Thursday, October 13, 2005

LESSON OF THE DAY 349

Ayahs of the Day:
O humanity! Direction has come to you from your Lord, and a remedy for what is in your hearts; and guidance and mercy for the believers. Say, "Let them rejoice in the bounty and mercy of God; that is better than what they amass." [10: 57,58]

Hadith of the Day:
How many men fast who have nothing of fasting but thirst, and how many men stand up (to pray at night) who have nothing about them of prayer except wakefulness! [Darimi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Accept the truth from whoever says it, whether they are young or old and beware to being given to refusal and arrogance. [Shaykh Bayanuni]

Guidance of the Day:
In a well-known hadith, the Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said that during Ramadan devils are locked up. Why, then, do we still have bad thoughts? It is a common question. Scholars say that these thoughts originate from our own souls battered by Satanic whisperings and devices implanted in us. Another blessing of Ramadan now becomes apparent. It is a time to see what has happened to our soul, what condition it is in, and take notice of our shortcomings: jealousy, envy, overzealous competition, love of gossip, and the rest. During Ramadan, these traits become clear, and a clear enemy is easier to defeat than a slinking one.

Imam Ghazali says that there is an outward and inward Fasting. The outward pertains to making sure that the basics are observed, namely, abstaining from consuming anything. The inward is about making sure that the Fast is acceptable to God. There are many people, outwardly their Fast seems fine, but inwardly they break their Fast with such things as backbiting, lustful glances, lies, and other violations of the inward Fast. [Purification of the Heart]

Food for Thought:

Speech is priceless if you speak with knowledge. Weigh it in the scales of the heart before it comes out from the mouth. Tact is to shut your mouth before someone else wants to.

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