O Allah! Today is Eid al-Fitr. Today is the day of returning to you. You have blessed me with your gifts in this month. You have helped me to get closer to you, but what shall I do? The days are coming one after another. Day by day I am getting older; however, my spiritual condition is not progressing. In fact, it is even worsening. My eyes, which were crying for you at the Night of Qadr, go astray. I feel that my hands, my tongue, and all my being are missing the closeness to you. I know these changes are all because of my own deeds. I’m so sorry, but what shall I do?
These are the words of most of us in the Eid al-Fitr. How can we maintain the closeness to Allah (SWT) which we gained during the month of Ramadan?
Businessmen always record their financial transactions in their accounts. In this way, they can easily realize how much they have benefited or they have lost; how much they are in debt; how much they should pay for tax; which goods they should buy or sell and how much they have in their stocks. Based on all these data, they know how to plan for the future.
So why don’t we take an account of our good and evil deeds? Maybe we think that evil deeds do not harm us or our good deeds do not benefit us, so we do not mind them. We all know that good deeds make us closer to Allah (SWT) and make Him satisfied with us. We know our sins make us lose the nearness to Him. Surely we all believe that all of our deeds, good or bad, are being recorded by Allah (SWT), and one day He will show all of them to us. So why do we not allocate some time for accounting ourselves in each day in order to apologize to Allah (SWT) for all of our improper deeds and make ourselves ready for a better future and better deeds? (1)
This way we can think about our daily deeds carefully and make conclusions by analyzing them, in order to make strong decisions to continue the good deeds we have done on the previous day and try to stop the evil deeds. In addition, we should try to compensate them as well.
Self accounting is so valuable that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) in his will to Abouzar says:
“O Abouzar! Take account of yourself before you are accounted for whatever you have done. Because taking account of yourself in each day, is much easier than answering it on the resurrection day. Take account for yourself before your deeds are judged, and prepare yourself for the day on which the value of your deeds are revealed. Prepare yourself for the day in which the deeds become evident and nothing is hidden from Allah (SWT).
O Abouzar! No one will be considered pious unless he accounts for himself precisely and carefully, an accounting which is more intensive than the accounting between two business partners.”(2)
Surly, one of the most important redemption keys and secrets of staying on the path to Allah (SWT) is accounting for ourselves. If we have acted according to a continuous schedule and account for ourselves at the end of each day, there will be enough time to ponder on the activities of that day, continue our good deeds, and compensate for our evil deeds….
“So we bid farewell to Ramadan like a farewell to a loved one whose leaving is hard for us and fills us with gloom and loneliness. The one who has a respected right upon us and whom we made a promise to. We say, Peace be upon you, O greatest month of Allah! O festival of His friends!” (3)
On behalf of Roshd website, we congratulate all Muslims and especially you, dear friend, on the arrival of Eid al-Fitr, the day of blessing and returning to Allah (SWT) and the day of honor and generosity of pious and righteous people.
Footnotes:
1. Selected from translation and explanation of “Mohasebeye Nafs” by Ayatullah Sayyed ibn Tawoos. Translated and explained by Abbasali Mahmoudi
2. Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 16, page 98
3. A phrase of the 45th supplication of Sahifa Sajjadiah, translated by William Chittick with minor changes