Badr Ali Qambar
Every time a year passes, you grow a year older, your dreams grow, your experiences mature, and your cultures expand. You recall a long series of memories, and at each stage some pleasant or annoying memories remain in your memory, and some beautiful situations in which you left your mark and impact.
You were in the darkness of your mother’s womb, and then your story began in this life from the first sperm, after forty-two nights, when the first lines of your life, your life and your livelihood, were written on your newspaper. It is proven in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Ibn Masoud, may God be pleased with him, who said: I heard the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, say: “When the sperm passes for forty-two nights, God sends an angel to it, and he forms it and creates its hearing, sight, skin, flesh, and bones, and then says: O Lord, male or female? Then your Lord decrees what He wills, and the angel writes, then he says: O Lord, his term. Then your Lord decrees what He wishes, and the angel writes, then he says: O Lord, provide for him. Then your Lord decrees what He wishes, and the angel writes, then the angel comes out with the scroll in his hand, so he does not add to what he ordered, nor subtract from what he commanded.
Then you opened your eyes to life without understanding anything, and you were crying! Do you know why? It is proven in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “The cry of a newborn when it occurs is an urge from Satan.” And in the two Sahihs, peace and blessings be upon him, he said:
“No child is born except that Satan pricks him, and he begins screaming because Satan has touched him.” It is an eternal, permanent struggle with Satan that begins from those moments, and continues until the moments of departure. It was mentioned in the Almighty’s saying: “He said, ‘Wait me until the day they are resurrected.’ He said, ‘You are one of those who will wait until the day of the known time.’”
It is a beautiful and difficult journey at the same time. It is beautiful if we do well in strengthening our faith, our closeness to the Noble Lord, and our obedience to Him and to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, for there is no room for satanic temptations to harm us or lead us astray from the path of uprightness and steadfastness in the religion of Islam. It is difficult if we surrender to Satan and abandon the path of righteousness, and our lives become nothing more than amusement, frivolity, and negligence in prayer and worship.
Therefore, in every new year that passes in your life, you breathe the breath of life, and you look at it without knowing its secrets, and you do not know what awaits you in the unseen. You are then in a new challenge, and in another chapter of your life, living it in the fast-paced atmosphere of life, with its sad and happy situations and events, the pleasantness of living with good people, and the reconciliation of thoughts with loved ones and sincere people.
The new challenge is to review those years that passed in your life, what you did during them, what impact you left, how was your worship with God Almighty, and were you able to be the best successor to God Almighty on His earth? You walk knowing that you are being examined in this life, and that it is a station of scrutiny for you, before you leave it, and the inevitable moments of reckoning come, and you remember that one day you will stand without an interpreter in the hands of God Almighty. It is mentioned in the authentic hadith that the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said:
“There is not one of you except that God will speak to him on the Day of Resurrection, and there will be no interpreter between him and him. He will look to his right hand and will see nothing but what he has presented, and he will look at his hair and will see nothing but what he has presented, and he will look in front of him and will see nothing but Hell in front of his face. So fear the Fire, even if it is with half a date, even if it is with a kind word.”
Oh God, imagine this strange and frightening scene: the Most Gracious and Merciful Lord speaks to you without an interpreter, alone, far from your family and friends whom you were searching for in this world. So look right and left to see all your deeds. Focus with me on the deeds you presented today as you breathe life. I wonder what these works you will see? And the painful image is to see in your hands, and in front of your face, the fire! Oh God, protect us from it, O Lord.. Then the solution is simple, by protecting it with charity, half a date, or a kind word.
It is not easy to contemplate your contributions in life, nor is it easy to decide to be better than you were yesterday, and it is not easy to make your new year, or the remainder of your years in this world, full of impact, goodness, and beautiful giving. Because, in short, you still need faith aids that help you face the calamities of time, create strong buffers to defeat the satanic forces of evil, and be determined, persistent, and honest with your Lord.
You must improve your intention, focus on the steps you take, and do not let days go by carelessly without giving them a positive impact covered by benevolence, and do not be negligent in doubts, so that you do not fall into the forbidden and permit what God Almighty has forbidden. As he, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Whoever avoids doubtful things will be clear of his religion and honor, and whoever falls into doubtful things will commit what is forbidden.”
Remember with your new age, yes, the new age that is not related to the number of years, that life is beautiful if it is all for God Almighty alone. There are those who remember your impact and your contributions, and there are those who love you and appreciate what you have done in charitable endeavors. Life is beautiful with your prayers, your praise, your reading of the Qur’an, your charity, your connection with your relatives, and the good deeds that you do.. It is beautiful with your kind, loving, pure heart, and your sober morals. Always be committed to being a butterfly roaming the earth to spread goodness, and do not be just a marginal side of life, motionless for the rewards of the afterlife!
A flash of hope, O God, make us among those who live long and do good deeds, clothe us with the garment of health and well-being, grant us a good ending in this world, improve our outcome in all matters, and protect us from the disgrace of this world and the torment of the hereafter.
