Don't Fall Into The New Year's Resolutions Trap (Do THIS Instead...)
When it comes to New Years, people talk a lot about DOING things differently…
"I’m going to change. I’m going to do more of X. I’m not going to do Y anymore. I am going to start doing Z from the 1st of January..."
The desire to change is commendable, but unfortunately for the vast majority of people, it’s the same story every year…
Approach the new year with many goals about how they’ll change their actions / habits i.e. what they DO… only to find that within a few days or couple of weeks, they fall into their old ways.
For some reason, they aren’t able to sustain the change the so desperately desire.
There are different ways to address this conundrum, but here is one approach in a nutshell…
To change what you DO, you must first change two things: how you’re THINKING and who you’re BEING.
Your Thinking ➜ Your Being ➜ Your Doing
We’ll focus on the first: how you THINK…
I’ll highlight just ONE shift, which if you internalize and apply as a Muslim, can drastically shift your actions i.e. what you DO, especially in relation to your daily worship and servitude to God.
This ONE shift will also help you make 2024 the best year of your life and Ramadan 2024 the best month of your life, God willing.
Let's begin with a question...
Do scales weigh or do they count?
They weigh.
The scales on the Day of Judgement will WEIGH our deeds...
And those whose scales are heavy (with good deeds), it is they who will be successful.
[Sūrah al-Muminūn, 23:102]
And the weighing (of deeds) that day will be true. So those whose scales are heavy, it is they who will be successful. And those whose scales are light, they will lose themselves for what injustice they were doing toward our verses.
[Sūrah al-‘Arāf, 7:8-9]
”There are two statements beloved to the Most Merciful, light on the tongue but heavy on the scale: “Glorified is Allah and all thanks are for him,” and “Glorified is Allah the greatest.”
[The Prophet Muhammad, may God grant him blessings and peace]
If our deeds were counted, then it would be about their quantity.
But because our deeds are weighed, it's really about their quality.
It's the QUALITY of our deeds that matters...
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.
In this verse (and in other similar verses in the Qur'an), Allah says that He has created us to see which of us is BEST in deeds (not MOST in deeds).
So, for example, instead of asking: "How much Qur'an did I read?"...
Ask yourself: "How well did I read the Qur'an? Was it with humility, gratitude and focus? Did I understand what I was reading? Did I take real guidance from Allah's Words and apply it in my life?"
Instead of how MUCH you're doing...
think about how WELL you're doing.
Here's another example:
Isn’t it true that the action of the one who donates $1 sincerely for God's sake is more weighty / higher quality than that of the one who donates $10,000 for the sake of other than God alone?
Of course!
Quality involves: intention, understanding, humility, presence of heart and mind, connection and more.
Quality is the essence of action.
—
To close, there is a caveat you should keep in mind...
Quality is key, but that doesn't mean that there aren't minimum standards of quantity set by our Lord for certain things...
A prime example is salah.
One cannot say that they will pray 3 times a day with amazing quality instead of praying 5 times a day with lesser quality.
The minimum obligation of quantity must be met.
Here's a sentence to remember this...
We should do the least of what's required of us by Allah, at the highest level of quality possible.
And perhaps, until and unless we achieve that high level of quality in that minimum quantity of action... it would not be wise to increase the quantity.
Here’s the summary in a simple 3-part framework:
Step 1: Meet the minimum level of quantity.
Step 2: Do that minimum quantity with the highest quality.
Step 3: Increase the quantity while maintaining high quality.
I hope you found this to be beneficial and practical.
May God enable us to increase the quality of our intentions and actions, and make 2024 a truly blessed year.
May He keep us sincere, accept from us and shower us with His love, mercy and forgiveness 🤲🏽
See you next year,
Farzan Parupia
Founder & CEO
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