Wednesday, December 15, 2004

LESSON OF THE DAY 59

Ayah of the Day:
Every soul shall have a taste of death; and only on the Day of Judgement shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the fire and admitted to the garden will have attained success. For the life of this world is nothing but the comfort of illusion. [3: 185]

Hadith of the Day:
A person cannot be a perfect Muslim unless he desires for his brother (in faith) that which he desires for himself. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Never claim anything you are entitled to, let alone what you are not entitled to. Never demand a right from anyone, whether one is intimate or a stranger. This is because a stranger in reality owes you nothing, and someone close to you is too close for you to censure. [Shaykh Ahmad al Zarruq]

Guidance of the Day:
Antipathy toward death is considered a disease of the heart. It refers to strong aversion to death to the point that its mere mention causes consternation. Such a person is in denial of the reality.

None of this suggests that one should leap into the throes of death. It merely disparages the ethic of chasing after the fleeting things of this world while rebuffing the imminence of death and what comes after. When death is mentioned, it is considered a morbid topic that is uncouth to discuss. And when it is discussed, it is turned to some deadline before which people are supposed to squeeze in all their life's pleasures.

The Muslim view is completely different. To speak about death is to speak about life and the urgency to live a faithful and wholesome life before death overtakes us. [Purification of the Heart]

Food for Thought:
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mashallah