Friday, July 31, 2009

LESSON OF THE DAY 1139

Ayahs of the Day:
So what prevents you from spending for the sake of God, when the inheritance of the heavens and the earth belongs to God? Those of you who contributed before victory and fought are not on the same level; they are greater in rank than those who contributed and fought afterwards. But God has promised fairness to each and every one; and God is fully aware of what you do. [57: 10]

Hadith of the Day:

A man has sinned enough if he neglected to feed those in need. [Fiqh us Sunna]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Faith is a natural state uniting the created to the Creator: to realize it means salvation, and to lack awareness of it spells disaster. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
There are many kinds of purposes that can inspire our lives. A mother raising healthy, happy children has an involving purpose, as does a child completing a complex science project. A woman or man who runs or works out in a gym daily to keep fit or who operates an impeccable office are living from purpose.

The person who drives a bus load of handicapped children to school has as great a purpose as the person who manages to maintain a clean environment. Determined, conscious living that leads people to feel satisfied and enlivened by a job well done, whatever that job may be, is what it means to live from purpose. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
You can't always have everything, but you can make the best of what you have. Discontentment makes rich people poor, while contentment makes poor people rich. The secret of abundance is to stop focusing on what you do not have, and shift your consciousness to an appreciation to all that you are and all that you have.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Pearls of Wisdom....177

1. Speech is like an arrow, it is necessary to aim it by way of reflection before uttering anything.

2. Do not neglect the purpose of discourse, its time, its quality, its quantity, and its place.

3. Never scorn to profit by anyone, nor be stingy in profiting others.

4. Beware of covetousness, for it is ever present poverty.

5. People are in poverty because they fear poverty.

6. Whoever occupies himself with insignificant things, then important things will by pass him.

7. One should not engage in vain discourse that is of no benefit to one's religious or worldly affairs.

8. When a person's intelligence is complete, his speech becomes less.

9. Speech is a necessary evil, but silence is salvation----so when you have to talk, do not be prolific.

10. You will never once repent from your silence, but often times you will repent of your speech. [Above quotes by Imam al Zarnuji]

Monday, July 27, 2009

LESSON OF THE DAY 1138

Ayahs of the Day:
So what prevents you from believing in God, when the messenger invites you to believe in your Lord, and he has gotten your agreement, if you are faithful believers? God is the one who sends evident signs down to the servant of the divine, to bring you forth from the darknesses into the light; God is indeed kind to you, and merciful. [57: 8,9]

Hadith of the Day:
The dispensers of justice will be seated on pulpits of light beside God; (They are) those who do justice in their rulings, in matters relating to their families and all in that they undertake to do. [Muslim]

Wise Quotes of the Day:
Who ever hates his ego for Allah's sake, Allah will protect him from against what he hates. [Abu Bakr Siddiq radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
If we are to live as designers instead of the victims of our lives, we must keep generating something to live for. What impelled us yesterday may not exactly fit today. We need to review and revise our commitments to keep life fresh, alive, spontaneous and satisfying since without purpose we may feel lost or despairing. Continually creating goals with more goals behind them enlivens us.

A purpose that is large enough can inspire us for an entire lifetime. An implicit problem here is that some people wait around endlessly for the "right" purpose to show up, and it doesn't. Purpose is something we have to generate for ourselves. Hence, we would be wise to simply make up a purpose from which to live, and then commit ourselves to it. Our purpose could be a big one: to end a war or hunger on the planet or to love every other being in our world. However, our purpose does not have to be a lofty one to be satisfying, for any new step can make a difference in regenerating our vitality and satisfaction. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often times we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings. Do not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Pearls of Wisdom....176

1. He who keeps watch at night will rejoice in his heart during the day.

2. It is important to aspire to the highest level of learning, since man flies by his aspirations as a bird flies with its wings.

3. Small things are great in the eyes of the small person, and great things are small in the eyes of the great.

4. Do not make haste in your affairs, but proceed slowly with them; for nothing will straighten your stick like a slow fire.

5. Beware of laziness, for it is misfortune and a great calamity.

6. The ignorant are dead before their death, for the one who does not live by knowledge is dead.

7. The life of the heart is knowledge-------so seek it; and the death of the heart is ignorance-------so shun it.

8. He who takes up learning will never have his honor effaced.

9. The beginning and end of knowledge is happiness.

10. Beware of laziness in investigating the doubtful. [Above quotes by Imam al Zarnuji]

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

LESSON OF THE DAY 1137

Ayahs of the Day:
The rule of the heavens and the earth belongs to God, and matters depend on God. God introduces night into day, and day into night; and God knows what is in the hearts. Believe in God and the messenger of God, and spend of what We have made you inheritors to. For those of you who do have faith and expend, there is a great reward. [57: 6,7]

Hadith of the Day:
God and His angels, the dwellers of the heavens and of the earth, even an ant in its hole and fish (in the depth of the sea), invoke blessings on (a scholar) who teaches people goodness. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Surrender yourselves before God in the manner of the devout saints; then God will hold you just as dearly as He did the devout who went before you. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:
The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them. Living based on a purpose is life-affirming and renewing. A purpose can help us find the courage to go on, no matter what the problems we confront, and the courage to combat despair and discouragement.

Any new step-----a new commitment, goal, hobby, friend, plan, or interest-----can make a difference and can reawaken us to a purposeful living apart from our pain. Thus actualizing a simple plan to learn a new subject or quit smoking or keep a journal or build a bookcase can turn our lives around. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. He that composes himself is wiser than he that composes a book. He that won't be counseled can't be helped.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Pearls of Wisdom....175

1. Patience and perseverance largely comprise the foundation of all matters, but these two qualities are rare.

2. It is necessary for the pursuer of knowledge to be firm and exert patience with his teacher and his book so as to not abandon his studies incomplete.

3. The treasure of good bounty lies on the arches of calamities.

4. Do not inquire about a man, but observe his companion, for indeed one companion imitates the other.

5. How often through the corruption of another man is a pious man corrupted!

6. One does not acquire knowledge nor profit from it unless one holds knowledge in esteem and those who possess it.

7. The light of learning is increased by the light of purification of the heart.

8. All glory is attained by exertion, not by luck.

9. He who seeks pearls immerses himself in the sea. [Above quotes by Imam al Zarnuji]

Friday, July 17, 2009

LESSON OF THE DAY 1136

Ayah of the Day:
God is the one who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then mounted the throne. God knows what goes into the earth, and what emerges from it; and what descends from the sky and what rises to it. And God is with you wherever you are and sees whatever you are doing. [57: 4]

Hadith of the Day:
The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If you devote yourself to God in this world, He will admit you among His chosen servants in the hereafter. Such devotion, however, demands sacrifice and self-denial, the two instruments that make union with God possible. [Al-Hujwiri]

Guidance of the Day:
Engaging ourselves with other people's problems can free us from our concern with our own. We do not need to suffer twenty-four hours a day over any problems or upsets, not even over our most major tragedies. A most potent way to free ourselves of pain is to be fully engaged in giving to other people.

Because life hurts, we will always need to be able to heal from both physical and emotional pain, to recover our sense of ourselves at any given time, so that we can be fully engaged in life and continue to live with vitality and satisfaction. Service is one of the most effective strategies for feeling well and living well. Nothing makes us stronger than realizing we make a difference. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds something new to his life, something with which nothing can be compared. Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness. Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Pearls of Wisdom....174

1. Every sin is the result of a person's putting the desires of his soul above his love for Allah and His messenger. [Ibn Rajab]

2. Repentance is not simply a matter of stopping one's sins but it is to refrain in the most beautiful manner from sinning and to amend for one's deeds in the best way possible. [Al Raaghib al Isfahaani]

3. Haste in five things---------feeding one's guests; preparing for the burial; marrying a virgin; paying back a debt; and repenting a sin. [Hatim al Asamm]

4. Beware of bad company, a bad friend is as unreliable as a snake. [Shaykh Zulfiqar]

5. A man's religion is that of his intimates, so let each of you consider who he becomes intimate with. [al Hadith]

6. Whoever cares not where he obtains his living from, God cares not from which of the gates of Hell He will make him enter. [al Hadith]

7. Leave that which arouses suspicion for that which does not. [al Hadith]

8. Part of the excellences of the person's Islam is in leaving alone that which does not concern him. [al Hadith]

9. A Muslim is someone from whose tongue and hands Muslims are safe; and a Muhajir is someone who leaves behind what Allah has forbidden. [al Hadith]

10. He who believes in God and the Last Day, let him speak words of goodness or else remain silent. [al Hadith]

Thursday, July 09, 2009

LESSON OF THE DAY 1135

Ayahs of the Day:
Everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies God, the almighty, the supremely wise, who gives life and causes death, and who is in control of every thing; the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward. God knows everything. [57: 1,2,3]

Hadith of the Day:
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge which holds no benefit, from a heart which is not submissive and humble, from a soul which is never satisfied, and from a supplication which goes unanswered. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
It is impossible to know the reality of hypocrisy and see its hidden shades except for one who resolutely seeks sincerity. [Imam al-Shafii]

Guidance of the Day:
Recovering by contributing to others---is the surest means of healing ourselves. Every one of us cares that our life matters or makes some kind of difference, and we can insure that we make a difference by serving other people. Our lives then mean something. Nothing I know of makes a greater impact on our self-esteem than this. Contributing to other people is a potent secret for healing, feeling good about ourselves, and for having a life worth living.

Whether we give ourselves to individuals or to the world at large, in serving others we discover or recapture the best way we are. We experience our largeness, breadth, and depth, beyond our small concerns and complaints. Also, in a very practical sense, making ourselves available to assist others and having our attention off ourselves can generate change and growth and a sense of personal power and effectiveness within us. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
The best thing to give your enemy is forgiveness, to an opponent tolerance, to a friend your heart, to your child good example, to your father deference, to your mother a conduct that will make her proud of you, to yourself respect and to all men charity.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Pearls of Wisdom....173

1. Renew your wudu whenever you break it, for wudu is the weapon of the believer, and when the weapon is in evidence, the enemy (devil) dares not approach. [Abdullah ibn Alawi al Haddad]

2. He who is pleased with the Creator, depends not on the creation. [Abu Hazim Makki]

3. He who takes pride in his good deeds is in sin, and he who is ashamed of evil deeds is in obedience. [Imam Jafar al Sadiq]

4. Consider it near the day when this world will vanish and all that will remain will be the world to come. [Hasan al Basri]

5. Patience is of two kinds: first patience with trials and calamities; second patiently avoiding that which Allah has prohibited. [Hasan al Basri]

6. Paradise is not attained through outward deeds alone, rather it is attained through sincerity and intention. [Hasan al Basri]

7. The contented one is freed from dependence upon the creation. He who leaves his desires attains his freedom. [Hasan al Basri]

8. Satan need not misguide the one who runs after the world for he is already misguided. [Mohammad Wa'se]

9. The most difficult matter is that one watch over his tongue and speak ill of no one. [Mohammad Wa'se]

10. The heart which is free from rancor is pleased with his Lord. No happiness can be attained by the heart which is not happy with his Lord. [Habid Ajmi]

Thursday, July 02, 2009

LESSON OF THE DAY 1134

Ayahs of the Day:
Now if he (the dying person) was one of the closest to God, there will be merciful rest and sweet sustenance, and a garden of happiness. And if he was one of the company of the right, there will be "peace to you" from the companions of the right. But if he was one of the wayward who repudiate truth as false, there will be a welcome of boiling water and burning in a blaze. This is the certain truth; so celebrate the name of your Lord, the Sublime. [56: 88 to 96]

Hadith of the Day:
If you see earthly passions being obeyed, niggardliness holding sway, this temporal world being given preference, and everyone admiring their own opinion, you should keep to your own private affair. [Tirmidhi & Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Learn when to speak and when to keep quiet, consider the effects of your actions and words, and pray to your Lord to protect you from all that leads to faithlessness. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
Our freedom from suffering would expand immeasurably if we would learn to live in a continuous state of forgiveness with ourselves and those around us. Since it is likely that we will always make mistakes, it would help for us to learn to quickly forgive and forget. How satisfying our relationships could be if we were always willing to forgive!

Mastering forgiveness takes awareness and time, even daily, to forgive everyone who comes to mind, past or present, and to forgive ourselves every mistake, flaw, grudge, guilty feeling, or negative thought. We can do it! We can remind ourselves by practicing saying words of forgiveness aloud and with feeling over and over, such as, "I forgive myself. I forgive others. I am forgiven." Remember, forgiveness is the most powerful tool we have for transforming ourselves and our lives. Many of us have experienced the kind of transformation. Let's forgive ourselves and everyone else around us for anything and everything, for therein lies the promise of a rich and satisfying life. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Be great in act, as you have been in thought. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul. The strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh. Laws control the lesser man, right conduct control the greater one.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Pearls of Wisdom....172

1. Your time is your life, and your life is your capital, it is the basis of your transactions (with God), and the means to attain everlasting felicity, in the proximity of God the Exalted. [Imam al Ghazali]

2. The attentiveness of a servant is equal to his love for his Lord. Love is consequent upon knowledge, as much as one grows more knowledgeable of Him, so shall he love Him more and worship Him more abundantly. [Imam Abdullah Ibn Alawi al Haddad]

3. A scrupulous person is most worshipful of people because those who eat things that are absolutely lawful cease to tire from worship, and those who don't tire from worship are more worshipful than those who do. [Abdul Wahab al Sharani]

4. Renunciation is a means of traveling to Allah and reaching Him, for there is no spiritual traveling of the heart that is attached to anything other than the Beloved. [Ibn Ajiba]

5. Scrupulousness is restraining oneself from anything whose end result may be blame worthy. [Ibn Ajiba]

6. Get as close to Allah as you can, and realize that you do not get closer to Him by anything that is more beloved to Him than His own speech--------the Holy Qur'an. [Khabaab ibn Arat radi Allah anhu]

7. If your hearts become pure, you will never have enough of the words of your Lord. [Othman radi Allah anhu]

8. The one who knows that he is a slave of Allah and that he shall return to Him, knows that he is, in fact, to be detained. The one who knows that he is to be detained knows that he is going to be asked---------about every thing he does. [Fudayl ibn Iyaadh]

9. Do good for the remainder of your life and you will be forgiven for what you did in the past. However, if you do evil in what remains of your life, you will be held responsible for what you did in the past and in the future. [Fudayl ibn Iyaad]

10. This worldly life is a deceiving form of enjoyment if it diverts one from seeking the Hereafter. However, if it calls a person to seeking Allah's pleasure and seeking the Hereafter, then it is an excellent means. [Sa'eed ibn Jubair]