Taking a Lesson from the Past
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Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
To proceed: We begin this meeting, referred to as the "Open Meeting", which is the last meeting of this year, the year 1416 AH, on Thursday, the twenty-ninth of Dhul-Hijjah, 1416 AH. We conclude the year with it, and we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for a good ending and conclusion for us and for the Muslims.
The rational person takes a lesson from the passing of nights and days, how quickly they elapse and how they all go by. He reflects on how these nights and days proceed, not by hours, minutes, or seconds, but by breaths, until the appointed term arrives, when the person moves from the abode of action to the abode of recompense. The rational person takes a lesson from what is to come by what has passed; he gauges the future by the past. The past has gone by as if it were a single day, or even a single hour, or even a single minute. Indeed, a person does not realize, in his current state, what preceded his speech just now except that it is something that has ended, perished, and vanished. It ended as if it were an hour of the day, and as if the events that occurred in it were dreams of the sleepers. So it will be with the future as well; it will come and go until the term is fulfilled, the work ends, and it is cut off.As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (When a person dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that benefits people, or a righteous child who prays for him). The firm, wise, and astute believer is the one who seizes the opportunities of life before they pass. He seizes them in good, in word and deed, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent).
Therefore: Silence is good unless speech is good, and leaving off action is good unless action is good. For this reason, Allah described His servants, the servants of the Most Merciful, by saying: [Al-Furqan: 72].
[Al-Furqan: 63].
And in another verse: [Al-Qasas: 55].
To proceed: We begin this meeting, referred to as the "Open Meeting", which is the last meeting of this year, the year 1416 AH, on Thursday, the twenty-ninth of Dhul-Hijjah, 1416 AH. We conclude the year with it, and we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for a good ending and conclusion for us and for the Muslims.
The rational person takes a lesson from the passing of nights and days, how quickly they elapse and how they all go by. He reflects on how these nights and days proceed, not by hours, minutes, or seconds, but by breaths, until the appointed term arrives, when the person moves from the abode of action to the abode of recompense. The rational person takes a lesson from what is to come by what has passed; he gauges the future by the past. The past has gone by as if it were a single day, or even a single hour, or even a single minute. Indeed, a person does not realize, in his current state, what preceded his speech just now except that it is something that has ended, perished, and vanished. It ended as if it were an hour of the day, and as if the events that occurred in it were dreams of the sleepers. So it will be with the future as well; it will come and go until the term is fulfilled, the work ends, and it is cut off.As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (When a person dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that benefits people, or a righteous child who prays for him). The firm, wise, and astute believer is the one who seizes the opportunities of life before they pass. He seizes them in good, in word and deed, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent).
Therefore: Silence is good unless speech is good, and leaving off action is good unless action is good. For this reason, Allah described His servants, the servants of the Most Merciful, by saying:
and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity.
وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَاماًand when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,
وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلاماًAnd in another verse: