As another year passes alhamdulillah, I’m overcome with a deep feeling of gratitude to God for giving me so many gifts these past years, whilst supporting me through the most trying periods of my life.

Each day that passes is a day less we have in this world. In a recent quranic tafsir class I teach to teenagers at our sunday school, we were asked why it is Allah makes every person taste death before being brought back to life. Amongst the many reflections given, the most powerful to me was that it posed a form of certainty of our demise, something no one can ever escape. People can deny the existence of a creator, but no one can deny that this. If you know you will die, you necessarily ask the question “what next?”. The answer to this is a simple yet lifelong endeavor, focussing us on what truly matters, and increasing our motivation to keep going.

Interestingly, the word “kaafir” commonly used to refer to “unbeliever” was traditionally used to describe a farmer who buries a seed in the ground. The act of knowing something then burying it from sight is the same, and the fruit of recognising this seed only emerges through our actions. Death is one of those truths, and its remembrance of death is a Prophetic quality, as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) described, “Remember more often the destroyer of pleasures (i.e. death)”.

As I grow 1 year older, I have both one less day to live, and more life to live for. I pray Allah makes this year more fruitful and fulfilling for us, through me and to everyone. Ameen!

PS. Thank you for all the birthday wishes! They always bring a smile 🙂