Friday, August 31, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 919

Ayah of the Day:
Don't follow the atheists and the hypocrites, and ignore their insults; and trust in God, for God is enough of a patron. [33: 48]

Hadith of the Day:
Paradise closes its gates to the one who uses obscene words in his speech. [Ibn Abi Dunya]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Speech is a great blessing conferred on man by God, thereby distinguishing him from all other creatures. But speech like wine intoxicates the mind. In silence are concealed many spiritual blessings and in speech many evils. [Al-Hujwiri]

Guidance of the Day:
Goals and plans bring out the most in the human spirit. Leaders, legends, heroes, champions, and saints are in the habit of constantly planning and setting goals. They never entertain the illusion that there will be no problems. When problems and challenges emerge, they assess them and define them clearly and precisely. Then they create a plan to overcome or alleviate the problems, thus creating confidence and reducing fear. If you have a problem, face it. If you don't you empower the problem and paralyze yourself with fear.

Our essential purpose--------to become the-best-version-of-ourselves-------provides an overall vision, but each area of our lives needs a specific vision. Have a vision. The lives of successful people have direction. They do not react to the day-to-day happenings; rather, each of their lives is a conscious action, moving toward a specifically defined goal, directed by a carefully considered philosophy, which is summarized by a single principle----------a life principle. Their life principle brings them into focus, keeps them focused, and protects them from becoming distracted. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
Self preservation is the first law of nature, but self-sacrifice is the highest rule of grace. Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only begins for a man with self-surrender. If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 918

Ayahs of the Day:
O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a herald, and a warner; and one who invites to God, by divine leave; and an illuminating lamp. So announce to the believers that there is a great favor for them from God. [33: 45,46,47]

Hadith of the Day:
Someone who accuses his brother in faith of faults will be guilty of the same faults before he leaves this world. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Whenever you desire to do a certain thing or abstain from doing it, flee to God, and call to Him for help. Accustom yourself to that. [Shaykh Abul Hasan Shadhili]

Guidance of the Day:
Try not to allow your dreams and decisions to be formed, affected, or guided by fear, anger, hatred, greed, or lust. It takes courage to dream, because most of us have an awful fear of failure. Our fear of failure confines us to the dim gray twilight of light. We allow phrases like "What if I fail?" and "I can't do it" to infect our inner dialogue. The human spirit thrives on victory, growth, change, and development--------and all of these involve making the impossible possible. You must do things you think you cannot do. It strengthens character, builds courage and strength, confidence and belief.

If there is something you wish to do or become in your lifetime, create a plan for the accomplishment of that dream. Do not wait around foolishly believing that one day by some cosmic wave of events everything will be perfect and your aspirations will achieve themselves. They won't. God has endowed us all in so many different ways. Engage your talents and abilities. It is through the mastery of small disciplines that we become capable of greater things and, indeed, anything. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
God helps those that help themselves. Help yourself and God will help you. He who reigns himself and rules his passions, desires and fears is more than a king. Let us pray to God that He would root out of our hearts everything of our own planting and set out there, with His own hand, the tree of life bearing all manner of fruits.

Monday, August 27, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 917

Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, remember God with much remembrance, and praise God morning and evening. God is the one who blesses you, as do angels, to bring you out of the darknesses into the light; for God is merciful to the believers: their greeting on the day they meet God will be "Peace," and God has arranged a generous reward for them. [33: 41 to 44]

Hadith of the Day:
When two believers fight and abuse each other verbally, the one who swore first is guilty. But when the fight continues and the one who was initially attacked responds with curses, they are both guilty. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If men wish to draw near to God; they must seek Him in the hearts of men. They should speak well of all men, whether present or absent, and if they themselves seek to be a light to guide others, then like the sun, they must show the same face to all. [Abu sa'id bin Abi'l Khayr]

Guidance of the Day:
Life, in a sense, is a long succession of choices and decisions. The form your life takes depends on the decisions you make. What is different about the way legends, heroes, champions, leaders, and saints make decisions? What is their decision making process? They allow themselves to dream. They imagine perfect circumstances. They place no limitations upon their decision-making process. They ask: What would be best? What is the will of God? If I could do anything, would I do?

Do not dream like a bank manager. A bank manager tells you only what you can afford based on your realized potential. The greater part of all of us is our unrealized potential. It is true-----physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Do no let the guardians of the threshold prevent you from moving on and grasping your dreams. Do not let the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual bank managers discourage you from becoming the better person you know you can be. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
There are times when silence is the most sacred of responses. Silence is a great peace maker. Silence means you are under complete control of all your emotional reactions, which are conquered in silence. The principle of healing is to invoke silence. Silence is unceasing eloquence. It is the best language.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 916

Ayah of the Day:
And when God and God's messenger have decided a matter, it is not for a believing man or a believing woman to have any choice in their decree: for anyone who defies God and God's messenger is already in obvious error. [33: 36]

Hadith of the Day:
For a Muslim to curse a Muslim is an immoral vice. For a Muslim to fight a Muslim is infidelity, casting him out of God's mercy and grace. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
To be true in word and deed is to hold our selfish desires at bay, and follow Allah's call: in this is our fullest satisfaction and reward. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]

Guidance of the Day:
To know one's self is a constant and continual process. Observe yourself. Be aware. Watch yourself in the moments of the day. Listen to yourself. Notice how you act or react in certain situations. The fullness of life comes from knowing yourself-------needs, desires, talents, strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and potential------and living for the wisdom of this knowledge. We must come to know our strengths and our weaknesses. It is often very easy to find the strengths within us. Too often we shrink from the task of examining our faults. Yet it is only by knowing the flaws and defects of our character that we can begin to work to overcome them.

Our weaknesses are the keys to our richer, more abundant future. Our strengths are already bearing the fruit they can. Our weaknesses are the unfarmed lands of our character. Pull the weeds from that land, till the soil, plant some seeds, and we will yield a great harvest. The heroes, leaders, legends, champions, and saints who fill the history books went looking for their weaknesses. They didn't hide their weaknesses, and they didn't hide from them. They woke early each morning and went out to face them, because they knew their weaknesses were the keys to their richer, more abundant future. If you want your future to be bigger than your past, start to transform your weaknesses into strengths. Are you prepared to face the weaknesses in you? [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction. If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times. The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

Monday, August 20, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 915

Ayahs of the Day:
Among the believers are men who have been true to what they promised God; and some of them have given their lives, while some are waiting; and they have never changed, so that God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness, and punish the hypocrites, if God wills, or relent toward them: for God is very forgiving, most merciful. [33: 23,24]

Hadith of the Day:
It is not within the character of a believer to curse, to damn, to speak or act improperly. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Humble and modest people are highly regarded by the created and the Creator. Haughty and self-conceited people, who belittle others and are arrogant, are always disliked by the created and punished by the Creator. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
Fear holds us back. We refuse to look in the mirror, not always physically, but emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. We are scared of what we will find. So we think and talk of only our good qualities and achievements, but in doing so, we shun some of life's most rewarding and fulfilling lessons. If only we would take a good look at each of the major areas of our being each day, we would discover our dreams, hopes, needs, desires, talents, and potential. If only we knew what we needed, we would be very wise indeed. But so often we refuse to look at anything but our strengths and desires. Weakness and need are much more valuable companions and teachers.

Each day take some time to make a daily personal assessment. Ask yourself the difficult questions. Try to discover what makes you feel good about yourself and what makes you happy----not momentary pleasures, but the true pleasures of life, which taste better and better as each day passes. The things of this world compete for our allegiance. To be true to yourself, you must form an allegiance with the things of this world only inasmuch as they lead you toward your completion, fulfillment, and perfection-----to become the-best-version-of-yourself. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Any body can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Hours are but Breaths!

The following has been sent to me by a sister, May Allah swt reward her.

Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (ra) in his letter of advice to his son, wrote:

Know, dear son, that days are but hours, and hours are but breaths, and every soul is a container, hence let not any breath pass without any benefit, such as on the Day of Judgment you find an empty container and feel regret! Be aware of every hour and how it passes, and only spend it in the best possible way; do not neglect yourself, but render it accustomed to the noblest and best of actions, and send to your grave that which will please you when you arrive to it."


This world is transitory and our life therein but a moment borrowed, our breaths numbered, yet our indifference reckless. [Abu Bakr al Siddiq]

Strive for Paradise. A small nook within its bliss is better than the whole world and all the riches within. [al Hadith]

A believer is never tired of hearing about good deeds until he enters Paradise. [al Hadith]

Monday, August 13, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 914

Ayah of the Day:
You have an excellent example in the messenger of God, for anyone who looks forward to God and the last day, and remembers God a lot. [33: 21]

Hadith of the Day:
For a believer to curse a believer is as bad as killing him. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
There is no minor sin when His justice confronts you; and there is no major sin when His grace confronts you. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared with what lies within us. Lasting success, fulfillment, and happiness depend on self-knowledge. There is a greater practical wisdom than knowledge of self. The knowledge principle is, simply, "Know yourself." From the knowledge of ourselves, we are able to create and maintain a lifestyle that intimately links our dreams, hopes, needs, desires, and talents-------while at the same time leading us to change, grow, develop, and become the-best-version-of-ourselves.

Wise people know themselves and live from that knowledge. Great men and women know themselves. They know their strengths, their weaknesses, their faults and failings, their flaws and defects, their talents and abilities, their needs and desires, their hopes and dreams, their potential and purpose. From these pieces of knowledge they weave a life of beauty and splendor. "Know yourself" is a character principle of legends, heroes, champions, leaders, and saints. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
Talking about God is not at all the same thing as experiencing God. The person who has a firm trust in the Supreme Being is powerful in his power, wise in his wisdom, happy in his happiness. A consciousness of God releases the greatest power of all.

Friday, August 10, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 913

Ayah of the Day:
The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers. Those who have blood relations are closer to each other, in the decree of God, than the believers and the refugees: but treat your friends fairly. That is written in the Book. [33: 6]

Hadith of the Day:
God will say on the Day of Resurrection, "Where are those who have mutual love for My (sake)? Today I shall shelter them in My shadow. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If anyone does not have within him the following four virtues, do not expect him to enjoy felicity: religious knowledge, scrupulouBoldsness, awe before God, and humility toward the servants of God. [Shaykh Abul Hasan Shadhili]

Guidance of the Day:
Have you ever noticed that successful people seem to be able to do everything well? This is not because of some freak chance, but because of the foundation upon which they build their lives. The foundation of their lives is a strong commitment to personal development------to struggling to become the better person they know they can be in every area of their lives---which in turn transforms their family, relationships, community, country, and world. Truly successful people have character. Part of that character is an unwavering commitment to excellence. They know the art of discipline. Successful people just have better habits than the rest. You are your habits.

Successful people are in the habit of being disciplined. Undisciplined people are in the habit of being unsuccessful. Some people wake up each morning and just stagger through the day. Some people wake up to be successful. Whether it is success in the business world, success in the spiritual life, or success on the sporting field, the principles are the same. The application of these principles to any person's life necessarily breeds character and, in turn-----success, fulfillment, and happiness. Don't be a do person, be a be person. You are not a human doing, you are a human being. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
We cannot hurt any living thing without hurting ourselves, nor can we nurture anything or anyone without also nurturing ourselves. When we come to the last moment of this lifetime, and we look back across it, the only thing that's going to matter is "What was the quality of our love?"

Thursday, August 09, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 912

Ayah of the Day:
God has not put two hearts in a man; nor made your adoptees into your sons-----those are your own expressions. But God speaks the truth, and that guides the way. [33:4]

Hadith of the Day:
During my ascension I saw in Hell some people with sharp nails made of copper tearing at their faces and I asked my companion, the Angel Gabriel, who they were. He said, "They are the people who dishonored human beings by backbiting during their lives. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Well being has ten parts, nine of which are only found in solitude and one found in interaction with people. The lover of God loves his times of solitude. [Othman radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
The key to success in any field is not a secret. There are no secrets to success. Gimmicks and quick fixes do not lead a person to success. Neither do fast-talking, empty philosophies. Success in any field-----business, sport, politics, music, art, or spirituality-----depends upon a deep and profound understanding of who you are and what your needs, talents, and desires are. The key to success is character. And while the foundation of character is self-discipline, the essence of character is personality. Your unique personality holds the secrets to your success.

The greatest success is to be constantly growing, changing, developing, and evolving into the better person you know you can be. In any activity that assists you in this "becoming," you will find success. Success is the intimate and harmonious relationship among need, desire, and talent. When these three are understood and pursued in balance, the result is extraordinary. True success lies in seeking to discover who you truly are individually and uniquely; finding your own special gift, talent, or ability; and developing that gift for the benefit of all. Such success enriches the individual in every way. This type of success enriches society. Success is not just an achievement, it is a contribution. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
Every good thing you do,
every good thing you say,
every good thought you think,
vibrates on and on and never
ceases. The evil remains only
until it is overcome by the good,
but the good remains forever.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 911

Ayahs of the Day:
Follow what has been revealed to you by inspiration from your Lord, for God is fully aware of what you do. So trust in God, for God is enough of a patron. [33: 2,3]

Hadith of the Day:
Those who backbite their fellow human beings in this life will be made to eat their corpses in the Hereafter: they will wail and scream in horror. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Fear is like a candle whose flame helps a person distinguish goodness from evil; and fear of God allows a person to turn away from evil. Those who fear mere creatures flee from them; but those who fear God flee to Him. [Rabi'a al-Adawiya]

Guidance of the Day:
There is a pattern. It is what leaders, legends, heroes, great achievers, champions, and saints do to excel in their given field. This is the way of excellence, from start to finish. The first thing they do is work out where they are------point A-------and who they are------self knowledge. They take a good, long, hard look at themselves. They establish their needs, talents, and desires. They define and list their strengths and weaknesses. They define who they are and where they are. The very next thing they do is work out where they want to go-----point B. They call that the dream, their goal or ambition. They define it precisely.

Now that they know where they are and who they are-------point A------and where they want to go-----point B-----they establish which path will take them there the quickest. They have a vision. There pull together a plan. It may be imperfect plan, but it is a plan nonetheless. Those who fail to plan can plan to fail. The next thing they do is begin to work the plan. They walk the path. They move in the directions of their dreams. They remind themselves of that goal in every waking moment, of every hour, of every single day. They never let that goal out of their sight. They do not let anything get between them and their goal. They are dedicated to their path and plan. They walk the path with unrelenting energy. They begin to use all their time, effort, and energy in pursuit of their goal. They never give up. Success, excellence, and greatness are not accidents. They are the fruit of discipline. They are the result of a well-implemented plan. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
If you don't break from the tensions of daily living, they will break you. Slow down. Breathe deeply. Reflect deeply. Pray deeply. Live deeply. Otherwise you will spend your life feeling like a bulldozer chasing after butterflies or a sparrow in a hurricane.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 910

Ayah of the Day:
Haven't they seen how We send water to dry earth, thereby producing crops, of which their livestock eat, as do they themselves? Do they not observe. [32: 27]

Hadith of the Day:
Gossip and slander make the good deeds of a two-faced person fall away like the leaves in autumn. [Isfahani]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The perfect man is not who lives in himself. The perfect man is only one through whom others live. [Shaykh Abul Hasan Shadhili]

Guidance of the Day:
There is no greater force to live by than faith. Prayer gives us vision, courage, strength, and endurance. Prayer dissolves our prejudices, banishes our narrow-mindedness, and melts away our judgmental tendencies by expanding our hearts, minds, and spirits. We pray to God on our knees---but we also pray in peace, and joy, love, and laughter. Life is prayer.

Lord make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, let me sow pardon;
where there is doubt, let me sow faith;
where there is despair, let me sow hope;
where there is darkness, let me sow light;
and where there is sadness, let me sow joy.

Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
Being intelligent is not being studious. It is knowing how to be fulfilled in all circumstances. The essence of greatness is the ability to choose personal fulfillment in circumstances where others choose madness.

Monday, August 06, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 909

Ayah of the Day:
Aren't they edified by how many populations We destroyed before them, among whose habitations they walk? Surely there are signs in that-----so will they not listen? [32: 26]

Hadith of the Day:
On the Day of Judgment someone's book of deeds will be given into his hands and he will not see there any of the good deeds he did, in good faith, for God's sake. He will ask the Lord, "Why aren't my good deeds recorded in here?" and the Lord will answer, "They have been given to the ones you hurt and insulted by talking against them." [Ibn Hibban]

Wise Quote of the Day:
No opposite can be known without its opposite. Having suffered a blow, you will know a caress. God created suffering and heartache so that joyful-heartedness might appear through its opposite. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
Unfortunately, we live in an age when matters of the spirit are neglected and, in some ways, looked down upon. Faith is a liberating force. Religion is a liberating force. Spirituality is a liberating force. It is natural for human beings to pray: we are naturally spiritual beings. We live in material world, but we are not solely material.

Prayer is a lot like love. We are born with a natural ability and capacity to love. This ability to love develops when we exercise it. We learn to love by loving. The only way to learn to pray is to pray. Books, teachers, guides, mentors, role models, and coaches all help to perfect our abilities, but there is no substitute for the actual practice----whether it is baseball, cooking, football, love, or prayer. Go to the woods of prayer. Go to the classroom of silence. From these places you will emerge capable of living life to the fullest-----attuned and empowered to live life deliberately. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
Learn to hold loosely to all that is not eternal. Eternity gives nothing back of what one leaves out of the minutes. He who has no vision of eternity has no hold on time. Time is the image of eternity. Eternity is not something that begins after you are dead. It is going on all the time. We are in it now.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 908

Ayahs of the Day:
And We will make them taste the more immediate torment besides the ultimate torment, so that they might revert. Who is more wrong than he who is reminded of the signs of God but then turns away from them? We will take vengeance on the sinners. [32: 21,22]

Hadith of the Day:
Tell only the truth when you speak. Keep your promises. Protect well that which is entrusted to you. Be honest, and fight to save your honor. Shy away from that which is unlawful. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
You talk about loving God while you disobey Him; I swear by my life that this is something very strange. If you were truthful in your love, you would obey Him, for a lover obeys whom he loves. [Rabia al-Adawiya]

Guidance of the Day:
Sometimes life shakes us up a little. We become disoriented, over whelmed, consumed by the day-to-day happenings in our lives. Our lives are an expression of what is within us. Life is an overflow of the heart. If within you are confused, frustrated, and exhausted, your actions will tell the same story. Prayer contributes to the health and well-being of the whole person. Studies reveal that people who pray recover faster from serious illnesses and are less likely to suffer from depression or mental illness.

We are human beings-----a delicate composition of body and soul, linked carefully by the will and the intellect. Maximum health and well-being can be reached only when we attend to each of the elements of our being. Ignoring the spiritual component of our being necessarily reduces our health, effectiveness, well-being, and efficiency. Is it a mere coincidence that, in this age marked by its rejection of religion and spirituality, the incidence of depression and mental illness has escalated so dramatically? [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
If we can forgive everyone, regardless of what he or she may have done, we nourish the soul and allow our whole being to feel good. God delights to watch the soul grow. Perhaps we were put here to expand our souls through the experiences of life. When we nourish our soul, we automatically nourish our capacity to love another person.

Friday, August 03, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 907

Ayah of the Day:
As for the immoral, their abode will be the fire; every time they try to get out of it, they will be returned to it, and they will be told, "Taste the torment of the fire, which you used to deny." [32: 20]

Hadith of the Day:
If somebody listens to the talk of some people who do not want him to listen, molten lead will be poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If you are fearful of God's wrath, be steadfast in religion, for a tree holds fast to earth with its roots against violent storms. [Abdul Rahman ibn Ahmad al Jami]

Guidance of the Day:
If you cannot see the better person you know you can be, you cannot be that better person. Prayer is the place and time to visualize the ways in which you can become the-best-version-of-yourself. Prayer is the opportunity to join your heart and mind with God and to visualize everything you dream, hope, and wish to achieve and everything you long to be. Here lies the power of prayer. Make no mistake, prayer unleashes the unfathomable potential of the human spirit-----the power to visualize and engage unrealized potential.

It is also by prayer that God empowers us to overcome faults, addictions, and vices. Thought determines action. Do not let your whole life be a reaction to the things that happen around you each day. Let your life be an action. Successful people remind themselves of their goal in every waking moment of every hour of every day. Whether you seek to be a successful football player or successful in the spiritual life, the same principle applies. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
There is a paradise in this world and the one who does not enter it will not enter the Paradise in the next world. This paradise is that which is achieved by performing the obligatory deeds followed by voluntary deeds, all done for the sake of Allah and according to the revelation of Allah.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 906

Ayahs of the Day:
Is the believer like the deviant? They are not equal. As for those who believed and did good works, there are gardens for them to live in, as a welcome for what they did. [32: 18,19]

Hadith of the Day:
If someone calls someone else an infidel while that person is faithful, the accusation will turn back on him and make him an infidel himself. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Do away with superfluous speech, and sacrifice what you hold dear, that His grace may utter praise of you and the heaven be envious of your exalted state. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
You can learn more in one hour of silence than you can in a year from books. Noise is the mouthpiece of the world. Silence is the mouthpiece of God. It is in the classroom of silence that God bestows His infinite wisdom on men and women. We need a break from the noise. Silence introduces us to ourselves-----for better and for worse. Silence convicts, suggests, and challenges------yes. But silence also consoles, heals, comforts, clears the mind, and gives courage to the weary heart. Peace is the fruit of silence.

Why do we fear and avoid silence? The truth is, most people believe that everything within them is worthless and embarrassing. That is why we live in a world terrified of silence and full of people dedicated to imitating other people instead of developing the unique individual that they are themselves. Befriend silence. I am not suggesting that you spend four, five, six hours a day in silence. Find a quiet corner and a comfortable chair at home. Leave the radio off in the car on the way to work. Have a television-free evening once a week. We must learn to turn from the outer life of noise and confusion toward the inner life of silence and serenity. Try it. It works. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
Religion can't change the facts, but it can change the way you relate to facts. If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul. Those that return to the Lord will have their strength renewed.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

LESSON OF THE DAY 905

Ayahs of the Day:
The only ones who believe in Our signs are those who when reminded of them fall down prostrate, extolling praise of their Lord, without conceit: their sides shun their beds as they pray to their Lord in fear and in hope, and they give of what We have provided them. [32: 15,16]

Hadith of the Day:
The one who claims something as his when it really belongs to someone else is not a faithful person and had better prepare for his place in Hell. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Applaud the good for their goodness; appreciate those who have believing hearts; be kind to the believers. Approach unbelievers so gently that their envy and hatred melt away. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
The will of God is the perfection of the creature. The will of God is that you make the journey from point A to point B. Each step along that path forms an allegiance and bond with the will of God. It is this journey that we discover the glory of life. It is in prayer that we discover the glory of God. And it is by living what we discover in prayer that we become the glory of God. The will of God is that you become a better person you know you can be, the-best-version-of-yourself.

Your unique personality, talents, needs, and desires are what make your journey different from mine. All of these are unveiled in the classroom of silence. Prayer is the great classroom of silence. Wisdom is not a mass of accumulated knowledge. Wisdom is those little pieces of knowledge that have the power to change our lives. Wisdom is truth lived. Wisdom is the fruit of a reflective heart. Wisdom is the fruit of silence. [Kelly, The Rhythm of Life]

Food for Thought:
The cost of change is high, but the cost of not changing may be higher. When change is called for and we refuse to engage in it, we sacrifice the Self. the most desirable inner core, and sentence ourselves and others to suffer needlessly.