Learn to recognize the purpose of your existence, and realize the value of what you could offer.  No person is insignificant and no good deed is too small. Every little counts; the desert is vast, but it is constituted of tiny grains of sand. No grains of sand, no vast desert. We may be a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less without that drop and if every drop was to be removed, there’d be no ocean.

CHANGE
Meaningful living comes from honoring each moment and making every action count. It is a tiny shift in perception that assigns meaning and importance to each moment. It means stopping to notice the beauty and love around us, and within us. It means being fully present in each moment, because only the present moment truly exists. So many of us worry about the future, hold regrets about the past, and completely ignore the present. Make the best use of the present.

THE LARGER STORY
Life is precious, an amaanah/trust from Allah; each and every moment of it. No wonder the Prophet prayed; “O Allah let every moment of life be an opportunity for increased goodness.”
Many lives are often our filled with meaningless moments, but those moments are meaningless, only because we don’t honor them. Islam emphasizes niyyah /intention before any deliberate action. Why? It means when we do things intentionally there is a purpose why we do it, so the act is done purposely; and if our lives become a series of purposeful acts, then we live a meaningful life.  Life has meaning, make life meaningful; life has purpose, make life purposeful.

In navigating the road of life, do not be a victim of what happens; but rather be an architect of the pathway making things happen. Learn to ride the wave of life, with its ups and downs; moments of joy and tears, gains and losses, highs and lows, advances and setbacks, achievements and disappointments, happiness and sadness… and, let’s resolve to perform without delay what we ought to, and perform without fail what we resolve. In Allah we trust and depend; after all, from Him do we come and unto Him is our ultimate return.

Say: If you wish Allah to love you then follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Allah will love you and Forgive you your sins. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Quran 3:31]

With Moulood-un-Nabi, we commemorate the birth of the Final Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who was born in the month of Rabi’ul’Awwal, over fourteen hundred and fifty five years ago in the city of Makkah. Allah sent him as kaaf fatan lin naas / a guide to humanity and as rahmatan lil ‘aalameen / a mercy unto the worlds.

We should to realize that every moment of the Prophet’s life; whether private or public; whether in the mosque or in the street, whether with family or strangers; each aspect of his life serves as an example. Allah thus reminds us the Qur’an [33:21] that the Prophet is uswatun hasanah, the best example.

Ali bin Abi Talib describes the Prophet in the following tribute: "Prophet Muhammad is the Seal of Prophets, the most generous and the bravest of all. His speech was the most reliable. He was the keenest and the most attentive to people’s trust and was very careful to pay people’s due in full. The Prophet [pbuh] was the most amenable and the most yielding

companion, seeing him unexpectedly you respect him and venerate him. He who has acquaintance with him will like him. He who describes him says: ‘I have never seen such a person neither before nor after.’ " [Ibn Hisham; Jami' At-Tirmidhi]

We commemorate the Moulood of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)… - to remind us of his noble mission - to increase our knowledge of the history of the Prophet and those around him, - to appreciate his struggle in implementing the Deen-ul-Islam, - to encourage all of us to implement the example (sunnah) of the Prophet in our daily lives.

So, in commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), we celebrate his life, appreciate his sacrifices, and consider his impact; while we commit ourselves to implement and manifest his noble life example in our times.

Another year has passed … minutes move into hours, hours into days, days into weeks, weeks into months and months into years -  seemingly faster than ever before; yet every moment is a precious component of life and every moment counts. The pertinent question of tomorrow is what have I done with my yesterdays? We are commanded in the Qur’an to  carefully consider what we are sending forth  for the future. This introspective question should evoke a critical self-evaluation in each individual. What am I doing with my today? Our attitude towards time indicates our attitude towards the value of the capital of life. That is why the Qur’an exhorts us … to value the time we have before life is up [Q 63:10]; to realize that time is the measure of life, time is an amaanah (trust) and what we do with time is what we do with our lives [Q 67:2].

What is “my” role in a troubled world at a difficult time? There is a dire need for introspection, honest self-evaluation and self-criticism and a concerted effort to bridge the gap between values and actions, ideals and realities, sloganizing and activism, past glory and a viable future.