The Past is gone forever

 

 

 

The Past is gone forever,
Today is all you have

 

By brooding over the past and its tragedies,
one evinces a form of insanity - a kind of sickness
that destroys resolve to live for the present moment.

Those who have a firm purpose have filed away
and forgotten occurrences of the past,
which will never see the light again, since they occupy
such a dark place in the recesses of the mind.

Episodes of the past are finished with;
sadness cannot retrieve them,
melancholy cannot make things right,
and depression will never bring the past back to life.
This is because the past is non-existent.

Do not live in the nightmares of former times
or under the shade of what you have missed.
Save yourself from the ghostly apparition of the past.

Do you think that you can return the sun to its place of rising,
the baby to its mother's womb, milk to the udder,
or tears to the eye?

By constantly dwelling on the past and its happenings,
you place yourself in a very frightful and tragic state of mind.
Reading too much into the past is a waste of the present.

When Allah (The One God) mentioned the affairs of the previous nations,
He says:
"That was a nation who has passed away."
[Surah al-Baqarah; 2:134]
Our tragedy is that we are incapable of dealing with the present:
neglecting our beautiful castles, we wail over dilapidated buildings.

If every man and every jinn (djinn or a supernatural spirit being residing in this world) were to try jointly to bring back the past,
they would fail because that is an impossibility.
Everything on earth marches forward,
preparing for a new season and so should you.

Today is all you have

When you wake up in the morning
do not expect to see the evening
- live as though today (the present moment) is all that you have.
Yesterday has passed with its good and evil,
while tomorrow has not yet arrived.

Your life's span is but one day, as if you were born in it
and will die at the end of it.
With this attitude, you will not be caught
between an obsession over the past, with all its anxieties,
and the hopes of the future, with all its uncertainty.

For today only should you expend
energies, concerns, and efforts.
In this day you should pray with a wakeful heart, learn & seek righteous knowledge
learn the Qur'an with understanding,
and remember God with sincerity.
In this day you should be balanced in your affairs,
satisfied with your allotted portion,
concerned with your appearance and health.

Organise the hours of this day, so that you make
years out of minutes and months out of seconds.
Seek forgiveness from your Lord, remember Him,
prepare for the final parting from this world,
and live today happily and at peace.
Be content with your sustenance, your wife, your children,
your work, your house and your station in life.
"So hold that which I have given you
and be of the grateful."
[Surah Al-A'raf; Ayah 144]
Live today free from sorrow, bother,
anger, jealousy, and malice.

You must engrave onto your heart one phrase:
Today is my only day.
If you have eaten warm, fresh bread today,
then what does yesterday's dry, rotten bread
and tomorrow's anticipated bread matter?
If you are truthful with yourself and have a firm, solid resolve,
you will undoubtedly convince yourself of the following:
Today is my last day to live.
When you attain this attitude,
you will profit from every moment of your day,
by developing your personality expanding your abilities,
and purifying your deeds.