A reminder from the Shaykh to make the most of one's life in acts of worship.

The Shaykh : From the evils of our own souls and from the badness of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whoever He misguides, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, His intimate friend and His trustee over His revelation. Allah sealed the prophethood with him and completed the blessing through him. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: And Allah the Exalted said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fulfilled the trust. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, advised the community, and struggled in the cause of Allah with true struggle. He left the community on a white path, its night like its day, and no one deviates from it except one who is destroyed. May the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows, we are in this night, the night of Monday, the seventh of the month of Ramadan in the year 1418, opening our gatherings where we meet with our brothers in the Sacred Mosque after the standing night prayer of tarawih and after the Fajr prayer. We ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to grant us all beneficial knowledge, abundant provision, and righteous deeds. Indeed, O brothers, it is obligatory for us to remember brothers of ours who were with us last year, praying as we pray, giving charity as we give, fasting as we fast, and doing good as we do. Now they are in their graves, held accountable, possessing neither the ability to add a good deed to their works nor to subtract a bad one. And we must know that what befell them will befall us, for Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says: Have we prepared for this matter? Have we imagined ourselves that we will be before the praying people, our legs stretched out, possessing nothing except what we have sent ahead of righteous deeds? We are heedless of this, and the death we see in our brothers, fathers, mothers, and friends seems to pass over us to others, and it will not pass over others to us, even though the matter is one. I say this so that we may utilize the opportunities of life in what pleases Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for by Allah, we are in need of righteous deeds at all times and in all places. The wise one is the one who seizes the opportunity of life for what he was created for, which is the worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And the heedless one is the one through whom days pass as if nothing is happening. I ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to make us and you among those who make the most of the opportunities of life in what pleases Him, and to keep us away from the causes of His anger and His sins, and to guide us to the work that pleases Him. Indeed, He is capable of all things.