The deal we closed (Purchase Requisition No. 9111)

Bismillah.

As we close the year 1433 Hijri, let's remind ourselves of the deal that we have settled with the best Trader, the One who has bought our lives and possessions. The only One purchaser who would most definitely honor the trade arrangements. Allah sealed the deal in the Qur'an verse 9:111 (Surah At-Taubah).

"Surely Allah has bought their lives and their wealth from the believers, in exchange of (a promise) that Paradise shall be theirs. They fight in the way of Allah, and kill and are killed, on which there is a true promise (as made) in the Torah and the Injil and the Qur'an. And who can be more faithful to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in the deal you have made, and that is a great achievement."

- Translation by Mufti Taqi Uthmani (Credit Al-Tafsir.com)

So then, it's a done deal. It's just a matter of executing the trade. Sell our lives and wealth to the One buyer and redeem the payment later. Year in, year out, it's the same old business. But it's not supposed to sound dull or be dull. We have been asked to rejoice in the deal we closed. It's an achievement.

But Sayyidina Abu Bakar (radhiallahu anhu) was reported to have cried every time this verse was recited. He was thinking, we're a tarnished item. A defective good should not be traded, yet Allah promised a purchase. Subhanallah, Sayyidina Abu Bakar, it's no wonder he was As-Siddiq.

May Allah grant us the tawfiq to live as we have been intended to, year in, year out, and make it truly an achievement. Either way, good or bad, it is still an achievement bi-iznillah.
Ameen.

Farewell to 1433 Hijri.

Click below for:
New Hijri Year Prayer by Habib Ali bin Muhammad Al Habshi