In The Name Of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful

OBSERVANCE OF
THE NEW ISLSMIC YEAR

In the Name of Allah: No Assistance except from Him. Our praise to Allah: No Gratitude except for Him. Glories to you my Lord: You created me and I am in full obedience to your command. I hold my covenant to You by whatever is in my power. I bear witness that there is no Deity except Allah, and I ask Allah to shower his prayer and blessing on the best among all creations, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the Messenger of peace who received the last message of the heavens to guide the worlds and delivered Allah's Integrated Legislation and Wisdom in a perfect manner.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, I greet you by the greeting of Islam: Asslmu Alikum Wa Rahmetu Allah Wa Barakath:

Today, Inshaa Allah, I will interrupt the reflections about our Ummah to remind myself and you that by the beginning of next week, Muslims will observe the Islamic year 1419.

Let's have a quick look at the consistent principles revealed to our Prophet (PBUH) to compare it to the trend of the Islamic movement and the behavior of Muslims these days (which we were supposed to cover in a continuation of the last series). This will give us an idea about the status and faith towards preaching Islam, how persistent Muslims were in this regard and what kind of support they got from each others. In this occasion we remind ourselves that: we are the Ummah entrusted with the last Message sent to humans, and that the parties of Satan and evil are continuously in confrontation with our preaching since the first day Muslims spread and preserved righteousness on earth.

The call of Islam was born when the creed was built in the heart of Muslims. With the call of Islam: Worship, good ethics and the behavior of righteous community were born.

If we remember the first verse revealed in the Holy Quraan, we would find that wide-open reality where Allah Says in Sura # 96 Al-Alaq, Verses # 1-2

"Proclaim!(or read) in the name of Thy Lord and Cherisher, Who Created. Created man, out of a leech-like clot."

Knowledge in the Name of Allah is the base of human guidance in the worldly life. That is, there is knowledge not acquired in the name of Allah. That knowledge is useless. Also, there are intelligent people, if separated from the guidance of Allah, will have no value before Him, whether they travel to the stars or navigate to the depth of the oceans.

With the beginning of revelation, a surprise attack was launched against the wealthy oppressors. It explains clearly that if a person with excessive wealth opposes the gratitude of the Giver; That opposition will lead him/her to be greedy and mark him/her as denying gratitude to their Lord. That surprise attack held a code of ethics to face the worldly, materialistic, philosophy that does not believe in the right of every human to live with dignity and to instruct the redistribution and the flow of wealth through the needy. It is wise to remember not to contradict the owner of the earth and heavens, wealth and health: What is the burden on a wealthy person if he/she donates Allah's Right in his/her wealth to make the deprived happy?

But, the majority of the wealthy people committed minor disbelieve (sin) which was converted into the worst global ignorance that built hatred in the hearts of others. Allah States and Reminds in Sura # 96 Al-Alaq, Verses # 6-8, where Says:

"Nay, but man doth Transgress all bounds. In that he looketh Upon himself as self-sufficient, Verily, to Thy Lord Is the return (of all)."

Along with the Direction of Almighty Allah in regards to the effect of wealth in communities, you find a direct speech about prayer (Salat) as the unique relation between creations and their Creator. That is in response to the growing ignorance that some narrow-minded people spread about prayer(salat) while rudely accusing those who pray as decelerating production. The production week is 40 hours through which all necessities can be fulfilled; but those who are good for nothing talk about the time lost in prayers while wasting most of their time in telling stories and jokes. Listen to Verses # 9-12 in the same Sure # 96 Al-Alaq, where Allah Reveals the picture of both kinds by Saying:

"Seest thou one who forbids, A votary when he (Turns) to pray? Seest thoug if He is on (the road of) Guidance? Or enjoins Righteousness?"

A guided righteous believer, preserves prayer (Salat) and loves to keep it as a feature of the way of living in all his moments as an honor to him/herself and all mankind, but, those who hate righteousness oppose the idea of keeping the earth a suitable place of worship. They also like to keep it for their bad desires and evil-doing. It is enough, as they believe, that the earth provides their necessities and pleasure and nothing else for any human. Their position is presented by Verses # 13-14 same Sura as:

"Seest thou if he Denies (Truth) and turns away? Knoweth he not That Allah Doth See?"

So, the first Sura revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) mentioned: Allah, mankind, wealth, poverty, Salat and desires in brief statements of wisdom talking to the minds of mankind. It was a summary of the detailed Suras preached along 23 years, where it explained all of these principles in a miraculous way.

In spite of that, and from the beginning, it was necessary to warn the enemies opposing the call of Allah; The first Sura specified the punishment of these enemies in the Day of Judgment in Verses # 15-18 from the same Sura, where Allah Says:

"Let him beware! If he Desist not, We Will Drag him by the forelock, A lying, sinful forelock! Then, let him call (For help) to his council (Of comrades), We Will Call on the angels of punishment (To deal with him)."

If you examine the second Sura revealed to the Prophet (PBUH),Sura # 74 Al-Muddathhir, you will find the same elements in another format specifying the creed, the Call for Allah, the constant features of the community, the struggle of the individual against his/her own evils and the dealing with people. In addition: The involvement in worldly life is to be for the Pleasure of Allah, asking for his guidance and support and preparing for Meeting with Him at the end. At the beginning of the Sura, Allah Says in Verses # 1-2:

"O thou wrapped up (In a mantle)! Arise and deliver thy warning!"

It is necessary to make a person in error feel the consequences if he/she forgets to turn back to the right track. The good physician reminds his patient what will happen to him if a virus inside his body is not resisted. Warning is strongly recommended if the community does not like what they are routinely doing or if the members of the community appreciate the ugly evils they are accustomed to do. The prescription is stated in Verse # 3, same Sura, where Allah Says:

"And thy Lord Do thou magnify!"

This is the badge of all divine messages. To Glorify Allah, and never to give the high glory to an individual, a country or race.

Then a set of directions to build self integrity and gain social dignity are stated in the following Verses # 4-7, where Allah Reveals:

"And thy garments keep free from stain! And all abomination shun! Nor expect, in giving, any increase (for thyself), But, for Thy Lord's (Cause) Be patient and constant!"

Righteous life is built on these pillars. It sheds the light to the fact that the worst that causes people to keep away from a religion and its followers is to find them focusing on the external appearance and shapes while forgetting the valuable realities. A reminder for that is stated in Verses # 38-47, same Sura, to teach people the lessons about the cause of the immediate or future destruction of Nations, where Allah Says:

"Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds. Except the Companions of the Right Hand, (They will be) in Gardens (Of Delight): they will question each other. And (ask) of the Sinners: " What led you into Hell-Fire?" They will say: "We were not of those who prayed; "Nor were we of those who fed the indigent; "But we used to talk Vanities with vain talkers; "And we used to deny The Day of Judgment, "Until there came to us (The Hour) that is certain."

The righteous people are those who work hard to Please Allah and get rewarded. Behind their hard work is a strong will in performing prayer(Salat), paying Zakat and living worldly life as travelers preparing themselves to their destiny and waiting anxiously to Meet with Allah.

On the other side, some people get punished because they denied their Creator and Giver; So how can they perform prayer(Salat) or become kind to the deprived while they live as slaves of their own desires? They may donate some leftovers to the needy, but this cheap giving does not help in building a strong and healthy community.

Ask Allah Forgiveness and Be sure that He Will Respond and Reward you.

Praise be to Allah:

"Who Forgiveth Sin, Accepteth Repentance, Is Severe in Punishment, and Is all-Bountiful. There is no god But He: to Him Is the Final Goal."(40-3)

I pray to Allah to shower His Blessing and Peace on Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his companions.

Dear Muslims:  

The amazing thing is that you find in just the second Sura revealed to the Prophet (PBUH), the status of a person who becomes arrogant in denying Allah's sign due to the huge resources he/she owns. They refuse to follow the straight simple way of Logic. Listen to how this picture is stated in Verses # 11-16 of the same Sura, (# 74 Al-Muddathhir), where Allah Says:

"Leave Me alone,(to deal) with the (creature) whom I Created (bare and) alone. To whom I Granted Resources in abundance, And sons to be by his side, To whom I Made (Life) smooth and comfortable! Yet is he greedy- that I Should Add (Yet more), By no means! For to Our Signs he has been refractory!"

In comparison to what humanity suffers-from these days, you can see why the second Sura revealed more than 14 centuries ago, focused on economical situation as explained in these Verses.

The scope of Islam has a wider and bigger circle that include all the systems inside a country and branches to: Education, legislation, judgment, army, internal guidance, external representation and generally the logical and fair rationalization of all activities to convert all to a potential of value to Muslims and non-Muslims.

The historians say that about hundreds of thousands of Muslims performed Hajj with the Prophet (PBUH) and listened to his last speech while he reminded them by Islam (in its broad dimensions) and repeated at the end of each part of his speach:

"O Allah I have delivered the Message, O Allah Be my witness."

These thousands learned their religion and decided to spread the word and impose the regulations of the last message on all the fractions of the time they lived. When the Prophet (PBUH) passed away, these Masses moved with the message as if the Prophet (PBUH) was among them. If he was not alive by his body, he was alive by the Quraan and by his Sunnah.

From that time on, the companions spread his ideology of: The call of one God Allah, institute justice, and fight superstitions and crooked ways of thinking. The nations allover the Globe observed in the Muslims, a kind of people who were granted power and control on earth to use it for: Establishing prayers, paying Zakat, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong; All in humbleness and gratitude to the Giver and Sustainer.

Compare for yourself this status of faithful believers who stayed the masters of the world for about 1000 years, by the status of our Ummah these days. Extract for yourself what is missing among Muslims and what should be our role as individuals? Discuss the whole matter with your family members in commemoration of the "New Year" that marks the beginning of the 1419th year from the day the Prophet (PBUH) migrated from Mecca to Madina to teach Muslims of all ages that it is always possible to start fresh and become stronger in spite of all circumstances.

I will pray and ask Allah, please say Amen.