Productive Islamic New Year Resolution - 2016

New Year is the time when one looks back to their past years contemplating every success and failure he has committed. The concept of New Year is different in different communities, for the Christian community Georgian calendar is significant to follow which marks 1st January as the start of new year. Chinese celebrate New Year in the month of February, Sikh community commemorate New Year festivity in April whereas we Muslims celebrate New Year with the start of Muharram, which is the first month in Islamic Hijarh.

Islamic celebrations are different from the Western celebrations because we Muslims do not blow candles, no count down, no yelling parties nor any celebrations until late night rather we prefer to:

• Observe fast to relinquish bad and hold onto strong habits in the start of the month.
• Offer voluntary prayers in order to beseech Allah’s mercy.
• Make resolution in accordance to Sunnah and ask Allah the Exalted Lord to guide us in our plans.
• Congregations are arranged for Quran recitation and sermons to hold for imparting significant knowledge to enlighten the hearts and mind of Muslims.

New Year but Nothing to Celebrate:

It is the start of New Year and we are seeing our social media accumulated with gibberish kind of material that all of us are sharing and planning in accordance. New year 2016 is around the corner and just half month left then we will enter in the epoch of twenty Sixteenth yet there is nothing exceptional to cheer. Scrutinize the last previous years and then decide is it fair and legitimate to celebrate and beam on New Year arrival:

• Condition of Palestine is in front of all of us, which is heart wrenching and reminder that nothing is there to celebrate actually!
• Syrian kids who have brutally killed in this Ramadan and still the bombardment is on, ripping them off into pieces, paying for what they have not done. Is this the reason to celebrate New Year?
• Peshawar Attack on a school that happened in the center of KP province of Pakistan, which laid innocent kids to death with such shame and viciousness that humanity died the moment it took place.
• Stampede occurred in Mina or the crane incident that took place during the obligatory ritual of Hajj this year are not sane reasons to give a loud cheer to the coming year.

Or might be Donald Trump statement of barring Muslims from entering into US is the right reason to celebrate New Year. These all deadly and horrific incidents are enough and serious reminder to all the Muslims around the globe that:

[caption id="attachment_6610" align="aligncenter" width="630"] “… Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." [Al Quran 2:156][/caption]

New Year Resolutions for True Believers:

True believers are those who lay their faith in Allah and are always in-attempt to please Him through their entire course of Life. For Muslims New Year is just an indication that another year has gone with the wind and time is nigh when Judgment will be commenced for eternal accountability.

Let us look at the resolution steps, which every Muslim should adopt prior starting their New Year:

Do Things in the Name of Allah:

Muslims are those who submit their will to Allah. This approach is the essence of all Islamic teachings as once you submit your will then you have no rights left upon yourself, all belong the Exalted deity.

Start each of your task in the name of Allah and seek His will if it is better for you or not. If dubious in any task, consult Allah by offering Istekhara, which is a sheer guidance from Allah for His followers, thereupon this small approach will revamp all your New Year resolutions in the longer run.

Do Good have Good:

 Man is rewarded with what he aims for and committing good with others award blessings to the person in return. Add some feasible virtuous tasks in your to-do-list and then continue it until the end of this coming year.

Teach one child that is the best thing you can do this year. It is nothing daunting but an exchange of knowledge, which is Sadqa-e-Jariya!

Technology is evolving; robots have already replaced labor and work. In other aspect, this is the downfall for those who are ignorant and have no access to technology. Arrange classes for such people especially kids, in order to let them familiarize of technology and have good in return.

Nudge Your Inner Philanthropist this Year:

As picture has two sides in the same manner person has inner demons and angelic qualities as well. This year try to jolt your inner philanthropist by becoming a member of any reputable charity organization or donate to the mosques. Start from few pennies and then extend up to your feasibility as pebble too has a capacity to produce ripple in the vastness of ocean.

Avoid Deadly Sins:

In Christianity, all the deadly sins have capital punishment whereas in Islam they are prohibited and can incur Allah’s wrath upon the one who commits it. Practice to avoid lust, pride, gluttony, and jealousy as these are the elements, which fuels the fire of hell for the person. Pride is something which is the most fathomable deed in sight of Allah and is all for Allah Himself. Lust captivates a person, persuades towards the worst, and at times trapped him in deeds, which are unforgivable in sight of Allah.

Those who think they cannot comply with all these rituals should observe fast as it shields a Muslim from all the bad and worst activities.

"Fasting is a shield. Therefore, the person observing fasting should avoid intimidate relation with his wife and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, 'I am fasting.” [Bukhari]

Set Goals and Be Positive:

Inculcate your spiritual strength and set productive goals for yourself, which are achievable. Work on yourself in order to make yourself a better human being first and improved Muslim then. Strongest among us is not the one who conquest the world rather the one who controls his anger.

Unfortunately, we are Muslims but what we practice does not reflect the actual teachings of Quran and Islam. Muslims were renowned for their deeds not for what they talk hence execute the practical deeds. Aforementioned are some of the steps, which can help us in accomplishing our yearly resolution in pursuit of Islamic teachings. Act wisely, as who knows, this might be our last year to breathe in.