Celebrations and Resolutions: Muslim Style.

I used to be of the opinion that Muslims should not celebrate the New Year since it is not OUR new year. It is about Christian era and thus it’s only for Christians to celebrate. There is nothing for us Muslims to be jubilant about the beginning of a Gregorian year.

But I have revisited my opinion. The calendar we are using today is Common Era (C.E.) and after all, we go about doing our business around the world according to this calendar.

Throughout the world, we follow these dates and times. Since the world has become a global village, people who have their own calendars, like Chinese, Indian, Libyan, etc. also do respect the CE dates when it comes to dealing with other countries. Hence, as much as I love the Hijri calendar, I have decided to be happy about the beginning of this New Year.

It was just a coincidence that the Muslim Hijri new year started this year just about at the end of December -- 29th to be exact.

The irony is that Muslims don’t celebrate the new beginning with a bash. Rather, we are overwhelmed with the grief and sorrow of the Shahadat (martyrdom) of the grandson of the Prophet, Hussain (ra), when he faced Yazid’s huge army with just a handful of male members of his family along with his companions in Karbala.

So I welcomed the year 2009 with a graceful and rather sober greeting. I prayed for peace, prosperity, health, well-being and strong Iman for all of us.

And I also made my new year’s resolution.

I was born and raised in an Islamic family where we were always mindful of our actions being Halal in the sight of Allah. Moderation and balance was also practiced in our daily lives. While rejoicing our successes and achievements, we were told that Muslims are instructed to remember that all the success is from Allah, and to be thankful to Him, and to not neglect poor and needy in times of joy. Feeding relatives and close friends and exchanging gifts was a good practice and also a form of Sadaqa, however, we must never forget the needy. My mother personally delivered food, clothes and money to people who were so humble that they wouldn’t extend their hands for help to anyone.

Today, we are a little bit too pre-occupied with self indulgence. We seem to forget the importance of being grateful to the One Who makes things happen. We also spend less in charity. Moderation, too, is becoming a thing of the past.

Once a Muslim scholar asked a Caliph: “Consider yourself in a desert on a very hot day. There is no water around and you are dying of thirst. At that point if someone brings to you a glass of water and in return asks for half of your estate, would you accept the offer?” “Of course,” the Caliph replied.

“And then, imagine this water does not come out from your body in the form of urine and sweat, you are dying of pain and discomfort, and someone offers you a remedy for the other half of your estate, would you accept the offer?” The Caliph again replied in affirmative.

Upon this, the scholar said: “All that you possess in this world is only worth a glass of water. So why not spend from it in the way of Allah, feed the poor, shelter the orphan and help the needy. Allah will reward you and give you many fold as He has promised.”

So let’s remember Allah and give in his way while we can still do that.

Most people in Canada are just three pay cheques away from becoming homeless. Blessed are the ones who cherish the time of prosperity and make their savings in the bank of Allah, Who gives us from somewhere we can’t even imagine.

I will ask my kids not to celebrate my birthday in the customary way of having dinner and gifts. I will tell them to save a dollar a day in my name and if Allah granted me another year to live, give this money to poor and needy instead.

Being part of the Western society, we can participate in different types of celebrations – but with a Muslim touch, always keeping the balance between religion and culture.

I will start collecting a-dollar-a-day in my piggy bank and give it to poor. That’s my new year’s resolution.

Asma Warsi