The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once went out when the leaves were falling from the trees. He took hold of a branch and said: “Verily, when a servant of God prays seeking only His pleasure, his sins fall away just as the leaves have fallen from this tree.”
It’s that time of year, where the dry crisped leaves fall off the trees to create a carpet of red and brown that crunch underfoot. Just as once the trees were bushy with leaves, they now stand bare and clean in front of it’s Lord, the One and Only.
Just as we humans who have sinned, time and time again, have accumulated our very own hedge of green. In full sincerity, we try to mow down this clinging foliage, but as this pesky leaf gets trimmed, another grows right back in it’s place, but in a different shape.
There is a solution to have these “leaves” uprooted and shed away from you, falling and tumbling to the ground to lie dead and wasted on the ground.
Sincerity in prayer to Allah. How blissful that feeling is of standing there, prostrating to the Almighty, with no worldly gains, just seeking His pleasure. To achieve that state is to achieve pure motives, affections, intentions, and feelings.
It is the end of the Islamic year, and we tell ourselves to take of advantage of certain times to purify ourselves. Start afresh this new year.
But do we really need a holy month to rid ourselves from our own displeasing habits? Do you not know that Allah is the All Seeing year round? Shouldn’t we strive to be the best we can be for our Lord all the time, instead of looking for specific dates or months with a promise to do better, be better? The answer is; we are human. We live to make goals and have the ambition to complete them, but we desperately search the horizon to find a divine night to put our full effort and dedication in to purify our souls.
In Ramadan we pressure ourselves for those thirty days, and sigh in relief once Eid Al Fitr comes. Alarming quick, old habits return and the feeling of spirituality fades. Eid Al Adha comes and goes, but do we still have the lasting impression of the blissful experience? Most Muslims would reply no, unfortunately. We work on the process of personal transformation in accordance to our religious ideals, but lack the hold to maintain it.
Muharram is coming soon. It’s the first month of the Hijra Calendar. In this month of Islam, it teaches us lessons of admonition, good counseling, sacrifice, selflessness, patience, and seeking the pleasure of Allah the Most High.
The tenth of Muharram has many distinctive qualities about it. On this day His Prophet’s grandson endured the greatest sacrifice that ultimately saved Islam.
It is in this date that we attempt to purify ourselves yet again. To sacrifice some of our own bad habits (stop listening to vulgar music, avoid swearing etc) and strive to become better Muslims.
Asking for forgiveness from Allah, and asking for His pardoning. Turn to Him for repentance, for He is the Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful. Giving alms to the poor, donating your wealth, time, and effort to masjids, listening to lectures and gaining knowledge about your religion. A boost from this divine date will help inspire us to complete our “new year’s resolution.”
