BIDDING FAREWELL TO THE YEAR
All praise is for Alláh(swt) Who made the sun a shining glory and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the count of time. All praise is for Alláh(swt) Who made the day and the night alternate in succession for any one that wishes to remember or presents his gratitude. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Alláh Alone having no partner. To Him belongs the dominion of the universe. From Him was the beginning and to Him will be the end and return. I bear witness that Muhammad(pbuh) is His slave and Messenger, who was the best man to worship Alláh(swt) and surrender to Him. May the peace, and blessings of Alláh(swt) be upon him, his family, his Companions and upon any one that follows in their footsteps until the Day of Recompense.
O servants of Alláh, fear Alláh and contemplate these days and nights, for they are but phases (of time) that you pass through to the life of the Hereafter until you reach your ‘final destination’. Every passing day draws you closer to the Hereafter and away from this life. He who takes advantage of the opportunities of these days and nights avails by doing what gets him closer to his Lord and he will be successful. Blessed is he who is preoccupied these days obeying his Lord and avoiding sins. Blessed is he who learns from their lessons and the changes that occur on their passage. Blessed is he who realizes the effects of Alláh ‘s Might in causing the alterations of life and what they entail wisdom and secrets. Alláh(swt) says:
“Alláh causes the night and the day to succeed each other (i.e., if the day is gone, the night comes, and if the night is gone, the day comes, and so on). Truly, in this is indeed a lesson for those who have insight.” (24:44)
O my brothers, have you not observed the sun rising every morning in the East and setting every evening in the West? Have you not contemplated this phenomenon? How the days are fluctuating between sunrise and sunset until the end when everything vanishes. Have you not noticed the phases of the moon throughout the month? The moon first appears at the beginning of the lunar month as a tiny crescent and it starts growing like bodies do until it reaches a stage in which it becomes a full moon. Then it starts shrinking and diminishing. Likewise, is the human life. So be admonished, if you have reasoning.
Have you not witnessed these years, renewing year after year? Once a new year starts, man would perceive the end of the year as being far away. Then the days proceed rapidly, one after another until the year ends as quickly as a blink of the eye. Likewise, one may perceive human life as long whereas in reality it passes quickly and death comes and takes the soul by surprise:
“And the stupor of death will come in truth. This is what you have been avoiding.” (50: 19)
Man would perhaps hope for a long life and comfort himself with such hopes. But the reality is different when these hopes mean nothing and what man has based on them will be destroyed.
O people, these days you are bidding farewell to a year that has passed and is kept as witness of everything you have done. You are also receiving a new year. If only I could know what you have deposited in this last year and how you may receive this New Year. For this, one should hold himself accountable for everything he has done and thus inspect his actions. If he finds that he has neglected his duties, he shall have to repent to Alláh(swt) and make amends. But if he finds that he has been a sinner and that he has wronged himself, he must then stop sinning and violating the prohibitions immediately before his set term is due or then it will be too late. If he finds that he has been a well-doer and a righteous person, then he ought to praise Alláh(swt), his Lord, and ask Him to keep him firm on the straight path until his death, for Alláh ~ is the one who bestowed His mercy upon him.
My brothers’ Faith is not by wishes or beautification. Repentance is not only by words without being translated into action, which should entail quitting the sin repented for. Faith is the belief in the heart, which should also translate into actions. Repentance is the feeling of regret for what was committed of wrongdoings and sins. It is further to return to Alláh(swt) and to correct the deeds as well as to fear Him and realize that He is watching you whenever you do any deed. Thus, you achieve true Iman and penance before it is too late, when you become helpless and unable to do anything in this regard.
The Prophet(pbuh) admonished aman and advised him this important advice:
“Take advantage of five (i.e., by doing good deeds and making amends for the bad ones) before another five befall you. Take advantage of your youth before you grow old, your health before you become ill, your wealth before you become poor, your free time before you become busy, and your life before it is time for you to die.”
Young people have more power and strength than old people. When man grows weaker his strength will deteriorate. When a man is healthy he is active and capable of doing many things. However, when he is sick he becomes weak and incapable of doing what he used to do when healthy. A rich person has the luxury of doing things, travelling and achieving many of his goals. Yet when he becomes poor, he becomes busy with trying to provide sustenance for himself, his children and his family. In life, man has the opportunity to do a lot of good deeds. The doors of repentance and accomplishments are wide open, but only for as long as he is alive. However, when he dies he is no longer able to make amends and do more good deeds. A dead person is a helpless person compared to the one who still has the chance in this life.
O servants of Alláh! Take the benefits of this admonishment and do not waste what is left of your life as you have done up until now. Death is inevitable, everyone of us shall taste its bitterness. All of us are departing this life for the hereafter. Yet, are we going to learn this lesson and make up for what we have lost by making amends and doing the good deeds before it is too late? It is a matter of appreciating the moments that we live. Allah(pbuh) says:
“Surely, your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days and then rose over (Istawa) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty), disposing the affair of all things. No intercessor (can plead with Him) except after His Leave. That is Allah, your Lord; so worship Him (Alone). Then, will you not remember? To Him is the return of all of you. The Promise óf Allah is true. It is He Who begins the creation and then will repeat it, that He may reward with justice those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah – Islámic Monotheism) and did deeds of righteousness. But those who disbelieved will have a drink of boiling fluids and painful torment because they used to disbelieve. It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create this but in truth. He explains the Ayát (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) in detail for people who have knowledge. Verily, in the alternation of the night and the day and in all that Alláh has created in the heavens and the earth are Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) for those people who keep their duty to Alláh, and fear Him much.” (10:3-6)
May Alláh(swt) bless us all with His Book and benefit us with its Áyat and wisdom. By this, I conclude my speech and ask Alláh(swt) to forgive all our wrongdoings. Seek His forgiveness as He is the AH Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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