I have a dream and that dream is to have a dream. Ever reach that point in your life were you just scream STOP! Just Stop! And think, who am I? Why am I here? What am I meant to do here? Isn’t it scary that the monotonous routine of school and homework that we’ve grown so comfortable with is coming to a screeching halt! Soon we’ll all be tossed out into the real world; soon reality will hit you on the head like a sledgehammer. And then what?

We all have dreams; we all want to go forth and be something in life, a doctor or a lawyer maybe even a dentist. But how does that benefit the greater part of this world? With millions of people dying all over the world a harsh reality, how is your dream going to help them?

(The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Law of Moses, yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the ass carrying books. Wretched is the likeness of folk who deny the revelations of Allah. And Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk) (Al-Jumu'ah 62: 5).

Soon we will be using our education and implementing what we’ve learned all our lives. According to the analogy described by Allah (swt) in the above verse in Qur'an, if we can’t utilize our knowledge appropriately, we’d be no better than donkeys carrying volumes upon volumes of books.

To understand why you are here, understand the purpose of our creation: To understand why ALLAH (swt) created mankind.

(And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not) (Al-Baqarah :30).

In the above verse, ALLAH informs the Angels that HE will create a Khilafah (Vicegerent, Allah’s Representative, etc.) on Earth, who will be Allah’s Representation of His WILL on Earth, those who will establish and administer ALLAH's Kingdom on Earth.

In the Qur’an we have the rules for establishing Allah's Will on Earth, and in our protocol Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his Rightly-Guided Caliphs (RA) we have appropriate examples of how to achieve ALLAH's Kingdom on Earth..

From here, consider how some people are greedy and don’t want ALLAH’s laws as they are fair and just laws that goes against the greedy agenda of the Pharoahs of this world - and this is what starts the conflict. Compare the greedy tyrants of today to Pharaoh, and how ALLAH destroyed him after Moosa (peace be upon him) challenged him.

People are always saying that we are today’s hope and tomorrow’s future, but what happened to yesterday’s hope for a better future? Didn’t we all get let down: greed, power, and corruption overtook our world. “Money makes the world go funny,” cliched, yet so true. Look at the leaders of today, their greed has turned them into power-hungry men, and what fuels their power? Money! The more they have it, the more they love it and in turn the more they want it. This is an ongoing cycle with the world today; it’s every man for himself, as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Several wars go on before our eyes just to satisfy one mans greed. What are our leaders of today doing for us? All they want is power. What role does the Media play in fuelling greed by dictating that success is limited to material success – even if it is to the detriment of social and moral degradation? Who says that a sports car and a triple storey house in Hollywood is success.

We need to clarify that Islam undoubtedly forces the intellectual advancement, personal and financial progress of mankind in general and the Muslim Ummah in particular. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) exhorted us to seek knowledge. There are many sayings and proofs in Islam that motivate education, self-refinement and self-enlightenment.

Islam motivates progress in finances, social development, education, etc., but never to the detriment of personal independence, which is a condition of self-enlightenment. Muslims are encouraged to educate themselves from the cradle to the grave for the sole purpose of self-enlightenment, whilst financial benefit from this exercise is a supplementary benefit, and not the primary objective. The Muslim has to pursue knowledge that will result in self-enlightenment, reasoning and understanding of Allah, His Creation and our purpose in life as Allah’s Representatives on Earth and the best of Mankind.

Most people pursue education purely for financial gains, thereby pursuing the Capitalistic agenda which is conducive to neo-slavery and neo-colonialism. The ambitious have to toil long hours to reap the rewards Capitalism promises, to the detriment of a poor quality personal and family life. They go to work in a fancy car that they won’t own until it is paid for in 60 months, owe the banks money for houses that they will not live in whilst pursuing the world, etc.. People are chasing unrealistic dreams, maybe instead of looking at our own selfish desires we should step out and look at needs of all humanity who is suffering at the cost of our negligence and self-indulgence.

But what did all their selfish need for power do to our world when the huge unexpected tidal wave destroyed ten countries in the blink of an eye. Millions of people died, thousands cannot be found, lives have been ruined and what power did they have then? Could their money stop the tidal wave? The truth is you can’t out-power the greatest power, the power of God.

There is so much which we could do for our country, for our world. So many changes need to be made, are you prepared to sit back and watch our world collapse right in front of your eyes? Are you going to sit back comfortably in your home while our Muslim children are brutally murdered, while women are being abused, shamed, raped and degraded in prisons? Now that we are going out into the world, we should think about how are we going to benefit the world.

We as Muslims need to try and spread humanity in our world, not just amongst ourselves, but to every man on this earth. The message of unity and peace needs to be delivered, but at the same time if we have to fight for justice then fight we shall…

There is no space in this world for inactive people, we need to stand up for justice, we need to show the world the real meaning of our religion, we need to create an awareness, we need to tell the world that it is now the time to be serious, to take action, to make a difference.

Race, religion, nationality should not be made out to be a greater part of our problems. If our differences could be put aside we could then concentrate, together on what really matters.

Nothing in this world comes easily… nothing in this world is delivered on a silver platter… we need to be proactive and show the world that we are serious about change. Don’t be afraid to speak out, you’d be surprised at the power of your speech. Don’t be afraid to stand up in the path of justice, don’t procrastinate what has to be done for what is unnecessary… you are the difference in the world, so prove it.