Unmodern Aspects of Islam (14): The Cult of Youth

 

Why does our world fear aging so much?
Entire industries profit from wrinkle creams, hair dyes, and surgeries—selling us the illusion that youth can last forever.
We celebrate being “forever young,” while quietly dreading the gray hair in the mirror.

But this obsession has a cost.
We sideline the elderly. We mock them in jokes. We act as if their time has passed, and their voices no longer matter.
In the process, we lose the wisdom of those who walked before us.

Islam flips this mindset.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “He is not of us who does not have mercy on our young and respect for our elders.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 1920)
Aging is not shame—it’s honor. Gray hair, in Islam, is a crown of dignity.

The early Muslims cherished their elders.
They sought their counsel, leaned on their experience, and treated them as a living connection to the past.
Communities were stronger because wisdom was passed down, not discarded.

So what about us?
Instead of fearing age, what if we embraced it? What if we treated every wrinkle as a sign of Allah’s mercy and every gray hair as a reminder of a life well-lived?
Visit an elder. Ask for their story. Honor them—not out of pity, but out of respect.

The world may worship youth.
But Islam teaches us to honor the years—and the wisdom—that time brings.

In a modern world, the Sunnah is our way back to what truly matters.