Bismillahirrahmanirahim Assalamu Alaykum Warahamatu Allah wa barakatu
Some friends request sometimes that we comment on daily trends
I prefer that my comments on those trends be on my personal page
But the videos usually stay for a long time
It stays over time as archives
And I don't like to discuss daily details as some do
Despite this, I discuss a recent issue to some extent
and it has recently grabbed my attention and I think we should have already talked about it
It is that there are many western youths especially YouTubers
And also some entertainment and sport celebrities
they declare their Islam, all praise to Allah.
And this consequently and naturally makes many people happy, especially the youth,
and support campaigns arise on Facebook, Twitter, and others.
What I am saying here is that we should differentiate between the different groups of those people
For example, there are celebrities who are icons e.g. Muhammed Ali Clay and Cat stevens
The one who became Islam in England and was a famous singer
Those are very famous stars whom almost the whole world knows
And whether or not we make famous, they are more famous than all of us.
Those ones, of course, we feel happy about their entry in Islam
First, for their personal survival Inshallah as we hope for them on the day of judgment
And also because them being Muslim serves as advertising of Islam
Meaning that their fans will be exposed to Islam
and maybe many of them will enter Islam
Especially, Mohammed Ali Clay, he used to advertise Islam really well
And he used to defend Islam because the western media was open to him
But as you know, the Islam of those celebrities is really limited and rare.
Maybe after them, no one entered Islam except for a few
And even if one becomes a Muslim, they will hide it.
As claimed, for example, that Lindsay Lohan, the famous actress, has entered Islam but hides it
and she complains of the western media's attack on her even though she didn't declare her Islam yet
And we hope, inshallah, that she is a Muslim and that her Islam is accepted
But here I am talking about YouTubers
And many of them aren't even celebrities
Most of them have subscribers that don't exceed 100,000
Maybe a few thousands or ten thousand only
And many of those can be suspicious
Let me cite an example
One of my friends sent me a before and after picture
a picture from an American girl's twitter account
who only wrote a tweet that she accepted Islam
Before this tweet, her following number was very little
a few hundred or thousand
after that, maybe 10,000 followers only visited her account to congratulate her and follow her
Here I don't exclude, and maybe many have done so before me,
that she did this only to get fame or gain a few thousand followers
and there are indications showing this
We don't claim here that she or any other is a hypocrite
But what I am saying here is that we should be careful
because many of those people and even before social media
I remember when there were online forums giving dawa
and having discussions between Muslims and non-Muslims
specifically the atheists
almost more than 15 years ago, we used to find many Christians, atheists, and others
declare their Islam and tells you I am a Muslim for a month or two
a time period that only lasts to a maximum a few months
then he says, I've tried Islam and didn't find all that I hoped for
and I am now declaring my apostasy
So, he first gains fame when he embraces Islam
and even more fame when he leaves it
so his impact and harm is much bigger than if he didn't announce this whole game
And whether or not it was a game
just by making those people famous, is in its own harmful to Islam
That's why I say, whoever seems like a hypocrite
or even just trying to get a following and support
and making a fuss
These people, I hope we don't help in making them famous
I am not saying we should doubt his Islam or publicly doubt it, I am not saying anything
Just don't contribute to their fame
And whoever has knowledge in dawa, they should message them privately
but not comment on them or even contribute to their fame and inviting people to him
creating a celebrity out of him, then maybe we could be the cause that his Islam be shaky at first
or at least, if they are the ones deceiving us or wanting to deceive us, we don't give them this chance
And here, I move to the next category
there is a group of guys and girls especially in South Korea, the US, and Europe
and also recently, more than one of those declared their Islam suddenly
They were already known to some extent, as I said having tens of thousand followers
then they suddenly declared their Islam
or maybe some of them were giving us a chance or introductions over a few months that they actually started to think about Islam
I am also saying here
If it seemed like he was playing games from the start
we don't contribute to their fame
If there were other indications that he was actually thinking
I also say here give him a chance till we discover
if he truly wants to Join Islam and spread it
or he is just experimenting
In both cases, I hope we don't contribute to their fame
But what's worse than this
and it's what I frequently see
that they, even if they were sincere, as we hope,
they are in fact entering the field of fame, regardless of their intention
and they film all the details in their life
Starting from as we said, their thinking
then I saw one of them, filming how she reads the Quran then how she cries as she reads
then when she says the Shahada
then when wearing the hijab (headscarf), then all the details
I honestly don't waste my time to watch them, I see some video titles
and maybe a clip or two if I happen to come across it somewhere
some film how they pray and their first time eating Halal
daily details and dai ly vlogs
we have to see everything happening with him as a new Muslim
Now, some of these videos might have dawa, I said I don't keep up with the videos
but the impression that I got
is that it has a lot of exaggeration
and allowing followers to see the tiniest details of their daily lives
This in its own, is a problem, regardless of the topic
Whoever displays their life generally
regardless of the lifestyle and the topics we watch, it is a problem in its own
A problem for us and a problem for them in the first place
when their lives are displayed to everyone
So imagine the case for a very private matter
of accepting Islam and their private relationship with Allah
and let's not forget that they are still learning Islam
their understanding of Islam could be wrong or has lots of misunderstandings
that needs lots of purification and education
What is wanted here is that we teach them
to contact them privately to alert them
and try to convince them to not display all those details to people
Do not open your hearts now to fame, even if you were already famous
but your fame is now increasing for sure so don't make these private moments in your life
be exposed to everyone and prone to the influence of others
whether positive or negative
and so I feel bad about the comments or the flood of comments
and of course, it's all done from happiness
and this is something to be praised, from Muslims
that think, look there is this Korean guy or girl or American and so on
embraced Islam so Alhamdulilah
All this is positive but displaying all these daily details and getting ourselves immersed in them
and letting them get in our lives too
this in itself is not something natural and shouldn't happen
So that I don't elongate the video
in summary, anyone who accepts Islam from the new youth
I hope that we treat them carefully, that we don't contribute to their fame
especially when there are indications about a problem in their sincerity
or an attempt to play and mess with Islam
and even if it was proved
or shown to us that he is sincere and wants to remain guided
we contribute to his guidance in Islam
and not in his fame and increasing it
at least caring for him and his religion
and that we help him in secret and private
and we advise him in an appropriate manner of course without hurting him
This is the summary and don't forget them in your prayers of course
Thanks for watching and assalamu alaykum warahmatu Allah wa barakatu