Friday, November 28, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1067

Ayahs of the Day:
Those who say "Our Lord is God" and then are steadfast in uprightness shall have no burden of fear, and neither shall they grieve. Such shall be the companions of the Paradise, where they will abide forever, as a reward for what they have done. [46:13,14]

Hadith of the Day:
Know that if the nation were to gather together to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you with anything except that which Allah has already recorded for you. If they gather to harm you by something, they would not be able to harm you by anything except what Allah has already recorded against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have been dried. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
I looked at my friends, and I did not find a better friend than safeguarding my tongue. I thought about all the dresses, but did not find a better dress than piety. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
If we aspire to serve others and to make some kind of contribution to humanity, we must first let go of our own self-pity, fear, and doubt. There is a part of each of us that is preoccupied with itself, and which ironically mocks those whose love can most help us. At the same time, we also have within us a self------and aspect of our real nature-----that has a deep compassion for the needs of others and desires to give rather than get.

The reward of service is that when we turn our attention to help another, we forget our own misery, which was created and maintained only by our willingness to dote on it. Real service is given without any expectation of reward or acknowledgment. In this attitude, we can never be disappointed and we will always feel fulfilled. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Four steps to achievement;
Plan purposefully,
Prepare prayerfully,
Proceed positively,
Pursue persistently.
a.hsSig {cursor: default}

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....105

1. Even when people tell you there isn't any hope, there is. There is always hope, purpose, and a new magical lesson.

2. Nourishing the soul is a life long journey--------traveled day by day, that is worth making the most important focus of our lives.

3. Good lies in what God chooses.

4. Contentment is a treasury of good living and ease of life. While greed is a mine of loss and abasement.

5. The cost of change is high, but the cost of not changing may be higher.

6. Those who change in accordance with the deeper design of life will reap benefits themselves and those around them.

7. One learns by pain and experience, that one could not control everything, and that life is temporary.

8. The challenging journey of life requires honesty, integrity, perseverance, openness, and much more.

9. Life is a generous giver, let's not throw those gifts away unopened. That which seems hard "bad luck" on the surface, can be a hidden blessing.

10. Continual playing without significance will turn sour. How long can you just play golf and still respect yourself.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1066

Ayahs of the Day:
Revelation of the Book is from God, the Mighty, the Wise: We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them but in due proportion and for a definite term. But those who scoff turn away from the warning they have been given. [46: 2,3]

Hadith of the Day:
Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah. If you seek help, seek help in Allah. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Patience comes in three stages: first, one learns not to follow the baser self; second, one learns to content oneself with one's fate; finally, one surrenders oneself to the Master's will and discovers within love and compassion, the greatest of all achievements. [Imam al-Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
It is now for you to master life through right use of your faculty of decision. Master this task, and you take control of your life in cooperation with God. Your resolution to harmonize with the Will for Good is a first requisite in the channeling of these faculties.

Ultimately there is but one decision that you need to make: the decision for God. All other decisions are in the service of this one. Do not underestimate the decisions that you must make, for your firm resolve in the smaller of these will unlock Heaven's gate before you. Decide and grow strong. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others. Courage is the price that life extracts from granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things. Courage and clemency are equal virtues.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....104

1. By forgiving the person who hurt us, we strengthen our souls.

2. Generosity goes hand in hand with compassion. If you have no compassion you cannot have generosity.

3. All adversity is really an opportunity for our souls to grow; all adversity is really a form of growing pain.

4. A truly wise person will have the wisdom to know what he can do, accept what he can't do, and have the generosity of spirit to extend himself in ways that can make a difference.

5. To hold a grudge against anyone is like carrying the devil on your shoulders.

6. Two things, at minimum, are needed-------an ability to appreciate the positives in our life, and a commitment to action to do good.

7. Peace of mind has nothing to do with the external world; it has only to do with our connection with God.

8. The fact that you are praying and meditating is not as important as how much good you bring back from your prayer and meditation.

9. Often it is the lowest points in life that we learn the most. Those low moments are the magical moments. They are the beginning stages of our journey to our Lord.

10. We came here because the earth is abundant and alive-----a rich, rich field of lessons for us to learn. Let's get educated for our own souls.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1065

Ayahs of the Day:
And you will see every people kneeling; every people will be summoned to its record: "Today you are being repaid for what you used to do. This record of Ours speaks about you in truth; for We have been transcribing what you have been doing." And as for those who believed and did good works, their Lord will admit them into divine mercy. That is the evident success. [45: 28,29,30]

Hadith of the Day:
I am a guarantor of a house in the highest part of Paradise for the one who makes his behavior good. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Make patience your provision, satisfaction your mount, and the Truth your goal and objective. [Shaykh Abu Madyan]

Guidance of the Day:
Decide to make your life what you want it to be. No one else can decide for you, and certainly no one else can do it for you. Your decisions will line up life in the way that you choose it. The moment we make a decision------a firm one------the forces of the universe immediately set themselves in line to manifest that decision. If desired events are not coming to pass in your life, it is because you have not firmly resolved what you want it to manifest.

Examine your circumstances carefully, and you will agree that this is so. You life is a picture of the decisions that you have made. If your life is in conflict or confused, it is only because your decisions have been in conflict or confused. Declare your decision, and your life is certain to clear up. There is no slippage in the system of mind dynamics. What you think becomes reality. Think vague, and life will be vague. Think clearly, decide firmly, and act precisely, and your life will be a picture of surety. You will have it so, by your willingness to decide. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....103

1. Never do people know the force that is in them until some mighty affliction or grief has humanized the soul.

2. The time people spend in trying to impress others could be spend in doing the things by which others would be impressed.

3. Any person worth their salt will stick up for what they believe in, but it takes a slightly bigger person to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that they are in error.

4. Think of your own faults the first part of the night when you are awake, and the faults of others the latter part of the night when you are asleep.

5. Religion is an examination, a test, which distinguishes elevated spirits from base ones.

6. Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be.

7. You can tell more about a person by what they say about others than you can by what others say about them.

8. This world is a moment; fill it with obedience-----------this life is only one opportunity.

9. To exist is to change; to change is to mature; to mature is to create oneself endlessly.

10. If you heed Satan and you soul, you will fall to the lowest of the low. But if you heed Truth and the Quran, you will rise to the highest of the high and become the most excellent pattern of the universe.

Monday, November 17, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1064

Ayahs of the Day:
Say, "God gives life, and then makes you die, and then gathers you for the day of resurrection, on which there is no doubt; and yet most people do not know." To God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and the day on which the end of time will happen, a day on which prattlers will lose out. [45: 26,27]

Hadith of the Day:
The things that most causes people to enter the Paradise are taqwa of Allah and good behavior. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
What you love to have with you in the Hereafter you should advance today, and what you hate to have with you, you should abandon today. [Salman ibn Dinar]

Guidance of the Day:
For one week, practice being really decisive. It does not matter so much whether you say "Yes" or "No," as long as you do not day "maybe." Be crisp in your decisions. Be anything but vague. Banish fear through sincere and firm decisions. Do not waste one iota of your precious life-force on indecision. Do not give the rational mind anything to chew on. So chosen, your affairs will quickly fall into place.

In mastering the high art of decision, you will align your mind and your actions with all of the great masters of life who have used firm decision making as a tool to release spiritual power for the good of the world. They stood firmly for their beliefs. They acted with resolve. They were not without error, but they lived up to their mistakes like masters. Act with dignity and precision, and the power that made them great will uphold you in your aspiration. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Why is man's posture upright while most of the animal world's posture is horizontal? Maybe it is a sign of what our lives should be like. Perhaps we should be reaching for a higher level of living and not just living by instinct, as other animals do. The key is to be aligned in an upright position and work to accomplish higher things with our lives. Become upright in your life, relationships, and work. If you need help, find a spiritual chiropractor. Spiritual strength depends on spiritual posture.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....102

1. Keeping the company of the bad people will lead to the bad opinion of good people.

2. It is the virtuous and the seeker of virtue who finds the company of virtuous.

3. Contentment is a treasure of good living and ease in life, while greed is a mine of loss and abasement.

4. We must, like a painter, take time to stand back from our work, to be still, and thus see what's what-------true repose is standing back to survey the activities that fill our days.

5. Silence is one great art of conversation. According to the rule, "a fool should be answered with silence".

6. Every thing in this life has a purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.

7. 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.

8. We "meet" God when we pray, when we are helpful and kind, when we overcome nasty habits, addictions, and pettiness in our lives.

9. Each time we choose to help others, our soul grows and flourishes.

10. Each day we are faced with opportunities to help others, to forgive them, to have compassion for them, to be tolerant of them. Do we seize these opportunities, or do we let them slip by?

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1063

Ayah of the Day:
Haven't you seen someone who takes as his god his own foolish desires? God has, knowing (him as such), let him stray, and has sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a veil over his sight. So who guides him aside from God? Will you not then receive the warning. [45: 23]

Hadith of the Day:
You must adhere to truthfulness, for truthfulness leads to righteousness. And, verily, righteousness leads to Paradise. A person continues being truthful and seeking honesty until he is recorded with Allah as an honest person. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The most meritorious of the acts or services of worship is knowing and loving God Almighty, being beneficial to humanity, and seeking God's approval and good pleasure in whatever one does, always being in pursuit of what is the truest and highest ideal in life. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
Do not be rigid in your decisions that you are unwilling to reverse them when necessary. We must hold Truth in higher esteem than unthinking obstinacy. Reversing a decision for a good reason is not the same as indecision. When we reverse a decision with reason, we have executed two strong choices. When we fail to decide and fall prey to wishy-washy lethargy, we have made no choice, and remain weak.

If you decide to wait, then do it with resolution, and not procrastination. Many decisions require a gestation period before they can be brought to birth. When you perceive such a necessity, decide to wait. This is not a sign of weakness, but wisdom. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Sin has four characteristics:
self-sufficiency instead of faith,
self-will instead of submission,
self-seeking instead of benevolence,
self-righteousness instead of humility.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....101

1. A saint is not one never fails, it is the one who gets up and goes every time he fails.

2. God comforts us, not just to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.

3. It is where one spends their money that shows where their heart lies.

4. It's not the place that makes the person, but the person that makes the place honorable.

5. Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.

6. Never look down on someone unless you are helping them up.

7. The biggest mistake you can make is to assume to always be right.

8. Worry is like a rocking chair--------gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere.

9. One who wants to leave foot prints in the sands of time must wear work boots.

10. Be like the farmer who faithfully plants in the spring who reaps a harvest in the autumn.

Monday, November 10, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1062

Ayahs of the Day:
Do those who commit evils reckon We will make them equal in their life and their death to those who believe and do good? What a bad judgment they make! God created the heavens and the earth with justice, that every soul be requited for what it earned, without being wronged [45: 21,22]

Hadith of the Day:
The one who guides to what is good shall have the same reward as the one who performs that good. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The real journey is when the world's dimension is rolled away from you so that you see the Hereafter closer to you than yourself. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
We have come on earth to learn. It is no sin to make a mistake. If you make an error, then admit it with firm resolve, do what you can to correct the mistake, and walk on. The time spent in regret is only more time wasted. All of life is for learning.

We can use the routine experiences in our lives to practice the power of decision and precision. Arriving at the meeting on time, keeping our car in good condition, and carrying out an errand that we promised someone are good ways to mobilize decisive strength. The time of the meeting, the health of the car, and the nature of the errand are not nearly as important as our ability to make a commitment and stick to it. If we master little decisions, the big ones will come easy. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you. Don't ask of your friends what you yourself can do. The best bet is to bet on yourself. A secure individual knows that the responsibility for anything concerning his life remains with himself-------and he accepts that responsibility.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....100

1. Begin each morning with a talk with God; Prayer is an armor, do not go into the day without it.

2. Prayer does one of two things---------it either frees us from the trouble we fear or gives us the strength and courage to meet the trouble when it comes.

3. If God abides in your home, His presence cannot be hidden.

4. Discontentment makes rich men poor, while contentment makes poor men rich.

5. You can't always have everything, but you can always make the best of what you have.

6. It is nice to be important; but it is more important to be nice.

7. Deal with the faults of others as gently as you deal with your own.

8. For every minute that you are angry with someone, you lose sixty seconds of happiness that you can never get back.

9. Blowing out another person's candle won't make our's any brighter.

10. When you throw mud at someone, remember that you are the one who is losing the ground.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1061

Ayahs of the Day:
Then We set you on a sacred law from the divine order; so follow it, and do not follow the whims of those who do not know. For they will never avail you aught against God; indeed, the unjust are helpers to one another, while God is the helper of the conscientious. These are insights for humanity, and guidance and mercy for people who are sure. [45: 18,19,20]

Hadith of the Day:
A servant makes a statement that is so pleasing to Allah, although he himself does not give it much concern, that Allah raises his levels due to it. And a servant makes a statement that is so displeasing to Allah, although he himself does not give it much concern, that he is thrown because of it into Hell. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Whoever desires to purify his heart, then let him prefer Allah to his desires. [Ibn al-Qayyim]

Guidance of the Day:
We always know all we need to know to make any decision with which we are confronted. Take into account whatever you know about what is required for people to live on earth in harmony and use that knowledge as the basis for your decision. Acts are judged by their intention. If you are unsure as to what course of action to take, summon your purest intention and let that be your benchmark.

If you make a "wrong" decision, then be grateful for it. Turn a minus into a plus. A negative ( - ) is half a positive ( +). Take the minus sign and add one stroke of vertical awareness to it, and you have a plus. Thank God for showing you the error that you have made, and resolve not to repeat it. This is very pleasing in His eyes. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Grant us grace, Almighty Lord, so to pray as to deserve to be heard. Help us never to judge another until we have walked in his moccasins. O Lord, You know that which is best for us. Let this or that be done, as You shall please. Give what You will, how much You will, and when You will.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom....99

1. Avoid greed, for greed itself is poverty. The richest is the one who is not entrapped by greed.

2. If you want to live more freely, borrow less.

3. The safest way to disagree is quietly.

4. This day is yours; don't throw it away-----Time is the life of a Muslim

5. Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have-----so spend it wisely.

6. Reflection is the mirror of the believer in which he sees his works--------evil and good.

7. 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.

8. Remember, when you kill time it has no resurrection.

9. If you use the Quran as your guide, you will never lose your sense of direction.

10. Thank God for what you have, trust God for what you need.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

LESSON OF THE DAY 1060

Ayahs of the Day:
Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of God that God may repay people for what they earned. If one does good, it is for one's own soul; and if one does evil, it is one's own responsibility. Then you will be returned to your Lord. [45: 14,15]

Hadith of the Day:
Verily Allah the Exalted has prescribed the obligatory deeds, so do not neglect them. He has set the limits, so do not go beyond them. He has forbidden some things, so do not violate them. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Meet people in such a manner that if you die, they should weep for you, and if you live they should long for you. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
The impediment to decision making is fear of making the wrong choice or getting something we do not want. Often, however, a wrong choice is better than no choice, for then at least we would be certain of what is the right direction, and progress would be made.

When we do not know what choice to make, our best bet is to search our heart for the act that would be most in harmony with our most important ideals, and to act on that high standard. If we act in the name of love, service, and good will, we cannot make a wrong decision. God asks no more of us than to live up to the highest principles that we know. He does not hold us responsible for standards higher than those of which we are aware. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. Don't let your so-called mistakes and failures stop you from moving forward. Go ahead, take a risk, and remember that each failure brings you closer to success. You need to believe in yourself and what you choose to do in order to succeed.