THE SUCCESSFUL WINNERS

THE SUCCESSFUL WINNERS


Ah, the blessed holy month of Ramadhan is now past. Yet another year has trickled by us. And it is time now that we all reflect upon this past month, and examine for ourselves-asking truthfully-what-if anything-have we gained out of this ever-important training period?

In the Arab world, there is a common jingle of greeting that is frequently broadcast on the television and radio channels. It is quite a short and simple tune-yet quite rich and deep in it's meaning. The Arabic words go like this: 'Wa min al-Eideen, wa min al-faizeen, inshaAllah'. And it is repeated throughout the days of the Eid on various broadcastings. And you will find this phrase a common greeting among the people as they greet each other in the celebration of the holiday. The meaning is quite touching: 'May you be of those who live to witness another Eid, may you be of the winners, by the will of Allah'. A beautiful sentiment indeed to greet your fellow brethren with.

It is quite simple to understand the first portion of this greeting, for it is quite obviously self-explanatory. 'May you be blessed to witness another Eid'. It is a supplication to Allah to grant you more life to live to witness yet another Eid. A tender and touching supplication asking Allah to grant the person (whom you are greeting) to mercifully grant them more time in order to more sincerely repent for their sins, and more time to do more for the sake of Allah, seeking His pleasure and reward with Him.

The second portion of this greeting is a little more deep in it's meaning. The words themselves are quite simple and clear: 'May you be of the winners (or the successful)'. And as goes in the song as broadcast, a chorus of different voices follow up with 'inshaAllah'. We all are quite familiar with the phrase 'inshaAllah', which means 'God willing'. But as for the phrase: 'may you be of the winners (or the successful), it is a common greeting and supplication repeated much throughout the days of Ramadhan and increasing in the people's repetition of it as Ramadhan comes to a close, and throughout the days of the Eid. It is a supplication in which we ask Allah for success in our efforts of worshipping Him through the month of fasting. And a manner by which we ask of Him the ultimate blessing of attaining His pleasure by having our meager deeds accepted, and hence becoming a member of the exclusive club of the winners-one of those preciously and divinely blessed souls which attain the blessed abode of the eternal bless of Heaven. Surely, that is the ultimate goal of success and winning. That is the ultimate and beautiful description of 'fa'iz'.

So it is with this humble attempt to explain to all reading of this common and short yet potent Arabic phrase, that I myself greet all at this opportune time of the celebration marking the closing of yet another blessed Ramadhan-May you be blessed to witness another Ramadhan and Eid, may you be blessed to be among the winners! InshaAllah! I greet you all from the deepest depths of my heart-min al-Eideen, wa min al-faizeen, inshaAllah.

May Allah grant you His mercy and guidance that your deeds of worship be accepted, and that your mistakes and sins be forgiven, and may you attain the much greater mercy of His pardon, by which all memory and record of any bad deeds are not only forgiven, but all traces erased!

May you and your loved ones be of the successful winners who have learned the important lessons to be had from this holy month. May you be of the winners who have learned the importance of self-discipline in all manners of your life and at all times-not only of abstention from food and sex in the daylight hours.

May you be of the successful winners who have learned the importance of reading the Quran daily throughout the year, and applying it's teaching in your day to day life. May you be of the successful winners who learn the Quran by heart and for whom the Quran will be a companion in the grave and a protection from Allah's anger.

May you be of the successful winners who succeed to instill in their children and all those with whom they come in contact the love for Allah and Islam, and the drive to help others.

May you be of the successful winners who will not forget and pass over the tender beauty of standing up in the late hours of the night in prayer, as the rest of the world sleeps, asking your Lord His forgiveness and pardon and mercy and blessings and guidance and much much more. May you be of the successful winners who will continue to practice the late night nafil prayers throughout the year.

May you be of the successful winners who will be blessed to witness yet another Ramadhan and Eid. May you be of the successful winners who will have the chance with more of this earthly life to repent to Allah and to do more for Him and His cause.

May you be of the successful winners who have learned a higher degree of patience so that if and/or whenever any trials come along your way, you will be patient at it's onset, so that you will attain great reward from Allah for that patience, as He has promised.

May you be of the successful winners for whom the prayer is not a chore, but a blessing from which they desire never to part.

May you be of the successful winners who devote their lives and their energies to working for the cause of Allah always.

May you be of the successful winners who concentrate consistently upon worshipping purely for the sake of pleasing Allah, and not to be seen by their fellow man.

May you be of the successful winners whose sincerity is sure and deep and for Allah alone.

May you be of the successful winners whose ultimate abode is paradise, the upper level of firdaus, and who are blessed to ultimately witness Allah.

And I humbly ask all reading to please not forget this humble sister of yours from your prayers as well. For verily, I am also in dire need of your prayers and in need of Allah's mercy and generosity!

May we all be of the successful winners! Ameen!