“O Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ! Allah Almighty has revealed a verse for you:

وَ هُوَ الَّذِیْ جَعَلَ الَّیْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِّمَنْ اَرَادَ اَنْ یَّذَّكَّرَ

And it is He Who made the night and the day come after one another ˹as a sign˺ for he who intends to attain advice

(O ꜤUmar!) If you are unable to offer voluntary prayers at night, perform them during the day, and whatever good deeds you are unable to perform during the day, perform them at night.”^[1]

Day and Night Are Not for Futile Pursuits

Dear Islamic brothers! It becomes clear that:

1. The coming and going of day and night, and the changing of weeks, months, and years, occur to awaken us from heedlessness.

2. This is so that we may recognise our past shortcomings and deprivations, feel remorse for them, develop awareness, and work to remove these deficiencies.

3. The good deeds we failed to perform last year should be carried out this year. Whatever good deeds remained incomplete at night should be completed during the day, and whatever was missed during the day should be performed at night.

Do Not Let Two Days Be the Same

Dear Islamic brothers! If we desire success in this world and the Hereafter, we should establish a principle for our lives: no two days should ever be the same. There should be continuous improvement in our deeds, our character, our morals, our knowledge, and our actions; every day should bring improvement.

It is narrated that a pious servant was blessed with the honour of seeing the beloved Prophetصَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم  in a dream and asked, “O Messenger of Allah