Sacred Months, - A new Hijri Year

We recently bid farewell to a yearthat will be a witness for or
against us. We received a new year. A segment of man's life has just
finished and the more days pass by, the closer we draw to the
Hereafter.
Imaam Al-Hasan Al-Basrisaid: "O son of Aadam! You are but a collection
of days; whenever a day passes, a part of you ends with it."
Imaam Muhammad Ibn Waasi'was asked: "How are you this morning?"
Hereplied: "What can the condition of a manbe who draws closer to the
Hereafter with every passing day?"
A wise man once said: "How can man, whose days consume his months, and
whose months eat up his years, and whose years devour his life,
rejoice? How can aman rejoice knowing that the passing of his life
leads him to hisdeath?"
Al-Fudhayl Ibn 'Iyaadhonce asked a man in his gathering: "How many
years have passed of your life?" The man replied: "Sixty."
Al-Fudhaylsaid: "Then you have been travelling on a journey towards
your Lord for the past sixty years and have almost reached your
destination." The man exclaimed:"Innaa lillaahi wa Innaa Ilayhi
Raaji'oon )i.e., 'To Allaah we belong and to Him we will return.'("
Al-Fudhaylsaid: "Do you understand the implication of the statement
you just uttered? He who knows that he is a slave that belongs to
Allaah and realizes that he will return to Him must know that hewill
stand before Him; he who knows that he will stand before his Lord must
realize that he will be questioned; if he knows that he will be
questioned, then he must prepare answers for these questions." The man
asked: "What can one do about it?" Al-Fudhaylreplied: "It is simple:
act righteously in what remains of your life and you be will forgiven
for what sins you committed in the past; otherwise, you will be
punished for what remains as well as whathas passed of your life".
What did we deposit in our accounts for this year? What are we
preparing for the impending one?
The days will bear witness against man regarding what he deposited in
them, whether goodor bad. Imaam Al-Hasan Al-Basrisaid: "Every new day
exclaims: O son of Aadam! I am a new creation and will testify for
what you perform in me, so take from me provision )in terms of good
deeds( because once I depart, I shall not return until theDay of
Resurrection."
The wise one is he who holds to account and reproaches himself; he
would scrutinize his situation and repent to Allaah if has neglected
some of the obligations upon himself; he would then maintain himself
upon the right path before it is too late. If he has oppressed himself
by committing sins and slipping into prohibitions, he must cease doing
so, before death approaches and it is too late. If one is from those
whom Allaah has blessed with righteousness, then he must show
gratitude and supplicate Allaah to enable him to remain steadfast upon
such righteousness.
At the end of every year, businessmen review their recordsand accounts
and set future plans in order to avoid repeating past mistakes, as
well as to eludefuture losses and maximize their profits. Why is it
then that many years pass by with us failing to even think of
reviewing our records and accounts in terms of good and bad deeds?
Many people do hold themselves to account, but only in terms of their
worldly lives - so that they may gain more of this fast-vanishing
life. They never seem to give heed to the real, and infinitely more
important, accounting and recording: that ofmatters that could lead
them to Hell, or result in them being admitted into Paradise. They
passmany years of their lives without sincere and accurate
accountability with regards to the Hereafter.
If one of us loses money, he may become enraged; if he loses a
precious and beloved person, he would be overcome with grief. How
should the case then be of one who loses a portion of his life, which
cannot be made up forand which he could only have benefited from by
depositing in itgood deeds that would benefit him on the Day when
wealth and offspring will be of no benefit?
Allaah Almighty commands us to hold ourselves to account and prepare
for the Day of Account saying )what means(:"O you whohave believed!
Fear Allaah. And letevery soul look to what it has putforth for
tomorrow – and fear Allaah. Indeed, Allaah is acquainted with what you
do. And be not like those who forgot Allaah, so He made them forget
themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient."]Quran 59: 19-20[
'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaabsaid: "Hold yourselves to account before you are
held to account - and prepare for the Great Meeting. The account on
the Day of Resurrection will only be easy for those who had held
themselves to account in this life."
Maymoon Ibn Mihraansaid: "A person will not attain piety until he
questions himself as meticulously as a stingy person would probe his
business partner."
Receiving a new year is one of thebounties of Allaah, as it entails
that Allaah has given us more of an opportunity to repent and increase
in good deeds.
'Abdullaah Ibn Busr Al-Aslamisaid: "The Messenger of Allaahwas asked:
'Who is the best of people?' Hereplied:"The best of people is he whose
life is long and whose conduct is good."Then, hewas asked: 'Who is the
worst of people?' Hereplied:"The worst of people is he whose life is
long and whose conduct is evil.""]At-Tirmithi[
Abu Hurayrahreported that the Prophetsaid:"Allaah leaves no excuse for
a person whom He delays )i.e., allows to live( to the age of sixty
years."]Al-Bukhaari[ Commenting on thisnarration, Imaam Ibn Hajarsaid:
"This means that Allaah would have granted such a person an ample
amount of time to live, such that he could not reasonably say: 'Had I
lived longer, I would have done such and such good deeds.' Therefore,
a person who reaches this age must earnestly and sincerely repent, ask
the forgiveness of Allaah, and utilize what is left of his life in the
obedience of Allaah."
Imaam Ibn Battaalsaid: "This is so because at this age one would most
likely be approaching death. He would have no excuse because, by then,
Allaah would have supplied every sign to such a person that shouldhave
made him embrace and affixhimself to righteousness."
Did you ever sit alone and hold yourself to account regarding what you
have said and done? Did you ever attempt to enumerate your sins and
your good deeds?
When Tawbah Ibn As-Simmaahreached the age of sixty, he realized that
he had lived for twenty one thousand and three hundred days, so he
wailed:"Woe to me! How can I meet my Lord? If I only sinned once a day
then I would have at least twentyone thousand and three hundred sins,
so how will the case be when I know that I have sinned tens of times
every day?"
At the end of the year and other such occasions, a Muslim should sit
in seclusion and ponder over his sins and his record of deeds, and
thereby hold himself to account. As a mater of fact, a Muslim should
do this on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. If he finds that he has
done well, he should be grateful to Allaah for having enabled him to
do so, otherwise, he should repent and refrain from further evil; he
should also seek the forgiveness of Allaah and pledge to become one of
the righteous. Abu Tharr and Mu`aath Ibn Jabalreported that the
Messenger of Allaahsaid:"Fear Allaah wherever you are and perform good
deeds after doing evil ones; the latter will obliterate the former -
and behave courteously towards others."]At-Tirmithi[ So let us rush to
repentance, before it is too late.
The question of greeting and congratulating others upon the arrival of
the new Hijri year was addressed in a Jumu'ah Khutbah by Shaykh
Muhammad Ibn Saalih Al-'Uthaymeenwho stated:
"O Muslims! We are approaching a new Islamic Hijri year. It is not
apractice recorded in the Sunnah to celebrate this day )i.e., its
first day( or to congratulate and greetone another on its occasion.
One does not rejoice by dint of havinglived for many years; rather,
the real joy is when he has specifically spent these years in the
obedience of Allaah, while these years are a source of evil for him if
he has spent them otherwise. This is because the best of people is he
whose life is long and whose conduct is good, while the worst of
people is he whose life is long and whose conduct is evil, as stated
by the Messenger of Allaah. We must receive our days, months and years
whilst in the obedienceof Allaah. We should hold ourselves to account
and reform and rectify any evil in our conductand deeds.
We should be conscious of Allaah with regards to our wives, our
children, our relatives and anyoneelse whom Allaah has made us
responsible for."
In response to a question regarding the ruling of congratulating
others on this dayand how to respond if someone is congratulated on
its occasion, hestated: "If someone congratulates one, he should
return it, but one should never initiate the congratulation, as I am
unaware of it being reported that any of the Salafever congratulated
one another other on this day. As a mater of fact, the decision on the
month with which to start the Hijri year was done during the era of
'Umar)which was, of course, after the era of the Prophet(."