Pearls of wisdom 233

1. The tribulation of the seeker of the world is the idling of his heart from remembrance of the Hereafter.

2. You should know that God has chosen from His believing servants those intelligent folk who know Him and acknowledge His command. He has described them as being faithful, virtuous, fearful, and reverent.

3. Know that the obligation owed to the Book of God is to act on the basis of the rulings conveyed by its commandments and prohibitions; to respond to its threats with fear, to its promises with longing, to have faith concerning the truthfulness of its obscure statements, and to reflect on its stories and parables.

4. Know your objective -- verily recompense is based on intention.

5. Be very mindful of the commandments and prohibitions of God.

6. Take yourself to account for every thought.

7. Be very mindful that God is watching over you with every breath that you take.

8. Fear God in your religion, and hope for good from God in all of your affairs.

9. Patiently endure whatever afflicts you.

10. You should know that the relationship between patience and faith is like the relationship between the head and the body. [Imam Harith al Muhasibi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1196

Ayahs of the Day:

We have sent you a messenger as a witness regarding you, as We sent a messenger to Pharaoh; Pharaoh defied the messenger, so We punished him severely: so how will you be wary, if you scoff, of a day that will make children grey, and the sky split apart? That promise will inevitably be fulfilled. This is a reminder; let whoever will take a path to his Lord. [73: 15 to 19]

Hadith of the Day:

If you can pass a the day into night and the night into day with your heart clean of any feeling of enmity or vengeance against anyone, be so, for this is how I feel always. And anyone who likes to be like me, certainly must love me. And whoever loves me is with me in this world and in the Paradise and in the Hereafter. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

If you cannot be of benefit to the Muslims, then do not harm them;

If you cannot please them, then do not abuse them;

If you cannot make them happy, then do not make them sorrowful; and

If you cannot praise them, then do not disparage them. [Yahya ibn Mu'adh]

Guidance of the Day:

You must repent of every single sin, small or great, outward or inward. For repentance is the first step that a servant takes on the Path, and is the foundation of all other stations, as God loves the penitent. The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'The one who repents of a sin is as he who has not sinned.'

Know that repentance cannot be sound unless the sin itself is renounced, remorse is felt, and there is present a determination never to repeat it for the rest of one's life. The true penitent is characterized by signs, among which are a softness of the heart, frequent weeping, adhering to obedience, and forsaking evil companions and places. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself. The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. Live every day as if it were your last, because one of these days it will be. May you live every day of your life.

Pearls of wisdom 232

1. One who rectifies his inner self with an awareness of God's surveillance and sincerity; God adorns his outer self with devotional acts and adherence to the Prophetic way -- Sunnah.

2. Anyone divested from the world finds his divestment in proportion to his knowledge, his knowledge in proportion to his intellect, and his intellect in proportion to the strength of his faith.

3. Good character is bearing abuse, rarely becoming angry, a pleasant face, and sweet speech.

4. Everything has an essence. The essence of a human being is his intellect, and the essence of his intellect is patience.

5. The oppressor is remorseful even if people praise him.

6. The oppressed is safe even if people condemn him.

7. The content person is wealthy even if he is hungry.

8. The covetous person is impoverished even if he owns plenty.

9. One who does not thank God for a blessing has called for its eradication.

10. The best person is one who does not allow his Hereafter to preoccupy him from his worldly affair, nor does he allow his worldly affair to preoccupy him from his Hereafter. [Above quotes by Imam al Harith al Muhasibi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1195

Ayahs of the Day:

You wrapping yourself, stand through the night, except a little -- half, or a little less, or more; and chant the Qur'an rhythmically: for We will send you a weighty word. Indeed, rising by night is most intense as a disciple, and most appropriate for receptivity to the Word. You have along course during the day, yet remember the name of God, and devote yourself wholly to God, Lord of the East and the West -- there is no other deity, so take God as a guardian. And endure what they say patiently, and remain aloof from them with a graceful detachment. [73: 1 to 10]

Hadith of the Day:

If your worldly desires are not adapted to the divine orders sent through me, your faith is incomplete. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Let us eschew evil, but not pay back evil in its own coin, however great the temptation: no chance will there be to retrieve our conduct, once death cuts us off. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]

Guidance of the Day:

Know that Muslims have many mutual obligations. If you want to fulfil these properly then behave towards Muslims, whether they be present or absent, as you would like them to behave towards you. Oppose your own soul, and accustom your heart to wish for Muslims every good that you wish for yourself, and detest for them every evil that you detest for yourself.

The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'None of you has believed until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.' And: 'Muslims are to one another as one building, each part of which supports the others, and as one body, which when one of its organs suffers the rest of the body suffer with it.' People are either afflicted or free (of affliction) so be compassionate to the afflicted and thank God for freedom (from affliction). [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than to have words without a heart. Prayer is something deeper than words. It is present in the soul before it has formulated in words. And it abides in the soul after the last words of prayer have passed over our lips. The best prayers have often more groans than words.

Pearls of wisdom 231

1.Some of the most sublime bestowals of God are contentment with the reliance upon God in hardships, and recourse to Him in reverses of fortune.

2. Love is a seizure that God grants to the heart of His servant and that distracts him from everything save Him, so that you can see the soul inclining to obey Him.

3. With God, love consists in casting off the appetitive desires and personal wishes.

4. Allow not your soul to be attached to anything, and you will be one of those well rooted in religious knowledge.

5. If thoughts of disobedience and the world occur your heart, caste them under your feet with disdain and indifference, and your heart will be filled with knowledge and right guidance.

6. There is no guidance at all except for one who fears God, and there is no fear of God (taqwa) except for one who shuns the world.

7. He who neglects his heart despises his religion, and he who is preoccupied with his outer behavior is taking his religion as a jest.

8. If you desire to look toward God with the sight of faith and firm belief continually, then be thankful for the favors of God and be content with His decree . Whatever favor you have is from God.

9. Good intention in relation to matters between God and you means turning the heart respectfully toward God, with respect for the commanding of God, and with respect to what He has commanded.

10. The understanding man is one who has an understanding from God of His signs and whose occupation is remembrance (dhikr) of God and reflection upon His favors -- he appeals to God and so God responds to him. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1194

Ayahs of the Day:

By no means! For that is raging fire pulling insistently by the scalp, calling those who turn their backs and avert their faces, and accumulate a hoard. For man was created anxious, unhappy when ill afflicts him, and stingy when good befalls him; except the prayerful who are constant in their prayer, and those in whose wealth is an acknowledged right for the beggar and the outcast, and those who recognize the reality of the judgment day, and those who fear punishment from their Lord. [70: 15 to 27]

Hadith of the Day:

The Devil has given up hope of being worshipped anymore in your land. He is satisfied that you follow him with your little errors, things that you consider trivial. Beware of following him. [Hakim]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Every drop of sweat and every breath we take in life, if not taken for the sake of Allah, will lead to regret and sorrow on the Day of Judgment. [Ibn al-Qayyim]

Guidance of the Day:

Make frequent supplications, and ask for forgiveness for yourself, your parents, relatives, friends, and all other Muslims, for the prayers of a Muslim for his brother in his absence is answered. The Prophet, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'Some prayers have no veils between them and God -- the prayer of the wronged, and that of a Muslim for his brother in his absence.' And: 'When a Muslim prays for his brother in his absence the Angel says: "Amen! And for you the same!"

Maymun ibn Mihran, may God have mercy on him, said: 'Anyone who asks forgiveness for his parents after each obligatory prayer has thanked them as he was ordered to do. It has been related that the one who asks forgiveness twenty-seven times a day for 'the believing men and women' will be among those whose prayers are answered and through whom people are given provision and rain, and these are the attributes of the saints. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

The purpose of life is not to be happy -- but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make a difference that you lived at all. The true purpose of education is not only to fill man's mind with knowledge and his belly with food, but to deepen his spiritual insights. By having reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world.

Pearls of wisdom 230

1. Religious works revolve around four things -- love, sincerity, shame, and faith.

2. Four virtues needed to enjoy the felicity are -- religious knowledge, scrupulousness, awe before God, and humility towards the servants of God.

3. Serving God consists in reflecting upon God's commands and studying thoroughly the religion of God.

4. The sign of love is the lover being occupied with nothing except his Beloved.

5. The sign of commitment to God is the lack of distress when distasteful things befall.

6. Whenever you come to see that in everything that exists you have no Benefactor except Him, then you will be a thankful servant.

7. May your main concern be three things -- repentance, piety, and vigilance.

8. The work most indicative of love to Him is disdain of the world and despair of its people through living in harmony with them.

9. The Divine ordinances are well known, and the acts of disobedience are common knowledge -- keep the Divine ordinances and shun the acts of disobedience.

10. The love of God is an axis upon which good deeds turn, and a comprehensive principle for the various kinds of Divine gifts. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]