Assalamu Alaikum
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, is reported to have said: “Judge yourselves before you are judged…”.
This great Companion of Prophet Muhammad was reminding us to do a personal audit of our lives and accomplishments. May God’s peace and blessings be upon the Prophet.
The end of the year is a time for careful reflection, thinking, and brutal honesty - especially if the aim is to move forward to being better than ever the following year. For Muslims, this has never been more crucial.
The year started with a presidential candidate who relentlessly made Muslims the target of his campaign. And the year is ending as he, as president-elect, is filling his cabinet with some of the most dangerous characters to rule over us for the next four years.
It was the year Islamophobia officially became acceptable - and we watched helplessly as our faith, our children, and Muslim sisters, in particular, became its targets.
What was our role in preserving American Muslim rights to be first-class citizens?
We contributed to taking care of the refugees around the world with millions of dollars, but how much did we contribute to preventing disasters from happening?
Since we continue to face crisis after crisis, have we started learning crisis management techniques?
Our collective 2016 was no doubt tragic - but it had its good spots.
The Ummah is a sum of its parts. The question is, what part did we individually play in our community’s struggles? Were we engaged or apathetic? Effective or ineffective?
Were we good neighbors and good citizens, the very definition of a good Muslim, in 2016?
More frankly, were we a blessing or a burden?
That can only be assessed if we do an honest and maybe even painful, audit of our 2016. And doing so, now more than ever before, means identifying what we did right and what we did wrong, what we could have done better, and what we completely failed at.
We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to the Ummah. Most importantly, we owe it to Allah, our Beloved Creator.
“Judge yourselves before you are judged, evaluate yourselves before you are evaluated, and be ready for the greatest investigation (the Day of Judgment)” - Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Take this winter break as an opportunity for a self-evaluation of 2016 and planning for 2017. A family meeting for this purpose is going to be great. We have several articles and a self-evaluation guide which you can print out for each member of the family for this purpose. You can also post on your Masjid notice board this planning tips sheet for people to benefit from.
We don’t control the world, God does. But we must do our part as we do trust God with Tawakkul and Tahajjud.
Peace,
Sound Vision Team
P.S. Good neighbors among Christians reach out to Muslims with messages of love and fellowship on Ramadan and Eid. Think of creative ways to show your love by connecting with neighbors as they celebrate Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, whom we both love.
You can take over a shift for a colleague at work so they can be with their family as many Muslim physicians, pharmacists and nurses do, plan for volunteering at a shelter, give by donating food, or if you have a restaurant, doing like this Muslim one did, by offering a free meal to the elderly and the homeless who are celebrating alone.
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“There is no wisdom equal to good planning.”
- Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. (Source: Mishkat)
You are still the one who needs to think, evaluate and plan. This guide can help you know yourself and your situation better.
Self-evaluation is a necessary tool for self-improvement. These two forms offer a guide you can use to develop your own questions.
Short Guide
Long Guide
Please print and place copies on your masjid notice board so that other people can benefit from it.
By Samana Siddiqui
Although January 1 will not be the Islamic new year, talk of resolutions, change, decisions, etc. should spur us to take action and to plan ahead. Whenever you decide to do this, here are seven reasons to, Insha Allah, convince you of the merits and importance of planning for the coming months.
This handy 10-point sheet is an ideal way to introduce basic Islamic beliefs about Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, to Christians family, neighbors, friends, and peers.
Younger kids may be feeling curious, jealous even, of all of the excitement surrounding the holiday. This is why it's critical to share the Islamic perspective on Christmas with your kids. Even if they know what it's about, they may feel left out, pressured, or even confused about it and where they stand as Muslims.
By Abdul Malik Mujahid
Christmas is an annual Christian religious holiday commemorating the birth of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. For many Muslims who even do not celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it becomes an issue of what stand they should take.
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