It’s been a very long time since many of us have been able to enter the masjid (mosque), right?
I worked out recently that it’s been around 135 days since local masaajid began to close their doors, and when I looked at this figure my heart really sank.

Even if we have been blessed to enter the house of Allah (SWT) in recent weeks, we find restrictions.
A Ramadan with no masjid, Eid Al Fitr in our houses, and now an imminent Eid Al Adha with limited places in the mosque. Only very few of His slaves have been chosen by Allah swt to perform Hajj this year. (May Allah SWT choose us for this soon).

It’s something we probably wouldn’t have imagined would ever happen in our lives.
The last time I was in one of Allah’s Houses, I certainly didn’t think it would be so long until I could go back… and I’ve been wondering if I really made the most of my time there that day. I know I didn’t.

But that really makes you think about the reality of this life.
Perhaps that was the last time I would enter a masjid. Perhaps Allah SWT will allow me entry again. But, ultimately, one day it will be the final time.
One day, that salah will be your last. That fast will be your last. That Qur’an recitation will be your last. That act of kindness to another will be your last..

It’s important for us to strive to make every single action the best. Better than the one before it. When we increase the number of moments we are in goodness, we increase the chance of a good ending.
We are told this over and over again, yet we forget.
And if it takes a global pandemic to teach us that, then Alhamdulilah.

A du’a I encourage us all to learn and to use frequently:

اللهم إني أسألك حسن الخاتمة
Allahumma inni as aluka husnal khatimah:
O Allah, I ask You for a good end to my life.

We need Allah SWT to teach us and to remind us and to guide us to the best. We can’t do it alone.

By Sarah Abdelrahman