In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praises and thanks are due to Allah, and peace & blessings be upon his Messenger. I pray to Allah that this letter finds you in the best of health and iman. InshAllah, everyone had a great and relaxing winter break. The year is 1431/2010 and most of us have made outrageous New Year’s resolutions as always. InshAllah, we have good intentions with our goals and that we strive for the akhirah.

Why do we always have to make our New Year’s resolutions impossible which involves us suffering? It’s always going to be the weight loss we try to achieve in a month or two then go back to our bad habits. I have tried it every year and I wanted to tweak it this time. Instead, why not try something new and important like eating healthier, try to exercise a little more, give back to the community more and the one we try so hard and feel guilty about: reading the Quran more often. I am not here to tell you what to eat, how often you should exercise, if you should volunteer or donate to charity or when you should read the Quran but I am here to give you a few suggestions you may want to take.

Here are some important niyyah we all should *try*:

-Try not to forget your prayers, pray them on time and encourage friends and family to join (InshAllah)
-Try to read the Quran when you are free (InshAllah)
-Try to attend more Islamic lectures when possible (InshAllah)
-Try to find some time to do Dhikr-Tasbeehath every morning and evening (InshAllah)
-Try to reach out to the Muslim youth (same age or younger than you) (InshAllah)
-Try to recite (or memorize) two pages from the Quran and understand the meaning (InshAllah)
-Try to take time from your day, think about how you can better yourself as a Muslim (InshAllah)

If you have a few that you may like to share with the group, which would be great!
I pray that Allah (swt) guides us, unites us, and reduces our suffering and hardship of every Muslim. I pray that Allah (swt) gives us knowledge and wisdom, gives us strength and good character. I pray that Allah (swt) forgives us for our sins and saves us from the hell fire. I pray that Allah (swt) makes us obedient to His Commands, the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) and guide the Ummah to success in this world and in the hereafter. Ameen!

JazakAllahu-Khairan,
Sr. Senait Mohammed