LESSON OF THE DAY 1106

Ayahs of the Day:
Even the sky We constructed through agencies, while it was We who made the space. And the earth We cover, spreading it richly. And We have made pairs of everything, so that you would think. "So flee to God, from whom I am an open warner to you. And don't set up another deity alongside God, from Whom I am an open warner to you." [51: 47 to 51]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If your love were true, you would have obeyed Him,
Verily, the lover is obedient to the one he loves. [A Poet]

Guidance of the Day:
The only thing that can bring peace to the world are thoughts, feelings, and actions of peace. To think is to create. If we think hatred, hatred shall be manifested in the form of new bullets and bombs. Every thought of anger produces one new physical bullet. When we see an insane arms race, we are seeing the result of our collective consciousness.

If we are to truly change the world, we must give it new thoughts to be manifested------thoughts of the world we would like to see it. We must fill our minds and hearts with ideas and feelings of harmony and celebration. One person quietly sitting for a few minutes a day and meditating or praying for world peace has an effect on the world greater than those who angrily protest and criticize those who make war. Someone who runs down the street cursing those who fight is in effect sending out a set of vibrations that bring about only more war. As it is said, "Don't curse the darkness-----light a candle. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow. Death is the only inescapable, unavoidable, sure thing, we were sentenced to die the day we were born. A man who won't die for something is not fit to live. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at anytime.

Pearls of Wisdom....144

1. Since the day you are born, everyday, you are getting closer to the Hereafter with your back towards this world. So your abode in the Hereafter is far nearer to you than your house in this world.

2. Avoid incurring debts; for a debt is a humiliation by day and a grief by night.

3. Entertain hopes of mercy from Allah, but let not your hopes make you bold in committing sins; be fearful of Allah and let not your fear make you despair of His mercy.

4. Busy yourself in the affairs of this world to the extent of the remaining period of your life.

5. Worship Allah according to the measure of your dependence upon Him.

6. Make preparation for the Hereafter according to the extent of your stay in that world.

7. Continue to struggle for redemption from Hell-Fire till you have attained it.

8. If you have the audacity to indulge in sins, do so to the extent that you can endure Hell-Fire.

9. When you want to commit a sin, look for a hiding place that is not being watched by Allah Most High and His angels.

10. Entertain good expectation from Allah without losing fear of His punishment, and fear of His punishment should not make you despair of His mercy. [Above quotes by Hakeem Luqman]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1105

Ayahs of the Day:
On the earth are signs for those with certainty in faith, and in your selves; so don't you see? And in the sky is sustenance for you, and what you are promised. So by the Lord of the sky and the earth, this is truth, like the fact that you can speak. [51: 20 to 23]

Hadith of the Day:
Remain conscious of Allah and fear Him wherever you are. And follow a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards people. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
What keeps ego weak and obedient is applying learning and knowledge in good actions; being aware of one's state; meditating upon causes and effects; appreciating the gifts bestowed by good character; and listening to the advice of others engaged in the same pursuit. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
Each of us is a force field that creates and shapes all that is around us. One thought of love from the center of your mind spreads like ripples throughout the universe and touches everything, everywhere, with love. We are all connected to everything. Each of your thoughts and actions has a profound effect on all. I cannot underestimate my relationship with the whole of creation, for I am deeply connected with all that I see.

It has also been said that "you only see yourself." If, then, we want to see a new world in a new and beautiful way, we must first cultivate love and beauty within ourselves. If we send thoughts of anger and bitterness to those who pollute the earth with smoke and chemicals, we are poisoning the atmosphere with our thoughts. Hating anyone has never done anyone any good, and it certainly has not brought any more peace to the world. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
A sinful heart makes feeble hand. Our outward act is prompted from within, and from the sinner's mind proceeds the sin. It is as supreme folly to talk of a little sin as it would be to talk of a small Decalogue that forbids it, or a diminutive God that hates it, or a shallow hell that will punish it. A sin confessed is half forgiven.

Pearls of Wisdom....143

1. If we are not living for our Lord, relying on His guidance and help, and trusting in His wisdom, we will find it very difficult to negotiate our way through this world.

2. Our fulfillment does not lie in our liberation, rather it lies in the conquest of our souls and its base desires. The conquest only occurs through our enslavement to God.

3. Our enslavement to God in turn means that we have to suppress many of our souls' desires and inclinations.

4. It is our spiritual potential that separates us from the rest of this creation, and it is to the extent that we are able to conquer our physical nature that we realize that spiritual potential.

5. We need to realize that we will never achieve meaningful change in our situation relying on our own meager resources. We need to turn wholeheartedly to our Lord.

6. When we live for our Lord it becomes easy to live with each other. If in our personal relations we can come to embody the spirit of mutual love, mercy, and affection, we will be able to live together in harmony.

7. Islam wants each individual to take responsibility for his or her actions and to begin to address undesirable situations by seeing how he or she has fallen short in meeting the conditions God has established for the attainment of favorable out comes in this life.[Above quotes by Imam Zaid Shakir]

8. Associate frequently with the pious, for, in this way alone, you can attain to the virtues that they possess. Besides, when Allah's special favors descend upon these beings you will be able to receive your share of blessings; for when it rains, its showers fall on all sides of the house. [Hakeem Luqman]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1104

Ayahs of the Day:
As for the conscientious, they will be in gardens with springs, receiving what their Lord has given them; for they used to do good before that. They used to sleep little at night and pray for forgiveness in the early morning hours, and with their goods were fair to the beggar and deprived. [51: 15 to 19]

Hadith of the Day:
Pay regular charity out of your property, for truly it is a purifier, be kind to your relatives, and acknowledge the rights of the poor, of your neighbors, and of those who ask for assistance. [Fiqh us Sunnah]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Fear not; water and fire will become your army. Did the sea not help Noah and Moses? Did it not seek vengeance upon their foes? Was not the fire a fortress for Abraham? Did it not raise the smoke of despair in the heart of Nimrod? [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
Those that we seek to change will be affected by what we are doing in such a way that they will experience that there is a better way than the way that they have been trying. Our friends in conflict may be inspired by our peaceful example, and the good feelings that they experience in our presence will encourage them to be that way, too. And even if they do not change, our job is to be peaceful anyway, so there is no question about what we need to do.

We need to live what we want to see. When we love ourselves, we are bringing love to the world. When we master our own lives, we are bringing mastery and harmony to all people. It is said that "it is easier to conquer a city than to conquer one's self." Find tranquility within yourself, and the world around you will become tranquil. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another. You win the victory when you yield to friends. The way to make a true friend is to be one. Friendship implies loyalty, esteem, cordiality, sympathy, affection, readiness to aid, to help, to stick, to fight for, if need be.......Radiate friendship and it will return sevenfold.

Pearls of Wisdom....142

1. Act in accordance with what you know for what you do not know to be unveiled to you. [Imam al Ghazali]

2. Your knowledge should improve your heart and purge your ego. [Imam al Ghazali]

3. Whenever you interact with people, deal with them as you would wish yourself to be dealt with them, for a Believer's faith is incomplete until he wants for other people what he wants for himself. [Imam al Ghazali]

4. Not a day or night passes for any person without his death during it being a possibility [Imam al Ghazali]

5. Occupy yourself with inspecting your heart, discerning the features of your personality, giving worldly attachments a wide berth, purging yourself of ugly traits, and you would occupy yourself in adoring God the Exalted, worshipping Him and acquiring good qualities. [Imam al Ghazali]

6. If one is not satisfied with what suffices him, no abundance will ever enrich him. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

7. This world is an abode of tests. The object of life is not to avoid or deny its tests and trials, rather to successfully pass them. [Imam Zaid Shakir]

8. Many think that tests from God are always signs of His wrath. As Muslims, we believe that the trials afflicting us can be signs of His love. [Imam Zaid Shakir]

9. Human suffering is real. However, human perseverance and human dignity are just as real. They allow us to nobly endure the trials of this world. [Imam Zaid Shakir]

10. How bad can any suffering in this world be if it opens the door to unimaginable, eternal good in the life hereafter. [Imam Zaid Shakir]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1103

Ayahs of the Day:
By the scattering of winds, and those that bear burdens, and those that blow gently, and those that apportion their action, what you are promised is true; and judgment will come to pass. By the sky, with its orbits, you are involved in a contradictory doctrine by which the deluded are deceived. Doomed are those who conjecture, those who wallow in emotion distracted. [51:1 to 11]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
There are two evils, having which, an abundance of good works is seldom profitable--------discontent with God's decree and wronging God's servants. [Shaykh Abu Hasan al-Shadhili]

Guidance of the Day:
If each of us lives up to our highest ideals, we will be giving the best teaching there is. The most powerful teachings that I have received have come through my ignoring what people say and observing what they do. Words are the last and most superfluous elements of teaching. Real change comes only through example.

If we want to get another person------or the world------to do something, we must do it first. If we want people around us not to fight, we must be peaceful ourself. If we want our kids to clean up their room, we must be willing to keep our own room clean. And if we want the government to not make radioactive nuclear reactors, we cannot afford to radiate poisonous waves of angry emotional reaction. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. It has been shown that most of what we worry about never comes to be. And no problem is solved by worrying about it. So take care of what the world needs now: love, sweet love. Taking care of what needs doing now leaves little time for fear and worry.

Pearls of Wisdom....141

1. A disobedience that bequeaths humiliation and extreme need is better than an obedience that bequeaths self-infatuation and pride.

2. The trials that arrive in this world are but reminders to you of what you ignore of indigence.

3. The best of your moments is the one wherein you witness the existence of your indigence and, through it, arrive at the existence of your lowliness.

4. There are two graces from which no being can be separated and that are inevitable for every creature--------the grace of existence, and the grace of sustenance.

5. Whoever supposes that His gentleness (lutf) is separate from His decree of fate (qadr) does so out of short sightedness.

6. Do not press claims against your Lord because your request has been delayed; instead, press claims against yourself for slackening in your behavior.

7. When He makes you submissive to His commands outwardly and provides you with resignation to His power inwardly, then He has enhanced the greatness of the favor accorded you.

8. He commanded you in this world to reflect upon His creation; but in the Hereafter He will reveal to you the perfection of His essence.

9. So long as you are in this world, be not surprised at the existence of sorrows. For, truly, it manifests nothing but what is in keeping with its character or its inevitable nature.

10. What has he found who has lost YOU, what has he lost who has found YOU. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1102

Ayahs of the Day:
On the day the earth will split away from them all at once, that will be a gathering which will be easy for Us. We know best what they say: and you don't have power over them. So warn them with the Recital those who fear My threat. [50: 44,45]

Hadith of the Day:
There is no sin more fit to be punished by God........than oppression and severing ties of relationship. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
You must fill up your time with acts of worship so that no period of time elapses whether by night or day, without being used in some act of goodness. [Imam al-Haddad]

Guidance of the Day:
If you want to bring about peace in the world, first bring about peace within yourself. Don't worry about reforming the world; reform yourself! The peace that you would have others find must first be found in your own heart. How can you say to another, 'Let me take a speck out of your eye!' when you have a bigger one in your own? First remove the speck from your own eye, and then you will be able to remove that of your brother.

Does this mean that one must be a fully realized spiritual master before one can teach or offer service? No, not at all. If we waited for everyone to be perfect before anyone could teach, we would have a long wait indeed. It is sufficient to teach what we know and have directly experienced. In this case, teaching is really a sharing, a comparing of notes. It is as if we are all working together on a huge jigsaw puzzle. As you find the place for your piece, you make it easier for me to see the pattern and the place for mine. You might even find a piece that I can use. Teaching is sharing. We have nothing to teach each other, but much to share. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Sin can be well-guarded, but free from anxiety it cannot be. Some have sinned with safety, but none with peace of soul. Our sins, like our shadows when the day is in its glory, scarce appear; toward evening, how great and monstrous they are. Sin may open bright as the morning, but it will end dark as night.

Pearls of Wisdom....140

1. Let not obedience make you joyous because it comes from you, but rather, be joyous over it because it comes from God to you.

2. Whoever is not thankful for graces runs the risk of losing them, and whoever is thankful fetters them with their own cords.

3. Be fearful lest the existence of His generosity towards you and the performance of your bad behavior towards Him not lead you step by step to ruin.

4. He made the Hereafter an abode to reward His believing servants only because this world cannot contain what He wishes to bestow upon them and because He deemed their worth too high to reward them in a world without permanence.

5. 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.

6. Far be it for our Lord to recompense with credit the servant who deals with Him in cash.

7. Suffice it is a recompense for you for obedience that He has judged you worthy of obedience.

8. When He gives, He shows you His kindness; when He deprives, He shows you His power. And in all that, He is making Himself known to you and coming to you with His gentleness.

9. Deprivation hurts you only because of the lack of your understanding of God in it.

10. When He loosens you tongue with a request, then know that He wants to give you something. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1101

Ayahs of the Day:
And listen for the day when the caller calls from a place nearby, the day they will really hear the cry; that is the day of resurrection. It is We who gave life and death, and the journey is to Us. [50: 41 42,43]

Hadith of the Day:
God has disliked that you talk too much about others, ask too many questions and waste your property. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The good does not come to man in just any way but only through the door of sincerity. So be sincere! [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
While we have lofty ideals for social reform and world change, our real purpose in life is to work on ourselves. This at first may seem selfish or uncharitable, but it is honest, and in the long run we will make more of a contribution to society when we are clear than when we are in any way confused. The greatest service we can offer to others is to purify, sanctify, and know our own self. Then, and only then, are we in the proper position to give. Until then, we are taking.

This does not mean that we are to run off to a cave and meditate until we are realized. Our work on ourselves may involve a great deal of social service. We can be nurses, teachers, and therapists, but we must always bear in mind that we are really using these avenues to expand our own consciousness. Serving others with all our heart does not contradict working on ourselves; to the contrary, it supports it. Until the end, we must remember to use everything we do as a vehicle for our own awakening. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Politeness is an inexpensive way of making friends. Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much. It pleases him who gives and receives and thus, like mercy, is twice blessed. We secure friends not by accepting favors but by doing them.

Pearls of Wisdom....139

1. Your striving only for what has already been guaranteed to you (ie. dunya), and your remissness in what is demanded of you (ie. akhirah), are signs of the blurring of your intellect.

2. Actions are lifeless forms, but the presence of an inner reality of sincerity within them is what endows them with life-giving spirit.

3. Your postponement of deeds till the time when you are free is one of the frivolities of the ego.

4. Your being on the look out for the vices hidden within you is better for you than your being on the look out for the invisible realities veiled from you.

5. The source of every disobedience, indifference, and passion is self-satisfaction. The source of every obedience, vigilance, and virtue is dissatisfaction is one self.

6. Travel not from creature to creature, otherwise you will be like a donkey at the mill; Rather, go from creatures to the Creator.

7. A sign of heart's death is the absence of sadness over the acts of obedience that you have neglected and the abandonment of regret over the mistakes that you have made.

8. You might be in a bad state; but your associating with one who is in a worse state makes you see virtue in yourself.

9. There is no minor sin when His justice confronts you; and there is no major sin when His grace confronts you.

10. Whoever does not draw near to God as a result of the caresses of love is shackled to Him with the chains of misfortune. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1100

Ayahs of the Day:
We created the Heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days; and never did weariness touch Us. So endure what they say, and extol the praises of your Lord before sunrise and before sunset, and in the night; then glorify God at the end of devotions. [50: 38,39, 40]

Hadith of the Day:
Being rich does not mean having a great amount of property, but it is being content (with what one has). [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Flee to the shelter of God's grace. He showers our souls with His grace. When He provides shelter, how can you lack shelter? [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
The Truth is your only refuge. Pay homage to the words of no man, but reserve your worship for God alone. You may be pressed to relinquish your ideals for the sake of the world, but you will find solace and renewal in the life of your heart's deepest bidding. Be vigilant. Fear not to look at the world with clear seeing. Those who fail to regard signs of illness are required to pay price of irresponsibility. Relinquish not your view of perfection, and never fail to execute right action in accord with wisdom.

Make integrity your banner and your bastion. Those of integrity are few, and the smallest act of right conscience shines in the darkness more than you know. Our hearts leap to consider those who live a life for God amid the mire of foulness. Be one of these. In so accepting this noble charge, you stand at the rudder of the destiny of mankind. Please do not underestimate your ability to save the world through your vision of morality. Choose rightly, and legions of angels fly to your support. Choose wrongly, and you stand alone in a lost world. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of our eternity. Death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. I shall not die of a cold or any another reason. I shall only die of having lived. As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.

Pearls of Wisdom....138

1. A friend cannot be considered a friend until he is tested on three occasions----------in time of need; behind your back; and after your death. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

2. One of your sins should seem weightier to you than a thousand of your virtues. [Imam Ja'far al Sadiq]

3. There can be no good in excess, just as there is no excess in good. [Imam Abu Hanifah]

4. If there is a good deed which is difficult, hold on to it, for in the end, the good deed will remain and the difficulty will perish. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

5. To be humble is to accept the truth and submit to it even if you heard it from a child or someone who is uneducated or ignorant. [Fudhayl ibn Iyaadh]

6..Even if you studied for a hundred years and collected a thousand books, you would not be eligible for the mercy of Allah except through action. [Imam al Ghazali]

7. Live as long as you want, but you must die; love whoever you want, but you will become separated from it; and do what you want, but you will be repaid for it. [Imam al Ghazali]

8. Allah loves the voice of the one who recites the Qur'an, and the voice of the one who seeks forgiveness before dawn break. [Sufyan al Thawri]

9. Knowledge without action is madness and action without knowledge is void. [Imam al Ghazali]

10. Know that the knowledge which does not remove you from sins today and does not convert you to obedience, will not remove you tomorrow from the Hell fire. [Imam al Ghazali]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1099

Ayahs of the Day:
And how many generations mightier than they have We destroyed before them, so they traveled from country to country; is there any escape? There is indeed a reminder in that for anyone who has heart, or lends an ear, and stands witness. [50: 36,37]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not spy on each other and do not listen to (evil talk) about others' affairs. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
One who knows himself is not affected by people's praise for him. [Shaykh Abu Madyan]

Guidance of the Day:
Eventually, all that is natural will become the normal; ideal and practice shall be one. This is the glorious vision held by all of the prophets of Truth. Until then we must tread the path of learning to distinguish between peace of mind and feverish dreams. The universe will not tolerate illusion, for untruth runs against the grain of all creation. Why would God have created Truth, were it not to be lived? Untruth exists only to be corrected.

The unnatural that is accepted as the norm can continue to be perpetuated only until it is exposed.The ways of the world are not those of God. The world loves darkness and would have its children believe that the darkness is the Light. Popular opinion is not to be the standard by which the servant of God may guide a holy life. Hold firm, soldiers of Truth, to that which you cherish as dear. Bear your loneliness bravely, and comrades of like purpose shall join you when you most need them. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Life is too short to make it even shorter through disputes.
Do not grieve over trivialities,
for the whole world is trivial.

Pearls of Wisdom....137

1. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that the knowledge will look after you, but you must look after the wealth.

2. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that while wealth is what was left behind by the likes of Fir'oun, and Hamaan, knowledge is the inherited legacy of the Prophets themselves.

3. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that spending wealth only diminishes it, whereas spending knowledge increases it.

4. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that holding on to wealth over an extended period of time decreases its value, whereas no such harm can come to knowledge.

5. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that there is always a fear that wealth will be stolen, not so with knowledge.

6. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that the possessor of wealth may be known as a miser, whereas the possessor of knowledge can only be known as generous.

7. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that wealth tends to create enemies, whereas knowledge tends to warm hearts.

8. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that Pharaoh's vast wealth caused him to say, "Truly I am deserving of your worship." Whereas the Prophet's (PBUH) vast knowledge caused him to say, "Truly we have not worshipped You as You deserve to be worshipped."

9. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that knowledge results in the heart's illumination, whereas wealth results in it's agitation.

10. The superiority of amassing knowledge over wealth is that on the Day of Reckoning it is your wealth you be answerable for, not for your knowledge. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1098

Ayahs of the Day:
The day We will say to the Hell, "Are you full?" It will say, "Are there more?" And the Paradise will be brought near to the conscientious, not far away: This is what is promised to you, for everyone who keeps turning to God, mindful, who inwardly fears the Benevolent One and comes with a repentant heart. Enter therein, in peace. That is the day of eternity. They will have what they wish there, and a superabundance in Our presence. [50: 30 to 35]

Hadith of the Day:
Beware of suspicion (about others), as suspicion is the most untrue speech. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The lover never tires of conversing with his Beloved. [Mutarrif ibn Abu Bakr]

Guidance of the Day:
We cannot say "Yes" to a world in agony. We must recognize its need for healing. The world of error, the normal world, is a husk of a seed of Divine possibility, patiently waiting to be released. The natural is hidden within the normal, though the two do not now seem to be one in expression on earth. We must feel the constriction of the husk before we can break through it.

We must see the dead end sign on the street we are traveling before we can turn about to correct our course. The awareness of error is the impetus for transformation. Those who would harp on error have not yet seen it in full, for an error truly recognized is a correction set in motion. The only result of real understanding is change. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Its the constant and determined effort that breaks down resistance, sweeps away all obstacles. We are all here to work for what is right. Through our efforts we can create a better world. When we start doing the right things for the right reasons, we will create the right world. What are you willing to put out the effort for? "Choose the difficult right over the easy wrong."

Pearls of Wisdom....136

1. Agreeing with everything one hears is from the habits of hypocrites and disputing with everything one hears is the breeding ground of enmity.

2. The sign that Allah is pleased with His servant is that His servant is pleased with His decree.

3. For those of spiritual insight, everything they lay eyes upon have within it a lofty message and a gentle reminder.

4. Slay your lowly desires with the sword of knowledge (ilm), and your anger with the sword of forbearance (hilm).

5. Go not near places of wickedness and indecency, for they are the epicenters of Allah's wrath and punishment.

6. The worst sin committed by one--------is the one not deemed so when it is done.

7. The best of the words is that which is confirmed with the best of actions.

8. When a man's character becomes goodly, his words become lofty.

9. What a tremendous gift has been given to the one who finds acts of disobedience difficult.

10. Perfecting one's intellect causes one to speak less, and those words spoken will be adorned with wisdom. {Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1097

Ayahs of the Day:
And the stupor of death comes for real; that is what you were fleeing from. And the trumpet will be sounded; that is the promised day. And every soul will come with a herder and a witness. You have been heedless of this; so We have removed your covering from you, so your vision today is keen. [50: 19 to 22]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not abuse anyone, do not look down upon any good work, and when you speak to your brother, show him a cheerful face. [Abu-Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Your need for repentance is greater than your need for food, water, and shelter, for sins are veiling you from beholding the Unseen and stand between you and the Beloved. [Shaykh Abdul Khaliq al-Shabrawi]

Guidance of the Day:
The Truth feels good. Our deepest instincts always tell us when we have touched Truth. It feels like home, like a completion, like, "Of course." Truth is the most natural thing there is, but it is the most foreign. Because the values of the world are upside down, light is a stranger, and the darkness welcomed. It is very easy to be normal. The world will love you and support you in your normality, for the world loves its own. Those who gravitate to negativity, gossip, and innuendo have a sure place in society; they shall never beg for company with which to commiserate. The marketplace of common affairs is built on complaints, criticisms, and guilt.

One who chooses the God-path faces loneliness and derision. He cannot expect or hope for understanding from the world. It will seem to accept him with a slight smile, but secretly mock and slander him behind closed doors. Friend and relatives will support him in word but not in thought. The devotee of Truth must be great enough to take the world into his heart though the world would cast him out of his own. This is because the lover of Light can see God in all, while one who lives in darkness sees only veiled reflections of confused images. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
It is suffering and then glory. Not to have the suffering means not to have the glory. Our present joys are sweeter for past pain. It is only the strong who are strengthened by suffering. We, by our sufferings, learn to prize our bliss. In suffering one learns to pray best of all. We need to suffer that we may learn to pity.

Pearls of Wisdom....135

1. Friendships with the ignorant and the heedless are as fickle as the changing times and as quick to disappear as the setting sun.

2. Consider not a man worthless until you had a chance to converse with him.

3. Health and well-being on the one hand and gluttony on the other are mutually exclusive.

4. Face off your difficulties with patience; and fence in your blessings with thankfulness.

5. A man's intellect becomes apparent from his speech; as does his character from the goodness of his action.

6. Always consider your intellect to be lacking; otherwise too much faith in it surely leads to error.

7. Seek Allah's refuge from the heedlessness which comes from prosperity; so deep it is, that it will take one very long to climb out of it.

8. It is not in the make-up of a noble person to delay in rewarding nor is it that of a generous one to exact revenge.

9. Even if Allah had not decreed to abstain from the foul and impure the man of intellect would still surely do so.

10. Do not consider admitting ignorance as a necessarily bad thing, for saying, "I do not know" is itself half of knowledge. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1096

Ayahs of the Day:
We did indeed create man and We know what his ego suggests; and We are closer to him than his jugular vein. Two observers are in attendance, sitting on the right and the left. No one utters a word without a ready observer there. [50: 16,17,18]

Hadith of the Day:
One who treads a path in search of (sacred) knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by God. [Riyadh-us-Saliheen]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Attain to piety and purify your hearts. Save yourselves; do not be held back from divine mercy. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:
The recognition of delusion is a necessary step to the awakening to Truth. It takes honesty and courage to admit that we have strayed from the path. But it is a necessary admission. I must stand before God each night and see whether I have lived up to my highest ideals. Sometimes I do and too often I do not. But it is necessary for me to recognize both circumstances. I must ask God to show me what I am doing wrong, that I may correct it. Usually I do not like to hear it, but when I do, I am grateful.

We must scrutinize, with a clear mind, how we were really meant to live, as individuals and as the family of humankind. We may not like having to change, but a change of direction toward the Truth always brings a deep sense of peace within our heart, a fulfillment far deeper than the surface desires that seem to be satisfied with untruth. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall. Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure. Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over.

Pearls of Wisdom....134

1. The more worldly greed in one's heart, the less certainty in God.

2. Why expect an evil person to hold a good opinion of others, when the best he can do is to think that others are like him.

3. Time wasted in youth must be made up in later years, if what you seek is a solicitous end.

4. Remain silent about favors done by you, yet proclaim the favors others do for you.

5. Self satisfaction is a sure sign of lacking intellect.

6. The one to whom small afflictions seem large, will certainly be afflicted by truly large calamities.

7. He whose thoughts are vile and low can have nothing but the worst opinion of others.

8. Thankfulness to the Creator in the form of service to His creation is the ultimate expression of gratitude.

9. The one who acts as if death will come tomorrow feels no sorrow when it finally comes.

10. The excellence of knowledge lies in its practice; and the excellence of kindness to others lies in mentioning it not. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1095

Ayahs of the Day:
And We send down from the sky blessed water, making gardens sprout thereby, and seeds yielding crops, and the lofty date palm, with layers of fruit stalks, as sustenance for the servants. And We enliven thereby a dead land; thus will be the resurrection. [50: 9,10,11]

Hadith of the Day:
A generous man is near God, near Paradise, near men, and far from Hell. But a miser is far from God, far from Paradise, far from men, and near Hell. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Servants and slaves rejoice when they are emancipated; whereas I rejoice when I become Your servant. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
We can control the amount of happiness in our lives, simply by training our minds to focus on that which is good, beautiful, and true. We do not need to fight or curse that which is not good. All we need to do is to accentuate the positive, and the negative will shrivel up and waste away from lack of attention.

God made each of us with the intention to bless the world through us. We can make a supremely valuable contribution to the universe simply by appreciating our holiness and seeing all as blessed. The more we bless life, the more life will bless us. As we sanctify our lives through our own gratefulness, the illusion of lack vanishes like the morning mist, and our cup runs over with thanksgiving enough to share a million times over. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
To change yourself, you must start on the inside-------changing from the inside out. Fake it till you make it, to be the person you want to be. When you become different inside, it will reflect on the outside, and all will know and recognize the new you. What changes would you like to make? Decide how you want to be, work on those changes, and act as if you are already there.

Pearls of Wisdom....133

1. Beware of having long-term expectations (for this world), for it makes one forget his true purpose.

2. Thankfulness for blessings is the condition for attaining more blessings; and ingratitude for blessings is the condition for losing them.

3. Death is always a silent companion.

4. The heights of felicity are reached through breaking of bad habits.

5. The wise attain honor through their humbleness, whereas the fool bears humiliation through his haughtiness.

6. Regrets over misdeeds erases them, and pride over good deeds ruins them.

7. Vain desires is a ruinous companion, and bad habits make up a formidable foe.

8. The intellect of a man lies under his tongue.

9. To panic during a calamity is itself a greater calamity.

10. Honor lies in hastening to forgive. Dishonor lies in hastening to revenge. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1094

Ayahs of the Day:
Haven't they observed the sky above them, how We have constructed it and adorned it, without any gap in it? And the earth-----We lay it out, and set on it mountains, and made every beautiful species grow there, as enlightenment and reminder for every repentant devotee. [50: 6,7,8]

Hadith of the Day:
The best (person) is the one who pays the rights of others generously. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Let whoever wishes to reach God the Exalted first enter from the gates of all gates, which is repentance. This is the first gate to be crossed by the servant when he seeks to enter the presence of nearness to the Exaltation of the Lord. [Shaykh Abdul Khaliq al- Shabrawi]

Guidance of the Day:
The more we appreciate, the more we will find to appreciate. "To him that has, more shall be given." This can work both ways. Just as blessing a situation brings freedom, cursing it brings bondage. The more we rail against a problem in our lives, the more pain it will bring us. Cursing a person or event is denying the God that lives within them, and until we recognize the inner Light there, the situation will remain a curse to us.

Just as it is not in our power to really add blessing to anything, neither is it in our power to curse anything. All we can do in condemning anything is to uphold and increase our own sense of separation and loneliness, which is the soul root of our desire to curse anything. Lack of appreciation is simply a matter of limited seeing. We do not need to create anything new; we need only to see the whole picture of what we already have. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Things don't change, we change. If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow we aren't really living. If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude, don't complain. The only human institution that rejects change is the cemetery.

Pearls of Wisdom....132

1. The surest way of achieving heaven on earth is contentment with His decree.

2. Indeed the sword may wound the body, but it is foul speech which wounds the soul.

3. Steeped in error who can find time to seek out faults in others.

4. A believer's humiliation comes from his heedlessness of his religion, not in his lack of wealth or stature.

5. When the poor and needy come to you, then know that it is a gift from your Lord.

6. Sins have a tendency of creating restlessness in one's heart in one form or the other.

7. Ingratitude----------Spending of Allah's bounties in ways which are inappropriate and unbefitting.

8. Generosity is the fruit of wealth; Practice is the fruit of knowledge; Allah's pleasure is the fruit of sincerity.

9. The one who does not observe the rights of people cannot possibly observe the rights of God.

10. Lovers of fine raiment and garb! forget not that one day you will wear the shroud of the grave; Lovers of palaces and lofty mansions forget not that ditch where you ultimately lie; Lovers of fine food and drink forget not that you are to become the food of worms and maggots. [Above quotes by Othman radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1093

Ayah of the Day:
The only believers are those who have faith in God and the messenger of God without a wavering, and strive for the sake of God by means of their property and their persons. They are the ones who are sincere. [49: 15]

Hadith of the Day:
Too much talk without mention of God produces hardness of heart, and the person farthest from God is someone who has a hard heart. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
A person who has been blessed with good character, whether given naturally or acquired through effort, can preserve it only among other people of good character. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
I like to start and end my day with thoughts of praise and appreciation. I look in the mirror in the morning, and no matter how I feel or look, I say (out loud), "Wow! A new day! I'm so grateful to be alive and healthy! Something wonderful is going to happen to me today! I believe in miracles! There are limitless possibilities for me! I know that God is working with me. Just think how many opportunities there will be to love! Thank You, God, for this new day!"

I like to end the day in the same way, with a gentler tone. As I lie in bed before going to sleep, I quietly look over my day and think of the blessings that have been given to me. If I made any foolish blunders, I give thanks that I became aware of them, and I am grateful that I will be less likely to repeat the same mistake. I like to live in a realm of thanksgiving. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
The world cannot always understand one's profession of faith, but it can understand service. There never was a bad man that had ability for good service. The most acceptable service of God is doing good to man. What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.

Pearls of Wisdom....131

1. How strange is the one who knows the Hell Fire to be real and then sins knowingly.

2. How strange is the one who believes in Paradise yet spends his days in the world leisurely.

3. How strange is the one who considers God to be the Ultimate Reality and yet relies on others exclusively.

4. How strange is the one who knows Satan to be his enemy and yet listens to him obediently.

5. O' Son of Adam! Allah has nourishingly created you for Him alone, yet you so desire to belong to others.

6. The lover of God loves his times of solitude.

7. A slip of the tongue is far more hazardous than a slip of the foot.

8. If you are bent on committing that sin, then seek out that place which will keep God out.

9. To deem that Allah is with one every moment is the greatest expression of faith.

10. The scandal monger harms three people-------himself, his listener, and his target. [Above quotes by Othman radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1092

Ayahs of the Day:
O humankind, We created you from a male and a female, and We made you races and tribes for you to get to know each other. The most noble of you in the sight of God are those of you who are most conscientious. And God is omniscient, fully aware. [49: 13]

Hadith of the Day:
Blessed is the man whom God has made a key for the good and a lock for evil. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
You must realize that in every moment there is a claim of servanthood upon you from God, a claim demanded from you by command of divine lordship. The servant is held totally accountable for this and is answerable for it and for every moment's breath that has been given to the servant in trust. [Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]

Guidance of the Day:
My thanksgiving list concludes with any abilities or skills that God gave me to be creative and expressive, and through which I can make some kind of contribution to the world. As I finish writing, I am always amazed at the length of the list, and I always feel a little foolish at not having recognized the abundance in my life.

The people who are successful are those who are grateful for everything they have. Those who complain, whine, or fight life cannot in this consciousness be successful, for in their negation they lose their creative energy and cut themselves off from any possibilities of abundance that are flowing their way. Giving thanks for what we do have always opens up the door for more to come, and ungratefulness always closes it. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
None of us can be free of conflict and woe. Even the greatest men have had to accept disappointments as their daily bread. If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart.

Pearls of Wisdom....130

1. Wasted is the scholar who is not asked about what he knows.

2. Wasted is the wealth which is not used in good.

3. Wasted is the knowledge which is not acted upon.

4. Wasted is the goodly advice which is ignored.

5. Wasted is the Mus'haf (copy of the Qur'an) which is not recited from.

6. Wasted is the heart which is firmly planted in the mud of dunya.

7. Wasted is the life which has made no provision for the ultimate journey.

8. Put your hopes in no one except your Lord, have fear of nothing other than your sins.

9. The extent to which one understands the nature of dunya measures the degree of his detachment from it.

10. A slip of the tongue is far more hazardous than a slip of the foot. [Above quotes by Othman radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1091

Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, avoid excess imagination for some imagination is sin. And don't spy on each other, and don't defame each other in their absence. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it! So be conscious of God, for God is most relenting, most merciful. [49: 12]

Hadith of the Day:
Let your own weaknesses disinterest you from the weaknesses of others. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
One who is negligent in maintaining the requirements (of religion) has squandered himself. [Shaykh Abu Madyan]

Guidance of the Day:
When we consciously focus on good in our lives, we unite our mind with the power of appreciation, and we make ourselves available to receive the blessings that God is always offering. There are so many miracles that we can find when we are willing to acknowledge them.

We can include the hardships and challenges that have made us strong as we had to overcome them. Perhaps these should be first on the list of appreciations, for these are the gifts that have brought us close to God, and we can think of no greater blessing than knowing the Source of all blessings. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Tribulation is similar to sickness; it must run its course before it goes away, and the one who is hasty in attempting to remove it often causes it to augment and increase. It is imperative that the one who is afflicted be patient; he must wait with hope for relief, and he must be persistent in prayers.

Pearls of Wisdom....129

1. Sometimes darknesses come over that He may make you aware of the value of His blessings upon you.

2. He who does not know the value of graces/blessings when they are present knows their value when they are absent.

3. Do not deem His giving to be slow; but rather, deem your approaching to be slow.

4. That part of your life that has gone is irreplaceable, and that which has arrived is priceless.

5. You have not loved anything without being its slave, but He does not want you to be someone else's slave.

6. Your obedience does not benefit Him, and your disobedience does not harm Him. It is only for your own good that He commanded the one and prohibited the other.

7. His sublimity is not increased when someone draws near to Him, and His sublimity is not decreased when someone draws away from Him.

8. When Divine inspirations come upon you, they demolish your habits; "Surely the kings, when they enter a town, ruin it."

9. That which hearts find in the way of worries and sadnesses is due to that which prevents their having inner vision.

10. Beneficial knowledge is the one whose ray of light expands in the mind and uncovers the veil over the heart. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1090

Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, people should not ridicule other people; these may be better than they are. And women should not ridicule other women; these may be better than they are. And don't defame each other, or call other insulting nicknames. Evil the name of impiety after faith; and any who do not refrain are doing wrong. [49: 11]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not be intimidated by the rebuke of others in the way of Allah. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If knowledge had no other merit than to make the ignorant fear and respect you, and the scholars love and honor you this would be good enough reason to seek after it, let alone its other merits in this world and the next. [Ibn Hazm]

Guidance of the Day:
When we appreciate someone or something, we are blessing them in the most powerful way. We are acknowledging their Divine origin. We are giving thanks for a gift from God. Appreciation is a form of prayer. Just start appreciating the things in your life, and this gratefulness will be more pleasing in the eyes of God than a ritual that has no meaning for you.

There is an old song that has ever-new meaning:
Count your blessings,
Count them one by one.
Count your blessings,
See what God has done. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. Reason and judgment are the qualities of leader. Nothing so conclusive proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.

Pearls of Wisdom....128

1. How strange is the one who claims to know death's reality and yet can go on enjoying himself heedlessly.

2. How strange is the one who recognizes the evanescence of the world yet longs after it tirelessly.

3. How strange is the one who believes in destiny yet cries over the loss of that which is fleeting.

4. How strange is the one who knows Reckoning to be true and yet goes on hoarding ceaselessly.

5. Silence--------the best remedy for anger.

6. Wanting more when sufficient sustenance and well-being has been given is also a form of complaint.

7. Seek not to burden anyone of God's creature with it be something large or small.

8. null--------Any action undertaken without Allah's pleasure as its goal.

9. This world is merely a waystation which Allah has placed on the road of those traveling to Him.

10. Put your hopes in no one except your Lord, have fear of nothing other than your sins. [Above quotes by Othman radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1089

Ayahs of the Day:
If two parties of believers contend with each other, make peace between them. Then if one of the two acts unjustly to the other, fight the side that transgresses until it goes back to the order of God. Then if it goes back, make peace between the two fairly, doing justice, for God loves those who do justice. The believers are one brotherhood, so make peace between two brothers of yours, being conscious of God so that you may receive mercy. [49: 9,10]

Hadith of the Day:
Speak the truth even though it may be bitter. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Let there be no troubled souls to whom you do not offer a hand and about whom you remain unconcerned. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
When we live in Truth, our thoughts and actions send out ripples that awaken the awareness of Truth in all living things. Our life is a sacrifice----not in martyrdom------but in service. When we know God, we are bringing all of the creation closer to God. In this way, we are truly instruments of God's Peace.

Your awareness of God is the healing you offer to your brethren. The light you see is a gift given to be shared. What God gives to you belongs to you, and through you belongs to all. Those who live the Truth can never lose it. If you feel diminished in rejection, you face only your learned insecurity. When your faith gains the firmness of a rock, resistance can find no place in your experience. Stand for the Truth, and those that love Truth will stand by your side. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.

Pearls of Wisdom....127

1. The strength in one's resolve is that one does not leave for tomorrow what one can do today.

2. Know that it is with ilm (knowledge) that you must speak, and that it is with hilm (forbearance) that you must remain silent.

3. Iman is that one recognizes the One True God in the depths of his heart, and that he confirms it with his tongue, and that he acts upon the Divine Prescriptions of the Shariah.

4. Covetousness itself is poverty regardless of how rich one is; detachment itself is wealth regardless of how poor one is.

5. Doing good for a good done to you is simply repayment, whereas doing good for an evil done to you is a tremendous virtue.

6. When both the lawful and the prohibited are present in a thing, it is its prohibited aspect which will always be most prominent.

7. Decrease in one's speech brings wisdom; decrease in one's food brings health; decrease in one's sleep brings worship.

8. Lofty stations are attained only through humility.

9. Worldly honor may be through wealth, but heavenly honor is certainly through works.

10. Death------A single word which contains within it every goodly advice. [Above quotes by Omar radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1088

Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, if a vicious person brings any news, try to get at the facts, lest you afflict people ignorantly and become regretful for what you have done. [49: 6]

Hadith of the Day:
If you have four characteristics, whatever worldly advantage passes you by does not matter to you: keeping a trust, a good character, speaking the truth, and moderation in eating. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The station of arrogance negates the station of gratitude, just as humility, by its nature, engenders gratitude. [Imam al-Mawlud]

Guidance of the Day:
Spiritual awakening is spread by overflow. We must teach not so much with our words, but by our example. If we simply live the values that we hold dearest in our heart, there is good chance that our friends will notice the positive changes in our life. They will respond to the light in our faces, and the peace in our eyes will awaken peace in them. One day they may say to us, "You look so happy lately----what have you been doing?" This is our opportunity to share, if we like----we have been asked.

The Truth does not need anyone or any organization to sell it. The Truth sells itself by transforming the inner and outer lives of those that it touches. The Truth needs no marketing, packaging, or promotion. It needs only to be lived. People who live Truth usually have many people attracted to them without any advertising or soliciting. One characteristic of a cult is that members are coerced to join and restricted from leaving. The students of a teacher of Truth are free to come and go as their hearts guide them. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Sin. Rub out the first and the last letters, and you have I----or carnal self----the root of sin. Sin is man's declaration of independence of God. Sin is energy in the wrong channel. Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God. One leak will sink a ship; and one sin will destroy a sinner.

Pearls of Wisdom....126

1. The heart is dead, but its living again lies in knowledge, knowledge too is dead, but its living again lies in the seeking after it.

2. Erase old sins with new virtues.

3. He who busies himself in the Lord's work, finds the Lord busy in his work.

4. That amount of knowledge which suffices the Believer is that which keeps him in awe of the Divine.

5. The sole root of man's misery is his talking in excess.

6. Man knows that he is weak, yet how strange that he continues to disobey the One Who is strongest of all.

7. Wretched is the one who dies, and his inequity lives on.

8. A people who have left the struggle in Allah's way have shackled themselves in the dark caverns of disgrace and utter loss.

9. Through his knowledge the seeker of the deen increases in action, whereas the seeker of this world increases only in information. [Above quotes by Abu Bakr radi Allah anhu]


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LESSON OF THE DAY 1087

Ayah of the Day:
Those who lower their voices in the presence of the messenger of God are those whose hearts God has tested for conscience; there is forgiveness for them, and a tremendous reward. [49: 3]

Hadith of the Day:
Shake hands (in greeting) and rancor will disappear. Give presents to each other and love each other, and enmity will disappear. [Muwatta]

Wise Quote of the Day:
God calls Himself "Seeing" so that His ever-watching eye may scare you away from sinning. Whether the breeze be cold or hot, the Cognizant is aware, not absent, O infirm man. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
Your purpose on earth is to make peace. As you have discovered this purpose, the power to heal relationships comes to rest in your hands. You hold the entire universe within yourself. Take all into your arms, and all persons and things reveal themselves to be the expression of God's Love for you, which is really your Love for Him.

Where there is Love, the purpose of life is understood. Where there is no love, there is nothing. We implore you to raise each precious moment of relationship up to the altar of the Most High. Hold your fellows in holy respect, and speak to all as you would speak to the holiest angel. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. Getting an idea should be like sitting on a pin, it should make you jump up and do something. Why always "not yet"? Do flowers in spring say, "not yet"?

Pearls of Wisdom....125

1. Laziness of the common folk in worshiping their Lord is a grave matter, but that same laziness from the teachers and students of Sacred Knowledge is even more so.

2. The arrogance of wealthy is something to be detested, but that shown by the poor is even more so.

3. It is Jihad which lays down the last brick of Imaan.

4. Rein in your tongue from complaining about others, and you will be granted a life of happiness.

5. Weep regarding that day which passed by without any goodly acts adorning it.

6. The reward for every virtue has its measure, yet the reward for patience has no measure.

7. The thankful Believer is closest to well-being.

8. Your fear of Allah is commensurate of how well you know Him, and your lack of fear regarding Him is commensurate with your ignorance of Him.

9. You are determined to lose yourself in the baggage of this world, while the world is equally determined to remove you from itself.

10. Taking pains to remove the pains of others is the true essence of generosity. [All the above quotes by Abu Bakr radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1086

Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, don't put yourselves forward before God and the messenger of God; be wary of God, for God is all-hearing, all-knowing. Believers, don't raise your voices over the voice of the Prophet and don't speak to him as you speak loudly to each other, lest your acts be in vain without your realizing. [49: 1,2]

Hadith of the Day:
Whoever imitates a people is one of them. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The men of elite are only distinguished from the normal men by the battle they wage against their individual soul. [Ahmad ibn Ajiba]

Guidance of the Day:
It is possible to heal a troubled relationship even with someone who has passed on. This is possible because all such healing is a result of inner forgiveness and spiritual love. Relationships are lessons in inner growth. If we can grow to a point where, were the other person still alive, we would be with harmony with them, we have learned the lesson of the relationship, and it is complete.

Forgiveness is a gift from God that always heals. It can heal our relationships, our lives, and our world. In so doing shall it mend our broken hopes, return to us our forgotten dreams, and bestow upon us the miracle of Grace. Fulfilling relationships, are not too good to be true. They are good enough to be true. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move. The life of wisdom must be a life of contemplation combined with action. If you want quality, act as if you already had it. Man's actions are the picture book of his creed.

Pearls of Wisdom....124

1. To repent from a sin is a necessary obligation, but to prevent oneself from sin is even more so.

2. Showing patience in adversity is difficult, but safeguarding the fruits of patience is even more so.

3. The changing of the times is always strange, but being heedless throughout them is even more so.

4. The unfolding of your affairs is always imminent, but the arrival of death is even more so.

5. Shyness and modesty of men is an excellent virtue, but the shyness and modesty of women is even more so.

7. Repentance of an old man is a wonderful thing, but that of the youth is even more so.

8. The generosity of a prince is an exalted affair, but that of a peasant is even more so.

9. The sin of the youth is a grave thing indeed, but that committed by an old man is even more so.

10. The fools indulgence in petty worldliness is an evil thing, but the indulgence of the learned is even more so. [All the above quotes by Abu Bakr Radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1085

Ayah of the Day:
Muhammad is the messenger of God, and those who are with him are strong against unbelievers and compassionate among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating themselves, seeking grace from God, and acceptance. Their mark is on their faces, from the traces of their prostration. That is their model in the Torah, and their model in the Gospel, like a seed that sprouts its shoot, and makes it strong and sturdy so it stands upright on its stem, delighting the ones who sow, incensing the unbelievers at them. God has promised those of them who have faith and do good works forgiveness and a tremendous reward. [48: 29]

Hadith of the Day:
Give the sadaqa without delay for it stands in the way of calamity. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Engage yourself not in speech either with the learned or the fool. For the former is likely to defeat you, and the latter is likely to abuse you. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Can we heal a relationship that has not been based on these ideals of Godliness? Yes, we certainly can. In fact, many of the strongest and most rewarding relationships are those that have been transformed. As we begin to allow God into our lives, we find the strength and the wisdom to create peace and harmony where there once seemed to be none. We discover new ways to give love, and, to our happy surprise, the love and the freedom that we give another to grow and expand are returned to us many times over.

If we truly want to enjoy fulfilling relationships in marriage, with our children, or in the office, we must be willing to be big enough to give love before we receive it. We must not allow our actions or attitudes toward others to depend on theirs toward us. We must have the faith to see a possibility for goodness in another, though they recognize it not themselves. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
God has editing rights over our prayers. He will .... edit them, correct them, bring them in line with His will and then hand them back to us to be resubmitted. God answers all true prayer, either in kind or in kindness. The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.

Pearls of Wisdom....123

1. Reliance on God, contentment, and frugality are such a treasury and wealth that they can be exchanged for nothing. [Badi Uzzaman Nursi]

2. When it has been said that the angels spread out their wings in the path of the one seeking sacred knowledge, then just imagine what Allah has in store for such a person. [Abu Ali Daqqaq]

3. Wisdom takes root in the heart only when dunya and its trappings have been uprooted from it. [Abu Ali al Daqqaq]

4. The greatest I'tikaf that one can observe is that the Divine commands and prohibitions never leave his sight. [Abu Othman Sa'ad]

5. The accomplished spiritual is he who has achieved the precarious balance between hope and fear. [Abu Othman Sa'ad]

6. Those who love the beloved of Allah (Awliyas) are counted by Allah as being from them. [Abu Othman Sa'ad]

7. The greatness of a believer is in his God-Consciousness, and his pride in his obedience and his courage lies in his display of good character under all circumstances. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

8. The tranquility of both worlds lies in the understanding of these two words----------generosity towards friends, and forbearance towards enemies. [Hafiz Shiraz]

9. Know that it is not your family and friends, but rather your deen which truly looks after you. [Hasan radi Allah anhu]

10. In the Divine court lineage has no place, rather it is the righteousness of action which is the ultimate arbiter. [Owais al Qarni]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1084

Ayahs of the Day:
God is the one who has sent the messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that he may proclaim it over all religions. And God is sufficient for a witness. [48: 28]

Hadith of the Day:
Concealed charity and kindness to relatives are acts through which Allah's wrath in this life and the Hereafter is assuaged. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
And love your Lord by serving Him.
For lovers are but servants of the Beloved. [A Poet]

Guidance of the Day:
Eric Butterworth describes the two different types of relationships in a very neat way: In one relationship we are hypnotized staring moodily into each other's eyes; in the other we stand together, hand in hand, looking out the window onto the great panorama of life. In the first, we have made gods of each other; in the second, we rejoice together in acknowledging the One God. In the first, we have narrowed down our source of happiness to one little person; in the second, we remain open to the fulfillment that all of life can offer to us.

The relationships that work are those in which partners seek to serve and support each other with encouragement and confidence; where the partners refrain from making demands upon each other; and where the individual creativity of each person is honored and encouraged. More important, the relationships that have God at their center, or that have at least some kind of commitment to a higher purpose than to fulfill each other's fantasies, are the ones that are the strongest. People with individual spiritual foundations create marriages with strong spiritual foundations. Anything that is dedicated to the ideals of Godliness works. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Happiness doesn't come from doing easy work but from the after glow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best. Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It is not a day when you lounge around doing nothing, it's when you have had everything to do and you have done it.

Pearls of Wisdom....122

1. To know with certainty that you will never receive less than what was destined for you is the essence of reliance upon Allah. [Abul Hasan bu Shaikhi]

2. Spend from what Allah has given you. Do not fear poverty. Allah will give you as He has promised. No one who has been generous has ever perished in destitution. [Ibn Arabi]

3. Prayer and fasting are the greatest things a person can do, yet to remove all the evil traits from the heart such as pride, arrogance, rancor, malice, love of this world etc, rank even higher. [Shaykh al Kharqani]

4. Seek to keep the company of those who illumine one's inward and outward states with the light of their intimacy with the Divine. [Shaykh Abul Abbas]

5. There can be no good in excess, just as there is no excess in good. [Imam Abu Hanifah]

6. Who is better among Allah's worshippers than the one who sees others as better than him? [Abu Bakr Saidlani]

7. The greatest blessings is that one is freed from the shackles of ego, for what greater veil is there between us and the Creator other than the ego. [Abu Bakr Saidlani]

8. To be angered quickly is a sign that one is in the grip of his ego. [Abu Bakr Wasti]

9. The one who longs for Allah is blessed with limbs which are free from stains of sins. [Ahmad Masruq]

10. The one who has tasted the sweetness of slave hood finds no repose in leisure pursuits. [Abdullah Manazil]

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LESSON OF THE DAY 1083

Ayahs of the Day:
The forces of the heavens and the earth belong to God, and God is Almighty, Supremely Wise. We sent you as a witness, a herald, and a warner, so that you all might believe in God and the messenger of God, honoring and revering God, and celebrating the praise of God morning and evening. [48: 7,8,9]

Hadith of the Day:
The worst evils in the eyes of Allah are: Hot temper and miserliness. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Just as you have surrendered to God oversight of the heavens and management of the earth, pass back to God your anxious concerns for your own personal existence. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
What, then, is marriage all about? What makes some marriages successful, and others fail? How do we know if our intended marriage will work? How can we save a marriage that is not working? Why is the divorce rate so high? These are questions that many of us have wrestled with, questions which have too often been answered through pain and hardship.

We might say that our motivation for entering into marriage or a relationship can be distilled to two basic dynamic attitudes: "I am going to get something from this person," or "I am going to share with this person." The first attitude leads only to pain; the second, to joy. The first is seeking to get; the second, to expand. Sharing works, taking doesn't. A house built upon sand cannot stand. The divorce rate affirms this parable. If the relationship is inaugurated on the foundation of celebration and overflow, we will receive many of the things that others marry in order to get, but they come as gifts, and joys, and not as a payoff. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
If the individual is to be happy, healthy, and prosperous, he must change from the Laws of the Mind (negative) to the Laws of the Soul (positive).
Laws of the Mind are: fear, worry, selfishness, vanity, anger, criticism, envy, greed, hypocrisy, prejudice, jealousy, and hate.
Laws of the Soul are: faith, hope, generosity, aspiration, patience, sympathy, goodness, kindness, courage, duty, and love.

Pearls of Wisdom....121

1. Make it your habit to weep in the awe of the Divine, so you may laugh on the Day of Resurrection. [Yahya bin Mu'adh]

2. The best of people are those who, after being generous to people, seek generosity only from Allah. [Abu Hafs al Haddad]

3. He who remembers Allah with all his heart will find that everything other than Allah will leave his heart. [Yahya bin Mu'adh]

4. He who comes to the realization of his Lord after much contemplation and reflection will find easy increase in all of his other worships. [Yahya bin Mu'adh]

5. Wonder of wonders! How is it that the same people who leave food out of fear of sickness cannot leave sin out of fear of the Hereafter. [Yahya bin Mu'adh]

6. Everyone in the world is a guest, and his money is but a loan. The guest must go sooner of later and the loan must be returned. [Ibn Mus'ud radi Allah anhu]

7. What anxiety is there for the one who is detached from the world? And what need for excuses is there for the one who remains silent?

8. Wealth and poverty are Divine gifts------Wealth is corrupted by forgetfulness/heedlessness, poverty by greed. [Al Qushayri]

9. It is false hope which expects forgiven ess, while knowingly persisting in sin. [Abdullah bin Khabeeq]

10. The true believer is he whose obedience to Allah and His messenger is as if he holds the Qur'an in one hand and the hadith in the other. [Shaykh al Jonayd]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1082

Ayahs of the Day:
It is God who sent tranquility down into the hearts of the believers, that they may add faith to their faith----for the forces of the heavens and the earth belong to God, and God is omniscient, supremely wise------in order to admit the believing men and believing women into gardens with streams flowing below, to abide therein, and to erase their evils from them----and that, to God, is supreme success. [48: 4,5]

Hadith of the Day:
The best deeds in the eyes of Allah are: gentle manners, modesty, and patience.

Wise Quote of the Day:
To cure yourself of a bad feature of character is an obligation. It will save you from the disasters of this world as well as of the Hereafter. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
Relationships are lessons in tangible form that we need for our personal growth. If we are holding an unconsciousness about a character trait, or some prejudice or judgment about any kind of action, someone who does the thing that we don't like will be drawn to us so that we may learn to let go and to love. The quickest way to free yourself of someone who does something that irritates you is to love and accept them with their fault.

The more you fight it, the more prominent it will become. When you let go of your resistance, the person may or may not leave your life, but if you have truly released them it will not matter. This places relationships in an entirely new light-----one of challenge and promise. Persons that are hard to accept cease to be nuisances and become opportunities for us to practice understanding and forgiveness. When we experience any negative reaction to another person, we have a precious chance to program our emotional computer. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
What we need in religion is not new light, but new sight;
not new paths, but new strength to walk in the old ones;
not new duties, but new strength from on high to fulfill those that are plain to us.
Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it; anything but------live for it.

Pearls of Wisdom....120

1. The deceased wait your imminent arrival, so gather now your provisions for that journey. [Da'ud Tai]

2. He who recognizes himself has recognized his Lord, and he who has recognized his Lord has achieved everything there is to achieve---------through his submission to His commands. [Sahl bin Abdullah tustari]

3. The initial stage of intimacy with the Divine is contentment and the beginning of contentment lies in leaving your vain desires. [Sahl bin Abdullah Tustari]

4. Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety, after all, it is only in the darkest nights that the stars shine most brilliantly. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

5. The one who wants to expand his needs and wants should get used to the grief that comes from being deprived. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

6. Accept the truth from whoever says it, whether they are young or old and beware of being given to refusal and arrogance. [Shaykh Bayanuni]

7. Blessings tend to flee from those who have no measure of them. [Sari al Saqti]

8. Do not think that controlling your anger is somehow removed from good manners. [Sari al Saqti]

9. Without a steady dose of knowledge, wisdom, and the advice from the sages, our hearts will wither and die. [Fatah Musli]

10. Whoever is pleased with himself is veiled from his Lord. [Shah al Kirmani]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1081

Ayah of the Day:
Behold! You are those invited to spend in the cause of God, but some of you are stingy. Yet if anyone is stingy, he's only being stingy to his own soul; for God is self-sufficient, while you are the needy ones. And if you turn away, God will replace you with another people who would not be like you. [47: 38]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not uncover the faults of others, and Allah will provide you with a covering protection on the Day of Judgment. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
A true captive is a captive of the carnal soul, a captive of lust, and a captive of passions. [Shaykh Abu Madyan]

Guidance of the Day:
When Jesus said, "Love your enemies, do good to those who spitefully use you, and bless those that curse you," he was not just uttering spiritual platitudes. He was giving a scientific formula for resolving painful human relationships and bringing about inner and outer peace. He knew the healing power of Love. He knew that people want to feel united and whole. And he knew that seeing others in the light of forgiveness is the only way to complete our love.

We must focus on the purity and the perfection of those against whom we are prone to hold judgment. Outer harmony in relationships is a manifestation of harmony and acceptance within ourselves. If we hold any ill will or animosity toward anyone, it will be reflected in our outer interaction with them. If we are to bring a troubled relationship into peacefulness, we must first fine serenity and the vision of good intention without our own consciousness. This is what we need to do, to heal our relationships. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Ask God's blessings on your work, but don't ask him to do it for you. It is vain to expect our prayers to be heard if we do not strive as well as pray. He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands. Work as if everything depended upon work and pray as if everything depended upon prayer.

Pearls of Wisdom....119

1. Reckon yourself before you are reckoned and weigh yourself before you are weighed. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

2. The one who reckons his words as part of his actions speaks very little-------only about those things which are of concern to him. [Omar bin Abdul Azeez]

3. There is no Hajj nor guarding the enemy lines and jihad which is more difficult than restraining the tongue. [Fudhail ibn Iyaadh]

4. Whoever is able to control himself in a state of anger, Allah protects him from the evils of Satan. [Hasan al Basri]

5. The worshippers of Allah do not worship him in anyway better than avoiding what Allah has forbidden. [Hasan al Basri]

6. The righteous deeds are performed by the righteous and the wicked. However, only the truthful ones avoid the sinful deeds. [SahlAbdullah Tustari]

7. The Quran primarily addresses the heart of the believer. The heart is the locus of Divine guidance, The Quran reaches the heart through the reflection of its meaning. [Ibn Mus'u bin d radi Allah anhu]

8. The best of which that gives life to the heart is the recitation of the Quran when accompanied with deep reflection. [Shakh Fadl]

9. The presence of Taqwa is recognized by three things---------rushing to fulfill Allah's commands; seeking nothing from people; speaking and acting only for what benefits one in this life and in the Hereafter. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

10. Only through detachment from Dunya does the slave reach his Lord. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1080

Ayahs of the Day:
The life of the world is but a game, a diversion: but if you have faith and are conscientious, God will give you your reward and won't ask you for your belongings. If God asked you for them, importuning you, you would try to withhold, and it would bring out your ill-feelings. [47: 36, 37]

Hadith of the Day:
If you guard your chastity, Allah will not disgrace you on the Day of Judgment. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Beneficial knowledge is that which reduces your desire for this world, increases your longing for the next world, and opens your spiritual insight to the disastrous defects of your actions so you can avoid them. [Shaykh Hamza Karamali]

Guidance of the Day:
There is no more fruitful avenue of spiritual growth than that of transforming painful relationships into rewarding ones. In our relationships with other persons, we are actually looking at the dynamics of our inner self, in a form we can see in the outer world. When we heal our relationships we heal ourselves.

The key to healing in relationships is forgiveness. The power of forgiveness is far greater than any tool or weapon known to man. Forgiveness is letting go of ideas of sin, guilt, and evil. When we forgive another, we free not only them, but ourselves, as well. Anger, bitterness, and resentment take their toll on he or she who would hold onto such negation. When we let go of judgments and bitterness, we remove from our shoulders and hearts a heavy load of pain. We must let go of the resentment for our own good. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Religion does not occupy any one part of man's life. It is the reaction of a man's whole being to his object of highest loyalty. Religion must be felt and thought. It must be lived out; it must translate itself into action. Religion is not a segment of life, nor is it connected with any one time or place. It is not just ritual ceremony, doctrines, or the place of worship, even though these may all be aids in stimulating it.

Pearls of Wisdom....118

1. There is no better provision for the journey through life than------
a. To always consider your sustenance to be near.
b. To have certainty that none can partake in what is destined for you.
c. To know that Allah is Ever-Present.
d. To know that He is intimately aware of the best and worse of our states. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

2. All of the religion is behavior and character. What increases you in (good) behavior, increases you in your religion. [Ibn Al Qayyim]

3. By Allah it is not allowed for you to harm a dog or a pig without just cause, how then can you harm a Muslim? [Fudhail bin Iyaadh]

4. Destroyed is the one who does not have a heart that can recognize what is good and what is evil. [Abdullah bin Mus'ud]

5. If you obeyed Allah in private, knowing that Allah sees you, then you have taken a bold step into a grave matter. If you thought that He did not see you then you have committed kufr. [Sulaiman ibn Ali]

6. The one who does not have knowledge should not be too shy to ask, and the one who is asked about something he does not know should not be so shy that it keeps him from saying, "I do not know." [Ali radi Allah anhu']

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LESSON OF THE DAY 1079

Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, obey God, and obey the messenger; and don't let your actions be in vain. As for those who scoff and hinder others from the way of God and then die while they are disbelievers, God will not forgive them. So do not waver, and appeal for peace while you hold the upper hand. God is with you and will never cheat you in your deeds. [47: 33,34,35]

Hadith of the Day:
If you avoid forbidden actions, your prayers will be responded. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Be hard on yourself, and easy on others. [Imam Shafi'i]

Guidance of the Day:
The good intention that we invest in our acts far outshines the outer forms. The noble challenge of our lives is to reach out, to act, and to live for what we know is real, even if that reality is not apparent to our own senses. This is the only real faith.

You have everything that you need to transform the earth into paradise. The world is waiting for your love. Do not wait for the world to love you, for that is the great mistake of the world, the very thought which stands between pain and happiness. Give your love fearlessly, and darkness shall flee like the shadow that it is. You are marked by the Light in your heart. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
He who angers you conquers you. For every minute you remain angry you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind. Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it!

Pearls of Wisdom....117

1. In reality Salah is the meeting of the lover with the Beloved. [Bayazeed al Bustami]

2. The one who always leaves his sunnahs will eventually be deprived of his fardh. Such a person can never taste of the Divine beauty. [Abdullah ibn Mubarak]

3. The one who takes his wealth through unlawful means is deprived in trusting in Allah. [Abdullah ibn Mubarak]

4. The one who is esteemed by people should deem himself worthy of no such honor or respect, so as not to fall into dilusion. [Abdullah ibn Mubarak]

5. The eternal realm of the Hereafter is all but forgotten by the one who amasses unlawful wealth. [Sufyan al Thawri]

6. The whole matter of love and slavehood rests upon fear, hope, and love of the Divine. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

7. Those who rely and trust in Allah are given increase in their provision and goodness of their nature. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

8. The result of fear of Allah is that one is able to leave the forbidden, and the result of hope in Allah is that one increases and remains firm footed in one's obedience. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

9. Three things destroy a person---------persisting in sins with false hope of repentance; delaying repentance with the dilusion of long life; and despairing of His mercy. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

10. There exists four conditions to attaining Allah's pleasure----------not worrying about where one's provision will come from; being utterly sincere; always deeming Shaytan your enemy; and gathering the provision for the Hereafter. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]