Summary Of The Book "Priorities Of The Islamic Movement By Shaykh Abdulah Yūssuf Al-Qaradawii."

According to the book, it is noteworthy that every Islamic organization must understand they can't achieve anything without a collective work. The earlier Muslims were united but today everything has changed. The presents need to go back to history so as to structure well how an Islamic movement has to operate. If not, the next generation will turn out being a sorry case. 

The media is another vital aspect every Islamic organization needs to take as priority in training the next generation. The media is the most powerful tool that can be used to change the world if it is properly used. Media is the fastest place where people can easily learn and it can be used greatly to promote the dawah works. Especially with the advancement of the new media like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and others can be used to promote the Islamic movements works provided it is used for a good purpose.

Allah says in the holy Qur'an, As for those who strive hard for us, we will most certainly guide them in our ways, and Allah is most surely with the doers of good. This implies that every Islamic organization that want a better tomorrow for the next generation must strive hard in their striving to the call of Allah. They must never be tired and must always be ready to catch the youths young. 

Also, it was mentioned that Islamic organizations that are ready for the work of Allah must be ready to train the youth of this generation on many aspects of life. They must be ready to train them on their social life, personal life, spiritual life, academic life and many more. This is due to the fact that everything work hand in hand.

Islamic organization must train the Muslim youths on their spiritual life mostly. Their youths must be able to read Quran and must be always ready to learn. The Islamic organizations must ensure the Muslim youths do not fall in the hand of wrong ideology. They should be upright at all times.

If minority of Islamic movement in this century do not stand firm and go against totalitarian and dictatorial rule, Political despotism and usurpation of people right and stand firm on political freedom the next generation will be strong enough. They should try to defend their missions and protect the properties of those living around them.

We need a leader that will have strong faith, worship Allah with good knowledge, have good character, he will be someone that will be conscious of his time, organize in his affairs and that will strive against his self desire, who will also let others benefit from him. The kind of leader Im referring is the one that is ready to sacrifice all his life and belongs.

There is a clear deficiency in the understanding of Islam among many people, and an obvious lack of knowledge of Islam's teachings and their relevant hierarchy of importance, which is higher and most important, which is just important, which is not important at all. There is a lack of knowledge of the present time in which we live; of the reality that surrounds us. In fact, we need a new Fiqh, so that we may deserve to belong to those described by Allah as "people who understand.

The FIQH of balance and priorities are the two types of fish where we have to balance our knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and know what aspect of FIQH has to be prioritized. 

Another angle discussed is the Deficiency of Islamic Work in Women's Circles. It was made known that women's Islamic work has not yet reached the desired level, though the call has spread among women, especially university students and secondary school pupils.

 The problem of women's Islamic work is that it is men who direct it, not women, and men are careful to maintain their grip on it, so they would not allow female readerships to emerge. Men impose themselves on women's Islamic work, including even women's meetings, as they exploit the shyness of reticent Muslim women and never allow them to take command of their own affairs. This way, no female talents are given a chance to prove themselves in the pursuits of the Islamic Movement or to be seasoned by experience and struggle and taught in the school of life by trial and error.

The problem of the Islamic Movement in many countries is that its base is larger than what its leadership can cope with. There is no shame in admitting that. The reason for the situation is that the contemporary Islamic Movement has spread all over the world, driving roots in all countries and its base becoming more expansive.

Four major things which every Islamic organization has to prioritize in overall training of the next generation according to the book are;

Pure intention: This is making ones intention pure so that the dawah works may be done solely for the sake of Allah and not for the sake of any other gain such as money, power, people's favor

Fearing Allah: It is to fear Allah in any deed, so that such deed may take its share of perfection. 

Calling Oneself to Account: This is self-accounting. We must have a true intention before starting work, have to seek perfection in our work then give account of ourselves for it is better to account ourselves before we are accounted for. 

Putting One's Trust in Allah: This is the act of putting one's trust in Allah. It is the spiritual weapon that turns weakness into strength and few numbers into large numbers.

Moving on, in this book, scholars like ibn Taymiyyah, Abu ‘ala Mawdudi, Hassan al-bana where briefly discussed where it was said that imam Hassan Al-bana was not stiff. He was always ready to renew and develop new ways and methods for his movement’s structures, institution and systems. The major problem which todays Islamic movements face is that, we are not ready to be open-minded, we are always stiff in our decisions not wanting to bend for new rules or plans.

In order to make the Islamic movement a continual process, we have to take care of our upcoming offspring such that the future offspring will be religiously, morally and academically upright which will be beneficial for the Islamic movements. The future has to be properly planned for the success of an Islamic movement.

To cap it up, for an Islamic movement to function well, we have to ensure that we train our upcoming generations such that they will end up being useful in the society. We have to be opened to corrections and always believe things change, fiqh is dynamic and we do not know it all. 

This book was summarized by Mutohhir Abdulhamid Olanrewaju.