{"id":3102,"date":"2013-11-05T07:14:37","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T07:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=3102"},"modified":"2013-11-05T07:14:37","modified_gmt":"2013-11-05T07:14:37","slug":"new-year-new-leaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2013\/11\/05\/3102\/","title":{"rendered":"New Year, New Leaf"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\"><em><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"images\/stories\/muslims\/a-new-year-new-leaf-04-11-13.jpg\" border=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px;\" \/>The New Hijri Year<\/em> occasion is a time for reflection, assessment, and planning for the coming year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <!--more-->  <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\"> One should seize this occasion by assessing his work in the past year(s) and planning to lead a better life in the coming year. It\u2019s high time for reflecting on and studying one\u2019s relationship with God, with his own self, and with people.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">In the occasion of the new year, one remembers that days and years that pass bring him closer to the time of his death. Therefore, he should prepare himself for departing the world by improving his relationship with God and with people. After death, one will miss the great opportunity of correcting his mistakes and will then get the outcome of his work in this world. The new year constitutes a real opportunity for correcting one\u2019s mistakes before it is too late.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">According to `Umar ibn Al-Kattab\u2019s sincere advice, one should bring himself to account before he is taken to account and weigh his deeds before his deeds are weighed on the Day of Judgment.[1] Checking one\u2019s deeds in this world helps in realizing one\u2019s shortcomings and correcting his mistakes. The new year, therefore, could be a stop in one\u2019s life to weigh his past deeds and better plan for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\"><strong>Be Careful, It\u2019s a New Leaf<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">The new year is like a new leaf. A Muslim should be careful to fill it with what pleases God and helps him lead a happy life in this world and in the hereafter. One\u2019s wrongdoings should be corrected with no delay. Good deeds should be increased and maintained.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">At the beginning of the new year, one should check his relationship with God and with people. If one finds out that he fails to carry out some religious duties, he has to resolve to make up for any missed obligations. He should observe his daily prayers, <em>dhikr<\/em>, religious practices, etc. Also, one\u2019s relationship with people should be maintained and improved in case of any mistakes.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\"><strong>Repent, God Accepts It<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">One is advised to start the new year with repentance and starting a new leaf with God and people. Repentance, with its basic conditions and requirements, is highly recommended. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">&#8220;<strong>Oh people, repent to Allah, for indeed, I repent to Allah 100 times every day<\/strong>.&#8221; (Muslim)<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">God accepts people\u2019s repentance whatever their sins are. Allah forgives all sins as He, Almighty, is the Most forgiving, the Most Kind. Allah Almighty says,<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">{<strong>Say: &#8220;O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful<\/strong>.} (Az-Zumar 39:35)<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">So, the new year is a golden opportunity for a Muslim to renew and maintain sincere repentance. Repentance, moreover, cannot be considered as valid unless one takes the following steps:<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">1.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0One must feel deep remorse for the sins one has committed.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">2.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0One must refrain from it totally while also abstaining from all those leads or circumstances that led him to such a sin in the first place.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">3.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0He must be firmly resolved never to sin again, and immediately becoming occupied in whatever good deeds that he can in order to wipe out his past sins.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">4.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0All of the above involve sins violating the rights of Allah; if, however, one\u2019s sins violate the rights of human beings, then he must also do whatever it takes to return or compensate or redress the grievances of the person he has wronged. Paying the aggrieved person his dues or compensating him in whatever ways possible becomes an essential condition of valid repentance.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">Once accomplished, repentance, as stated above, will undoubtedly wipe out one\u2019s sins, and guarantee him a clean record. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, \u201c<strong>One who has repented of a sin (sincerely) is like one who has never sinned at all.<\/strong>\u201d <\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\"><strong>Don\u2019t Miss the Opportunity<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">The new year occasion is a chance to review one\u2019s deeds and relationship with God and with people. Islamic events constitute opportunities to understand Islam and reform people\u2019s behaviors. Days and years bring one\u2019s closer to his death time; so a Muslim should be careful not to miss any opportunity to translate Islamic teachings into practice.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">Finally, we should never lose hope in gaining Allah\u2019s pleasure and forgiveness. The new year is like a new leaf that should be filled with good deeds and behaviors. Let\u2019s repent to Allah and maintain good relationship with all people and work to spread Islamic values of justice, freedom, and equality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: small;\">Source:<em><strong> OnIslam<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New Hijri Year occasion is a time for reflection, assessment, and planning for the coming year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c71-introduction-to-islam-muslims"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Year, New Leaf - SunniOnline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2013\/11\/05\/3102\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Year, New Leaf - SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New Hijri Year occasion is a time for reflection, assessment, and planning for the coming year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2013\/11\/05\/3102\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-05T07:14:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/05\\\/3102\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/05\\\/3102\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"majed\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\"},\"headline\":\"New Year, New Leaf\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-05T07:14:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/05\\\/3102\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":783,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Introduction to Islam &amp; 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