“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
―this was said by one of the most influential authors of the 20th century – Franz Kafka
What is youth? What does it mean being a youth? Does it just mean that you are physically young? Or that you are also mentally young too?
And being mentally young is what…? It means to be able to recognize beauty…. to enjoy and utilize every blessings of the creator in this world. But most importantly, it means to love. To love so much that you would be ready to sacrifice anything for that love, because without love, how can you sacrifice.
Let’s briefly go back in history 1400years ago, to the youth of kerbala!!!! What do we see and hear
A youth, whose father had already been killed, came out into the battlefield on the day of ashura. His mother told him, “O dear son! Step out and fight in the presence of the grandson of the Prophet of Allah (S).” When the youth stepped out, Imam saw him and said,
“The father of this youth has been killed; perhaps his mother would not like him to come out into the battle.”
The youth replied, “Rather my mother has ordered me to do so.” This shows that he was ready to do anything his mother told him without question! But why would he question it? He was dying for his Imam. He was sacrificing himself for Islam. Why? Because he was a youth…he had the capacity to fight, to sacrifice, for the love of Allah. Then he stepped into the battlefield reciting the following: “My Master is Husayn and what a Best Master, who is the delight of the heart of the conveyor of good deeds and a warner…Ali (a.s.) is his father and Fatima (a.s.) his mother, do you know anyone who is his co-equal? His face is like a shining star and his forehead like a full moon bright.”
Such valor. Such spirit. Such gallantry. Such bravery. Such LOVE.
This kind of love can only come from the burning hearts of youth…so can we not