Wafi! Come dance!

Two advice. Two types of friends.

1."Why are you such a fanatic! Enjoy your life man! You are young!"

2. "We are not here for the Dunya bro!"

Two advice. Two types of friends…

Companionship is one of the most important factors that determine a man's success in Dunya and the Akhira. A person who chooses the wrong crowd is destined to fail and fall.

Especially if it's in college. College life taught me a lot of important lessons that I carry within myself till today. One among them is the importance of having good companions who remind you of Allah.

Being a student of psychology, I used to travel and attend a lot of different conferences, seminars and sessions. This really helped me a lot to gain deeper insight into the field and its dynamics. The sessions covered a lot of different topics.

But one thing that was common in almost all the programs was the 'Night party'. They would call it different names like 'cultural programs', 'Break time', ‘Ice breaking programs’, etc... It was basically DJ party and dancing without any gender or moral boundaries. Men and women would be dancing with each other without any lines to songs whose meanings are beyond immoral and absolutely filthy. It is a common scene to see people using a lot of vile and derogatory terms. Drugs were common.

What made it sadder was the fact that many of them were Muslims and my friends. The Islamic stance on this was pretty clear. Our religion has clear regulations on gender interactions. Haya is an important concept in Islam. Each of these regulations have deeper wisdoms based on respect, integrity and dignity. Whether you like it or not, the Islamic stance is clear. You can make up your own prejudiced biased ignorant justifications of it in your mind based on liberal feminist secular paradigms. But that doesn't change Islam.

While attending such conferences, I would stay as far away as possible from such night events as it was clearly unislamic and compromised my principles of morality. I used to actively participate in the daytime academic sessions and volunteer activities, but during the night, I would with draw quietly and stay away from the functions. Looking back, I have no regrets. Alhamdulillah.

Once during such a program, a batch mate of mine insult fully remarked, "Wafi, why are you such a fanatic! Enjoy your life man. You are young." I know he said it as a joke, but the words made me think about the meaning of youth and the trajectory of society.

Sometimes, the food would also be served in the same hall. So, I would also have to skip the meal. it would be sometimes hard to just isolate myself and spend the night alone hungry pushing time till the next day for the sessions where the breakfast would also be served. My Mind would try to make justifications to just go and be in the same hall and just be present with friends, have food but not participate in the functions. I am not against enjoyment. It was a constant battle to fight of such justifications. I am not against fun. I am just against activities that are labelled as 'fun' that clearly compromise the Islamic moral code.

During one such program, while I was sitting on a bench on a venue staying away from the night party, I saw another friend of mine doing the same. His name is Asif. One of the most amazing people I have met during my college years. A brother who is very sincere and genuine in deen. He is a hafiz of Quran and a teacher of Tajweed.

We started a conversation and talked about different things. During the convo, he said something that is so deep that I carry its meaning even till today.

He said: "Wafi, we are not here for the Dunya". These words were powerful. This perspective gives meaning to the effort and ease the pain of loneliness. It gives life to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (S). This made me understand the importance of having the right companions.

This doesn't mean the ones who are participating in the functions are bad people. No. I write this not in a self-righteous sanctimonious manner. They are good people with misguided conclusions. People who may not have a deeper idea into the Islamic paradigm. I know some of you who participate in these functions are reading this right now. Know that I have no bad assumptions about you. You are all in my duas. May Allah forgive us all and unite us upon the haqq.

Having the right circle of friends makes the journey of life easier. They will pull you out of the cycle of sins and reconnect you with your purpose. Verily, your circle determines your altitude in life.