New year and resolutions?

Assalamualaikum and a happy new year to my dear readers,

As 2013 dwindles down to a close, and precious minutes ticks away till 2014, we busy ourselves with statuses and posts about new years, and the inevitable almost ritualistic exercise of writing out our resolutions. Some of them are so far fetched, so fantasized that even we know, it is almost impossible to reach them.

Let's review 2013. How many of us can say that we have actually achieved our resolutions for 2013? Can you honestly recall things that you have done, that you are proud to mention in 2013? Have you lost a lot of weight? Have you gone on a backpacking trip? Have you made your life more than just study, work, sleep, eat, watch TV, facebook, twitter? If you have, then congratulations to you!



In 2014, your focus are two things, hereafter and the current world. We always mention worldly matters first, and then hereafter always comes second, but no, in the coming year, focus on your hereafter, focus on revolving your life around your afterlife.

Death, doesn't wait for anyone. You could be 5 years old, or 21, or 47, or 100 years old, and death is still around the corner. Imagine, when you are in your deathbed, can you say that you have truly lived a great life? Can you say that you have done your part in the society? Have you made the world a better place to live in for future generations?

Hereafter resolutions

Hereafter resolutions are resolutions for the long run. Things you want to do not because it is just another thing to tick off your list, but because it makes you feel good spiritually, mentally and obviously will be a good deed that you will take with you till your grave. Hereafter resolutions are also things that are worldly resolutions but can be used as a ticket for your Afterlife. Confusing? Here are some examples.

1. Lose weight - I have no idea how many times this has been on my resolution list and has never been ticked off due to the fact that I love food so much, and jogging is really boring for me. Excuses! Why do we need to lose weight? Or maintain a healthy lifestyle in which our weight and metabolism is at its best? Why do we set this resolution? So at the end of the year, we can say, yes! I have lost weight and I am living a healthy lifestyle. Is that it? Not really. In Islam, we are encouraged to keep up a healthy lifestyle, eat right, exercise, be in the best shape we can be. Why? So we can be more beneficial to other people, as well as ourselves. So don't just set a resolution to lose weight, or gain weight, or gain muscle but have no intention of using your resolution for the benefit of the society. If you intend on losing/gaining weight with the intention of being useful to the society, not only will you have a great body, but you will rake in hereafter points as well! Bonuses oh yeah!

2. Travel more - Almost everyone, if given the opportunity, wants to travel. Why? Because it opens minds, opens hearts, cleanses the soul, humbles the ego. You would want to say, "I have travelled to such and such places during my youth, and those were the best moments of my life." In Islam, travelling is encouraged.

"Say, "Travel through the land; then observe how was the end of the deniers."" [Surah al-An'am: 11]

"It is He who made the earth tame for you - so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision - and to Him is the resurrection." [Surah al-Mulk: 15]

Travelling, is a great way to spend your youth. Not only is it fun and exciting, but if our intentions are right, it can also be a good deed that we can collect for the Hereafter. You can learn so much from people's culture, history, architecture, arts, lifestyle and everything that encompasses people's lives that differ from yours. Thus, a worldly resolution that we list down just because it's fun, can also be a hereafter resolution that we do so that we can receive hereafter points. Isn't life great like that?

3. Read more books - We secretly all think that we should read more books, even though some of us hate it. Words and words and more words! Big words, small words, confusing ones, it's all there! But no one can deny what books does personally to us. Reading is like travelling, but cheaper, and you don't actually have to go anywhere and spend as much energy! The tricky thing for most of us is finding a reading material that is beneficial. The first step is to coax the habit of reading and liking it. I have been fortunate to grow up in a surrounding where every member of my family loves to read, and my mum doesn't mind spending hundreds on books alone. But for those who are less enthusiastic, I would recommend reading thin books, preferably fiction. If it's too childish, then go for books like Harry Potter, or The Hunger Games, or books from Sophie Kinsella. They are a great start to churn your mind and ignite your imagination. Books are fun because we imagine what happens and our imaginations are far more colourful and bombastic than movie sets.

After getting used to reading fiction, start tackling self help books. They are inspiring and motivating, and it makes you feel good. After that you can get down to the serious stuff, like biographies, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, Greek mythology, and the list is endless. The first Revelation in the Quran is to read.

"Recite in the name of your Lord who created -" [96:1]

4. Do more volunteer work - The fact of the matter is, volunteer work is better for us more than we think. It is human nature, to feel good when we do good for other people. It is not about the name, or the fame, but it's about feeling satisfied with yourself that you are doing something to contribute to the society, and ultimately, you are making someone's life a whole lot better, and that in itself is a reward. Don't just do volunteer work because other people are doing it, so should I. Of course, that is a noble thought, but be more than that.

Volunteering to do good, is not a one time thing, it's continuous, and it cleanses your soul, keeps you humble and thankful for the things you are given that a lot of other people aren't fortunate enough to receive. Keep in mind that when you do volunteer work, that ultimately it is not for a sweeping moment of gratification, but in your hands, you have the means to be useful to the society, rake in hereafter points to present to Allah later.

Even with a few dimes, a few cents, a couple of ringgit can go a long way, so don't restrict yourself from giving back to the society, with the excuse that you don't have a lot to offer. Don't have money? Then invest in your energy, clean parks, homes of orphans, give away your clothes that you don't wear often, that just sit in your wardrobe for a long time. You have so much to give, so much to offer, don't waste it and don't give excuses. The possibilities are endless.

Don't wait for the new year, start now!

The best time to start a good deed was yesterday, the second best time to start a good deed is today. Don't wait until new year to start being a better you. Everyday should be new year so that everyday you can be excited about your new year's resolution, and start on it. Everyday is a day to right a wrong, to put your past behind you and correct your mistakes. Everyday is a day to be reminded that your death is not far from you, and that life is all about in the moment, and things you do for the Hereafter. Live life so that you won't regret it on your deathbed, and so that you won't regret it in the afterlife. Because you don't only live once, you live it twice, and the second time is forever.

The four mentioned resolution is very vague, and is wide and open to endless branches of things you could resolute to. At the end of the year, at least, make sure that you have achieved one resolution that you set out to do, and make it concrete.

Actions without good intentions is like a tree without it's roots. An action without good intentions can easily be destroyed and it isn't strong enough to last a long time. That is, intentions that aren't good are most unlikely to last a long period of time, and new years resolution is all about perseverance.

I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, say: “Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

Rake in your worldly resolutions with your hereafter resolutions! You won't regret it.

Happy New Year! May Allah make 2014 a better year for you and for me! May Allah forgive the sins we have committed in 2013 and before that.

last post for 2013,
Wallahualam

Assalamualaikum.