A Guiding Address by His Eminence the Shaykh on the Occasion of the End of the Year 1415 AH.
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The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is the ninety-third meeting of the Open Door, which takes place on Thursday, the twenty-fifth of Dhul-Hijjah in the year 1415 AH.
Since this meeting is the last one of this year and it follows the season of Hajj, we congratulate ourselves and you for what Allah has bestowed upon the Muslims this year in the form of a calm Hajj, in which the rites were performed in the most complete manner and with the greatest comfort, praise be to Allah. This was the case not only regarding the weather and climate, which was cold at night and acceptable during the day, especially on the Day of 'Arafah, when Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) shaded the Muslims with clouds. Then, we thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) that we have spent a full year of our lives, hoping that Allah the Exalted has allowed us to benefit from it and seize the opportunities of life. This is because life consists of moments, minutes, and days that pass quickly and all vanish. The happy one is the one who spends his life in obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). A person has nothing from his life except what he spent in obedience to Allah; as for what he did not spend in obedience to Allah, it is either a loss or a punishment and sin. People, with regard to their time, are divided into three categories: the first category is those who spent their time in obedience to their Lord, even in the habits they are accustomed to, such as eating, drinking, clothing, entering, exiting, and so on. If they sought thereby the Face of Allah, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will reward them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas:Sahih al-Bukhari 56. These are the winners, those who utilized their time, and not an hour of time passed for them without their having an act of obedience to Allah the Exalted in it. They are among the righteous and the pure.
The second category is the opposite of that: those who spent their lives in disobedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), in play, heedlessness, and luxury that leads to destruction, until their lives were wasted. They regret, but there is no time for regret. You find them spending their lives in what does not please Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And when they perform an act of obedience, they do so in a manner that is not required of them, or perhaps they perform the act of obedience merely out of habit. They became accustomed to doing this thing, so it became their nature and disposition without intending thereby the Face of Allah. This person is also a loser to the utmost degree of loss, may Allah protect us from that.
The third category is those who mixed a good deed with an evil one, so they had a share of their lives, but it was not the most complete share. Therefore, the sensible person should seize the opportunities of life before his life ends and he does not realize it, and his time is wasted. How many a person hoped for a distant hope and a long life, but the uncertainty of death intervened between him and that, so the appointed times snatched him, and he went from existence to non-existence.
We have an example in the events that we sometimes witness and sometimes hear about, which repeat every day, every week, or every month. A person puts on his clothes and buttons his garment with his own hand, and then the washer is the only one who unbuttons this garment, while the person is on his washing bed.
He enters the car, opening the door and closing it on himself, and then he does not come out of it, but rather comes out dead as a funeral. In this is a lesson for those who take heed. We ask Allah to make us and you among those who take heed.
As for what concerns the end of this year, a person should account for himself and look at what he has presented in this year. What has he presented for himself?
If he has been extravagant, let him seek pardon and repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic)Sunan Ibn Majah 4250Da’if (Darussalam).
And if he has been doing good, let him praise Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and ask Allah for steadfastness in that. He must guard himself against arrogance and self-admiration regarding the blessing of Islam and the doing of good deeds that Allah has bestowed upon him. For if he becomes arrogant and admires himself, he falls into the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Hujurat 49:17]. We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you a share of our deeds by which we draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that He does not make what we have learned a burden upon us. Indeed, He is capable of all things, and worthy of being answered. We now begin with the questions, starting with Al-Ayyam, and each person has one question. If it is facilitated, he may have another question after the brothers have finished.
As for what follows:
This is the ninety-third meeting of the Open Door, which takes place on Thursday, the twenty-fifth of Dhul-Hijjah in the year 1415 AH.
Since this meeting is the last one of this year and it follows the season of Hajj, we congratulate ourselves and you for what Allah has bestowed upon the Muslims this year in the form of a calm Hajj, in which the rites were performed in the most complete manner and with the greatest comfort, praise be to Allah. This was the case not only regarding the weather and climate, which was cold at night and acceptable during the day, especially on the Day of 'Arafah, when Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) shaded the Muslims with clouds. Then, we thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) that we have spent a full year of our lives, hoping that Allah the Exalted has allowed us to benefit from it and seize the opportunities of life. This is because life consists of moments, minutes, and days that pass quickly and all vanish. The happy one is the one who spends his life in obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). A person has nothing from his life except what he spent in obedience to Allah; as for what he did not spend in obedience to Allah, it is either a loss or a punishment and sin. People, with regard to their time, are divided into three categories: the first category is those who spent their time in obedience to their Lord, even in the habits they are accustomed to, such as eating, drinking, clothing, entering, exiting, and so on. If they sought thereby the Face of Allah, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will reward them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas:
You will be rewarded for whatever you spend for Allah's sake even if it were a morsel which you put in your wife's mouth.
واعلم أنّك لن تنفق نفقة تبتغي بها وجه الله إلاّ أجرت عليها حتى ما تجعله في فم امرأتكThe second category is the opposite of that: those who spent their lives in disobedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), in play, heedlessness, and luxury that leads to destruction, until their lives were wasted. They regret, but there is no time for regret. You find them spending their lives in what does not please Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And when they perform an act of obedience, they do so in a manner that is not required of them, or perhaps they perform the act of obedience merely out of habit. They became accustomed to doing this thing, so it became their nature and disposition without intending thereby the Face of Allah. This person is also a loser to the utmost degree of loss, may Allah protect us from that.
The third category is those who mixed a good deed with an evil one, so they had a share of their lives, but it was not the most complete share. Therefore, the sensible person should seize the opportunities of life before his life ends and he does not realize it, and his time is wasted. How many a person hoped for a distant hope and a long life, but the uncertainty of death intervened between him and that, so the appointed times snatched him, and he went from existence to non-existence.
We have an example in the events that we sometimes witness and sometimes hear about, which repeat every day, every week, or every month. A person puts on his clothes and buttons his garment with his own hand, and then the washer is the only one who unbuttons this garment, while the person is on his washing bed.
He enters the car, opening the door and closing it on himself, and then he does not come out of it, but rather comes out dead as a funeral. In this is a lesson for those who take heed. We ask Allah to make us and you among those who take heed.
As for what concerns the end of this year, a person should account for himself and look at what he has presented in this year. What has he presented for himself?
If he has been extravagant, let him seek pardon and repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic)
The one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin.
والتّائب من الذّنب كمن لا ذنب لهAnd if he has been doing good, let him praise Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and ask Allah for steadfastness in that. He must guard himself against arrogance and self-admiration regarding the blessing of Islam and the doing of good deeds that Allah has bestowed upon him. For if he becomes arrogant and admires himself, he falls into the saying of Allah the Exalted: