As we prepare to turn the page on yet another year, the time has come to make resolutions for the upcoming year. Typical New Year’s resolutions, such as committing to lose weight or putting an end to a certain habit, are well and good.
However, for a revert to Islam, placing an emphasis on resolutions that can strengthen the faith while increasing one’s Islamic knowledge are much more rich and result in greater dividends that transcend our worldly existence.
The problem with making New Year’s resolutions is that many of us soon forget about them within a week. And we go through the motions of another year without even contemplating on the goals we wanted to achieve.
That is until another New Year approaches and we make the same empty promises without a clear goal for achieving them.
Why not shake things up this year and make New Year’s resolutions that you can strive to apply to each and every one of the upcoming 365 days?
It’s as simple as making a list of all of the New Year’s resolutions you would like to fulfill and keeping track of your progress throughout the year.
Here are just a few New Year’s resolutions that are beneficial to reverts and will help get them started!
Improving Patience
There are many different kinds of patience.
The ability to keep calm in a distressful circumstance is one type of patience. Being able to cope with hardship and having total faith in God Almighty’s decree is another form of patience.
For a revert to Islam, patience is one of the greatest virtues that a Muslim can acquire. To be patient means that you put your very existence into the trust of God Almighty and accept whatever good or bad that befalls you. Prophet Job (peace be upon him) was an exemplar in patience and his story serves as a reminder for all of us even today.
Blessed with riches and loved ones beyond most people’s wildest dreams, Prophet Job had it all and was generous with everyone who crossed his path.
It wasn’t until the wiles of the Satan, under the permission of God Almighty, caused him to lose all of his worldly possessions and even his health. And even at the end, when he was a mere shell of a man with nothing to alleviate his suffering, not once did he ask God to remove it nor did he ever give up his faith. As a reward for his patience, God Almighty doubled his wealth and world possessions.
This year, make it a point to remember the story of Prophet Job. Work to be patient in all circumstances. Guard your faith and place all of your trust in God just as the Prophet Job did.
Perfecting the Prayer
The importance of the prayer in Islam, as one of the five pillars of Islam, simply cannot be ignored. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it is incomplete, then the rest of his deeds will be incomplete. (Abu Dawud)
For converts to Islam, learning the Islamic prayer in Arabic can prove difficult. However, just because the task of learning is complex does not mean that you can ignore it. The Islamic prayer is a duty and a veritable call to faith every single day of your life.
Read: 12 Amazing Tips to Love Your Prayer Like Never Before!
For reverts whose prayers are lacking in any way, make a New Year’s resolution to perfect your prayers.
There are countless ways to ensure that your prayer is perfect whether enlisting the help of a trusted Imam to teach you how to pray, or investing in a new smart phone app that plays the adhan each time the prayer is near.
In our age of digital technology, with abundance of resources at our fingertips, it becomes easy to perfect your prayers.
Learn Arabic
The language of the Quran is Arabic. The reason being is that the Ummah is one community with one Lord and one language to unite us.
Whether you find yourself praying in a mosque in Spain, or even China, you’ll find that the Islamic prayers are consistently delivered in Arabic.
Having one language is truly a blessing as there is zero room for ambiguity or confusion.
All Muslims have to learn as much Arabic as required to fulfill our Islamic duties, such as remembering God. Others may go further and learn the entire language to facilitate reading the Quran in its original state of Arabic…
Making a New Year’s resolution to learn Arabic is often one of the first ones that many new Muslims make. However, in order to truly succeed in learning Arabic, you must take a series of steps to achieve this goal. Perhaps you might enroll in a beginner’s Arabic class at your local Mosque or an e-learning program.
No matter which medium of learning you choose, learning the Arabic language is one New Year’s resolution that can enhance your life exponentially. One day you might find yourself in a position to teach others the Arabic language.
Be an Ambassador of Islam
It’s no secret that Islam often gets a bad rap in the media. However, it’s important to note that it also gets a lot of negativity from some misguided preachers.
The negative message they deliver about Islam is misleading.
It is up to all Muslims, to be ambassadors of the Islamic faith. The best way to discredit the negative imagery is to serve as a shining beacon of the Islamic religion.
There are several ways to do this. The first is to always carry yourself within the dignity of Islam while enjoining what is good.
The second is to surround yourself with like-minded Muslims who engage in activities to uplift the community.
Last but not least, wear your faith proudly with a welcome smile that is endearing to even those confused about Islam.
Two miles outside of my hometown, there is a small church. Just after that church is an old gravel road, leading to other similar gravel roads. These are meant to be used by the farmers who farm the fields that run along each side of the road.
Sometimes there is corn, sometimes beans, alternating every year to give the soil some respite and a chance to replenish the necessary nutrients to fuel the crops each year. I can mark the progression of my life through the years by the height of the corn when it happened.
On warm summer nights, I used to drive my car down that gravel road and choose a spot. I’d park my car in the ditch on the side of the road and I’d sit on top of that beat-up 1985 Oldsmobile Delta ’88. Sometimes I’d bring paint and a canvas, or a pencil and a sketchbook, sometimes my guitar.
My Previous Connection with God
I went there to meet God. I have always found God in the sunset, in the trees, in the rain, in the hum of humid nights.
I’d sit there on my car, looking out at the vast fields to sunset beyond, laughing, crying, singing, and calling out to God. Sometimes I’d be in deep sorrow, other times in rapturous joy. Still other times, I cried to God in anger; I didn’t understand why this or that terrible thing afflicted me or my loved ones.
In those days, I was a devout Evangelical Christian, of the Nazarene denomination. I only knew God through a connection with Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him); I believing that I simply had to accept the free grace of God because of the blood spilt by Jesus when he chose to die for my sins.
Because I was born in America to American parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, I only spoke English, so all my songs for God and my pain were expressed in English. Though, the deepest conversations I had with God were entirely speechless, my heart calling out to my maker.
Looking for a Deeper Connection with God
Later, as a new Muslim, although I felt peace in my heart, my understanding of God changed drastically; it’s because of the people I was surrounded with. Gone were the days of deep connection with my God. Now my focus was directed to my deeds and gaining blessing and reward for the Afterlife and Paradise.
But contrary to the understanding of many, I chose Islam not to avoid Hellfire, not to attain Paradise; but purely because I wanted, more than anything, to be near to God. Here and now, and later in Paradise if He chose. If I could be near to my God, my heart was content with whatever that meant.
The Challenge of Understanding
But slowly, my innocence and pure love for God was tainted, just as a child’s faith often becomes callous as they come into their adulthood. I resented God for demanding I address Him in Arabic in the prayers everyday.
And I was told by my companions I was required to even speak to Him in my private du’as using prescribed (Arabic) words, issued by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Even when I understood the words I was saying, they were not from my heart, not in my heart language.
I felt a wall stood between me and God, or a great chasm. I no longer looked forward to the chances I would get to have a personal connection with Him. The 5 prayers became dull and rote, mere ritual I had to do to maintain my status as a new Muslim. I longed for the days where I could address my Creator from my heart, in my own language.
An Ongoing Journey
But as often happens in the life of a Sojourner, I came to a crossroads finally and had a choice to make: Allow this feeling to overwhelm me and stop my prayers altogether, both ritual and otherwise, or find a way to connect my heart to my words, in whatever language.
I began to intentionally talk with God again, in English, in my everyday life. I would thank Him for this or that; and I’d ask Him for help in this or that, and seek His comfort in various ways. I still prayed the required five prayers a day in Arabic, but my connection with God began to mend the more I allowed myself to come near to God in the way I felt comfortable.
I won’t act as if the situation is resolved. As a new Muslim, I am a searcher on a journey to my Lord, always climbing and falling, moving and resting.
Getting Nearer to Him
God wants you to draw near to Him. God opens the door and beckons you. He is nearer to you than your jugular vein. He knows the secrets you conceal in the depths of your heart, and He loves you all the same.
God is the creator of all people and all tongues, and He understands your words before you speak them. Arabic is simply the language He chose to communicate the Quran in because it was given to Prophet Muhammad, who was an Arab. Because of this, the five ritual prayers are required to be said in Arabic, as they are a mere reciting of the words of the Quran.
In a famous hadith qudsi, Allah tells us that if we come to Him walking, He comes to us running.
We cannot allow anything to come between us and our Maker. We cannot remain Muslim in name alone, performing countless rituals with no depth of meaning to ourselves. Islam is meant to revolutionize your life and your world, our world.
Come to Him anyway you can, in any language you can, as soon as you can. The door is open, the invitation stands.
I used to become frustrated easily, especially when I felt my time was being wasted.
It seemed as if slow drivers and traffic jams only existed to aggravate me.
There was the time an elderly man crashed into the side of my beloved ’87 Monte Carlo. Fuming, I jumped out of my car in a tirade. The poor man was shocked, first by the crash, and then by me. This wildly agitated teenager, flailing her arms, and disrespectfully screaming, red in the face.
I remember now in disgrace, how I huffed and puffed, when my sweet, elderly grandmother could no longer keep up with my youthful stride, annoyed at how she walked so slowly as I magnanimously gave her a tour of my school as a freshman.
I am most ashamed of that day, a day that might haunt me for the rest of my life.
You probably think I must have been a pretty horrible person. In fact, my patience before I found Islam, was less than exemplary.
Learning Patience
Alhumdulillah, I can now say with confidence and immense gratitude to Allah, that by His Mercy, my character and demeanor, has improved by leaps and bounds. Through knowledge and His guidance, I have gradually transformed. Day-by-day, test-by-test, ayah-by-ayah.
Within the first year after having chosen Islam, I worked in a print shop in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. In that job, I often had to deal with angry, short-tempered customers who would treat me in humiliating ways, often hurling demeaning words at me. It reminds me now, of the way I had behaved towards that elderly man the day of the accident.
But instead of lashing out, I remained calm and polite. As a result, many of those same indignant, insulting customers, when faced with the stark contrast between their behavior and my serene kindness, would then themselves calm down.
My composure and patient demeanor became a mirror, enabling them to recognize their own misconduct, sometimes even offering an unsolicited apology and leaving the store, subdued.
Read Also: Patience With Tests on The Journey to Allah
During the time before I was readily identifiable as a Muslim, [I had not yet begun covering] I would receive compliments from people awestruck by my self-control in the face of difficult and often intolerable adversity, often being asked how I could remain so even-tempered with someone quite literally screaming in my face.
I always responded with a big smile: “I’m Muslim”.
That answer either left them speechless; eyes wide – mouth agape, their faces contorted in thoughtful confusion, or nodding their heads in contemplation.
I was well aware that Allah’s mercy, the guidance of Islam, was the only reason I was now able to display such a self-possessed, unflappable calm as opposed to the transgressions of my impatient past. Not only had Islam satisfied my soul, it had instilled in me the clear and unwavering understanding that nothing in this world is without purpose.
I had to learn that with every difficulty I faced was a test, and a lesson, challenging me to implement all that I had been taught. As a Muslim, my top priority became fulfilling the purpose I was made for, and attaining the prize that never expires – life in Jannah.
Lessons from the Prophets’ Patience
The Quran changed me. Inspired me to look within instead of demanding from others.
I often reflected and thought about how Adam and his wife, Hawa (Eve) must have felt, having been removed from the felicity and ease of the Garden and then placed on this volatile Earth – where they had to endure hunger, thirst, pain, illness and struggles beyond imagination. They had to have true trust in Allah and steadfastness upon following His guidance. Remembering what He told them:
We said, “Go down from it, all of you. And when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. (Quran 2:38)
I had been astounded by the Prophet Noah, and how he persisted in calling his people to the forgiveness and mercy of their Creator for so many long years, even though they despised both him and his message to the point they were willing to kill him to eliminate his voice from their midst. He was mercilessly mocked and ridiculed as he constructed the ship he was commanded to build; yet he responded with matter-of-fact calm.
The Prophet Moses amazed me – He was sent back to the same place he had fled, fearing for his life. He and the Children of Israel finally escaped, traversing the sea floor – while Walls of powerful water, parted by Allah’s command helping them finally flee from the tyranny of Pharaoh. Allah blessed the Children of Israel, causing them to inherit the land in which they had been persecuted for so long.
Read Also: Prophets- The Happiest of All People
But, in spite of the many miracles they witnessed, they were ungrateful. They treated Moses with resentment, often second-guessing him, berating him for all the difficulty they faced. Yet, Moses remained patient, forbearing and humble, committed to guiding them.
The Prophet Joseph also faced many hardships. Discarded by his own brothers, made into a slave, then thrown into jail despite his innocence, where he remained for several extra years.
It is difficult to imagine being forced to sit in a prison for years, having committed no crime, but he did… humbly and with neither anger nor contempt. And when he was reunited with his family, he openly forgave his brothers and wished Allah’s forgiveness upon them.
All of the prophets and messengers were clear examples of patience, perseverance, certainty and humility. These are the examples I want to emulate.
But, I have learned over the years, it is difficult. Patience tends to wax and wane, along with iman.
In order to be more like the Prophets, and effectively pass the test of life, we require the Help of the One who is able over all things. This is why we say several times in our prayers, “You alone we ask for help”.
But is simply asking, enough?
Allah has said:
And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah]. Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him. (Quran 2:45-6)
We are instructed to seek help through sabr (patience) and salah (prayer). But, we are also cautioned that this will not be easy to attain, unless we are of the khashi’een, the humbly submissive, and have certainty about returning to Allah after death; being held accountable. Based on this, there are four qualities we should work to excel in:
Sabr
Indeed, Allah is with the patient. (Quran 2:153)
If we want Allah to be with us, we must understand the meaning of sabr, which has three types: Perseverance upon following the guidance and doing good deeds, Patience during calamities and when faced with difficulties, and forbearance in refraining from sin and bad actions.
Salah
Regular prayers performed with khushu’ (attentiveness and humility): We have detailed accounts regarding the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Read about the Prophet’s prayer, and be prepared to be awestruck by his dedication, humility and fortitude.
Khushu’
Humble submission in and out of our prayers: Living without arrogance. Remaining humble and aware of Allah’s complete power over everything, and our need of Him, while He is free of need.
Yaqeen
Certainty of the meeting with Allah: There is no doubt that there will come a time, when our lives will end, and we will then face Allah. Our deeds will be evident and even small issues and indiscretions that were hidden will be exposed. We will be judged without the slightest injustice.
All of the examples within the Quran are there for our assistance, as a mercy from our Bountiful Lord; instructing each and every one of us how to make seeking and attaining His help easier – How we can have Allah with us, on our side, as He promised.
While it may appear to be easier to seek help by other means, there is no help like the help of Allah. We would all do better to remember this.
