Dear All,
Assalam-o-alaikum!
Wishing you all a Peaceful & Happy New Year 1430H & 2009 !
May God Almighty Bless you all with a Long, Healthy Life & make us a better Human being & Muslim this year ! (aameen)
We all like to start a New Year afresh with new resolutions & aspirations for the coming days.
By the time the first week passes the New Years' Resolutions also become history & we go on doing what we are used to doing, until another 1st January hits !
No matter what our age, there is always room for improvement in each one of us, infact we all should live each day as if its our last day on earth !
'Abdullah bin 'Umar  narrates that Prophet took hold of my shoulder and said, 'Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler." The sub-narrator added: Ibn 'Umar used to say, "If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your death." < Sahih Al-Bukhari >
If Allah wills this year to be our last year who can stop HIM, then would'nt we want to live this year as best as we can in Allah's eyes?
Most of us are Muslims & beleive in Allah Subhan-o-Ta'ala, but we tend to do so many things inadvertently that can easily tarnish a few good things we do......
if we can eradicate some of them & cultivate some good & important ones , that would make this year a very worthwhile one !
Most of us already know what needs to be done & what is righteous in Allah's eyes, I will just highlight a few things that can easily be part of our New Years' Resolutions
Lets this be the Year that we:
1) Totally put our faith & belief in Allah & not associate anyone else with him, Shirk is one of the biggest sins , so even saying Maddad YA Mohammad (sallalaho-alaihi- wassalam) , Maddad Ya Ali or Maddad Ya Hussain (razi-Allaho- Taala anho) is wrongful, same as giving priority of our time, thought & actions on worldly things & not our Creator is also a Shrik, everyday that should begin & end in the name of God is now being overcome with our desires & worldly deeds.
2) Refrain from glorifying anyone alive or dead, as All Glory & Thanks is for Allah Subhan-o-Ta'ala alone.
3) Keep a restraint on ourselves, if all men were obedient to Allah & would keep there eyes down, women would not have had the need to abide by such strict Pardah.
In that context men are not supposed to watch vulgar movies, dramas & women dancing.
In the same case women should keep a strict check on the type of clothes they wear, those not doing Hijab can still try to wear non-revealing clothes, keeping decency & sobriety a priority .
4) Refrain ourselves & our children from the 'dating' culture prevailing these days, when a Non mahram man & woman are not allowed to even look at each other upclose , cultivating friendships & hanging around together in cafes & cinemas is not right , also cousins & classmates can be acquaintances & associates witout being overtly friendly.
5) Totally ban whisky, wine, beer & all kinds of alcohol from our lives, whats haram is haram, no questions about it
6) Refrain from eating anything which is made in the name of someone else other than Allah & Non-Zabeeha chicken, mutton, beef etc, many of us travelling away from our Muslim countries tend to consume meats that are not slaughtered in the name of Allah, this we must try to refrain from & only have vegetarian or seafood instead.
7) Refrain from excessive shopping especially if we buy through credit card & cannot pay the bill as we must pay our Credit card balance in full each month to avoid Interests on our purchases .
In case we do need to acquire an interest bearing Home loan or Car loan, we should try our best to pay it off as soon as possible.
8) Times are changing, in this financially strained era, if even one of us has the courage to adopt a simple life style that can become a real movement & others will be encouraged to start living simply as well, hence it will really ease the social pressures.
9) We all are sinful creatures, may God Forgive us. we must try to do deeds that can outweigh our bad deeds, as all in all what matters is the 'Balance' of our deeds on the Day of Judgement, hence its never too late to try & do something substantially good which can be the footprint we leave behind when we die which might help us getting over the Tip of Hell.
10) Start this year Grudge free, making amends with all friends & family for the love of God, forgive everyone in the hope of forgiveness from God Almighty.
With best Wishes & Sincerety:
Shumaila Farooqui
'A Sense of Purpose'
Sydney - Australia
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