“Winter is the Springtime of the Believer”
These days the skies above us have begun to change. We may become distracted by pelting snow, showering rain, or as we wrestle with the winds on a cold blustery day, the wrenching of umbrellas from our hands. However, it might not occur to a believer that winter can be one of the best seasons of the year, filled with blessings. For some of us, the daylight hours may have shortened, and the nights extended; yet it can be a time of great opportunity for reaping rewards.
Imam Ahmad relates from the narrations of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri(ra), that the Prophet ﷺ, said, “Winter is the springtime of the believer.” This Hadith is recorded by Imam al-Bayhaqi and others in another version, “Its nights are long so he spends them in worship, and its days are short so he fasts them.” Ibn Mas'ud used to say, “Welcome to winter, blessings descend during it; its nights are long and therefore conducive to praying and its days are short conducive to fasting.”
It’s made easier in those long nights to awaken for qiyam al layl. To pray tahajjud or recite Qur’an, still having had a healthy dose of sleep; and even then retain the energy needed to get through our routines by day.
It’s easy to fast as the days are shorter and cooler and not challenging, draining as they might otherwise be in those hot summer days that are long and drawn. ‘Amir ibn Mas’ud reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Fasting in the winter is the easy reward.” [Tirmidhi]
So it’s quite apt that ‘Winter is springtime for the believer.’ Spring is a time of freshness, of thriving grass in fields and meadows. When water is more likely to be in abundance, so animals graze and fatten unhindered.
A believer too can graze in the gardens of obedience, fattening themselves on good deeds that are reaped in abundance, in a season and time where worship through prayer and fasting is made easy. So let’s make the most of this blessed time in the season of winter, if short days and long nights have fallen upon us.
𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 of 𝗦.𝗡.𝗝𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗹𝗶 ✍🏼 (𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗯𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, Islamic chapter books for kids📚)
