Naya Saal Mubarak!
The Islamic calendar begins with Muharram, which is considered
sacred a month. Muslims today do not take into account the value of our Islamic
year. The majority of them do not even know when our Islamic year begins.
Allah (swt) says in the Quran:
Indeed, the number of
months with Allah is twelve (lunar) months in the register of Allah (from) the
day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred (that is to
say, Dhul-Qaddah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab): That is the correct
religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. (9:
36)
Allah (swt) has given us a sacred month and year based on
the Islamic calendar but unfortunately a great number of Muslims - especially
here in Mauritius - do not take this into consideration, whereas on the other
hand they take into great consideration the Gregorian and Christian calendar,
celebrated at the end of December. So in preparation for the Gregorian year,
they go shopping, and moreover, those working as officers in the public sector
(Government servants) and also the private sector - hotels, factories etc. - organize
parties and also receive year-end bonuses (called also, “13th or even 14th months” – that is, a
surplus in salary amounting more than the 12-month salary scale) to celebrate
the new year.
It is during this time of year (end of year - December) that we see a lot of waste. People spend
their money and their all their bonuses in firecrackers, fireworks, liquor,
gifts and the celebration continues until New Year’s Eve whereby many families
today prefer to spend these days in hotels or to meet in a place where food -
especially the barbecue - and several alcoholic beverages are available in
large quantities. As for alcoholic drinks, it is true that the vast majority of
Muslims do not consume this poison, but this custom does exist for people of
other religious communities. For them, they must have an alcoholic drink because
without it their New Year’s Eve won’t be complete! So you can imagine how much
money is wasted in the weeks preceding the end of the year and the beginning of
the following year - especially on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
days of the first month (January) of the New Year, even going until the 6th
of January.
People do not realize that they must make savings. They wrongly
spend their money in vain things such as in parties and preparations of the New
Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, Muslims also have entered into the same circle as
these people. They imitate them and their customs. There are many of them who
do not even perform their Tahajjud prayers and even the Fajr prayer at the
prescribed time. They are too busy partying with family and friends!