Saturday, October 15, 2005

LESSON OF THE DAY 351

Ayah of the Day:
And what do those who invent lies about God imagine about the resurrection day? God does have blessings for humanity, yet most of them are not grateful. [10: 60]

Hadith of the Day:
Beware, your deeds shall always be for the sake of God only; deeds which are done merely out of vanity or to catch the public eye will eventually bring harm to the doer. [Darimi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Knowledge is of two kinds: that which is absorbed and that which is heard. And that which is heard does not profit if it is not absorbed. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
We know that the soul and the heart are trusts given to each human being. In Fasting, God the Exalted is teaching us how to honor our trusts. Our tongues should be free of slander, lies, backbiting, abominations, and the like; our ears free of hearing the forbidden; our eyes free of lustful glances and other forbidden matters; our hands free of doing anything illicit, like stealing; our feet free from going anywhere prohibited; and our stomachs free from imbibing or consuming forbidden and unwholesome food or drink or consuming in excess. These are the trusts we must protect, and an indispensable method of protecting them is through Fasting.

Imam Ghazali says the higher form of Fasting -- the Fasting of the elect--is the Fasting of the heart from low aspirations or from worldly thoughts or gains. Ramadan is known as the month spending for the sake of God--divesting oneself from material assets for the purpose of investing in the Hereafter. In the other months we are busy acquiring wealth, while in Ramadan we are in the Hereafter-mode of thinking. [Purification of the Heart]

Food for Thought:

What do you take with you into the city of death? Not a suitcase, not a purse, not even the pictures in your wallet. Nothing goes with you except the sum of what your life has been.

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