Al-‘Allamatul Muhaddith Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwamah (hafizahullah) often speaks about the importance of preserving the distinct identity of a Muslim and not adopting the ways and habits of others. Shaykh (hafizahullah) warned against what he refers to as (ذَوَبان الشَّخصيَّة الإسلاميَّة), the dissolving/erosion of the Islamic identity.
A Lesson from a Simple Incident
On one occasion [26th of Rabi’ul Awwal 1447 (18/09/25)], an Arab child was bidding farewell to Shaykh (hafizahullah) and said, “Bye.” Afterwards, Shaykh (hafizahullah) remarked:
“Add this to the points you have heard from me many times regarding the dissolving of the Islamic identity. Even our children are being taught to say ‘bye’, instead of being taught to say ‘Assalamu ‘alaykum’. حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل
Sometimes they merely say ‘Salam‘ instead of saying [the full] ‘Assalamu ‘alaykum.‘
الكَفَرة هل هم يعلّمون أولادهم (السلام)؟!
Do the disbelievers teach their children to say the Salam?!”
Reflection
In the last sentence, Shaykh (hafizahullah) is referring to the reality that non-Muslims do not teach their children anything about Islam, not even the Islamic greeting.
Why then do we, as Muslims teach our children, or allow them to adopt the ways that are foreign to Islam?