resolution

Every year, we witness family and friends making resolutions to change for the better: “I will lose 20 lbs”; “I will start praying regularly”; “I will spend more time with the kids”; “I will seek a more fulfilling career”. But most of us stop at this stage, not planning in detail how we will reach our goals

There is an urgent need for thoughtful influential Muslim leaders, like you, to raise a collective voice against this self-destructive violence that threatens to create a seemingly unbridgeable fault line in the Muslim world.

If we don't plan for our time and money, time and money will control us and we will be nothing but slaves running day and night achieving hardly anything for this world or for the Everlasting life. We will be lost in the competitive wilderness of life until we reach our graves.

"I will lose 10 lbs"; "I will exercise more"; "I will spend my money more carefully" - these are just some examples of the kind of resolutions many of us make at various time markers in our lives, most notably, at the beginning of a new year. But for most Muslims, few, if any, are aimed at contributing to Islam on a community level.

Change and hope were the buzzwords of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. Let's let the coming year be the time to put them into action.

As Muslims, we should always remember that oft-repeated Dua recited after our daily prayers: “Our Lord give us good in this world and good in the Next world and save us from the punishment of the Hellfire”. This helps us choose priorities in life balanced between our Dunya and Akhirah.

A resolution to engage in dialog between Shias and Sunnis to save lives from sectarian violence.