In the name of ALLAAH , the Mos t-Merci ful, the All- Compassionate "May the Peace and Blessings of ALLAAH be Upon You" Praise be to ALLAAH we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with ALLAAH from the evil of ourown souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever ALLAAH guides will never be led astray, and whomsoeverALLAAH leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but ALLAAH, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Bismillah Walhamdulill ah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatu llahi Wa-BarakatuhuA New Year Gained or a New Year Lost? A New Year Gained or a New Year Lost 1 of 8
In the name of ALLAAH , the Most-Merciful, the All-
Compassionate
"May the Peace and Blessings of ALLAAH be Upon You" Praise be to ALLAAH we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with ALLAAH from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever ALLAAH guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever
ALLAAH leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but ALLAAH, and I bear witnessthat Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu
Before we knew it, last year passed by like aflash and the new year is here...whether it is2011 CE or 1432 of the Hijri Calendar.For some people, the beginning of the newyear is marked by excited countdowns,popping of firecrackers, partying till the weehours of the morning and dancing.
And for some, it is a time for somberthoughtfulness and self accountability.Instead of celebrating, they are worried andscared.Instead of partying, they think and reflect.
Their hearts tremble and their skins shiver.
Because each year that passes means a yearLESS from their lifetime.....
Each year that passes by is bringing themcloser to their death....
Because, they know that with each passing year ....each passing month....each passingday .....and each passing second ...they arethat much closer to that inevitable eventwhen they meet their end,that much closer to their meeting with theirLord, when they will have to stand in front of
passed will never come back. They know that if they did not make the mostof their time, and if they did not use theirtime wisely, in the obedience of ALLAAH,then surely, they are the losers.
That is because, the Prophet (sal AllaahuAlaiyhi wa sallam) said:"On the Day of Resurrection the feet of theson of Adam (man) will not move till he isquestioned about four things: how he spenthis lifetime, how he spent his youth, fromwhere he acquired his wealth and how hespent it, and what he did with his nowledge."(Tirmidhi)
So they take account of themselves and theirdeeds at the end of a year....and at the endof a month.....and at the end of a day. Theyare not heedless of the passage of time orday. They are conscious of every second of their lives and how important it is to spend itusefully.
You see, your life is like the pages of acalendar. As the months go by, you flip itspages, never to flip the pages back. Those
Similarly, as the days and weeks and monthsof your life go by, they too, will never comeback.What is gone, is gone.
That is why the righteous Salaf were socareful about their time and how they spentit. They made sure that no time, howevershort it was, passed without doing somethinguseful, like acquiring useful knowledge, doinggood deeds, helping others, or advising theUmmah.
Describing the Salafs care for time, Hasan al-Basri said: "I saw those people and how theywere more careful about their time thanabout their Dirhams and Dinars (meaning,their money).
Regarding Imaam Hammad ibn Salamah,someone said: "It is unbelievable! I havenever seen Hammad laugh at all. He wasalways busy explaining hadeeth, praying,reading or praising the Lord. This is how hespent his day." And:" If you were to tellHammad, You are going to die tomorrow',there would be nothing he could add to whathe is already doing."
Subhaan ALLAAH! What consciousness of thevalue of time!
Ibn al-Qayyim says: "The year is like a tree,months are its branches, days are the branchsticks, hours are its leaves, and the breathsare its fruits. Therefore, if one's breaths arein obedience [to ALLAAH and His Messenger],the fruits of his tree are good. If they are in
disobedience, his fruits are bitter. Theharvest is on the Appointed Day, when one'sfruits are found out to be either good orbitter."
The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam)said:“Make the most of five things before fiveothers: life before death, health beforesickness, free time before becoming busy,youth before old age, and wealth beforepoverty.” (Saheeh al-Jaami’)
This Hadeeth, like so many other ahaadeethof the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam),is brief, yet it is so comprehensive andloaded with meaning. Not only does it point
out the importance of its proper utilizationduring our youth, and health. It urges us totake the initiative, and not to delay good
deeds.
The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam)also said:"Lose no time to do good deeds before youare caught up by one of seven calamitiesawaiting you: a starvation which may impair
your wisdom; a prosperity which may misleadyou; an ailment which may damage yourhealth; an old age which may harm yoursenses; a sudden death; the Dajjal; orDoomsday, which is indeed the hardest andmost bitter." [at-Tirmidhi]
In fact, we see that the Sahaabah were notonly careful about wasting their time; ratherthey would compete with one another ingood deeds.
The noble and commendable competitionsthat occurred between Abu Bakr and Umar iswell-known to all."Umar saw that as an opportunity to outstripAbu Bakr and he said: Today, I am going tosurpass Abu Bakr.He said: So I came with half of my property.
The Messenger of ALLAAH asked: What haveyou left for your family? I answered: As muchas this.
Then Abu Bakr came with all that he has andthe Messenger of ALLAAH said: What haveyou left for your family?He replied: I left for them ALLAAH and hisMessenger.It is then that I said: I shall never competewith him on anything again.” (At-Tirmidhee).
And ALLAAH says: "So race in goodness."(Surah Baqarah: 148)
Some Ulamaa while commenting on theabove verse said: “Whoever beats others tothe righteous deeds in this world will be the
foremost on the Last Day and the foremostpeople are the highest in position.”
Dear brothers and sisters, mans life is notfree from impediments, obstaclesand calamities, which can prevent him fromaccomplishing what could have been done
earlier. Wise are those who grab availableopportunities before being handicapped byobstacles.
Let us leave those people moving aimlesslyin their fake pleasures and ponder over a
