A few words regarding summer camps.
All praise is for Allah, Lord of all that exists. O Allah, send prayers and salutations on our Prophet, Muhammad, and on his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgement.
Without a doubt, the government (the Shaykh here is referring to the Saudi government) ý may Allah guide it to what is good ý should be commended for establishing summer programs for the youth, programs that help prevent much evil. Imagine what would happen if the youth were left free to roam the malls or the streets. How much evil would result from that? I believe that any intelligent person who is in touch with reality knows that that would be very destructive for the youth, who would then become misguided, developing base manners and coarse thoughts.
But summer programs for the youth ý and all praise is for Allah ý help preserve the religion of many youths; mind you, I am not saying most of the youth or all of the youth (because not all the youth participate in such programs). In summer camps, for example, the people of knowledge are invited to deliver lectures through which the youth gain knowledge and through which a bond is established between the youth and scholars. And of course, there is much good in this.
During summer camps, it is from wisdom to allow the youth to play soccer, to act out plays that are lawful, and to engage in other lawful leisure activities. If people are forced to be serious in all situations and at all times, they will become bored and tired. The Companions ý may Allah have mercy on them ý said:
"O Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you mention Paradise and the Hellfire, so that it is as if we see them with our very eyes. But when we go to our families and children, we forget."
The Messenger of Allah (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam) said:
"An hour and an hour."(1)
This means that it is normal for a person to be upon the former state at times and upon the latter at other times.
On one occasion, 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn Al-'As (Radiallahu 'anhu) said:
"I will stand at night (to pray) as long as I live, and I will fast during the day as long as I live."
When news of this reached the Prophet (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam), he (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam) said to 'Abdullah (Radiallahu 'anhu):
"Did you make this [statement]?"
He said:
"Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
The Prophet (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam) said:
"Verily, your Lord has a right over you, your soul has a right over you, your body has a right over you, and your guest has a right over you, so give to each owner of a right his due right."(2)
Some people were informed of the good deeds that the Prophet (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam) performed in private, i.e., the deeds he performed in his home. They seemed almost to disparage the worth of those deeds, saying:
"The Messenger (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam) was forgiven for his previous and later sins, and we are not like him,"
so one of them said:
"I will not sleep during the night."
By this he meant that he would stand to pray in the night, without sleeping. The second one said,
"I will fast without breaking it (i.e., fast every single day)."
The third one said:
"I will not eat meat."
And the fourth one said:
"I will not marry women."
When the Prophet (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam) heard that, he said:
"What is the matter with people who say such and such. As for me, I fast, and I break my fast. I pray, and I sleep. And I marry women, so whoever turns away from my Sunnah, then he is not from me."
For one to take his share of lawful pleasure is, no doubt, sound wisdom. Furthermore, playing soccer not only provides pleasure that might help alleviate one's mental stress, but it is also beneficial to one's body, making it stronger and more active. But at the same time there are certain matters one must take into consideration:
1) Players must stay away from what some of the foolish ones do in terms of wearing shorts that are not long; a way of dressing that is forbidden. If we say that one's leg is 'Awrah (an area of the body that must be covered), then by its very definition, one cannot lay bare his 'Awrah, nor can one look at another person's 'Awrah, then for the youth to reveal their legs is a cause of Fitnah (trial and temptation) among themselves. This is an evil that we must ward off.
2) Playing soccer should not lead some to using foul language of any kind; something is not permissible if it leads to coarse language, the use of which negatively affects one's honour and dignity.
3) When playing, the players should not do anything that takes away from their honour and sense of dignity. For example, when one team beats another, some of its players will begin to dance, climb one another's shoulders, or do something else that takes away from their honour and dignity. Sure, such acts have come to us from countries that have neither dignity nor Religion, but we must be the first to reject those acts. When we see children doing such acts, we must guide them, telling them to refrain and teaching them correct Islamic manners.
One who disagrees with the concept of summer camps and the lawful entertainment that takes place during them might say that it is compulsory for religious lectures to take place in Mosques. But this is not true, for lectures can take place in Mosques, in schools, in institutes, in houses, or in other places as well.
One must have foresight, seeing matters as they truly are, and not as they are seen on a surface level only. One should have a deep understanding of matters, taking into consideration all benefits and harms that might result from actions, for there is an important and comprehensive rule in the Shari'ah: [we must] bring about benefits as much as we are able to and [we must] ward off harm, minimizing it as much as we are able to. This principle is comprehensive for all aspects of the Shari'ah. Were we to say that summer camps are henceforward to take place in Mosques only, the people would not be able to tolerate that.
I say to one who disagrees; "Know that the Religion is more spacious in its legislations than you think. It brings forth benefits, no matter where they come from, as long as they do not bring with them an equal or greater harm, in which case they become forbidden."
If one were to say that the means of da'wah are confined to those means that were used during the Prophet's time, we must make him understand that the word 'means' indicates the opposite of restriction or limitation, i.e., as long as something is a means and is not Haram (forbidden), we follow it. This is because the means take on the ruling of the goals that are sought through them. Do we not convey the message of Islam to people by means of a microphone? Did this means exist during the lifetime of the Messenger (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam)?
When we read Islamic books, do not some of us wear glasses to make letters clearer of larger? Glasses, then, are a means of reading books and gaining knowledge, and we use them even though they did not exist during the lifetime of the Messenger (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam)? And do not some of us use a hearing aid device to hear good words? Yes, but did such devices exist during the lifetime of the Messenger (Salallahu 'alayhi wassallam) Of course the answer is no. Therefore, as long as we acknowledge something to be a means, and not an end, it is lawful in Islam as long as it is not forbidden in and of itself. Suppose someone said, "This group of people will not be inclined to accept your message until you play music that they can dance to." We answer, "We will not play music, because, though music is a means in this situation, it is itself forbidden."
Overall, I am a proponent of summer camps for the youth; the organization of such camps is a praiseworthy effort on the part of the government, and so I encourage parents to enrol their children in them. However, I would like to warn them about an issue, and that is that, in summer camps, young children should not mix freely with teenagers or those older than them, for it is feared that some trial will result for some of them. Furthermore, those that are responsible for such camps should be known for their knowledge, trustworthiness, righteousness, and honour.
They should possess these qualities in the highest degree possible; to be sure, complete perfection is for Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) alone, but we should give duties of responsibility to the best available people. When the scholars spoke about the requisite qualities of a judge, they said that he should be just. But then they also said, "If no just judge can be found, then we appoint the best of the evildoers, the one from them who is closest to trustworthiness, for Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) said:
"So keep your duty to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) and fear Him as much as you can." (Qur'an 64:16)
So the responsibility falls upon the guardian ý father, brother, etc. ý to ensure that he is sending his young trust to an appropriate camp. He should go himself to the camp facilities to see who is running it and how it is being run. And we ask Allah to grant success to all.
Coming back to the original point, I repeat the need for students of knowledge to be deep in their thinking, to not judge matters by their outer appearances. They should always keep their eyes focused on the purposes of the Shari'ah and on the good the Shari'ah intends for the creation. They should not forbid a beneficial thing or one that prevents a greater evil, unless the Shari'ah itself forbids that thing. When the Shari'ah mentions something to be forbidden, we automatically know there is no benefit in it or at least that its harm is greater than its benefit.
Footnotes:
(1) Related by Muslim (2750), in chapter, "The Virtue of Consistently Thinking about and Remembering the Affairs of the Hereafterý" from Handhalah Al-Usaydi (Radiallahu 'anhu).
(2) Related by Al-Bukhari (1974, 1975) in the chapter, "The Right of a Guest in Fasting," and the chapter, "The Right of One's Body in Fasting." Muslim also related it (1159), in the chapter, "The Prohibition of Fasting One's Entire Life, if One is Harmed by Doing so or a Right is Lost in the Processý" from 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn Al-'As (Radiallahu 'anhu).
Source: The Islamic Awakening (As-Sahwah al-Islamiyyah). The translation is done by Faisal Ibn Muhammad and published by Al-Hidaayah. The original fatawa were gathered and organized by Abu Anas 'Ali Ibn Husayn Abu Lauz, after which the book was corrected and approved of by the esteemed Shaykh, the Faqeeh, Muhammad ibn Salih Al-'Uthaymeen himself.
