Tuesday, January 03, 2006

LESSON OF THE DAY 429

Ayahs of the Day:
And Satan will say, when the matter is decided, "God actually pledged you the true promise; I also made you a promise, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you, except that I called to you and you responded to me. So don't blame me, but blame yourselves. I am not your savior. I repudiate your previous association of me with God; for the wrong doers there is a painful punishment." [14: 22]

Hadith of the Day:
There are three things that, if a person were to die without having done them, he/she will be forgiven everything else: associating others (in divinity) with Allah, sorcery, and harboring enmity for one's brother (or sister in faith). [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
It is harmful to avoid the thought of death. For no one can or will escape the sure and destined end that comes sooner or later to every mortal being. This meditation is therefore an essential necessity for every lover of God. [Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]

Guidance of the Day:
Giving is a miracle that can transform the heaviest of hearts. Two people, who moments before lived in separate worlds of private concerns, suddenly meet each other over a simple act of sharing. The world expands, a moment of goodness is created, and something new comes into being where before there was nothing. Too often we are blind to this everyday miracle. We build our lives around accumulation--of money, of possessions, of status--as a way of protecting ourselves and our families from the vagaries of the world.

Many people tend to think of giving only in terms of grand gestures. They miss the simple opening of the heart that can be practiced anywhere with almost anyone. We can say hello to someone everybody ignores. We can offer to help a neighbor. We can buy a bouquet of flowers and take it to a nursing home, or spend an extra minute talking to someone who needs our time. We can take ten dollars out of our pocket and give it to someone on the street. No praise, no hushed tones of holy generosity. Just give, smile, and walk away.

If you perform these simple acts, little by little you will start to understand the miracle of giving. Before long you will discover that you have the power to create joy and happiness by your simplest gestures of caring and compassion. You will see that you have the power to unlock the goodness in other people's hearts by sharing the goodness in yours. And, most of all, you will find the other givers. No matter where you live or where you travel, whether you speak their language or know their names, you will know them by their small acts, and they will recognize you by yours. You will become part of the community of humanity that trusts and shares and dares to reveal the softness of its heart. Once you become a giver you will never be alone. [Simple Truths]

Food for Thought:
True giving is not an economic exchange, it is a generative act. It does not subtract from what we have; it multiplies the effect we can have in the world.

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