Thursday, September 30, 2010

Pearls of wisdom 277

1. Silence will create respect and dignity.

2. Justice and fair play will bring more friends.

3. Benevolence and charity will enhance prestige and position.

4. Good words will overcome powerful enemies.

5. The best form of the devotion to the service of God is not to make a show of it.

6. To give up inordinate desires is the best kind of wealth and fortune.

7. He is the wisest and the most knowing who advises people not to lose hope and confidence in the Mercy of the Most Merciful

8. He is the wisest and the most knowing who advises people not to be too sure and overconfident of immunity from His wrath and punishment.

9. Best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.

10. Anxiety does not avert Divine destiny but wastes recompense and requital. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

LESSON OF THE DAY 1243

Ayahs of the Day:
By the sky that revolves and the earth that opens this is indeed a discriminating word, and it is not spoken in jest. They are laying a plan, and I too am laying a plan: so give the scoffers time; ease up on them gently. [86: 11 to 17]

Hadith of the Day:
Three things are devastating: to believe in the good of avarice, to cater to one's lust, and to be an egoist. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
None in this age will amass wealth except those having five traits of character -- high hopes, abnormal greediness, excessive miserliness, lack of fearing Allah, and forgetfulness of the coming world. [Sufyan al-Thawri]

Guidance of the Day:
Start the day with love. Live the day with love. End the day with love. If any of us could master this strategy to its fullest, we would be among the great role models of humanity. Yet, as difficult as this strategy would be to master, it's worth every bit of effort you put into it.

Actually, the wisdom of this strategy is quite simple. The idea is to remind yourself frequently, throughout the day, of the importance of living your life with love as your absolute priority. Something magical happens to your life when nothing is seen as more important than love. "Small stuff" is kept in its proper perspective and consciousness opens to the beauty and joy of life. Our day-to-day living begins to take on an extraordinary quality and we begin to experience what's truly most important in life. [Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- with your family]

Food for Thought:
How long, oh how long will it take us to learn that there are only two things in life that really count -- one is character and the other is human sympathy. Next to love, sympathy is the divinest passion of the human heart. The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best strength that he may be able to bear the burden.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Pearls of wisdom 276

1. Blessings are for the one who humbles himself before God.

2. Blessings are for the one whose sources of income are honest.

3. Blessings are for the one whose habits are always honorable.

4. Blessings are for the one whose character is noble.

5. Blessings are for the one whose habits are sober.

6. Blessings are for the one who gives away in the name and in the cause of God his wealth.

7. Blessings are for the one who controls his tongue from vicious and useless talk.

8. Blessings are for the one who abstains from oppression and tyranny.

9. Blessings are for the one who cheerfully and faithfully follows the traditions of Holy Prophet (peace and blessings upon him). Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

Friday, September 24, 2010

LESSON OF THE DAY 1242

Ayahs of the Day:
By the sky and the wayfarer: and what will let you know what the Wayfarer is? The penetrating star. There is no soul without a guardian over it. Now let man consider from what he was created: he was created from a liquid pouring forth, issuing from between the loins and the chest. Surely God is capable of restoring him the day that secrets will be known by trial and he will have no power and helper. [86: 1 to 10]

Hadith of the Day:
Surely you are no better than the one whose skin is black or red. It is only the one who is more righteous who is better than others. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
How can the laws of nature be ruptured for you so that miracles result, while you, for your part, have yet to rupture your bad habits? [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
Don't let money get you down. Most of us don't feel as though we have enough money to do the things we would really like to do -- travel, fix up our homes, or buy the things we want or need. To a large degree, the way we choose to look at this issue will affect the overall quality of our life at home. Whenever we think more of what we don't have or can't do than about what we do have or can do, we create a gap between what we have and what we want. So often, this gap is the source of a great deal of stress.

You can eliminate this source of stress by making the decision to stop using a lack of money to justify your unhappiness or boredom. This doesn't mean that you don't want or deserve more -- or that you shouldn't try to get more. It merely suggests that, in the meantime, you enjoy as much as possible that which you already have. You may be surprised. If you put more attention on what you can do than what you can't do, one thing's for sure -- you are going to have a lot more fun. [Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- with your family]

Food for Thought:
Every morning puts man on trial and each evening passes judgment. We should every night call ourselves to an account -- What infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed? What temptations resisted? What virtue acquired? One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.

I never saw anyone as just as the world. As long as you pursue the world it will pursue you, but when you turn away from it and seek God, it will leave you alone and its glamor shall no longer fascinate you. [Al Hujwiri]

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Pearls of wisdom 275

1. People in this world are like travelers whose journey is going on though they are asleep.

2. Knowledge and wisdom are properties of the faithful.

3. Have hope in God and none else.

4. Be afraid of nothing but sins.

5. If you do not know a thing do not feel ashamed to admit ignorance.

6. If you do not know a thing never hesitate or feel ashamed to learn it.

7. Acquire patience and endurance, because their relation with true faith is that of a head to body.

8. Greed is permanent slavery.

9. Bear sorrows and calamities patiently otherwise you will never be happy.

10. The best form of the devotion to the service of God is not to make a show of it. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

LESSON OF THE DAY 1241

Ayahs of the Day:
The power of your Lord is truly tremendous; for that is who begins and renews, and is most forgiving and loving, Lord of glorious Throne, independently acting at will. Has the story reached you of the troops of Pharaoh and Thamud? Those who scoff are still in denial, though God surrounds them from beyond. But this is a glorious Recital on a preserved tablet. [85: 12 to 22]

Hadith of the Day:
Anger comes from Satan and Satan is created from fire. Fire can only be put out by water. So whenever one of you is stricken by anger, make an ablution. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Material good is nothing compared to the spiritual. In the Hereafter no plea 'that others misled' will avail.' Each soul must answer for itself. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]

Guidance of the Day:
Experience calm surrender. Calm surrender is a term I use to describe the process of "letting go" around the home and elsewhere. Simply put, it means surrendering, with grace and humility, to the chaos of life. It's a form of acceptance, of being okay with what is, of ending the struggle. Often, we struggle against aspects of life that are largely beyond our control -- noise, confusion, comments we don't approve of, lost items, rudeness, imperfections, broken pipes, clogged drains, whatever. We fight, get angry and annoyed, and wish things were different. We complain, fret, and commiserate. Yet, when you add up all this frustration, the end result is always the same: The things we are frustrated about remain as they are. In fact, it only adds fuel to the fire, often making things worse than they already are.

Calm surrender is not about giving up. Nor is it about being apathetic, lazy, or not caring. Instead, it's about appropriate acceptance, being willing to let go of our insistence that events in our lives be any certain way or different than they actually are. The wisdom of the strategy is simple: Although you might wish things were different (or demand it), they are not. They are exactly as they are. This doesn't mean you shouldn't make changes or encourage improvements -- you absolutely should do so in those instances where you feel it's important or necessary. What this strategy is suggesting is the frustration that comes from not having things go your way. If you are willing to give this strategy a try, you'll be amazed at the results. The calmer you become, the easier your life will be. [Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- with your family]

Food for Thought:
To repent is to alter one's way of looking at life; it is to take God's point of view instead of one's own. True repentance is to cease from sin. To do it no more is truest repentance. God has promised pardon to him that repents, but he has not promised repentance to him that sins.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Pearls of wisdom 274

1. A conceited and self-admiring person is disliked by others.

2. Charity and alms are the best treatment for ailments and calamities.

3. One has to face in afterlife the deeds that one has done in this world.

4. Our affairs are hinged to the destiny decreed by the Lord; even our best thought out programs may lead us to death and destruction.

5. Optional prayers cannot attain the pleasure of God for you when compulsory daily prayers are left unattended.

6. Blessed is the man who always kept the life after death in his view.

7. Blessed is the man who remembered the Day of Reckoning through all his deeds.

8. Blessed is the man who led a contented life and who was happy with the lot that God had destined for him.

9. The sin which makes you sad and repented is liked better by the Lord than the good deed which turns you vain and conceited.

10. There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance, no greater friend and helpmate than consultation. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

Monday, September 13, 2010

LESSON OF THE DAY 1240

Ayahs of the Day:
As for those who tortured the believing men and believing women and never repented, there is the torment of hell for them, for them the torment of burning. As for those who believe and do the right things, there are gardens for them with streams flowing below; that is the great attainment. [85: 10,11]

Hadith of the Day:
God Almighty does not pay greater attention than when He hears His words in the Qur'an beautifully recited. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Reckon yourself before you are reckoned and weigh yourself before you are weighed. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Set a good example. Whether you have children or not, this strategy is important one to keep in mind. The truth is, we are setting some kind of example, whether we know it or not. Our actions are seen by others and are factored into the consciousness of those around us. While any single action might not have much of an effect on another person, there is a cumulative effect. It's up to all of us to determine what type of example we want to set -- loving, positive, and helpful; or lazy, apathetic, and selfish.

The decision to set a good example in as many aspects of life as possible helps guide your behavior and your reactions to stress. I try, for example, not to get too uptight in traffic and while waiting in long lines. I do this not only because it's a less stressful way to experience life but also because I wish to send a message to those around me that life doesn't have to be perfect in order to be happy and peaceful.

Take a look at the examples you are setting for those around you. Are they the examples you wish to send -- or would you rather be sending different types? Whatever your answer, this is an important question to ask yourself. It can help you make behavioral and attitudinal adjustments that will make your life less stressful and more meaningful to yourself and to those around you. [Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- with your family]

Food for Thought:
To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom and he who increases in riches increases his cares, but a contented mind is a treasure hidden. Patience is the companion of wisdom. The doors of wisdom are never shut. In seeking wisdom you are wise, in imagining you have attained it, you are a fool.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Eid Mubarak!!!

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]