Starting A New Page

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

When you travel for hajj, you are reminded of your journey to Allah and the Hereafter. You leave behind your family and all the comfort of home. The journey to the Hereafter is like that. Traveling is difficult and can be tormenting, just like the journey to the Hereafter, only much more so.

Ahead of you are your dying, death, the grave, the resurrection, the gathering, the reckoning, the Scales and the Bridge over hell (al-Siraat), followed by either Paradise or Hell.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ ٱلسَّاعَةِ شَىْءٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿١﴾ يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّآ أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى ٱلنَّاسَ سُكَـٰرَىٰ وَمَا هُم بِسُكَـٰرَىٰ وَلَـٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ ٱللَّـهِ شَدِيدٌ ﴿٢

O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing. (1) On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe. (2)

[Qur'an, Al-Hajj 22:1-2]

When you have finished all the rituals of Hajj as they were prescribed by Allah and in the manner that He loves, you hope that your Lord will forgive you all your sins, as the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, promised in the hadith,

“Whoever does Hajj for the sake of Allah and does not have sexual relations (with his wife), commit sin, or dispute unjustly during the hajj, will come back like the day his mother gave birth to him.

[Bukhari and Muslim]

We, who are at home, have the same opportunity to start a new page as those who are doing hajj. Every night and every morning Allah, the Exalted, gives us a new chance, whether you went on Hajj or not, you just have to grab that opportunity. "Allah, the Exalted, stretches His Hand during the night so that those who commit sins by day may repent, and He stretches His Hand in the day so that those who commit sins by night may repent. He keeps doing so until the sun rises from the West." [Muslim]

وَأَنِ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُم مَّتَـٰعًا حَسَنًا إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِى فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُۥ ۖ وَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَإِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ كَبِيرٍ ﴿٣﴾ إِلَى ٱللَّـهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿٤

And [saying], "Seek forgiveness of your Lord and repent to Him, [and] He will let you enjoy a good provision for a specified term and give every doer of favor his favor. But if you turn away, then indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a great Day. (3) To Allah is your return, and He is over all things competent." (4)

[Qur'an, Hud 11:1-4]

May Allah enable us to turn to Him in sincere repentance and provide us with success in this life and the Hereafter. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam