Friday, September 19, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1050

Ayahs of the Day:
And were it not that humankind would become a single community, We would have provided those who disbelieve in the Benevolent One with roofs of silver for their houses, and stairs for them to climb, and doors for their houses, and couches for them to recline, and decoration. Yet all of that is but the stuff of the life of the world; while the hereafter, with your Lord, is for the conscientious. [43: 33,34,35]

Hadith of the Day:
The head of the matter is Islam. Its pillar is prayer. And its apex is jihad. [Ahmad & Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
One's life must be lived in constant awareness of God's supervision, and one must tirelessly knock on His door with supplication and contrition. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
The source of courage is conviction. Conviction is the powerful inner knowledge that what we are doing is good, an awareness unassailable by any opinion or persuasion. Conviction is crystallized faith, and courageous acts are the natural expression of conviction. To the world, the person of conviction is a fool, a martyr, an ascetic. To the faithful, sacrifice is meaningless; the joy of following the promptings of the soul far outshines the meager loss that the world bemoans.

The world labels the acts of a saint as a sacrifice only because these are threatening to the treasures the world holds dear. You are asked but to let go of a meaningless life, one which always seemed to offer peace, but delivered only emptiness. When you testify to the whisperings of your deepest inclinations, the life of Light is opened before you. This new life, unlike the old, hides not behind the promise of peace, but justifies itself in the constant giving of serenity. There is no power in the universe that can stand between courage and its expression. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Enthusiasm is nothing more or less than faith in action. No one keeps up his enthusiasm automatically. Enthusiasm must be nourished with new actions, new aspirations, new efforts, new vision. Compete with yourself; set your teeth and drive into the job of breaking your own record. It is one's own fault if his enthusiasm is gone; he failed to feed it.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....88

1. A happy marriage is the foundation of a happy family, and a happy family is the foundation of a stable society.

2. If we are to have peace in the world, we must begin at home.

3. One of the most serious faults is ingratitude. We are corrupted not so much by anything as our inability to appreciate what we are gifted with.

4. Look beneath the surface of most people and you will find things to appreciate.

5. The partnership in marriage can be compared to a lock and a key which join together to form a functioning unit. Each is distinct, yet neither is complete in and of itself.

6. Material things bring convenience, comfort, and pleasure; yet they don't compare to the peace which comes from living within your income.

7. Happiness is the bud, blossom, and the fruit of good actions------it must be earned.

8. Inner-happiness is a happiness of spirit, serenity, tranquility, and peace of soul-------achieved through the obedience to the Creator.

9. Unhappiness arises from weakness of character, sin, failure to fulfill responsibility, or self-centeredness.

10. Happiness is through overcoming our weaknesses, performing our duties, losing our self-centeredness, and putting ourselves in harmony with eternal laws.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1049

Ayah of the Day:
Is it they who distribute the mercy of your Lord? It is We who distribute their livelihood among them in the life of this world, and have elevated some of them to ranks over others, that some may employ others as workers. But the mercy of your Lord is better than what they amass. [43: 32]

Hadith of the Day:
The covenant that is between us and them ( the disbelievers) is the prayer, whoever abandons it has committed an act of unbelief. [Tirmidhi & Ibn Maja]

Wise Quote of the Day:
While you are occupied with looking for the faults of others, how will you be able to taste the joy of the unseen world? [Shaykh Fariduddin Attar]

Guidance of the Day:
If you are struggling with a bad habit, do not be overwhelmed by the enormity of it, for you do not have to conquer all of it yourself. God will help you. All you have to do is your share, which is to make an initial effort. When, with your good intention, you open the door to help, God will pour into you His Will, which can conquer anything. At the point that you take that one step in a new direction, you have mastered the old habit or trait that was retarding your progress.

Having passed your test, you will no longer be faced with that particular trial, except, perhaps, in the form of "fried seeds"-------old desires that occasionally arise but which do not have life in them sufficient to reproduce themselves. These obsolete desires are simply the residue of past thought patterns which can no longer entrap us, but which we must patiently bear, like the ripples of water created by a stone that we have thrown into a pond. You may experience fleeting desires to do an old bad habit, but they are nothing more than old thoughts that will eventually fizzle out. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Help us, O Lord, when we want to do the right thing, but know not what it is. But help us most when we know perfectly well what we ought to do, and do not want to do it.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....87

1. The greatest dignity to be found in death is the dignity of the life that preceded it.

2. Good health doesn't guarantee anything, the wisest thing to do is to live everyday as though it will be our last.

3. There is always a dignity that proceeds from the life well-lived by preparing for the next world, and from the acceptance of one's own death.

4. Death makes more precious each hour of those we have been given, it demands that life must be useful and rewarding.

5. It is not in the last weeks or days that we compose the message that will be remembered, but in all the decades that preceded them.

6. Unique circumstances of death will be granted to someone with a unique personality.

7. The race of men is like the race of leaves. As one generation flourishes, another decays.

8. Death is easiest for those who during their lives have given it most thought, as though always to be prepared for its imminence.

9. It is possible to die resigned and reconciled, patiently and tranquilly, having experienced life more fully because of the constant awareness that life may soon come to an end.

10. The utility of living consists not in the length of days, but in the use of time, a man may have lived long, and yet lived but little. [How We Die, Dr. Sherman B. Nuland]

Monday, September 15, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1048

Ayahs of the Day:
The One who created all species, and made ships for you, and livestock, which you ride, that you may mount their backs and remember the favor of your Lord as you sit firmly thereupon, and say, "Glory to the One who subordinated these to us, whereas we ourselves could not. And we will surely be returned to our Lord." Yet they concede to some of God's slaves partnership with God; indeed the human being is an open infidel! [43: 13.,14,15]

Hadith of the Day:
I left you on a bright path whose night and day are alike. No one strays from it after me except he is destroyed. [Ahmad & Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Know that the education and purification of the heart are more important than concern for any other part of your physical being. The heart is like a king whose decision is law. The other parts of your body are like that king's subjects. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
We can lose our awareness of our inner Light by accepting negative thoughts from the outside world. There is another way that we can lose our center. It is through curiosity. There is a very useful kind of curiosity that prods us on to explore, investigate, and discover, but there is also a wasteful form of curiosity that dissipates our mental energies. Let us concentrate on that which is ours, and leave the rest be. Curiosity simply draws overload of purposeless thoughts into our consciousness.

That which is ours is given to us only when we are willing to claim it. Like positive thinking and appreciation, we must work at remembering and acting on the Truth, and this is what integrity is all about. When we stand for Truth, we are integrated, whole, and firm. When we walk with integrity, we walk with God. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
God's wisdom is manifold because God is inexhaustible in His wonder, and in His mercy. There is a reason for everything, whether we can figure it our or not. Man's way leads to a hopeless end, God's way leads to an endless hope.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....86

1. The good you find in others, is in you too; and the faults you find in others, are your faults as well.

2. The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.

3. To change your world, you must change yourself.

4. To blame and complain will only make matters worse.

5.What you see in others, shows you yourself-------See the best in others, and you will be your best.

6. Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful; Admire creativity, and you will be creative.

7. Love, and you will be loved. Give to others, and you give to yourself.

8. Seek to understand, and you will be understood.

9. Listen, and your voice will be heard.

10. Show your best face to the mirror, and you will be happy with the face looking back at you.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1047

Ayahs of the Day:
Were you to ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they would surely say the Almighty, the Omniscient created them; the One who made the earth smooth for you, and made roads for you thereupon, that you may find direction; and the One who sends water down from the sky, in due proportion; and We resurrect thereby a dead land, which is how you will be brought forth. [43: 9,10,11]

Hadith of the Day:
Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or keep silent, should be courteous and generous to his neighbor. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Humbling the ego comes through facing trials; in turn, through humbling yourself comes divine aid to vanquish otherness from the heart. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
Every day, each one of us is given many little opportunities to choose between peace and turmoil, between clarity and confusion, between love and animosity. I am speaking now about remaining quiet, firm, and loving in the midst of our daily activities, we can bless the world by remaining peaceful in all that we do.

We live is a world of multifarious thoughts--------all around us are thoughts, thoughts, and more thoughts. We must deal not only with our own thoughts, but with those of the people around us. Life in "the marketplace" is largely a matter of maintaining our center------our integrity-----in the midst of chaotic influences. If we are not careful, we can lose touch with our center, and we will have to work to regain it. If we enter activity with a strong and prepared attitude, however, we serve ourselves and all those we meet. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
He that falls into a sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint; that boasts of it, is a devil. Sin is to be overcome, not so much by direct opposition to it as by cultivating opposite principles. Would you kill the weeds in your garden, plant it with good seed; if the ground be well occupied there will be less need of the hoe.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....85

1. It is wrong always, everywhere and for everyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.

2. The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

3. Everyone aught to bear patiently the results of his own conduct.

4. Expectation is the root of all heart ache.

5. For attractive lips--------speak words of kindness.

6. For lovely eyes--------seek out the good in people.

7. For slim figure-------share your food with the hungry.

8. For beautiful hair-------let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

9. If you need a helping hand-------you will find one at the end of your arm.

10. You have been given two hands------one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

Monday, September 08, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1046

Ayahs of the Day:
By the clarifying Book-----We have made it an Arabic Recital that you may understand. And it is in the matrix on scripture, in Our presence, sublime full of wisdom. Should We pass you over with the Reminder, since you are a wasteful people? How many prophets have We sent among the ancients? But they mocked any prophet who came to them. So We destroyed the most ruthless of them, and so transpired the example of the ancients. [43: 2 to 8]

Hadith of the Day:
The true muhajir (the one who emigrates) is the one who avoids what Allah has prohibited. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
One who is granted the sweetness of intimate converse has sleep taken from him. [Shaykh Abu Madyan]

Guidance of the Day:
The path of purposeful action bears a double blessing for those who walk it. Right action is the key to the reestablishment of God consciousness within your world. The world has lost the awareness of God in its actions, and so it is through the action that awareness must be restored. Find for yourself a comfortable balance of stillness and activity, and serve the world from such a point of equilibrium.

Simply love God, hold to your purest intentions, and remain true to your inner Light. The mirror of right action is its willingness to spring forth from good intention. Let your deeds speak your message to the world. Your actions have a power to heal. When you chose the responsibility to heal the world, you instantly allow God to heal the world through you. This is your role as a messenger of Light. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Our greatest illusion is reliance upon the security and permanence of material possessions. The only security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability. Security depends not so much upon how much you have, as upon how much you can do without.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....84

1. Egotism is the source and summary of all faults and miseries.

2. Every man is guilty of all good that he could have done and did not do.

3. Everyone goes astray, but the least imprudent are they who repent without delay.

4. God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well--------by living in accordance to His commands.

5. Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?

6. Paradise is made for loving, tender hearts; hell for loveless hearts.

7. Act as if what you do makes a difference------it does.

8. Every body should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.

9. Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.

10. If you want a trait/quality act as if you already have it------fake it till you make it.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1045

Ayahs of the Day:
It is not appropriate for a human being that God speak to him but by inspiration, or from behind the veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal, by divine permission, what is God's will, for God is sublime, supreme wise. And that is how We inspired you spiritually by Our order: you didn't know what scripture was, nor faith, but We made it a light to guide whomever We will among Our servants. So you are certainly showing the way to a straight path, the path of God, to whom belongs what is in the skies and what is on earth; indeed, all matters wind up with God. [42: 51,52,53]

Hadith of the Day:
Part of the perfection of a person's Islam is his leaving that which is no concern of him. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Look upon those who rest in graves, how they amassed wealth, how they built lofty buildings. How high must their hopes be? But in vain. Their wealth has vanished, the buildings are rubble. Why do you not learn from these things? [Imam Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
No job is better than another; the important element is the awareness that we keep while doing the job. In fact, practicing in God's presence is our only real job, no matter what job it is. Our only real company is Truth, and it is God Incorporated.

We have all come to earth for a reason--------to learn the lessons that the earth has to teach, and to bless the world through sharing, through our being and our actions, what we have learned. To desist from action is to miss or delay our opportunity to bless, and to go into action with God in mind is to bring God directly into the world to serve it. Real meditation begins when you open your eyes. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Teach me, O Lord, to put into action my better
impulses and make me straightforward and unafraid.
Grant that I may realize that it is the
trifling things of life that create
differences, that in the higher things we are all one.
And, O Lord, God, let me not forget to be kind!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....83

1. The injuries we do, and those we suffer, are seldom in the same balance.

2. One man with courage is the majority------ask Allah for courage.

3. Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.

4. When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry count to one hundred.

5. Avoid sarcasm, for it is the language of the Devil.

6. Talk that doesn't end in any kind of action is better suppressed altogether.

7. The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully-------following the commandments of Allah Most High.

8. Determine never to be idle. No person will complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is amazing how much may be done if we are always doing and not wasting our time.

9. What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence.

10. Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation and freedom in all just pursuits.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1044

Ayahs of the Day:
The dominion of the heavens and the earth belongs to God, who creates at will, bestowing daughters on anyone at will, and bestowing sons on anyone at will, or combining sons and daughters for them; and God makes anyone sterile at will; for God is omniscient and all-powerful. [42: 49,50]

Hadith of the Day:
Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt, verily truth is truth is tranquility and falsehood is doubt. [Timidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The realization of La ilaha illallah is one of the states of the heart that can neither be expressed by the tongue nor thought out by the mind. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
We pretty well know that if we clear our mind, we can bring order to our affairs; when our mind is clear, our room automatically becomes tidy, our car runs efficiently, and our checkbook is balance. What many people are not aware of, however, is that we can use our affairs to clear our mind. If we make the effort to smooth out our bedspread, to sit down and tackle our checkbook until it is balanced, or to clean out the back closet, we will find our mind also organized, almost as if we sat down to meditate.

This is so because in order to bring our affairs into alignment we must mobilize the state of mind to accomplish it. In other words, we are using life's "little" acts as means to bring clarity to us. This places what we do during the day in a whole new light. It means that everything is a way to discover and express God. It means that jobs and relationships are all good, for they are opportunities to practice becoming conscious. And so it doesn't matter so much what we do, then; the crucial issue is the consciousness that we bring to what we do. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Help me, O Lord, put away all pretence,
that I may never be hasty in my judgments,
but generous to all and in all things,
make me grow calm, serene, and gentle.