of letting it out. And so this is deep disillusionment, if you
want to really describe the millennials, they are described as the most stressed out and this this
generation, they have the highest suicide rates. And the really the millennials, my generation, we
are in our in our we are having a quarter life crisis, not a midlife crisis, we are actually going
through a crisis, do you know our our quarter life and ask yourself what are we really doing? What
		

			is our purpose, there is a sense of disillusionment. And actually we've gone to a point of Center, a
cynical generation, we don't believe we're not optimistic about the future. And so, what does this
mean for us and the rise of the millennials, because one way or another, whether we like it or not,
we all the generation of the now, we are a generation that has now come of age, we are the
generation that needs to take over the reins from our from from the next generation, whether we like
it or not, we all we have a seat at the table. And we need to really put forward a course for
ourselves which will really par for the course of our nation, the schema, what does it mean? You
		

			know, when I when I gave a talk like this, I thought is there anything that we could add we can will
speak to these issues and finalize two out of the two verses that are very profound, almost
pantallas is Wakata now who are the Amara that Allah said we've we've we have divided them
throughout the earth into Oman, nations you
		

			Nations different groups, minerals, solid, aluminium do like some of them are good, some of them
were prosperous, and others were not not not successful webelo now has an ad you will see it, let
alone we are doing analysis. And we tested each one, some with good times and some with bad times,
so that they will return to Allah subhanaw taala. So Allah is saying to us, that every nation, every
generation, every group of people, are tested with a different set of circumstances, some are tested
with success, some are tested with, with a prosperity, some are tested with disasters, and every
test, whether it is a test, and even but even the good times or test, it is to really show you the
		

			nature and the grit of that generation. So everything the millennials that we have gone through, and
everything that we've experienced was part of the, you know, the cords, Allah has dealt us, and it's
just as a test to see who of us will rise to the occasion. Allah then continues in the next is,
Allah speaks about a generation that failed to fulfill that promise, Allah says, and after them came
a successive generation who inherited the Scripture, meaning they they got a lot from the
opportunities from the forefathers, whereas the forefathers had to fight for certain things. They
got these things given to them. And however they've chosen to take the commodities of this lower
		

			life, they chose instead of thinking and fulfilling the promise of the forefathers, they have
decided to just give into the commodities and that the way of the dunya. And they say this, this
failure generation, this loser generation, so it will, it will be forgiven for us what are we doing,
Allah will be merciful, Allah will forgive us. And even if an offer like it comes to them, they will
again choose it meaning whenever something new, something shiny, come, some new thing happens, they
always choose what is the next fad over what Allah Subhana Medina, given them, of the Scripture of
the really Higher, higher objectives, as Allah says to them, was not the covenant of the Scripture,
		

			the book taken from them, did Allah not make a promise with him, they're not in the contract with
Allah, that they would not say what Allah accept the truth. And they will be the ones that will
speak out for the truth, they will stand up for the truth, this generation will be the ones that
would take what the parents have given them, and really take it to the next level, and that they
studied what was in it. And they were the ones that actually had the ability to master what Allah
had given them. And I was in the army and remember, the alpha is better. For those who fear Allah,
what is to really the great success is not in the dunya success lies in the hero. And so well, then
		

			I've been the reason. So almost panadol on these two verses speaks about how different generations
have a different set of circumstances, different set of trials, and that a certain generation almost
pantalla gives you the ability to really rise up. And it's really, it's up to you how you're going
to form it. So for us as millennials, with all the broken promises, with all the failures that we
might feel in terms of our career in terms of relationships, most millennials have something in
their life that they feel despondent about. It is not a time now, for for for self pity for
disillusionment, it is really whether we like it or not, we are the biggest generational group,
		

			whether you like the molinos or not, we are here in South Africa, we make up the biggest demographic
and of course, globally, the millennials really are the, the this is the generation that has
arrived. If you are now in your 30s, you really get to move into adulthood, you're now becoming
adults, you're no longer youth anymore. And what we do now, the decisions we make will really shape
the world and the future going forward. And so what advice can we give Can I give to my generation,
and millennials and the really what, what are the most important things I think about so for
millennials, number one, it always goes back to every generation and this is where Allah began. It's
		

			about knowledge, and specifically to millennials, Allah Subhana. Allah says to us that first, let
Allah modern, if you don't know something, then ask the experts also those who know now, by our
nature, we are distrusting of authority. We believe that the government has an agenda. We believe
that experts have an agenda, the media has an agenda, the ulama the Imam, you know, the big
corporations, everyone has an agenda. And so we grew up that if you want to find out something, you
can just Google it, and you can find the information, we would rather find and discover our own
truth and to accept the truth of someone else. And so the internet, if you take a survey,
		

			Millennials will say their opinion is based on what they find on social media, or from the internet.
And so this is a good thing. Of course, it's a good thing to be skeptical and to, to to research for
yourself. But there is also a danger.
		

			We will always you know, we got the answers in the palm of our hands. And so we live in a time of
too much information. And so the best advice I can give our millennials if I look at the events of
COVID-19 for example, when when just as this pandemic began, you had different theories of wait came
what caused that what we should do is the hoax is 5g is a drill. The best way forward in a time of
over information of too much information is to have a baseline of information that you know to be
true. The only way forward is you need to know
		

			The basics in many, many fields from an Islamic perspective, know the basics, the core essence of
what is largely so that is your benchmark that you can compare every information that you get from,
whether it is science, technology, politics. So you as millennials, we need to continuously learn
and learn a little bit of everything. So we know what is to be true. And when we get been confronted
with new ideologies and beliefs, when compared to this baseline knowledge, and if it agrees with it,
we can accept it. And if it doesn't, then we reject it. And this is very important for us because we
were not paid by our parents and our upbringing, our madrasahs How do you confront a world where you
		

			have every kind of ideology thrown at you? How do you prepare, how do you form your opinion, and so
you become overwhelmed. And the best way forward, therefore, is to is to have a basic, you know, a
baseline knowledge that you can, you can then you know, navigate the internet, you can navigate the
wall that is or the the knowledge that is out there. And so for an Islamic perspective,
specifically, I believe that insha Allah, what we should do is we should have our kids how we train
our kids, how we teach Islam should be focused on those core models and values of Islam, that will
never change. And this is you're always going to be your touchstone, it's going to be the thing that
		

			that that you can always go back to, we should have a place that Muslims can go to online and know
that this is this is going to be authentic knowledge. You know, in our previous generations, when
you wanted to look up something you said go to the movie, the angle of your movie, that was your
reference guide, we need a reference guide. What is the reference guide on the internet? If I want
to look for fatwa, which place do I go, we will just Google and you don't know where this
information comes from. So and if it may be to, to sort of standardize the internet, find a place a
safe place that you can go to on the internet to get your knowledge and your information, both from
		

			the inside very, very, most importantly, from an inside, but also from a secular side. If I want to
find out the truth about the Coronavirus. I want to understand the truth about what's happening in
government. Where do I find it and this is something that is something we need to we need to work
on. Number two and purposes, the most important point and the most important advice, the purpose of
life and the role of religion. Most millennials, if you took a survey, they would say we are non
religious, we don't really, we don't see ourselves as being Christian or whatever it might be. But
I'm spiritual, I still believe in a higher purpose. I still believe in a higher means many peoples
		

			are spiritual, not religious. And this is a massive moment. I mean, some countries up to 50 60%
would say that they are not actively part of a religion anymore. But they are searching for deeper
meaning millennials of this generation they call the the seeking generation they are looking for
meaning looking for purpose, looking to do something and they just cannot follow them. So they can't
find the meaning
		

			to what they are meant to do. Muslims, Muslim Molina's will still say Sam is important to us. We are
very, very confident in our Islam. But we struggle to express how Islam when we yell from the hold,
but doesn't resonate with us. When we look at lectures and listen to our our, our, you know,
authority figures, it doesn't resonate to us. Islam was taught to us in a way which didn't work for
us, it's all about the rituals that we don't understand or rituals we don't agree with is a list of
do's and don'ts. Now maybe it was okay for all of our parents, but they will brought up your entire
madressa you were told this is how you take we do this how you make salah and decide these things
		

			and decide these to us you don't do this. And that was what religion was all about. Millennials
don't want that. And they want to break away from that. And not to say that what they don't want to
do what is halal and haram. But for them what is important is religion needs to be a personal
experience. You know, Millennials are all about an experience. You know, Millennials you'll find
they will rather go on holiday, then buy a house. Why? Because they want to experience something
experience life. So for millennials, Islam is about a personal experience. And that's nothing wrong
with that is really what it should be. So for example, it's a greater focus on Tafseer. I want to
		

			know what the Quran says. And teskey are our self spiritual spiritualization. You know, looking at
the knifes the CLR, looking at the prophets of Allah, most of the rules and regulations. And this is
very important because this is the essence of Islam. Islam is about having a one on one relationship
with Allah, Allah Subhana Allah says to us, all mankind, it is you stand in need of Allah, you are
in need of having a relationship with Allah. And Allah is not in need of you, although there's a
benefit from this relationship. But if you did not have Allah in your life, then your life will be
meaningless and empty. That emptiness that we feel as millennials is the lack of having a
		

			relationship with Allah. Allah says to us, if you really want to know who Allah is to you, I am as
my servants thinks of me. So when you think of Allah, if you're optimistic of Allah, if you're happy
with Allah, if you are, if you love Allah, and Allah loves you, when Allah is optimistic about you,
Allah says I'm with him when he makes mention of me when you mentioned a lot, the more you
mentioned, Allah, a more or less part of your life. And if you mentioned Allah says and if you
mentioned to make mention of me to insult, it's a private conversation. Although as I mentioned, I
mentioned you Allah mentions your name within himself, and Alesis and if he mentions me in a
		

			gathering in a group of people, then I will make mention of him this person in a bigger
		

			gathering and a data gathering. And if you come close to Allah, one step overcomes, you know,
walking, Allah comes close to you running. So this meaning that we're looking for is not moving. The
reason why we feel the spawn in this illusion is because we are pulling away from that relationship
with Allah. Very closely linked to this, as we said, Millennials want to change the world, they want
to do something positive, they want to do something great. And they finding and we do they look for
the meaning they look for this meaning in their careers, and you know, I will be happy. If I climb
the corporate ladder, I'll be happy if I'm in a job that I love that I find meaning your career can
		

			be fun, it can be exciting, it can be rewarding, but you can never take life, your purpose in life
and your meaning from your career. It is unhealthy to look for your career for fulfillment, that
fulfillment that you will receive. We know from an Islamic perspective, it comes from having a
relationship with Allah. And then of course, trying to use the ethics, the models, the teachings of
Islam, to change the world for a positive cause. So Allah subhanaw taala says, if you want to find
meaning, Allah says, the best of nations, you are the best of nations. Why? What do you do when you
want to be the best if you when you begin to enjoy what is good, and you forbid, and you champion
		

			the right and you forbid that which is evil, and you believe in Allah, millennials, when we are at
our best when we stand up to social injustice, when we fight racism, you know, Black Lives Matter,
the the me to campaign fees must fall millennials, when we galvanize through a cause, just using our
our WhatsApp, our, our Facebook, without guns without, you know, having PhDs, we are able to bring
governments down the Arab Spring, for example. So millennials have a great sense of social justice,
we want to change the world for the for the for the better. At the same time, we have this deep need
of we have this emptiness and one to fall, Allah is saying that the answer to that is to use this
		

			ethics, this models which Allah has taught us in Islam, and to really fight the injustice in the
world. And if we want to find meaning in our life, happiness in our life, it comes from doing
positive things in our community. This is really the it's a well known secret that if you want to
find happiness, you're going to find it by joining your mission committee, you're going to find it
by joining you enabled watch your kids school committees, the orphan each of the hospital down the
road, doing something positive in your community will give you that sense of purpose in your life,
joining a civic organization, your civic duty, Millennials have a very low rate of being part of
		

			civic organizations, that is what is missing. And really now being in the 30s knocking on the door
of your 40s this is really the time for you to report every millennial every single person in your
30s should be part of an organization that is doing something positive. Allah says to us, whoever
does righteousness, whoever does good deeds, with a male or female while he is a believer. So Allah
makes the distinction here between believing in Allah and doing righteous, the interactions, these
not only Salah, but you're actually doing positive things in your community, what what will you get
out of it, Allah says, We will surely cause him to live a happy life, a good life, you will find
		

			happiness in your life. Maybe you won't be living an instant perfect life, you won't be traveling
the world or having you know the biggest house in the world, but you'll be happy you will find
contentment and you will find meaning in your life. And then unless is any war, you will surely be
given the word according to the best of what you're used to in the arcor, meaning you will will love
the Insta perfect life in the era. And so this is that meaning that you are searching for, you won't
find that fulfillment in your career, in your relationships, it is in your your contribution to
society that will bring you that happiness, and to use Islam as a source of positive change to fight
		

			the inequalities to fight the oppression in the world. This is what will bring you contentment. And
then lastly, as we see the millennials a very disillusion that in generation a generation of broken
promises a generation that is disengaged, that is interested, that is not committed to anything. A
generation that is on the verge of giving up. Now isn't the time to give up? Yes, we are going
through a quarter life crisis. Many millennials struggling to find purpose where we are. We haven't
plotted the next step. Many of us we planned our life so perfectly. study this kid this kid, get
this job get to this company, and then they will be the light at the end of the tunnel will at the
		

			end of the rainbow will be the payoff. We've done everything right now in our 30s we realize the
world doesn't look so rosy going forward and we really don't know what is the next step. The most
important thing is of course, to continue to hope and not to become cynical, Allah is surely only a
disbelief in people the space in the mercy of Allah, Allah subhanaw taala had given us all this, you
know, changes in these things in our life to prepare us for this is a beautiful verses for a bar
almost speaks about maybe most of the life Allah says, you know, remember how you were a baby you
put in the river when you grew up as a prince in that house of Pharaoh, then you killed someone and
		

			you lost everything and you were completely alone, then you live many years as a shipper in madeon.
And now when Allah Mousavi Salaam comes to the burning wish, Allah says Now you've come out other
that you have now reached your full measure, to take on the task that was ultimately mean for you to
take on fear. And so all of these ups and downs of Moses life, the highs and the lows, that was part
of his training, so that he can ultimately meet the challenge that he was destined to do, which was
		

			Still, to lead these people and to fight against fear our millennials, we are the generation that
saw the most change, we had one half of our life in the old in the old world and the new and other
half of our life in the new world, we saw dramatic changes, we saw promises that, you know, didn't
materialize. But now, really, the moment that is going to define us is how we respond to the covid
19 crisis, the wall that we knew is gone, and a new world is gonna have to be rebuilt from scratch
off of the COVID-19. And what better generation would be the group of people than the generation
that has experienced the ups and downs in life that has studied but hasn't fulfilled that promise
		

			that has hopes and dreams that hasn't yet actualized it? It is now you know, our parents are
retiring, our parents are at an age where they have to be whether they like it or not, they have to
give the baton over to us. This is the generation that is really going to inherit a wall that is
very broken. There are many problems that our parents are going to give us they didn't solve, but it
is for us now to really plot a way forward and the first thing is for us to be positive and to be
hopeful. Last pantalla wants us to be hopeful, never to give up hope and to use whatever experience
we have the good of it and the bad of it to build a new future. So I pray inshallah, that our
		

			generation is going to be the best in the nation, our generation, you know, exceed all expectations
not for not so that we can put it on Facebook and Instagram and we can take selfies, but that Allah
subhanho wa Taala Can Can Can you know like what we do? And Allah subhanaw taala can be pleased with
us maybe when we retire when we look back at our life, we can look at that we've made something
positive and contributed. Now let's pantalla rewards our previous generations our forefathers, mala
Grant has to fulfill the promise that was given to us. Allah subhanaw taala predict the future
generations to come to preserve this Deen and to build a beautiful future we will leave this world
		

			in a better state than we found it and Allah forgive us and have mercy upon us to cycle a fatal Sala
Sina Mohammed while earlier Sofia Salaam city, well humbler