LESSON OF THE DAY 1132

Ayahs of the Day:
Now do you see the water you drink? Do you make it shower from the clouds, or is it We who cause the showers? If We wish, We would make it bitter; so why don't you give thanks? Now do you see the fire you light? Do you make the tree that fuels it grow, or are We the grower? We have made it a reminder and a convenience for inhabitants of deserts. So celebrate the name of your Lord, the Sublime. [56: 68 to 74]

Hadith of the Day:
Indeed the angels lower there wings before the seeker of (sacred) knowledge. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Real faith is having complete trust in God. It is the belief in the wisdom which comes from the Unseen. Such certainty can only be attained through the knowledge that emerges with Divine help. [Al-Hujwiri]

Guidance of the Day:
Without forgiveness there is no peace. Although learning forgiveness may be awkward, it is worth it. Forgiveness affords us freedom, peace of mind, vitality, enthusiasm for life, and the ability to live and love wholeheartedly. However, because of our automatic self-righteousness and our holding on to grievances, we may need to learn to forgive over and over again. Life would be so much more satisfying if we could accept how imperfect all human beings are and allow for our mistakes, and even for our sometimes terrible mistakes.

Forgiveness demands a deep compassion for all that being human comprises. We pay a very high price, probably daily, for our lack of forgiveness. We may not notice how much our current relationships are colored by old events or people, or how cut off we are from our enthusiasm for life. The price we pay for having all our energies tied up in past grievances shows up in our lack of vitality, poor health, troubled relationships, discouragement, loneliness, and isolation from one another. Seeing the price we pay, is it ever worth it not to forgive? [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Those who never retract their opinion love themselves more than they love truth. Only fools and dead men don't change their mind. Fools won't. Dead men can't.

Pearls of Wisdom....170

1. Be joyous only for an increase in knowledge or in good works, for they are your two companions who will accompany you in your grave when your family, wealth, children, and friends stay behind. [Imam al Ghazali]

2. Every attribute that appears in the heart leaves traces on the limbs, and every action of the limbs can leave traces in the heart, so the relationship is reciprocal. [Zafar Othmani]

3. The quality of our supplication (dua) depends upon the purity of our hearts, for it is with our hearts that we connect to God. [Imam Mohammad Magid]

4. If you remember death and prepare for its coming, you will know endless joy when death arrives, whereas if you are complacent and procrastinate, death will come to you at an unforeseen moment and you will know regrets without end. [Imam al Ghazali]

5. Each of your breaths is a priceless jewel, can never be retrieved. Do not be like the deceived fools who are joyous because of an increase in their wealth while their life shortens. [Imama al Haddad]

6. The disobedience that begets humility and broken heartedness is better than the obedience that begets honor and pride. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

7. Whoever truly follow the Prophet (sws) do not have their own choice in matters. Rather, nothing stirs in their hearts except that which Allah and His messenger (sws) love. [Sahl al Tustari]

8. Be with the people in such a way that if you should die, they weep for you; and if you live, they long for you. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

9. If you do not believe that God can take you at this moment and make you one of His saintly believers (awliya), then you are ignorant of His power. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

10. Be not content with the stories of those who went before you----------go forth and create your own story. [Maulana Rumi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1131

Ayahs of the Day:
Now do you see the seed you sow? Is it you who are making it grow, or are We the producer of growth? If We wished, We would make it disintegrate to dust, and you would be bewildered; "We are burdened with debt, but we are dispossessed." [ 56: 63 to 67]

Hadith of the Day:
Be keen to pursue that which is beneficial to you, rely upon God for aid, and be not helpless. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The religious traits of character cannot take firm root in the soul until it has grown accustomed to every good habits and renounced every evil one. [Imam Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it forgoes revenge, and dares forgive an injury. The willingness to continuously forgive ourselves and others is a key source of aliveness in life, as well as a powerful route to not suffering. Unlike overlooking or condoning, forgiveness implies the need to accept often a shortcut to finishing our unfinished business with one another, to being complete and satisfied. To continually forgive is a beautiful gift-----may be the best gift-----to give ourselves and those around us.

Unfortunately, most of us opt to be "right" rather than to forgive. We bear grudges, hold on to past grievances, and criticize, attitudes which add misery, not joy, to our lives. Our vitality and contentment are limited to the degree that we do not ongoingly forgive. When we hold on to previous hurts, misfortunes, angers, or judgments, our attention and our energies are bound up in the past and today is clouded over; forgiveness allows us to release (or let go) and to complete (or put the past away). [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Faith means, not worrying. Faith is courage, it is creative, while despair is always destructive. He who has faith has an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness and assuring trust that all will come out well, even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly.

Pearls of Wisdom....169

1. Man's fear of Allah is equal to the his knowledge of Him and his renouncing of this world is equal to his desire of the Hereafter. [Irahim al Ash'ath]

2. Whenever Allah gives a blessing to a servant, and then takes it away from him, and the servant patiently endures his loss, then He rewards him with a blessing which is better than the one He took away. [Omar bin Abdul Azeez]

3. It was not the Muslims that had made Islam great, it was Islam that had made the Muslims great. [Muhammad Asad]

4. Whoever desires Paradise proceeds towards goodness, and whoever fears Hell refrains from the impulses of passions. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

5. Whoever believes firmly in death, detests worldly life, and whoever recognizes the worldly life, the trials and tribulations of life become slight for him. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

6. Someone who seeks to travel the path of Allah should begin with a sound repentance from all the sins. [Ibn al Haddad]

7. The heart becomes sick as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is repentance (Tawba). [Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah]

8. The heart becomes rusty, and its clarity is obtained by remembrance (dhikr). [Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah]

9. The heart becomes naked as the body becomes naked, and its beautification is God consciousness (Taqwa). [Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah]

10. The heart becomes hungry and thirsty, and its food and drink are knowledge of the Divine, love of the Divine, dependence, repentance, and servitude. [Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah].

LESSON OF THE DAY 1130

Ayahs of the Day:
We created you, so why not acknowledge the truth: Do you see the seed you emit? Did you create it, or are We the creator? We have ordered death among you, and We will not be preempted in Our changing your images and Our resurrecting you in states you do not know. You already know the first creation, so why not take a lesson? [56: 57 to 62]

Hadith of the Day:
Protect yourselves from the earth for it is your mother and there is no one who does any act, good or evil, except that it will tell about it. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Hidden creatures good and bad always touch the heart. The touch of the angel is inspiration; Satanic touches temptations untold. Tarry with patience until your confusion is resolved and you know whom you rejected and who became the leader of your heart. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
When we embrace fear, fear controls us. That's self-torture! Since we cannot eliminate fear from our lives, we need to have a successful relationship with fear. Most important is that we not let our fears dominate our actions, that we not be stopped by fear. The cure for fear is to push through the activity that frightens us, if we can. For we can discover that we can be afraid and do it anyway.

Pushing through fear can stretch us, expand us, and truly enhance our lives. Many of us have become successful public speakers, even though we were initially afraid to confront an audience. Relationships, job promotions, sports, or daring activities are all the more exciting when we supercede, not erase, our fears. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Don't panic. Problems are made to be solved. Life was made to be lived. Panic, not the task, is the enemy. Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body. Courage is the mastery of fear.

Interview for the Muslim Examiner

Assalamu alaikum,

This is an article that was posted at the Muslim Examiner website about Lessons of the day, I thought you might be interested in reading, please check it out and check out the rest of the site.

JazakAllah Khair

Iffath

Pearls of Wisdom....168

1. A person is not a human being while his tendencies include self indulgence, covetousness, temper, and attacking other people. [Imam al Ghazali]

2. The Muslims have got Islam as a legacy, hence they fail to recognize its value. [Marmaduke Pickthall]

3. Islam is not just a religion, Islam is everything. [Yusuf Islam]

4. Sincerity {Ikhlas) is to forget the vision of the creation by constantly looking at the Creator. [Abu Othman]

5. Read and you shall only behold that the most logical of all answers are always right there before your very eyes. [Moez Mas'ud]

6. When you mention the faults of others, remember your own faults. [Ibn Abbas]

7. How many lessons there are! And how little we learn!. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

8. Whoever is ill-tempered disgraces his honor, religion, and generosity. [Ibrahim al Ash'ath]

9. Consider this life as something you have left, consider death as something you have tasted, and consider the Hereafter as a home you have visited. I swear by Allah all of these things will happen. [Ata al Khurrasani]

10. When you find yourself slipping, remember Allah and the Last Day. If you died this very moment, is this a state you would want to die in. [Shaykh Faraz Rabbani]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1129

Ayahs of the Day:
When the inevitable comes to pass, there will be none who deny its happening, humbling and exalting, when the earth is shaken with a shock, and the mountains are crushed, into scattered dust, you will be of three kinds: The company of the right side----what is the company of the right side? And the company of the left side-----what is the company of the left side? And those in the forefront will precede: they will be the favorites, in gardens of happiness. [56: 1 to 12]

Hadith of the Day:
A nation that discards Jihad, general calamities and hardships befall them. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
He who does not obey Him does not show Him gratitude. [Shaykh Abu Madyan]

Guidance of the Day:
Because complaining is so common among us, it is a self-torture of which we are usually unaware. So frequent and automatic are our objections to our lives that we do not notice that we are complaining about weather, the political situation, our bodies, each other, and endless other topics. Even though we may tune out or numb ourselves to our own and other people's objections, for many of us life is one big complaint.

Our objection to life may be valid. However, there are more satisfying ways of dealing with life than complaining. An effective alternative to consider is that we stop resisting life and accept things as they are, that we surrender to life. For instance, if the weather is hot, it is hot. No amount of complaining will alter that. If our partner is withdrawn right now, our partner is just withdrawn right now. Accepting, allowing life to be as it is, can afford us great peace of mind and ease of living, both the antidote for and the antithesis of self-torture. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
We can trust that when things don't work out the way we want, God has something better planned. Hope is a beacon that will guide us safely through the storm. In order to be realistic we must believe in miracles.

Pearls of Wisdom....167

1.If those who do not possess knowledge avoid the scholarly discussions, disagreements will end. [Imam al Ghazali]

2. Sky-scraping material achievements are of no value to the true Muslim if they hinder rather than help his spiritual growth. [Abu Muhammad Asad]

3. The primary meaning of the word Jihad is struggle or effort. The revelation is given, but those who follow it have to make it a constant effort, day by day, year after year, to put it into practice in a flawed and tragic world. [Karen Armstrong]

4. Allah's generosity is connected to gratitude, and gratitude is linked to increase in His generosity.
[Ali radi Allah anhu]

5. The generosity of Allah will not stop increasing unless the gratitude of the servant ceases. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

6. Be hard on yourself; easy on others. [Imam al Shafi'i]

7. Love your Lord by serving Him. For lovers are but servants of their Beloved. [A poet]

8. 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 a good enough reason to seek it, let alone its other merits in this world and the next. [Ibn Hizm]

9. Put aside your pride, set down your arrogance, and remember you grave. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

10. The life of this world and the hereafter, in the heart of a Believer are like the two scales of a balance, when one becomes heavier, the other becomes lighter. [Amr ibn Abdullah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1128

Ayahs of the Day:
They will recline on carpets lined with silk brocade, and the fruit of the two gardens will be near at hand----then which of the blessings of your Lord will you deny? In them will be women who restrain their glances, who no previous man or sprite has deflowered----then which of the blessings of your Lord will you deny-----like rubies and pearls; then which of the blessings of your Lord will you deny? Is the reward for good anything but good? Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you deny? [55: 54 to 60]

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

Wise Quote of the Day:
Lovers of the Truth do not notice people's faults, for their own failings blind them of those of others. They do not curse nor do they wish harm to anyone at all. [Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]

Guidance of the Day:
We must be willing to forgive and forget, to let go of our pain and go on. This is where many of us are unpracticed, for we habitually carry everything that has happened to us around in an ever-present storage bin called "the story of our life." Nothing keeps pain alive more than remembering it, so learning to forgive and forget is essential. Remember, suffering is perpetuating the pain of the past and carrying it into the future.

We can commit ourselves not to suffer or not to agonize over a disappointment. We can commit to be satisfied with life or to be complete with whatever has occurred, to live effortlessly instead of struggling, to be free of worry or free of the past. This is clearly a potent means for shifting our attitudes or behaviors. Our promises give us power; they release us from the idea that we are victims of anything. The discipline is not in making the promise but in keeping it. We have to be vigilant. We have to remember our promise not to suffer, sometimes every day, no matter what is going on around us. [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none. Getting to know yourself better takes courage. It is far easier to hide behind a mask than to see yourself as you really are. There are many who think they are perfect and need not change, who think they are the center of the universe, and they have a problem.

Pearls of Wisdom....166

1. The spiritual warrior is the one who breaks an idol, and the idol of each person is his ego. [Al Qushayri]

2. Every drop of sweat and every breath we take is life, if not taken for the sake of Allah, will lead to regret and sorrow on the Day of Judgment. [Ibn al Qayyim]

3. The Qur'an guides you to the recognition of your illness and their remedies. Your illness are your sins, and your medicine is seeking Allah's forgiveness. [Qatadah radi Allah anhu]

4. The essence of knowledge is to know what obedience and worship are. [Imam al Ghazali]

5. Be with people in such a way that if you die, they should weep for you, and if you live they should long for you. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

6. Whoever desires to purify his heart then let him prefer Allah to his desires. [Ibn al Qayyim]

7. What you love to have with you in the Hereafter you should advance today, and what you hate to have with you, you should abandon it today. [Salman ibn Dinar]

8. I looked at my friends, and I did not find a better friend than safeguarding my tongue. I thought about all the outfits, but I did not find a better outfit than piety. I thought of all types of wealth but did not find a better wealth than contentment. I thought of all types of good deeds but did not find a better deed than offering good advice. I looked at all types of sustenance, but did not find a better sustenance than patience. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1127

Ayahs of the Day:
But for those who fear standing before their Lord there are two gardens-----now which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny----both containing all species-----now which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny-----in both are two springs flowing----now which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny----in both are every fruit, two pairs----now which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny? [55: 46 to53]

Hadith of the Day:
A servant of God will remain standing on the Day of Judgment until he is questioned about his time on earth, and how he spend it; about his knowledge and how he utilized it, about his wealth and from where he acquired it and in what he spent it, and about his body and how he used it. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Entertainment has become the opium of the masses. [Ibrahim Kreps]

Guidance of the Day:
A person who devotes himself to learning God's religion, God Almighty gives him sufficient care and provides for him in unexpected ways. It is essential in the search of knowledge to reduce one's attachment to worldly affairs as much as one can. If you do not keep your soul occupied with good, it will keep you occupied with evil.

It is said that whoever does good to others is rewarded because of his beneficence, while he who does evil, his evil deed suffices him as a punishment. Beware of hostile action, this will cover you with the shame and waste your time. You may protect yourself from every guile of your enemy, but when the enemy plots against you, do not plot against him. [Imam al Zarnuji---------The Method of Learning]

Food for Thought:
The great end of life is not knowledge but action. What it lies in our power to do; it lies in our power not to do. Be at war with your vices, at peace with you neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.

Pearls of Wisdom....165

1. The straight path is the shortest distance between two points. [Abdul Hakim Murad]

2. Without meaning (in life) there is only meanness. [Abdul Hakim Murad]

3. If men wish to draw near to God, they must speak well of all men, whether present or absent. [Abu Sa'id bin Abil Khair]

4. Do not dispute with anyone in any matter as far as possible; for in argument lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit. [Imam al Ghazali]

5. Sincere devotion (Ikhlas) also means forgetting to notice one's fellow creature, through paying constant attention to the Creator. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

6. You should reflect on God's complete awareness of you, and His seeing and knowing all about you. [Ibn Alawi al Haddad]

7. Know that hearing and sight are two open doors, whatever enters through them reaches the heart. [Ibn Alawi al Haddad]

8. Whoever turns to God by remembering Him frequently will eventually turn to Him in all his affairs. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

9. Whoever remembers death frequently will benefit in three ways---------he will hasten to repent; he will become content with what is sufficient; and he will become active in worship. [Shaykh al Daqaq]

10. Whoever forgets death will be punished in three ways----------he will delay in repentance; he will no longer be content with what is sufficient; and he will be lazy in worship. [Shaykh al Daqaq]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1126

Ayahs of the Day:
Now on that day no human and no sprite will be asked about his sin----then which of the powers of your Lord will you deny----the sinners will be known by their marks; and they will be seized by their forelocks and their feet----then which of the powers of your Lord will you deny? This is the hell that sinners deny; they will go round between it and boiling water; then which of the powers of your Lord will you deny? [55: 39 to 45]

Hadith of the Day:
Knowledge from which no benefit is derived is like a treasure out of which nothing is spent in the cause of Allah. [Tirmidhi]

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

Guidance of the Day:
Among those things that bring about forgetfulness are wrong doings, harboring worries and anxieties over worldly matters, and being distracted by many occupations and attachments. Worldly anxieties create darkness in the heart, but concern for the Hereafter brings light into the heart. This light becomes apparent through prayer.

Anxiety for worldly affairs impedes one from doing good, while concern for the Hereafter incites one to do good, as does occupying oneself with prayer in a spirit of humility and presence of mind. [Imam al Zarnuji----------The Method of Learning]

Food for Thought:
Lost time is never found again. If time be of all things most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality. Leisure is the time for doing something useful. The mould's of a man's fortune is in his own hands.

Pearls of Wisdom....164

1. Anyone who makes the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) his rule in word and deed speaks with wisdom. [Othman al Hariri]

2. When a person conforms himself to the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), God illumines his heart with the light of His intimate knowledge. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

3. Prove the sincerity of your respect for the Qur'an by putting its teachings into practice, not by arguing about it. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

4. Taqwa is the foundation of all that is good, it is a source of wordly benefit, a source of wisdom and all kinds of knowledge, of purity of heart and of many secrets. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

5. Do not dispute anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit. [Imam al Ghazali]

6. The religious traits of character cannot take firm root in the soul until it has grown accustomed to every good habit and renounced every evil one. [Imam al Ghazali]

7. Invocations are a barrier between the slave and the hellfire, if the remembrance is contineous and permanent then the barrier is good and solid, if not, it is fragile and torn. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

8. Until you annihilate your selfish lower self of desires and lusts through strict and sincere striving, your heart will never become illumined with the light of knowledge. [Imam al Ghazali]

9. The outward appearance of an angry person is ugly enough, yet his inner appearance is even uglier. [Abdul Khaliq al Shabrawi]

10. Try to gladden the hearts of believers in every possible way, as long as these ways are not sinful. [Imam al Haddad]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1125

Ayahs of the Day:
O company of sprites and humans: if you can penetrate the ranges of the heavens and the earth, then go ahead. You cannot penetrate without authority. So which of the powers of your Lord do you deny? Flames of fire will be sent on you, and smoke; and you will not be able to defend yourselves; then which of the powers of your Lord will you deny? And when the sky splits apart and becomes rosy as rouge, then which of the powers of your Lord will you deny? [55: 33 to 38]

Hadith of the Day:
Call yourselves to account before you are called to account, and weigh up your deeds before they are weighed for you. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Knowledge and living according to our knowledge lead to a state of awe and fear of Allah, which is a defense against all evil within and without ourselves. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
It is said that people are divided into the following--------a man, a half a man, and nothing. A man is one who is sound of judgment and also consults others. A half man is one who is sound of judgment but does not seek advice, or seeks advice but is not of sound judgment. One who is nothing is a person who is neither sound in judgment nor one who seeks advice. Seek advice in your affairs from those who are God fearing. No person ever perished from seeking advice. [Imam al Zarnuji------The Method of Learning]

Food for Thought:
There is a difference between happiness and wisdom, he that thinks himself the happiest man is really so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool. The doors of wisdom are never shut.

Pearls of Wisdom....163

1. When the believers hear the command of their Beloved they rejoice in recognizing the tremendous favor and honor of slavehood, and rush to obey. [Shaykh Faraz Rabbani]

2. The world is an abode of works; there are no rewards in it. The Hereafter is the abode of rewards, there are no works in it. So act in the abode of no rewards for the sake of the abode of no works. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

3. Prove the sincerity of your respect for the Qur'an by putting its teachings into practice, not by arguing about it. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

4. Taqwa is the foundation of all that is good, it is a source of wordly benefit, a source of wisdom and all kinds of knowledge, of purity of heart and of many secrets. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

5. Do not dispute anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit. [Imam al Ghazali]

6. The religious traits of character cannot take firm root in the soul until it has grown accustomed to every good habit and renounced every evil one. [Imam al Ghazali]

7. Invocations are a barrier between the slave and the hellfire, if the remembrance is continuous and permanent then the barrier is good and solid, if not, it is fragile and torn. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

8. Until you annihilate your selfish lower self of desires and lusts through strict and sincere striving, your heart will never become illumined with the light of knowledge. [Imam al Ghazali]

9. The outward appearance of an angry person is ugly enough, yet his inner appearance is even uglier. [Abdul Khaliq la Shabrawi]

10. Try to gladden the hearts of believers in every possible way, as long as these ways are not sinful. [Imam al Haddad]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1124

Ayahs of the Day:
Every being on earth perishes, yet there remains the design of your Lord, sublime and honorable: so which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny? All things in the heavens and the earth ask of the One who's in charge every day------now which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny? We will soon attend to you, you who are heavy-handed------now which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny? [55: 26 to 32]

Hadith of the Day:
The astute is one who passes judgment on himself and works for what is after death, and the fool is one who pursues vain desires and accounts on God the Exalted to realize his wishes. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
No good deed is fruitless: work while yet there is time: for with judgment the door will be closed for repentance. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]

Guidance of the Day:
Taking responsibility, taking ownership of our lives, is the powerful alternative to being a victim. This means allowing, accepting, and participating in what happens to us, rather than resisting life's events. From the vantage point of ownership, we can look for what we can learn, how we can grow, and how we can ultimately make our lives more rewarding as a result of any experience.

When we are living responsible, we can create value out of our experiences. Then an illness or the breakup of a relationship can be a useful stopping place to reexamine life, to weed out what is unimportant and to nurture that which has meaning to us. An accident could be a time for appreciating what we have and almost lost. A failure could be a chance to generate new goals or to develop more skills. Most important, instead of considering ourselves as victim of an accident or crisis, we could include it as one of the many experiences offered us in a full lifetime. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Is death the last sleep? No, it is the last and final awakening. When death, the great reconciler, has come, it is never our tenderness that we repent of, but our severity. When death comes to a man who has completed his mission. He has nothing to fear, nothing to dread.

Pearls of Wisdom....162

1. Worship has four characteristics: the fulfillment of pledges, observing the limits of the law, contentment with one's actual condition, and patience in the midst of loses. [Ibn Abbad]

2. Worship is a quality inherent in the servant, which prompts him to obey the Divine Commands, avoid what is forbidden, and be resigned to the Divine decrees. [Ibn Abbad]

3. You must understand that God more than substitutes for every transient thing. Indeed the one who finds God wants nothing else; but the one who loses Him possesses nothing. [Ibn Abbad]

4. Contentment is the widest door to God, the garden of this world, and the resting place for God's servants. [Ibn Abbad]

5. A person who renounces something for his Lord will be more than compensated with strong faith and the rewards of obedience to the Lord of the Universe. [Ibn Abbad]

6. Anyone who makes the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him) his rule in word and deed speaks with wisdom. [Othman al Hariri]

7. When one conforms himself to the examples of the Prophet (peace be upon him), God illumines his heart with the light of intimate knowledge. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

8. Learn from those who know more than you do and teach those who know less than you do. [Ibn Mas'ud radi Allah anhu]

9. Lead men to God and none other than Him; for anyone who leads you to this world has deceived you, and anyone who leads you to work alone makes you weary, and anyone who leads you to God has befriended you. [Ibn Abbad]

10. Wisdom is the lost property of the Believer, so take wisdom wherever you find it, even from a disbeliever. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1123

Ayahs of the Day:
Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests-----which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny-----having loosed the two bodies of water to meet without overflowing a barrier between them----so which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny------from them come pearls and coral-----so which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny------Owner of the ships under sail over the sea, like mountains-----which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny? [55: 17 to 25]

Hadith of the Day:
Work for God in proportion to your need for Him, and work for the Fire in proportion to your ability to endure it. [Kanz ul ammal]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not dispute anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit. [Imam Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
There is a way out. We can confront hurt and let it go. We can live full and intimate lives, allowing that we might be hurt occasionally. All it would take is for us to be able to say "Ouch!" or "That hurt!" to one another at appropriate moments, to express the pain and let it go. We do not have to suppress our feelings, for we can let them go more quickly. We cannot overcome the fact of hurt in life, and we can overcome our difficulties in coping with hurt-----if we are willing.

Knowing now that we have a choice about how we approach hurt and suffering, we will look next at what it takes to make such a choice. At this point we may feel stirred up or confused, for the idea that we have any choice over hurt and suffering may challenge lifelong beliefs. Many of us have inadvertently lived as victims of our circumstances and our feelings for most of our lives. We do not have to be victims any longer. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
It is man's duty to fight, but God to give success. Chance never helps those who do not help themselves. Go and wake up your luck. I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.

Pearls of Wisdom....161

1. Faith in Allah is an inoculation against the diseases of the world. [Shaykh Muzaffar]

2. Treat the members of your family with love and respect, because they are people toward whom you turn when in trouble or in need. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

3. O' Son of Adam, you are but a few days; whenever a day is gone, part of you is too. [Hasan al Basri]

4. Allah likes most the person who is saddened by the slightest misfortune of another. [Shaykh Zulfiqar]

5. Do not delude yourself into thinking that your children will attend to you and be kind to you without you having done that for your parents. [Shaykh Zulfiqar]

6. Do not fall into the delusion that you will always remain strong, young and wealthy, and that you will stop sinning after sinning a few times. [Shaykh Zulfiqar]

7. Just like stagnant, standing water becomes a breeding ground for filth, an empty and carefree mind becomes a hive for useless and scorn thoughts. [Shaykh Zulfiqar]

8. God does not open the treasures of His extraordinary graces, except to those who make the sacrifice of their ego. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

9. Happiness with God means a peaceful attitude in the face of vicissitudes of fate; and by a state that makes God happy means the fact of conforming to what He commands and what He forbids. [Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]

10. Travel toward your Lord even though you are lame and broken---------through sincerity and obedience to Him alone. [Ibn Abbad]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1122

Ayahs of the Day:
And the Benevolent One has set the earth for creatures, with fruit there, and date palms and spathes, and grain and stalks, and fragrant herbs. Now which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny---having made man from clay, like earthenware, and having created the sprites from a mixture of fire----which of the blessings of your Lord do you deny? [55: 10 to 16]

Hadith of the Day:
Work for your terrestrial life in proportion to your stay in it, and work for your after-life in proportions to your eternity in it! [kanz ul ummal]

Wise Quote of the Day:
O you who cannot bear to be without this despicable world! How can you bear to be without Him who spread it as a carpet? [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
We are so afraid we will be hurt again, and probably we will be. Rather than living our lives based on fear of hurt or pain, preventing ourselves from having love and enjoyment, spontaneity and vitality, we need to learn to cope better with hurt. We cannot hide from it. Few of us handle emotional hurt as masterfully as we handle physical hurt. If we bump our knee and feel sorry for ourselves for a moment. Then, the pain is over for us. Even though we may occasionally notice an ache or pain in that knee or remember our carelessness, the incident of the bruised knee is completed quickly and easily with a minimum of blame, shame, drama, or distress.

This is vastly different from how we usually handle emotional hurts. We don't punish our knees for causing physical pain. However, we do punish ourselves and other people for causing us emotional pain by rejecting others or withholding ourselves. This is neither an effective way to handle pain nor much protection against further hurt. Being cut off from intimacy and nourishment this way, we hurt ourselves. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
There is nothing so easy as to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply. Experience is simply the name we give to our mistakes. Nothing is a waste of time if we use the experience wisely. What one have not experienced, one will never understand in spirit.

Pearls of Wisdom....160

1. Grant favor and be considerate of your enemy, because you will thus gain either one or the other of the two kinds of victories; one rising above your enemy; the other, reducing the intensity of his enmity.

2. Do not disappoint a person who holds a good opinion of you, and do not make him change his opinion of you.

3. Do not run after the one who tries to avoid you.

4. Do not get too worried and depressed over oppressions and cruelties, because whoever oppresses you is in reality harming himself.

5. The greatest achievement of your character is that the enmity of your brother against you dare not overcome the consideration and friendship you feel toward him, and his ill-treatment of you cannot over balance your kind treatment to him.

6. Do not be like the people on whom advice has no effect and who require punishment to correct themselves.

7. A true friend is one who speaks well of you even behind your back---------be a true friend.

8. He who wants to retain his prestige and position through contentment and honesty, will find them lasting assets.

9. Weaknesses and shortcomings are not the things to talk about.

10. Do not introduce ridiculous topics in your talk even if you have to repeat sayings of others. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1121

Ayahs of the Day:
The Benevolent One taught the Recital, created man, taught him expression. The sun and the moon follow calculated courses, and the trees and the grasses bow down. The Benevolent One has raised the sky, and set the balance, so you would not overstep balance. So establish weight justly, not letting the balance give short measure. [55:1 to 9]

Hadith of the Day:
God does not look at your physical forms, or your wealth. Rather, He looks at your deeds and your hearts. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Bear in mind that those who carry others' secrets to you might bear yours to others. Do not give such tactless people any chance to learn even the smallest details of your private concerns. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
It is when we don't let hurt go that the results are tragic. We allow hurt to influence us very deeply, sometimes for the rest of our lives. Because we often believe that the past damage done to us is irreparable, we allow hurts to color our future, often disadvantageously. We act in self-defeating ways to protect ourselves. We make stringent rules about how we are going to respond to people and relationships from now on, and these self-imposed rules may have an impact on the rest of our lives.

Our rules often begin with the words "I will never again." Then we do things like never again loving or giving or sharing ourselves intimately or asking for anything. Unknowingly, one single hurtful incident can become the basis for how we operate all the rest of our lives. We often make decisions that have an impact on us for years based on one hurtful moment, decisions that become our own destructive self-fulfilling prophesies. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten. Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Anger is a killing thing. It kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before, it takes something from him.

Pearls of Wisdom....159

1.When the inward is good the outward is also inevitably so, for the outward always follows the inward, whether for good or evil. [Imam al Haddad]

2. Know that the hearing and sight are two open doors; whatever enters through them reaches the heart. [Imam al Haddad]

3. The sincere person is the one who hides his good deeds just like he hides his evil deeds. [Yaqub al Ma'foof]

4. Do not rely on vain hopes, because vain hopes are the assets of idiots and fools. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

5. If you cannot be of benefit to the people, then do not harm them; if you cannot make them happy, then do not make them sorrowful; if you cannot praise them, then do not disparage them. [Yahya ibn Mu'adh]

6. Wisdom is the name of the trait of remembering experiences and making use of them. The best experience is the one that gives the best warning and advice. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

7. Take advantage of the opportunities before they turn their backs upon you; the worst form of folly is to waste the opportunities of this life and to lose salvation. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

8. Treat with consideration and kindness those over whom you have power and authority. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

9. Keep a complete control over your temper and anger, because I have never found anything more beneficial at the end and more productive of good results than such control. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

10. Be mild, pleasant, and lenient with him who is harsh, gross, and strict with you; gradually he will turn to your way of behavior. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1120

Ayahs of the Day:
We created everything in proportion and measure: and Our command is but a single order, like the glance of an eye. And indeed in the past We have destroyed groups like you, but does anyone take a lesson? Everything they have done is in the scriptures; and every matter, minor and major, is written down. As for the conscientious, they will be in gardens with streams, in the seat of the Truth in the presence of an Omnipotent Sovereign. [54: 49 to 55]

Hadith of the Day:
Everyone of you is a guardian, and each of you will be asked concerning his/her wards. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Live as long as you want, but you must die; love whatever you want, but you will become separated from it; and do what you want, but you will be repaid for it! [Imam Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
We hold hurt as wrong. We think that hurt should simply not happen to us. We imagine if we were good enough or mature enough or strong enough, we would not hurt. Longing to be superhuman-----not human-----we deny the inevitability of hurting and being hurt. As a result we are outraged and often overwhelmed when we are hurt or disappointed.

If we only accepted that hurts happen, we would be much more effective in dealing with them. Then we could freely admit to inflicting or feeling hurt. With such a consciousness, we could simply recoil momentarily from pain and not feel damaged by every hurtful event in our lives. We would certainly be freer to forgive and forget, the most powerful way we can overcome hurt. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Pride is the beginning of sin. Pride is the master sin of the devil. When pride comes, then comes shame. A proud man has no God. "From pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness, good Lord, deliver us."

Pearls of Wisdom....158

1. The ailment of body is in sickness and that of the heart in sins. A delicious meal cannot benefit the body when the person is sick and likewise, the heart cannot taste the sweetness of worship if it is full of sins. [Dhun nun al Misri]

2. There is only one virtue and one sin for the soul on the spiritual path---------virtue when he is conscious of God and sin when he is not. [Abu Hashim Madani]

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

4. Repentance, awareness of God, and uprightness are the foundations of all that is beneficial. [Ahmad al Zarruq]

5. Know that repentance is a key, God consciousness (taqwa) is vast, and uprightness is the source of rectification. [Ahmad al Zarruq]

6. Knowledge is not what is memorized; knowledge is what benefits. [Imam al Shafi'i]

7. Allah's generosity is connected to gratitude, and gratitude is linked to increase in His generosity. Allah's generosity will not stop increasing unless the gratitude of the servant ceases. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

8. The whole life is about you, your Lord, and your grave, nothing else matters. [Shaykh Nuh]

9. How can a sane person be conceited about his spiritual works, when his works are but a gift from Allah and a blessing from Him that he should thank Him for. [Abu Sulayman al Darani]

10. When your heart is hardened by other than Allah, then make dhikr until nothing remains other than Allah. [Shaykh Muhammad al Hashimi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1119

Ayahs of the Day:
Yes, We have made the Qur'an easy for them to recite and remember, but does anyone take a lesson? The warning also came to the people of Pharaoh: They repudiated Our signs, all of them, so We punished them with the punishment of a mighty one able to prevail. [54: 40,41,42]

Hadith of the Day:
The magnitude of otherworldly reward is proportionate to the magnitude of worldly tribulation. When God loves a people, He tries them. Whoever is content (with God's decree) will have Divine pleasure. Whoever is displeased (with God's decree) will have Divine wrath. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
In the end it's about you, your Lord and the Grave-----nothing else matters. [Shaykh Nuh Keller]

Guidance of the Day:
The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well. Hurt is a fact of life. until we accept and allow the hurt as inevitable, we cannot begin to deal more effectively with the hurts of life. As human beings, we will hurt and be hurt. None of us is invulnerable. Not only do circumstances upset us, but we hurt each other, not necessarily intentionally or maliciously. We disappoint, criticize, oppose, anger, injure, and withhold from one another all the time.

Because we refuse to accept and include hurt and the suffering that may follow as an inevitable aspect of human experience, hurt takes us by surprise and we never learn effective ways to deal with it. It is not wrong to hurt, but it is tragic that we let our reactions to hurt and our fear of hurt run our lives. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
We create our fate every day..... most of the ills we suffer from are directly traceable to our own behavior. Of course, fortune has its part in human affairs, but conduct is really much more important. You don't just luck into things......You build step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities.

Pearls of Wisdom....157

1. If what you desire from this world is what should suffice you, a little should suffice you; but if you desire more than your sufficiency, the entire world will not suffice you. [Imam al Ghazali]

2. How often is that a small action becomes great because of the sincerity (Ikhlas); and how often it is that a great action becomes small because of the lack of sincerity. [Abdullah bin Mubarak]

3. Weep like the water wheel, that the green herbs may spring up from the courtyard of your soul. [Mawlana Rumi]

4. If you do enough dhikr you will not get stressed. If you are getting stressed you are not doing enough dhikr. [Shaykh Hamza Yusuf]

5. Reflection is the lamp of the heart, if it departs the heart will have no light. [Imam al Haddad]

6. Everyone who is taken by death asks for more time, while everyone who still has time makes time for procrastination. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

7. Let your main concern be to remove from your outer state anything that is displeasing, then maintain this state through continual counsel, reflection and remembrance. [Ahmad al Zarruq]

8. The bounty that comes from Allah to a believer due to his trial is greater than the bounty that comes from Allah during his times of ease. [Ibn Rajab]

9. You have a diamond called Islam. Don't hide it away---------share the light of it with others through you practice. [Imam al Awkaki]

10. Be shy toward Allah when you are in private in the same way that you are shy toward people when you are in public. [Ka'ab radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1118

Ayahs of the Day:
This is a warner from among the warners of old. The impending approaches: none can reveal it but God. Do you then wonder at this history? And do you laugh but not cry, as idlers? Then bow to God, and worship. [53: 56 to 62]

Hadith of the Day:
People are tested according to their faith. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The pain that comes from criticism is felt only by people whose whole life and care is for this world. For those who care for the Hereafter, criticism is a gift and a cause of salvation and peace. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
We can learn to broaden our abilities and to expand our repertoire for coping with the ordeals and opportunities life presents to us. To do so will take courage, the courage to live fully, consciously, and responsibly. For some of us courage would seem inappropriate word to describe how we have played out our lives up to now.

Yet changing our ways invariably takes enormous courage--------the courage to change and perhaps admit that we were wrong, the courage to confront whatever is the truth about ourselves and our lives, the courage to experiment and learn and be awkward, and the courage to be fully, uniquely who we are, alive and engaged in life. Most of all we need the courage to face the hurts of life. Since suffering is hurt that has been prolonged, we need to come to terms with and accept the inevitability of our being hurt. [Judy Tatelbaum, You don't have to suffer]

Food for Thought:
An educated person accepts and understands his own mortality and its reasons. He understands that without death and aging nothing would have any meaning. He learns from all ages, even from the last minutes of his life. He has intense "awareness" of the profound significance of being, and the profound significance of being here. He can figure out how to be useful to others, and in trading time, insight, and service to meet the needs of others.

Pearls of Wisdom....156

1. It is useless to have a learned tongue and an ignorant heart. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

2. There is nothing more beneficial to a Muslim's heart than to mix with the righteous and to watch their actions, while nothing is more harmful to the heart than mixing with the sinners and watching their actions. [Ahmad bin Harb]

3. Knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity. [Imam al Ghazali]

4. Iblis said: "If I am successful in persuading man to do three things, then that is sufficient for me to ruin him--------to make him forget his sins, to regard his good deeds as too many, and to be proud of his opinion". [Dirar ibn Murrah]

5. The men of the elite are only distinguished from the normal men by the battle they wage against their individual souls. [Ibn Ajiba]

6. Allah sometimes takes us into troubled waters not to drown us, but to cleanse us. [Arabic Proverb]

7. Be more concerned for the acceptance of your action than you are for the action. An action with fearful obedience will not be little. How could an action which is accepted be little?

8. True repentance entails constant regret of your sins. Without remorse, good deeds, be they abounding, could be eclipsed with pride that follows piety. [Al Hujwiri]

9. Remorse for a sin is superior to good works. Never forget your transgressions to save yourself from conceit. [Al Hujwiri]

10. Sit with those of this world, and you become a speck in its sea. Sit with those of Allah, and the world becomes a speck in your sea. [Sufi saying]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1117

Ayahs of the Day:
And that it is God who enriches and satisfies; and that God is the Lord of Sirius, and that God annihilated the ancient 'Ad, and the Thamud, not allowing them to survive, and people of Noah before that; for they were most unjust and most cruel; and God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, so they were covered over. Now which of the powers of your Lord do you dispute? [53: 48 to 55]

Hadith of the Day:
The hour will not come until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes become numerous, time passes quickly, tribulations appear, chaos reins----that is to say widespread killing. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Devotion to one's religious duty is the foundation of all that is good, it is a source of worldly benefit, a source of wisdom and all kinds of knowledge, of purity of heart and of many secrets. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:
We can use powerful circumstances as stepping stones to our growth. Instead of just perpetuating our misery, we can choose to use any circumstances, even the terrible events or anguished moments, to develop wisdom, to alter our lives, and perhaps to contribute in some way to the world.

We can alter our relationship with suffering. By examining the ways we stop ourselves from successfully moving through life's challenges, we can learn to move beyond each crisis or disappointment. We can allow the experience and then just let it go. We can learn to transcend our circumstances, terrible or painful though they may be. Transcending our circumstances, rather than perpetually suffering over them, is one of the major secrets of living a full and satisfying life. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
If a man was great while living, he becomes tenfold greater when dead. To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die. Death comes not to the living soul, nor age to the loving heart. Death to a believer is the funeral of all his sorrows and evils, and the resurrection of all his joys.

Pearls of Wisdom....155

1. Who is better among Allah's slaves than the one who sees others better than him! [Abu Bakr Saidlani]

2. When your brother is out of sight, mention him as you would like him to mention you when you are out of his sight. [Sufyan al Thawri]

3. Whoever spreads gossip for you, will spread gossip against you. [Imam al Shafi'i]

4. Whoever relates tales to you will tell tales about you. [Imam al Shafi'i]

5. Whoever when you please him says about you what is not in you, when you anger him will say about you what is not in you. [Imam al Shafi'i]

6. The secret for happiness is to forget the past and forget the future and live in the present moment for the Creator. [Abu Qanit al Hassani]

6. Whoever strives for knowledge for the life to come obtains great gain in righteousness. But he is at utter loss who seeks knowledge to obtain an advantage over people. [Imam Abu Hanifa]

7. Through our destiny God speaks to us. Through our worship we speak to Him. [Hasan Le Gai Eaton]

8. Fear of Allah has forsaken you when you find it hard to cry in front of Him. [Shaykh Nuh Keller]

9. The heart is comforted by true words, just as a thirsty man is comforted by water. [Mawlana Rumi]

10. The wealth of this world consists of gold and silver. The capital in Allah's sight is love and two crying eyes. [Mawlana Rumi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1116

Ayahs of the Day:
No one can bear the burden of another, and that man gets only what he works for, and that his purpose will be seen; then he will be requited with the most complete reward and that the final aim is to your Lord; and that is Who causes laughter and lament, and that is Who causes death and gives life, and that is Who created couples as the male and the female, from a seed when it's emitted; and that God is committed to another creation. [53: 38 to 47]

Hadith of the Day:
No one humbles himself for the sake of God except God elevates him. [al-Nawawi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not strut proudly on account of your good deeds. Do not let pride waylay you. When you deem yourself holier than others, know that you have fallen into grave error. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:
We don't have to view our experiences as painful or trying. We can control the extent of our suffering by how we view what happens to us. Accepting death as inevitable rather than seeing it as an incomprehensible event, a personal punishment, or a terrible deprivation, for example, lessens the blows of losing a loved one. Accepting loss, illness, and accidents as parts of a full life, not as devastating events from which we cannot recover, makes them easier to face.

We must realize that we always have a choice to make, a serious and conscious choice, as to how we will react to distressing life events. It may be hard to admit that we create our own suffering in response to our circumstances. Yet that admission gives us the power to choose our responses instead of just letting our circumstances direct or control us. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
We must have faith in what we can't see. Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is like the radar that sees through the fog----the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.

Pearls of Wisdom....154

1. Don't grieve every thing you lose comes around in another form. [Mawlana Rumi]

2. Over come your egos that you may be saved from the snares that devoured kings and paupers alike. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

3. A servant is never free of either blunders or shortcomings or lassitude; therefore never be neglectful of repentance, and never turn away from the act of returning to God the Exalted, and never neglect acts that bring you closer to God the Exalted. [Shaykh Ahmad al Zarruq]

4. The one who makes gracious patience the foundation of all his affairs turns to every goodness, reaches every thing that he hopes for, and wins all that he seeks. [Imam al Haddad]

5. In the end, it is the matter of hearts. The heart that is alive has a sense of eternity, and knows that the infinite is greater than the finite. [Shaykh Nuh Keller]

6. The heart that is dead follows the trends of the trend makers because it has turned its back on the Divine and forgotten endless time. [Shaykh Nuh Keller]

7. Do not use your energy except for a cause more nobler than yourself. [Ibn Hazm]

8. Anyone who uses his energy for the sake of the vanities of the world is like someone who exchanges gems for gravel. [Ibn Hazm]

9. The wise man knows that the only fitting price for his soul is Paradise. [Ibn Hazm]

10. Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. [Khalil Jibran]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1115

Ayahs of the Day:
And to God belongs what is in the heavens and what is on earth, that God may requite those who have done evil for what they have done, and reward those who have done good with what is best. To those who avoid serious sins and vile acts, discounting minor derangement, your Lord is indeed extensive in forgiveness. God knew you best on producing you from the earth, and when you were covered in your mothers' wombs. So don't try to justify yourselves; God knows best who is conscientious. [53: 31,32]

Hadith of the Day:
Nothing afflicts the Muslim, neither fatigue, pain, anxiety, sadness, injury, nor grief, even the pricking of a thorn, except for that which God expiates some of his sins. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Suffice it as a recompense to you for obedience that He has judged you worthy of obedience. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:
We perpetuate our own suffering. Although we usually believe that our circumstances, such as our tragedies or disappointments, cause our suffering, that is not true. Suffering is not implicit in circumstances, any kind of circumstances, but rather in the way we view and respond to the circumstances in our lives. This is evident in how different people react to similar events, as not every one of us suffers or responds identically.

Though we may not always be able to avoid pain, we can choose how much we suffer. Unfortunately, we often feel powerless over our suffering. Thinking we have no other choice, we get "stuck" in pain and stay there much too long. We do not have to prolong suffering. We can set a time limit, rather than waiting and hoping for our distress to diminish magically or disappear of its own accord. We have to take responsibility for ending our own suffering. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live. Be kind, give in sometimes, and help others. Don't be or create a problem, solve one instead. You have not fulfilled every duty, unless you have fulfilled that of being pleasant. Travel with a light heart and a treasure chest full of love, and your journey will be much easier.

Pearls of Wisdom....153

1. Beginnings are the places where endings are revealed, whoever begins with God ends up with Him.

2. He who knows that all matters are in God's hands is recollected through trust in Him.

3. The intelligent man is more joyous over the Permanent (i.e. Akhirah) than he is over the evanescent (i.e. this world).

4. If the eye of heart sees that God is One in His blessings, the law requires nevertheless that thanks be given to His creatures.

5. The intelligent one is he who knows Allah, His commands and His prohibitions.

6. When one conforms himself to the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him), God illumines his heart with the light of intimate knowledge.

7. Nothing benefits the heart more than a spiritual retreat, where it enters the domain of meditation.

8. The source of every disobedience, indifference, and passion is self-satisfaction.

9. The source of every obedience, vigilance, and virtue is dissatisfaction with one's self.

10. Your being at the look out for the vices hidden within you is better than your being on the look out for the invisible realities veiled from you. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1114

Ayahs of the Day:
Avoid those who turn away from Our remembrance and want nothing but the life of the world. That is the extent of their knowledge. It is your Lord who knows best who has strayed from the sacred path; and God knows best who accepts guidance. [53: 29,30]

Hadith of the Day:
Many among those whose hair are disheveled and bodies covered with dust and who are pushed away from the door (due to their apparent wretchedness) occupy such lofty place in the sight of the Lord, that if they vow in the name of Allah, Allah will fulfill their vow. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
There is no Hajj nor guarding the enemy lines and no Jihad which is more difficult than restraining the tongue. [Fudhail ibn Iyaadh]

Guidance of the Day:
We can choose not to suffer. Hurt is inevitable----suffering is not. Life hurts. Fate shows us many different kinds of curves. In a full life we are presented with tough tests: crises and obstacles, pain and hardships, failures and tragedies. For all of us, the journey through life is full of changes and surprises. Few of us find the way smooth and easy. How we experience our own journey is up to us, for we can choose to view life either as a challenge and an opportunity or as a predicament.

We hurt. The human heart is very sensitive. It is natural to feel sad, to be angry, disappointed, or discouraged. The problem is not that we hurt but that our hurt continues so long after events occur. Suffering is extended hurt. Suffering is the persistence of painful feelings long after they were provoked. Just because suffering is common among us does not mean that it is necessary, and yet we often suffer because we do not know what else to do. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Education has produced vast population able to read, but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of life, the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.

Pearls of Wisdom....152

1. When He lets praise of you burst forth, and you are not worthy of it, praise Him for what He is worthy of.

2. Your desire that people know your particular distinction is a proof of insincerity in your servant hood.

3. Make mankind's looking at you disappear by being content with God's looking at you. Slip away from their approach to you by contemplating His approach to you.

4. He who knows God contemplates Him in everything. He who loves Him prefers nothing over Him.

5. Let your asking be for the sake of showing servant hood and fulfilling the rights of Lordship.

6. Sometimes you will find more benefit in states of neediness to Him than you find in fasting or ritual prayer.

7. If you want gifts to come your way, then perfect the spiritual poverty (al-faqr) you have. For "Alms are for the poor."

8. Realize your attributes and He will help you with His Attributes. Realize your lowliness and He will help you with His Sublimity.

9. Realize your impotence and He will help you with His power.

10. Realize your weakness and He will help you with His Might and Force. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1113

Ayahs of the Day:
By the star when it descends, your companion has not erred and has not gone astray; nor does he speak from desire. It is just an inspiration with which he is inspired: one strong in power taught him, one full of intelligence: he stood up straight at the highest range of view, then he approached near and came near, as close as two bow lengths,or closer, and revealed to the servant of God what is divine inspiration. [53: 1 to 10]

Hadith of the Day:
May he be humiliated (he said this three times); he who found his parents, one or both approaching old age, but did not enter Paradise, (by serving them). [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Glad tidings to the one who abandons the Dunya before it abandons him, and built his grave before he enters it, and pleased his Lord before he met Him. [Abdullah ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
The secret of living well is not in the answers we amass but in the actions we take. No matter how many problems we solve, there will always be new ones to take their place. We can be more masterful in life if we allow problems to be an ever-present, challenging, and stimulating aspect of living. Accepting and embracing our own humanity is one of the secrets of living life truly satisfied and free of suffering.

Approach life with a greater commitment to satisfaction than to suffering. This can be an awesome task because of the vast opportunities and experiences we confront. At every moment we get to choose whether to live fully awake and alive to life or closed down and suffering. We are often unaware that how we live is our own choice. My wish is that from now on you will choose how you live and, out of choosing, that you will see your power to transform any and all of your experiences. [Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]

Food for Thought:
Death is a law, not a punishment. A faithful life in this world is the best preparation for the next. This world is the land of dying; the next is the land of living. The buried are not lost, but gone before. Worldly faces never look so worldly as at a funeral.

Pearls of Wisdom....151

1. Ritual prayer is a purification for hearts and an opening-up of the door of the invisible domain.

2. He knew of the existence of weakness in you, so He made the number of ritual prayers small; and He knew of your need of His grace, so He multiplied their fruitful results.

3. Cling to the attributes of His Lordship and realize the attributes of your slave hood.

4. 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.

5. Nothing pleads on your behalf like extreme need, nor does anything speed gifts to you quicker than lowliness and want.

6. Whoever honors you honors only the beauty of His veil in you. Therefore, praise is to Him who veiled you, not the one who honored and thanked you.

7. No one is a companion of yours except the One Who, while knowing your defects, is your companion, and that is only your Generous Lord.

8. People praise you for what they suppose is in you; but you must blame your soul for what you know is in it.

9. When the Believer is praised, he is ashamed before God that he should be lauded for an attribute he does not see in himself.

10. The most ignorant of all people is the one who abandons his certitude (Yaqeen) he has for an opinion (Zann) people have. [Above quotes by ibn Ata'Allah]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1112

Ayahs of the Day:
So patiently await the judgment of your Lord, for you are in My eyes; and extol the praises of your Lord as soon as you arise; and for part of the night praise God, and when the stars withdraw. [52: 48,49]

Hadith of the Day:
A mother is one of the strongest doors of Paradise. If you wish you may pull it down, or if you wish you may protect it. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The slave is perfected only through sincerity and self-control. [Shaykh Abu Madyan]

Guidance of the Day:
To change the world we do not need to manipulate people or events; we need to change our minds. Effective transformation springs naturally from higher vision. As we open to a higher reality, we find evidence to support it. Everyone who has improved the world has seen a bigger picture than the one most people were living, and found the courage to live as if it were already so.

Our history is not our destiny. You and I are here to build and live in a new world. Your role in bringing about that world is much simpler than you have realized. You are not required to become a world leader, invent a revolutionary mode of travel, or discover a miraculous medicinal panacea. Your purpose here is much more personal and relevant to the life you are now living. You are here to discover and release the beliefs that have kept you living in a circle smaller than your potential, and step into a world that honors the greatness within you and everyone you meet. You are here to claim your vision and walk in the light. You are here to be you. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
There is no man in this world without some manner of tribulation or anguish, though he be king or pope. There is no man in any rank who is always at liberty to act as he would incline; in some quarter or other he is limited by circumstances. Great and small suffer the same mishaps.

Pearls of Wisdom....150

1. The losses that you suffer because of your silence can be easily compensated for, but the losses that arise out of excessive loose talk are difficult to requite.

2. To guard what you already possess is better than to ask and pray for what others possess.

3. The bitterness of disappointment, privation, and poverty is actually sweeter than the disgrace and humiliation of begging.

4. One who often thinks and reflects develops his foresight and vision.

5. By keeping the company of good people you will develop goodness in your character, and by avoiding the company of a wicked people you will abstain from wickedness

6. Be more concerned for the acceptance of your action action than you are for the action; an action with fearful obedience will not be little. How could an action which is accepted be little?

7. Everyone who is taken by death asks for more time, while everyone who still has time makes time for procrastination.

8. There is no good in wealth without generosity.

9. There is no good in brotherhood without caring for one another.

10. There is no good in supplication without sincerity. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1111

Ayahs of the Day:
So leave them until they meet their day, on which they will be stunned, the day their cunning will avail them naught, and they will not be helped. And for those who have gone wrong there is agony in addition to that, but most of them do not know. [52: 45,46,47]

Hadith of the Day:
There are three things about which I can take an oath: No man's wealth can be reduced by charity; any man who shows patience in the face of oppression, Allah raises his honor; and a man who opens the door to begging Allah opens on him the door of poverty and want. [Ibn Majah]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Humans are in the midst of troubles or terrors until they reach the final abode of Paradise or Hell. Happy is the soul that has detached itself from troubles and terrors and has attached itself to God alone. [Al-Hujwiri]

Guidance of the Day:
Many seers have issued dire predictions for the fate of the earth and its people. Such warnings are helpful if they call our attention to patterns of action that will hurt us if we continue to pursue them. As the Chinese patriarch noted, "Unless you change direction, you will end up where you are headed." No prediction is a fact unless we make it so by our beliefs and acts. We are not ruled by stars, economics, or viruses. We create our lives by our thoughts and the choices we make.

The most fundamental choice we must make is whether we will follow love or fear; whether we will live in a world that reflects the beneficence of God, or bow to the idols of separation; whether we will identify ourself as a body, subject to the mechanistic principles of physical conditioning, or recognize ourself as a spiritual being, bearing the seed of a majestic Creator. Is the world doomed to the illusions, or are we masterful souls with the capacity to bring heaven on earth? [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Men are only as great as they are kind. A complete life is not about time, but about our actions.....particularly our acts of kindness. If you want to live a complete life, then find a way to share kindness. If you wonder who, when, and how to help, just look at the person in front of you. Do for him/her what she needs done, now. Perform the acts of kindness we all came here to do.

Pearls of Wisdom....149

1. The heart of the lover of Allah desires to sacrifice every thing for the sake of the Beloved.

2. Love of Allah changes the bitterness in a person's life to sweetness. No depression or anxiety afflicts the one who is attached to his Lord.

3. The sole objective of a sincere lover of Allah is to meet his Beloved. He passes his entire life in participation of this meeting.

4. He who reveres the appearance of this world, will always have regret and sorrow. [Above quotes by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad]

5. The lovers of Allah have taken the honor of this world and the honor of the Hereafter, because the blessed Prophet (sws) said; "A man will be with whom he loves." [Samnun Muhib]

6. Love is to find trifling that which is given from oneself to the Beloved, even though it is great; and to find great that which is received from the Beloved, even if it is very small. [Bayazid al Bustami]

7. When the heart is imbued with the love of Allah Most High, then each word creates an impression on the hearts of the listeners. [Shah Abdul Qadir]

8. The avoidance of nonsensical things is a condition for success and a proof of perfection. [Muhammad al Ghazali]

9. The word TRUST contains an ocean of meaning, but underneath it all is the sense of responsibility, the sense of having to appear before Allah and to account for one's actions. [Muhammad al Ghazali]

10. Glad tidings to the one who abandons the dunya before it abandons him, and pleases his Lord before he meets him. [Abdullah bin Abbas radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1110

Ayahs of the Day:
As for those who believe and whose children follow them in faith, We will unite them with their children, and We will not cheat them of anything of their deeds; each individual is responsible for what he has earned. And We will supply them with fruit and meat of their desire. They will exchange a goblet there with no frivolity in it, and no accusation. And servants for them will surround them, like treasured pearls, and they will approach each other asking after one another: They will say, "We were apprehensive for our people before, then God was gracious to us and kept us from the torment of the burning wind. Indeed, we have been calling on God from before; for God is the just, the merciful." [52: 21 to 28]

Hadith of the Day:
The Qur'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
What you need most is to cleanse your heart of all that is evil and decorate it with beautiful behavior. The truth of Islam is no more than two things: to leave what is bad, and to advance what is best, in one's character. [Imam Birgivi]

Guidance of the Day:
Changes are coming quickly and powerfully. A course in miracles reminds us that all change is good. Change is the most fertile ground for personal transformation. With change comes expansive opportunity. We can look upon what appears to have been lost, or what we stand to gain. Bless the changes in your life, and they will bless you. Whether or not our conscious minds realize it, we have an important purpose which can only be accomplished through mastering the life circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Most people on the planet are facing their fears. Fear is the doorpost through which we walk to mastery. Fear has no power except that which we give it. We can worship at the altar of fear or we can turn with confidence to our inner source of strength. One result is certain; we will receive more of whatever we give our attention to. Choose wisely. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance, and a better safeguard than a standing army. Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open mind, and being able to differentiate between what you know and what you do not know.

Pearls of Wisdom....148

Allah Most High has provided a key to for each and every goal:

1. The key to Jannah is the testimony of La ilaha illallah.

2. Purity (wudu) is the key to salah.

3. Ihram is the key to Hajj.

4. Truth is the key to righteousness.

5. Well intent queries is the key to knowledge.

6. Patience is the key to Divine assistance.

7. Thankfulness is the key to increased prosperity.

8. True love---------Remembrance of Allah is the key to sainthood.

9. Fear of Allah is the key to success.

10. Greed is the key to stinginess.

11. Failure to observe the Sunnah is the key to bid'ah.
[Allamah Ibn al Qayyim]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1109

Ayahs of the Day:
Verily, the conscientious will be in gardens of felicity, enjoying what their Lord has given them; and their Lord preserves them from the torment of blaze: "Eat and drink with gusto for what you used to do." They will be reclining in couches in rows, and We will pair them with large-eyed beauties. [52: 17 to 20]

Hadith of the Day:
If anyone transgresses and receives punishment in this world, God is too just to repeat the punishment of His servant in the next life. And if anyone transgresses and God conceals it and forgives him, He is too generous to go back on a thing He has forgiven. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Even if you studied for a hundred years and collected a thousand books, you would not be eligible for the mercy of God the Exalted except through action. [Imam al-Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
In attempting to change the world according to the ways of the world, we cannot succeed. In working to bring Light to the world according to the way of Light, we cannot fail. Our will has become His will. When we discover that only peace begets peace, we have understood the principle of salvation for all people, and the real answer to the problems of the world. It is true that "unless you are a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem." No man can serve two masters. No man can serve peace while living in discord. And no man can sustain chaos if he is absorbed in harmony.

Absorb yourself, then, in the highest peace that you know, and believe that God, is making this promise to Abraham, who lived for the One God, is making it directly to you: "A great nation shall I make of thee." Believe that from your simple, quiet thoughts and actions will spring forth a new era of peace on the earth. Believe that the destiny of all mankind is in your very hands, for so it is. Believe that you have been put on earth for a purpose, and as you fulfill your purpose, all the people in the world are redeemed. If you believe that it would take a miracle for your life to bring about peace on earth, then believe in miracles, because God sure does. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
A mind enlightened is like heaven; a mind in darkness is like hell. The cultivation of the mind is a kind of food supplied for the soul of man. The mind can be compared to a garden, which it is as necessary to cultivate as any plot of earth, if order and beauty are to be manifested through it.

Pearls of Wisdom....147

Allah Most High has provided a key to for each and every goal:

1. Internal inclination is a key to Divine opportunity/ Tawfeeq.

2. Dua is the key to acceptance.

3. Austerity in this world is the key to inclination toward the akhirah.

4. Meditation is the key to Iman.

5. Iman and sincerity is the key to getting close to Allah.

6. Pondering over the Qur'an, dua at the time of dawn and abstention from sins is the key for reviving the heart.

7. Worshipping Allah as though you are seeing Him and endeavoring to benefit the creation is the key for incurring the mercy of Allah.

8. Seeking forgiveness and fear of Allah is the key to sustenance.

9. Obedience to Allah and His prophet (PBUH) is the key to respect.

10. Laziness and the love of luxuries is the key to destruction and deprivation.

11. Falsehood and lying is the key to hypocrisy.
[Above quotes by Allamah ibn al Qayyim]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1108

Ayahs of the Day:
By the mountain and by a written Book in a spread open scroll, and by the populated house and by the roof raised high and by the brimming sea, the punishment of your Lord will surely come about. None can avert it on the day when the sky sways in agitation and the mountains go into motion: [52: 1 to 10]

Hadith of the Day:
Every faith has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty. [Muwatta]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Never consider sin to be small. Regard sin as great. He who thinks slightly of sin has considered Allah to be insignificant. [Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi]

Guidance of the Day:
The miracle is that each of us really can save the world. Indeed, we must, for what else of value is there to be done? Since there is no order of difficulty in miracles, our desire to save the world must be within our reach. And since the task of our physically maneuvering the world and its people into harmony is unthinkable, there must be some other way.

That way is the way of Spirit, the way of God, the way of Love, which is not confined to time or to space. When we align our hearts and minds with the intentions of Godly Love, we are joining the forces of that power, indeed the only power that can redeem humankind. We have found the only avenue of action that can have any real effect. We have aligned our intentions with Him whose intention is salvation. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Anxiety is the great modern plague, but faith can cure it. Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due. Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. Worry is the only insupportable misfortune of life. What worries you, masters you.

Pearls of Wisdom....146

1. Be very particular about attending funeral prayers and avoid attending festivities. For, funerals remind one of the Hereafter and festivities divert one's attention towards this world.

2. Don't be so sweet that people swallow you, nor so bitter that they spit you out.

3. Don't delay repentance, for death may take you unawares.

4. Do not make friends with stupid people, lest you develop a liking for their foolish talk.

5. Do not incur enmity of a wise man, lest he should turn away from you in disgust-----------and you would be deprived of getting benefit from his wisdom.

6. Let the pious partake of your food, and always consult scholars in your affairs.

7. The worst of men is the one who does not mind being watched while doing an evil deed.

8. Develop the habit of eating less, sleeping less, and talking less.

9. Do not make hasty decisions.

10. Do not miss any opportunity to good, and get the most out of it.
[Above quotes by Hakeem Luqman]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1107

Ayahs of the Day:
And admonish, for admonition profits the believers; and I only created sprites and humans for them to serve Me. I do not want sustenance from them, I do not want them to feed Me. For it is God who is the Provider, endowed with solid power. The lot of those who do wrong is like the lot of their counterparts, so let them not rush Me! So woe to those who scoffed, on account of the day they are promised. [51: 55 to 60]

Hadith of the Day:
The deeds most loved by Allah are those, done regularly, even if they are small. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Good character consists in three traits: avoiding that which is forbidden, seeking that which is permitted, and being generous to one's family. [Imam al-Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:
Each of us can light our own candle, in our own way. We may feel that we have little power to change the destiny of the world, but it is through individuals that the world is changed. One little burning match can start a forest fire. You do not need to be famous or honored to change the world. You need only to be you. As a cab driver, or a housewife, or a tailor, you can bless the world fully.

Greatness is not of the world, but of the heart. Before I offer others salvation, I must have found it myself. Instead of eradicating sinners from the world, I must first eradicate anger, pettiness, and bigotry from myself. Before I can build a house of worship to the Lord, I must first consecrate the temple of my own body and soul. Before I can preach, I must practice. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
One of the greatest moments in anybody's developing experience is when he no longer tries to hide from himself, but determines to get acquainted with himself as he really is. Stop making excuses and start exorcising today! Then go on to pray for, or send blessings to, all the people in your life. Ask to achieve peace in mind and for the strength to become a loving human being.

Pearls of Wisdom....145

1. Sit in the company of Ulama frequently and listen carefully to what the wise men say, Allah Most High gives life to the dead hearts by the Noor of wisdom, just as He revives the dead earth by heavy life giving rains.

2. Recite frequently "O my Lord forgive my sins." For, there are certain hours during which Allah's special favors descend upon His men and everybody is granted whatever he asks from Allah Most High.

3. No one can perform good deeds, unless he possesses a firm belief in Allah Most High. If a person's belief is unsound, he is very weak in performing good actions.

4. Do not be less capable (in devotion) than a rooster which starts crowing at early dawn and you be lying in bed.

5. If Satan were to create doubts in your mind, let your firm belief over power him and silence his whispers.

6. If Satan tempts you to be negligent in virtues, defeat him by the remembrance of the Day of Resurrection.

7. If Satan tempts you towards joys of this world or makes you afraid of the hardships of this life, say to him, 'One must inevitably leave this world', (neither the luxuries nor the hardships are enduring).

8. He who tells a lie loses the freshness of his face.

9. He who cultivates bad habits will ever remain sad.

10 It is easier to move huge mountains from one place to another than to reform the ignorant, stupid--------don't be one. [Above quotes by Hakeem Luqman]