All companies and businesses have targets and goals that they wish to achieve. In their quest to progress, there are certain procedures that they adopt in order to assist them in achieving their goal. One of these procedures is that of the ‘progress report’.
At regular intervals, the HODs (heads of departments) meet and discuss their progress. They compare the progress that was made to the progress that they had projected, anticipated and hoped to make. If the progress was not as positive as expected, they determine the factors that hindered their progress and work at eliminating these factors. By adopting these procedures, these companies and businesses ultimately make great strides of progress and grow from strength to strength.
Similarly, every Muslim has a common goal and this common goal is actually his main goal in life – the goal of pleasing Allah Ta‘ala by fulfilling the commands of Deen and adhering to the blessed sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). However, without taking out the time for routine introspection, whereby we look deep within our hearts and lives to determine whether we are actually progressing or retrogressing, we often lose our focus and completely lose sight of our goal in life. We then become side-tracked by other superficial, irrelevant goals and make these the priority in our lives.
We should thus routinely sit (perhaps weekly), as a family, and take a progress report. We should determine how punctual we have been on our ta’leem in the home, our Quraan Majeed recitation and other similar deeds which are essential for our Deeni progress. If we are falling short in reaching our goals, we should identify our obstacles and work to eliminate them. In doing this, we will create a unity of purpose and a sense of Deeni accountability within the home – of which both will assist in achieving our goal.