Bidding Farewell to this Year 1432 and Welcoming a New Year 1433

We bid farewell to a to another year of the Hijra of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w), a year which contains a number of days and nights which are what makes up your lifespan. If a day passes then a part of you has passed. You are but a body and spirit existent in a limited time period. When that period comes to an end YOU come to an end. It is only those of sound intellect who realise the true value of these days and nights that pass. They know that it is He Who made the Night and the Day to follow each other: for the one who wishes to reflect or to show gratitude.[1] Whatever anyone has achieved throughout the days and nights that has not increased them in reflection and gratitude has missed the purpose and fundamental wisdom for which these days and nights were created and for which mankind was created. We witness the passing of time and the alternation of seasons and changes and events. Things which are agreeable to us; things which are unpleasant all of which test us. We witness the passing away of those who live alongside us, some of it expected, some of it unexpected. All of this is by the decree of the All-Powerful Sovereign. We welcome likewise a new year. Every individual must look at their level of reflection and gratitude so they may obtain their provision from these days and nights. Amongst the meanings of reflection is removing the veils from the spirit to remember the original covenant which it took with its Lord and clearing away the dust to extend its gaze to its eventual destination. As for gratitude, everything which is of any benefit to creation comes into its sphere. The Master of Creation said (s.a.w), Should I not be a grateful slave? He is the most grateful of creation to the Creator, and through his gratitude we show gratitude to the Creator. May Allah bind us to him in this life and the next. It is He Who made the Night and the Day to follow each other: for the one who wishes to reflect or to show gratitude. What are the signs and the attributes of the people of reflection and gratitude? Read the eleven attributes that follow this verse, beginning with: The slaves of the Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!" (They are) those who spend the night in worship of their Lord prostrate and standing.[2] Reflect upon these attributes and ask yourself what portion you have of them. Do not be content merely to pass over them superficially. Delve into them deeply, hold firm to them and embody their meanings. Each of these attributes has a residing place in your inner being. If each attribute finds its place you will, in your inner being, be one of the slaves of the Most Gracious and every day and night you will increase in reflection and gratitude, and He will prepare you for an indescribable reward. I have prepared for my righteous slaves that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what no man can imagine. The majority of the people of Islam and Iman have made no preparation for the vision of the face of the Best of Mankind, accompanying him on the day of Crowding and then in Dar al-Salam, the Abode of Peace. Does this warrant you giving anything less than your all? How much have you put towards this: of your thoughts, your actions, the attributes of your heart, of the hours of your day and night? After the death of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) Sayyiduna al-Siddiq (r.a) would spend his nights crying out of his longing for him. Do we allow the ups and downs of this fleeting life and the desires of our enemies to tear these feelings away from us? Will you exchange the better for the worse? All you who believe, accompanying him is greater than anything we can imagine. There is no gift more exquisite that the Lord of the Throne may bless you with than his companionship and the vision of his face and addressing the possessor of that face. He is a man like no other, the Beloved of the Creator. If these feelings were alive in the hearts of the Ummah all causes of evil inward and outward would be blocked and the Ummah would be safe from every tribulation. The level of tribulation in which we find ourselves is according to our deficiency in our love for Allah and His Chosen One (s.a.w). At the end of this year may Allah grant us the ability to please His Beloved (s.a.w) through seeking to improve our states and our transactions and what takes places in our houses and what is in our hearts. Nothing should be more beloved to us than Allah and nothing in creation, not even Paradise, should be more beloved to us than Muhammad (s.a.w). No created thing can take precedence over Muhammad, because Allah Himself gave him precedence over all of creation. For this reason the Companion Salama ibn Rabi`a could think of nothing better to ask from the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) than his companionship in Paradise . The response of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) was to order him to make abundant prostration. The closest a slave is to Allah is when he is in prostration. If you desire to be close to the one who is closest to Allah make abundant prostration. One of the meanings of this prostration is to rid our houses of anything which is contravenes his Sunnah (s.a.w). Let this Hijri year finish and with it any contravention of the Sunna. This is prostration. You want to accompany him but you do not want to live in accordance with his teaching? Let this year finish and you are in a state of preparation to meet the best of Allahs slaves (s.a.w).

[1] Sura al-Furqan, 25.62 [2] Sura al-Furqan, 25.63-74

We are fast approaching the end of this Hijri year, 1431. There remain a few days of the blessed

month of Dhul-Hijja for us to benefit from. We should try to round off the year with acts which businessmen analyse their years trading, but our trade is with Allah and is more worthy of being

draw us closer to Allah, as actions are judged by their endings.[1] At the end of the financial year evaluated. We thank Allah for the gifts with which we have blessed and we seek His forgiveness for what we intend to achieve on our journey to Allah, and the traits which we wish to leave behind. from the four inviolable months so the reward of our actions is multiplied. Our bad deeds are also more grave in these times.

our wrongdoings and shortcomings. We also make our new years resolutions for the coming year We should bear in mind that both Dhul-Hijja and Muharram, the first month of the new year, are

At this time those who have made Hajj are returning to their families and communities like newborn babies with a strong resolve to preserve the purity that they have attained in those blessed places. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) taught us to benefit from those who have returned from Hajj by

asking them to make du`a for us and to seek forgiveness for us. He (s.a.w) said, O Allah forgive the one who has made Hajj and the one he seeks forgiveness for. This forgiveness lasts through DhulHijja, Muharram, Safar and for the first ten days of Rabi` al-Awwal. Sayyiduna `Abdullah bin `Abbas said that if those who did not make Hajj knew the right of those who had made Hajj over them they would go out to meet them up on their return and kiss their feet. This is because they have travelled to Allah as representatives of the whole Ummah.

We should open the new year with good works. Amongst the best of these works is fasting. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: The best (month) to fast after Ramadan is the Month of Allah which you call al-Muharram. The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.[2] Both fasting and the night prayer have been made easy in the winter. The Prophet (s.a.w) said that winter is like spring for a believer: the night is long so he is able to stand in prayer in it, and the day is short so he is able to fast during it.[3]

The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) called Muharram the Month of Allah which points to its nobility, just like the Ka`ba is the House of Allah. One of the wisdoms behind the merit of fasting in the fasting, as in the hadith qudsi, is Mine, and I will reward accordingly.[4] month of Muharram is that both are attributed to Allah Muharram is the the Month of Allah and The greatest day in Muharram to fast is of course the tenth, `Ashura. Fasting on this day wipes out inshallah.

the sins of the previous year. We hope to mention more about this blessed day nearer the time

We ask Allah (swt) to bring great good to the Ummah in this new year, rectify its affairs and bring relief to those who are suffering. Peace and blessings be upon the one whose Hijra marks the beginning of our calendar, our Master Muhammad and his blessed family and Companions and all those that follow him until the last day.
[1] Narrated by al-Bukhari [2] Narrated by Muslim [3] Narrated by Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi [4] Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim