LESSON OF THE DAY 336

Ayah of the Day:
Say, "Who provides for you from the skies and the earth? and who has power over hearing and seeing? And who brings forth the living from the dead, and brings forth the dead from the living? and who governs the order? They will say, "God." So say, "then will you not be alert?" [10:31]

Hadith of the Day:
A person's real wealth is whatever he spends during his life (on good deeds), while the wealth of his heirs is whatever he leaves after his death [Bukhari]WISE

Quote of the Day:
Leaving what is displeasing to Allah is one of the greatest spiritual works. [Sheikh Faraz rabbani]

Guidance of the Day:
Jihad against the ego is the Greater Jihad, for it is a kind of war in which no truce is possible as long as one has an "ego". The prophet (may blessings and peace be upon him) said, "A fighter (mujahid) is someone who fights his caprices, and an emigrant (muhajir) is someone who renounces what God has forbidden." This is because there are certain specific times in which the jihad of armed combat can be carried out, after which it ends, which is not the case with the jihad against the ego.

Similarly, emigration in the time of the Prophet was to Medina. Thus the true fighter did not endure hardships and dangers, heroic battles, and the separation from family and property, until he had conquered his caprices and subdued his ego for the sake of God's pleasure.

It is a well known fact that in the jihad against the ego one must acquire arms, equipment and helpers if one is to be able to subdue it and proceed on the path to the Real so as to attain the station of Tawhid and perfect intimacy in the proximity of the One, the Glorious. Without them there can be no victory. These arms and equipment consist of useful knowledge and good works, which lead to the coolness of certainty and the reality of faith. The helpers are the guides on the Path, who point out its landmarks, and who transmit the Messages of God, and take each others' hands in traveling this rocky terrain and ascending these heights. They are beacons to the travelers, guides to the perplexed, the waymarks, and the very essence of realization. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

LESSON OF THE DAY 335

Ayah of the Day:
As for those who have done evil, evil like it is their reward; and ignominy will cover them. They will have no defense against God. It will be as if their faces were covered with a piece of night, plunging them into the darkness: they are the inmates of the Fire, where they will abide. [10: 27]

Hadith of the Day:
The first to be summoned to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be those who praise God in (both) prosperity and adversity. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The one who blindly follows the dictates of his ego, is like the one who has befriended a sworn enemy of Allah. [Sahl bin Abdullah]

Guidance of the Day:
Jihad is the foremost foundation of religion and its most exalted duty. By means of it, God has raised up the rank of Islam and Muslims, and abased that of idolatry and idolaters. It is the highest form of enjoining good--the highest level of good being Islam and Tawhid--and is the most exalted form of forbidding evil, since the vilest reprehensible things and of sins is disbelief and idolatry. It is an obligation which is a public duty, in which one can either participate in person or through one's wealth.

So let whoever is capable of jihad do it, and let him hurry and roll up his sleeves and be neither lazy nor remiss. And let whoever is not capable harbor good intentions regarding jihad, and pray to God abundantly on behalf of those who go, and help them as much as he can. [Key to the GARDEN]

Du'a of the Week:
Allahumma inna nas aluka hubbaka wa hubba man ahabbaka wa hubba ma yuqarribuna ilaika (O Allah, grant us love of You, and to love those who love You, and to love whatever brings us closer to You).

Food for Thought:
Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves. As a person grows wiser, they talk less and say more.

LESSON OF THE DAY 334

Ayahs of the Day:
And God calls to the abode of peace; and guides anyone, at will, to a straight path. For those who have acted rightly is happiness and more: no dust will cover their faces, and no ignominy. They are the company of the Garden, where they shall abide. [10: 25,26]

Hadith of the Day:
Every sin of a martyr is forgiven except debt. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Love your friend with some reserve,
for he might become inimical to you someday.
Despise your enemy with some reserve,
For he might become your friend someday. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
It is common knowledge that to offer and to accept advice is an obligation, this being among the most important duties which flow from La ilaha illa'llah. No Muslim can avoid either of them; he is not excusable if he remains silent when he sees something reprehensible. Rather he must change or remove it at one of the three degrees of faith mentioned in the hadith: "When one of you sees something reprehensible, he should change it with his hand. If he cannot do this, then with his tongue; and if he cannot, then with his heart, which is the weakest degree of faith."

The first degree, which is to effect the change with one's "hand" can usually be achieved only by those in positions of power and high office, and those appointed by the ruler as judges and police magistrates, and those who have dedicated themselves to struggle for God's sake. The second degree, which is to effect the change by speaking, is available to majority of Muslims, although it is a more emphatic duty for the scholars, since they are aware of the rulings laid down by God the Exalted, and they know how to speak and how to restrain and admonish people by means of sermons and wise words.

The third degree is to change it with one's heart, in which the heart must find it unpleasant and hateful, and implore God to remove it. This is the act of one who is powerless to change it with his hands or tongue. A man who is content with a sin is party to it, even if he is in the East and the perpetrator (of the sin) is in the West. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
This world is our mirror, it mirrors our faults and failings as well as the Divine within us. Every rose is a reflection of a smile or a kind word, and every thorn is the result of an unkind word or action.

LESSON OF THE DAY 333

Ayahs of the Day:
The life of the world is but as water we send down from the sky to be absorbed into the vegetation, from which humans and livestock eat. Then when the earth takes on its golden ornamentation and is all adorned, the people on it think they have power over it. Our order comes to it by night or by day; then We have it mown down, as if it had not flourished the day before. Thus do We explain the signs to people who reflect. [10: 24]

Hadith of the Day:
God has forbidden to you to rebel against your mothers. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The sign that one intimately knows Allah is that his heart is ever increasing in His remembrance. [Sahl bin Abdullah]

Guidance of the Day:
The invoker should beware of absentmindedness while he supplicates God. It is said in a hadith that "God does not respond to the supplication of a distracted heart." How could the heart taste what it does not comprehend or understand what it does not reflect on?

Someone whose heart is full of the images fed to him by his senses will seldom feel the meaning of La ilaha illa'llah,even if he should repeat it a thousand times. On the other hand, if one repeats it only once when one's heart is empty of everything other than God, then one will experience a pleasure which cannot be described in words. Al-Hasan al-Basri once said, "Seek sweetness in three things: Ritual Prayer, Remembrance, and the recitation of Quran. If you find it, then praised be God! But if you do not, then know that the door is closed." The "close" can only be the result of sickness or distraction. Or are there locks on their hearts? (Quran,47:24) [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
In our religion everybody has something they can give back to the society and each of us has a goal that God turns us toward. For us, the message is one of humanity.

LESSON OF THE DAY 332

Ayah of the Day:
Then when God rescues them, behold--they act unjustly on earth, unfairly without reason. O humanity! You only oppress your own selves, as the stuff of the life of the world; after that you will return to Us, and We will tell you about what you had been doing. [10: 23]

Hadith of the Day:
The pleasure of the Lord lies in the pleasure of the parents, and His displeasure in their displeasure. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Know that as long as you neglect to guard your limbs you have neglected to fulfill what you owe to Him. [Sahl bin Abdullah]

Guidance of the Day:
There are three kinds of Remembrance: of the heart, of the tongue, and of the heart and tongue combined, which is superior to the first two.

People have one of the two objectives in Remembrance: the commonality aspire to receive recompense, while the elite aspire to presence and closeness to God. Between the two degrees there lies a vast gulf, which separates those who gain recompense while remain behind their veil and those who draw nearer until they join the elect among the beloved.

Should you aim to be blessed with a luminous heart,
That is pure from alterities, hold fast to Remembrance!
You should keep it always, by morning and night,
And in every state, with your tongue and your heart.
For should you adhere to it with concentration,
A light will appear unlike the full moon or sun;
A light that proceeds from God, that He mentions
In the Sura of Light--so recite it with care. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
True religion is real living, living with one's soul, with one's goodness and righteousness. Pursue modern education only after getting the foundation of your faith right if you don't wish to be misled.

LESSON OF THE DAY 331

Ayah of the Day:
It is God Who eases your way on land and sea, even when you are in ships: for they travel on them by good winds, and rejoice thereat; but when a violent wind comes, and surging waves come upon them from all sides, and they think they are surrounded by them, they call to God with sincere religiosity, "If you rescue us from this, we will really be grateful!" [10:22]

Hadith of the Day:
Those who wish their lives to be prolonged, their provision to be increased, and to be protected against an evil death, let them fear God and safeguard their kinship bonds. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Of all worldly possessions, few are more precious than a grateful heart. It is a wellspring of belief, attuning us to the Divine presence and driving us to His worship. [Imam Magid bin Muhammad]

Guidance of the Day:
Remembrance is the greatest station for worshippers, where they take their traveling provisions, make bargains, and to which they constantly return. God has assigned times and numbers to all forms of worship except Remembrance, with regard to which He simply commanded us to do it abundantly, without setting any limits. He has said, "O believers! Remember God abundantly! (33:41), meaning that it should be done in all circumstances, night and day, on land and sea, in sickness and in health, at home or when traveling, silently and loud.

He has allowed no excuses for forsaking it, except for those whose faculty of reason has departed. There is a hadith recorded by bukhari and Muslim that states that "those who remember their Lord and those who do not are like the living and the dead." And the Prophet (may blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, "shall I tell you which action is the best and the purest in the sight of your Lord, is most elevating to your degrees, and which is better for you than giving away gold and silver, and than encountering your enemies so that you may strike at their necks and they strike at yours?" "Please do, O Messenger of God!" they said. And he told them, "The Remembrance of God." [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
Avoid greed for greed itself is poverty. The richest is the one who is not entrapped by greed. Wealth does not reside in the amount of one's property, but rather in one's own needlessness.

LESSON OF THE DAY 330

Ayah of the Day:
When We have made people taste mercy after misfortune has touched them, behold--they plot against Our signs. Say,"God is swifter to plan!" For Our emissaries record what you plot. [10: 21]

Hadith of the Day:
Know your lineages, that you may be able to maintain your kinship bonds. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The one desires the bounties of this world should strive to keep the company of the righteous and content. [Harith al Muhasabi]

Guidance of the Day:
Remembrance is to feel the presence of the One Remembered in one's heart and to free oneself from distraction and forgetfulness. This is accomplished by maintaining the heart in a state of constant attentiveness, articulating the Remembrance with the tongue and forsaking the fold of awareness for the wide space of Witnessing.

Remembrance is the companion and spirit of actions. See how God pairs it with the ritual Prayer, which is the best of all acts of worship, and makes Remembrance the very reason for it, when He says, Establish the Prayer for My Remembrance. (20:14). The Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said, "God the Exalted says, "I am the companion of the one who remembers Me"--and what must you think of someone whose companion is God Himself! This is a special attribute of Remembrance: attending to the Exalted Presence and attainment to the rank of proximity, which is expressed by "being with" and "companionship."

Food for Thought:
If you are truthful, if you are good tempered, if you are moderate in taking food, and if you are trustworthy, then you are rich and should not wish for the possessions that you may not have. These four qualities are enough possessions and wealth for a wise person.

LESSON OF THE DAY 329

Ayahs of the Day:
Say, "Had God willed, I would not have recited it to you, and God would not have taught it to you. And I have sojourned among you for a lifetime before this; so won't you understand? So who does more wrong than one who invents falsehood about God or repudiates the signs of God? Sinners do not attain their aim. [10: 16,17]

Hadith of the Day:
A believer is affable and easy to approach. There is no good in those who are neither affable nor easy to approach. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
O son of Adam! Be your own administrator in respect to your wealth, and do with it what you wish would be done with it after your passing. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
People of sound intellect know that this world is a place of constant change and a road that leads to the Abode of the Afterlife. This is why it is called dunya: short-lived, swiftly evanescent. Its first stage is the cradle, its last the grave. The destination is either the Garden or the Fire. A lifetime, therefore, is a distance to be covered, of which the years are its stages.

Time and days are a man's capital, while his inclinations, his desires, and his various ambitions are the highway robbers. His success is to meet with God and attain everlasting happiness. He loses by being veiled from God and being consigned to the painful torment of Hell.

For this reason the intelligent believer transforms all his breaths into acts of obedience and fills them only with the Remembrance (dhikr) of God. The man who is guilty of heedlessness, even if only for the space of a single breath in his entire lifetime, exposes himself to endless remorse and irreparable ruin. Continuous Remembrance is beat accomplished by excellence in devotion and committing oneself solely to Him. This results in one finding serenity and contentment. Serenity arises from certainty, just as restlessness comes from doubt. The Remembrance of God brings tranquility to the hearts of believers and allows certainty to dwell therein. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
The cure for ignorance is to ask and learn. The most ignorant is the one who does not learn from the changes in the world.

LESSON OF THE DAY 328

Ayah of the Day:
Yet when Our clear signs are rehearsed to them, those who do not look forward to meeting Us say, "Bring a recital other than this, or change it." Say, "It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what has been revealed to me. Indeed I fear, if I disobeyed my Lord, the torment of a terrible day. [10: 15]

Hadith of the Day:
Whosoever shields a Muslim, God will shield him in this world and the next. And God continues to aid the servant so long as the servant is aiding his brother. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The deceased await your imminent arrival, so gather now your provisions for that journey. [Dawud Tai]

Guidance of the Day:
Inward struggle (mujahada) is an interaction between a man and his ego, which he drives toward that which is both immediate and ultimate benefit, and results in success and happiness, during which time it resists him and pulls him toward its whims, in accordance with its nature. It is also the interaction between him and his other enemies, the strongest of whom is Satan the repudiate. He has to guard himself against the latter, fight the disbelievers (who aggress), support Islam, rebut the people of falsehood, suppress the unjust, enjoin good, and forbid evil.

A man's ego (the nafs which incites to evil) is contained between his flanks and is the fiercest of his enemies. There is a tradition to the effect: "Your worst enemy is your ego which lies between your flanks." Because of this, the jihad against the ego is the "Greater Jihad," whereas jihad against armed enemies is the "Lesser Jihad."

Someone who eats just enough for his sustenance, sleeps just enough to gain rest, speaks only when appropriate, mixes with people only rarely--for fear of falling into some blameworthy form of conduct--is worthy to hold the reins of his ego, so that he may lead it along the path of the noble ones, which is the way of Shari'a. [Key to the GARDEN]


Du'a of the Week:
Allahumma azhib anniyal hamma wal huzn (O Allah remove from me grief and sorrow, ameen).

Food for Thought:
Moderate spending is half the earning, making friends is half the wisdom, and asking questions is half the knowledge.

LESSON OF THE DAY 327

Ayahs of the Day:
We destroyed communities before you when they did wrong. Their messengers came to them with clarifications, but they could not believe. Thus do We requite sinful people. Then We made you successors on earth after them, that We might see how you act. [10: 13,14]

Hadith of the Day:
Whosoever lightens the burden of someone in need, God will lighten his burden in this world and the next. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The presence of taqwa is recognizes by three things: Rushing to fulfill Allah's commands; seeking nothing from people; speaking and acting only what benefits one in this life and in the Hereafter. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

Guidance of the Day:
This is a reminder, so whoever wishes will take a path to his Lord (76:29), which means the path to His gnosis, good pleasure, and proximity to Him in His Garden. Such a path consists, inwardly, of strengthening one's faith and certainty through remembrance and reflection, and, outwardly, zealous seeking useful knowledge through the senses, performing good actions-- which are the Law (Shari'a)--and maintaining sincerity and courtesy, and keeping the company of the people of gnosis, so that one may reach the serenity of certitude, which is realization.

God the Exalted has said, We shall guide to Our paths those who strive for Our sake (29:69). In this noble verse the Generous Lord promises to guide those who strive sincerely for His sake to the paths which lead to His pleasure and proximity. This guidance is the result of striving and of correctly following the Sunna. It is the unveiling of the clear Truth and the appearance of things from the unseen. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
If we listen closely to the words of the wise, and we act upon them, perhaps we ourselves will one day be counted among their ranks. Then, our own words will serve to guide others.

LESSON OF THE DAY 326

Ayah of the Day:
And when trouble touches man, he cries to Us laying on his side, sitting and standing; but when we removed his trouble from him, he goes as if he never called Us for trouble that touched him. Thus do their habits seem good to the wasteful. [10: 12]

Hadith of the Day:
Whosoever relieves a believer from one of the hardships of this world, God will relieve him from one of the hardships of the Day of Rising. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The righteous deeds are performed by the righteous and the wicked. However only the truthful ones avoid the sinful deeds. [Sahl ibn Abdullah al Tustari]

Guidance of the Day:
A believer's reflection may lead him to some of the deep mysteries of Tawhid, its unseen secrets, and its hidden realities. He must reflect on how he had needed his Lord's creative ability to make and fashion his human form and that he must therefore need His grace and illumination to guide his essential nature.He must not ground his faith in the conclusions of human thinking, but must rather flee from his confusion to God and His Messenger, and entreat his Lord to bestow His assistance upon him, which will do away with his need for any other until such time as he witnesses only Him.

He must say, "O Lord, I seek refuge in You, lest my faith in You and what You have revealed be the product of rationalization that is tarnished by the attributes of the ego or by a mind that is mixed with the murkiness of human fallibility. Rather let it be from Your manifest light, Your most exalted assistance, the light of Your Prophet, the Chosen One, and his blessings."Thus you will find peace and cool tranquility. This is the way the rightly guided man follows in his time of need, whenever his thoughts are in turmoil and conflict. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool -- shun him.

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child -- teach him.

He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep -- wake him.

He who knows, and knows that he knows, is a wise man -- follow him.

LESSON OF THE DAY 325

Ayah of the Day:
If God accelerated the ill for people as they wish to hasten the good, their time would be determined. So we leave those who do not look forward to meeting with Us wandering lost in their excess. [10: 11]

Hadith of the Day:
It is sufficiently evil for a man do despise his brother Muslim. The whole of a Muslim is inviolable to another Muslim: his blood, property, and honor. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
It is sufficient as a sin for a person that he continues to be argumentative. And it is sufficient as a sin for a person that he continues to be quarelsome. [Abu Darda radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Know that you should reflect on imminence of death and the regret and remorse which occur when it is too late. God has said: Say: the death that you flee from will indeed meet you, and you will then be returned to the knower of the unseen, and He will inform you of that which you had been doing (62:8); Until when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord! Send me back, that I may do good in that which I have left!" No! It is but a word he says (23:99). The benefit of this kind of reflection is that hopes become short, behavior finer, and provision is gathered for the Appointed Day.

You should also reflect on those attributes and acts by which God has described His friends and His enemies, and on the immediate and delayed recompense which He has prepared for each group. He has said, The righteous are in felicity, and the depraved are in Hell (82:13-14); The result of this kind of reflection is that you come to love the fortunate, habituate yourself to emulating their behavior and to taking on their qualities. You should, with each kind of reflection , bring to mind those verses, hadiths, and other narratives which relate to it. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
Wedding gifts come in beautiful wrappings, and the most beautiful of all is a happy family all wrapped up in one another.

LESSON OF THE DAY 324

Ayah of the Day:
As for those who believe and do good works, their Lord will guide them through their faith; rivers will flow below them, in gardens of felicity. Their call there will be, "Glory to You, O God!" And their greeting there will be "Peace." And the close of their call will be, "All praise is for God, Lord of all worlds." [10: 9,10]

Hadith of the Day:
None of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Contentment is kingdom enough; goodness of character is prosperity enough. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Know that you must reflect on your shortcomings in worshipping your lord and your exposing yourself to His wrath should you do what He has forbidden you. He has said, I created jinn and men only to worship Me (51:56); Do you think that We created you in vain and that to Us you will not be returned? (23:115) and O mankind! You shall surely toil toward your Lord laboriously and you shall meet Him (84:16). This kind of reflection increases your fear of God, encourages you to blame and reproach yourself, to avoid remissness, and persevere in your zeal.

You must also reflect on this worldly life, its numerous preoccupations and hazards, and the swiftness with which it perishes, and reflect on the Afterlife and its felicity and permanence. God the Exalted has said, Thus does God render the signs clear to you, so that you may reflect on this world and the Afterlife (2:220); But you prefer the life of the world, when the Afterlife is better and more abiding (77:17); and The life of the world is but distraction and play; while the Last Abode is indeed the Life, if they but knew (29:64). This kind of reflection results in losing all desire for the world and in wishing for the Afterlife. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
Look for what you do, for that is what you are worth. Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough we must do.

LESSON OF THE DAY 323

Ayahs of the Day:
As for those who do not look forward to meeting Us, but are pleased with the life of this world and satisfied with it, and those who are heedless of Our signs, their abode is the fire, on account of what they have earned. [10: 7,8]

Hadith of the Day:
Have compassion for those on earth and the One in the heaven will have compassion on you. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Be shy toward Allah when you are in private in the same way that you are shy toward the people when you are in public. [Ka'ab radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Know that you must reflect on the favors of God and His bounties which He caused to reach you. He has said, Should you (attempt to) number the favors of God, you will not be able to do so (45:18); and All things that you possess are from God(46:53). This kind of reflection results in the heart filling with the love of God and continuously rendering thanks to Him, inwardly and outwardly, in a manner that pleases and satisfies Him.

You should also reflect on God's complete awareness of you, and His seeing and knowing all about you: He is with you wherever you may be, and God sees what you do (57:14). This kind of reflection results in your feeling ashamed before God should He see you where He has forbidden you to be or miss you where He has commanded you to be. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
There is very little difference between the man who knows it all and the man who knows nothing. A wise person acquires knowledge even from those who have none themselves.

LESSON OF THE DAY 322

Ayah of the Day:
For in the alteration of night and day, and what God has created in the heavens and the earth are signs for conscientious people. [10: 6]

Hadith of the Day:
Someone who sets forth in search of knowledge is busy in the cause of God until he returns from his quest. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
O Son of Adam! You are but a bundle of days, as each day passes away a portion of you vanishes away! [Hasan al Basri]

Guidance of the Day:
You should have a wird of reflection in every twenty-four hours, for which you should set aside one or more hours. The best time for reflection is the one which contains the fewest occupations and worries, and the most potential for the heart to be present, such as the depths of the night

Know that the state of one's religious and worldly affairs depends upon the soundness of one's reflection. Anyone who has a share of it has an abundant of everything good. It has been said, "An hour's reflection is better than a year worship." Ali (ibn Abi Talib), may God honor his face, has said, "There is no worship like reflection." And it has been said, "Reflection is the lamp of the heart; if it departs, the heart will have no light.

The ways of reflection are many. One, which is the most noble of them, is to reflect on the wonders of God's dazzling creation, the inward and outward sign of His Ability, and the signs He has scattered abroad in the realm of the earth and the heavens. This kind of reflection increases your knowledge of the Essence, Attributes and Names of God. He has encouraged by saying, "Say: Look at what is in the heavens and the earth! You yourself are one of the wondrous creatures He has made, and you should therefore reflect on yourself, for He has said, In the earth are signs for those who have certainty, and in yourselves; can you not see? [Key to the GARDEN]

Du'a of the Week:
Allahumma qanni'ni bima razaqtani wa baarikli fihi (O Allah! Make me content with what You provided me with, and bless me in it).

Food for Thought:
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

LESSON OF THE DAY 321

Ayah of the Day:
It is God who has made the sun shine and the moon glow, and determined lunar phases that you may know the number of the years, and the calculation. God did not create that in any way but right; God makes these signs clear to people who discern. [10: 5]

Hadith of the Day:
It is part of the soundness of a man's faith that he leaves alone that which does not concern him. {Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
What has he lost who has found You (O Allah), and what has he found who has lost You (O Allah). [Ibn AtaIllah]

Guidance of the Day:
Once it is made easy for one, reflection is one of the noblest acts of worship, for it implies the Remembrance of God and brings about an increase in attachment and love. For the heart loves only the one who it believes has greatness, and the greatness of God the Exalted is only revealed through knowledge of His Attributes, ability, and the marvels of His works. In this way, reflection leads to knowledge, which in turn leads to reverence, which leads on to love.

Imam al Ghazali (may God sanctify his secret!) has said, "A man who reflects at length in order to know God, and has had unveiled to him even the minutest of the secrets of His kingdom, will find in his heart such joy and bliss in this unveiling that he will almost fly, and he will be amazed at his own steadfastness and firmness." [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
One of the basic ingredient of a successful marriage is mutual trust. Stable marriages are the basis to stable communities, it is the very fabric by which Muslim society is weaved, and tearing that fabric is disastrous for one's family and one's community.

LESSON OF THE DAY 320

Ayah of the Day:
It is to God that you return, all: the promise of God is true. For it is God who begins the creation, and then repeats it to reward with justice those who have faith and do good works. as for those who scoff, they will have a drink of scalding water, and a painful penalty for disbelieving. [10: 4]

Hadith of the Day:
Modesty and faith are close companions; should one of them be lost, the other will be too. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
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]

Guidance of the Day:
Reflection is the kohl of the inner eye. It is the roaming of the heart in the meanings of things in order to reach its goal. It is with reflection that one dives for the pearls of higher realities. If one's reflection is free from flaws, it will attain to the sources of Realization. It is said that it is the "lamp of the heart, which renders visible the good and evil which it contains, and what may benefit it or bring it harm." This is because a heart devoid of reflection is devoid of light as a dark house, and a house devoid of light will contain nothing but ignorance, pride, and beguilement.

An hour's reflection is better than a whole night spent in worship. "Reflection is the mirror of the believer, in which he looks at his works, evil and good." There are several kinds of reflection. Some reflect on the evanescent nature of this world, and the way in which it betrays those who pursue it. This gives them patience, which causes their detachment to grow.

Some reflect on the beautiful reward which is in store for the worshippers, so that their ardor and enthusiasm for it wax stronger. Some reflect on the favors and blessed gifts of God and on the secrets of the Names and Attributes. In this way they increase in love for their Exalted and Majestic Creator. Some reflect on the proofs and evidences which lead to faith. Exalted, then, is the state of he who does all four! [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
The truth is the strongest argument. The greatest homage you can pay to the truth is to use it. The bare truth in newspapers does not always get proper coverage.

LESSON OF THE DAY 319

Ayah of the Day:
Your Lord is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then mounted the throne, managing the order. There is no intercessor but on condition of divine permission. That is God for you, your Lord--so serve God. Won't you remain mindful? [10: 3]

Hadith of the Day:
He who believes in God and the Last Day should speak in a noble manner or remain silent. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Taqwa is not praying during the late night and fasting during the day and mixing between permissible and impermissible. But taqwa is to fulfill what Allah has obligated and avoid what Allah has forbidden. If in addition to that there are some good voluntary deeds, it is goodness upon goodness. [Omar ibn Abdul Azeez]

Guidance of the Day:
It is forbidden to harbor hatred for Muslims or to repudiate or boycott them. To insult them is corruption, and to wage war on them--with the claim that it is lawful to do so--is disbelief. In the heart of the believer, the word of tawhid and faith is goodly both in form and in meaning, for it expresses the nobility of tawhid and creates in the heart certainty which illuminates its every part, thereby making it goodly in its corporeal as well as incorporeal faculties. Its root, on which it arises, is knowledge of God and ascribing oneness and worship to Him alone.

A believer's good works will continue to be raised up and accepted, day and night, and draw their due profit from his Lord, as long as the tree of his faith is verdant and its branches covered in leaves. Only a hardened loser loses in his dealings with God. Only a hardened loser who persistently refuses all the graces and help extended to him by God--only such a person loses in the end. For none can lose who accepts even a few of the innumerable mercies offered to him by his Generous Lord. God has made it easy for the believers to enter Paradise and has opened so many avenues to success that only the most obtuse can fail to make use of some of them. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
You never know what you can say or do that can change a person's whole day--whole life, that is why it is so important to say nothing but good. The power of a kind word or deed is indescribable.

LESSON OF THE DAY 318

Ayah of the Day:
But if they turn away, then say, "God is sufficient for me; there is no other deity; It is in God that I put my trust, as Lord of the lofty throne." [9: 129]

Hadith of the Day:
When god loves certain people He tests them; those who are content He is content with them, and those who are discontent he is discontented with them. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
To return one-sixth of a dirham (illegally gotten) is preferred to spending one hundred thousand dirhams in the way of Allah. {Abdullah ibn Omar]

Guidance of the Day:
Know that all the ties that may exist between Muslims, Islam itself is the strongest. It forms a bond between the easterner and the westerner, between the black and the white. The bond of Islam gathers them, and, through its brotherhood, relationships between widely different groups are harmonized. They are equal regardless of their lineage; the lowest among them can speak on their behalf, and they are united as one hand against all others.

They are concerned about one another irrespective of distance, and each rejoices when good fortune befalls his brethren, and is saddened when they are afflicted by hardships and difficulties. Each prays to God for his brothers in their absence, in gatherings and on pulpits. Each prays that God check those who threaten Islam, whether they be the aggressors, the immoral, the workers of corruption, or the disbelievers.

For the Muslims, Islam is his finest banner, in which he takes pride and by which he is ennobled in every situation, so that he becomes angered when it is slandered or attacked. He sacrifices his own life and what is dearest to him in its defense, for it is his most precious jewel, and the greatest of the gifts bestowed upon him by God. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Muslims to unite in harmony, to help each other and stand shoulder to shoulder against the adversaries of Islam and those who conspire against it and seek to bring harm to its people. It is their duty to sacrifice their lives and their wealth to make the Word of God prevail, and to bring power and honor to Islam and Muslims everywhere. "Islam is the highest grace; ever to bless a people's place." [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
First think and then speak. No answer is also an answer. Never answer a question until it is asked. You will never be hurt by something you didn't say.

LESSON OF THE DAY 317

Ayah of the Day:
There has come to you a messenger from among yourselves; it weighs heavily on him that you be ruined, he is anxious for you, compassionate and merciful to the believers. [9: 128]

Hadith of the Day:
When a believer suffers hardship it is an atonement and a purification for him, unless he attributes what ails him to other than God and prays to other than God for relief. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
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]

Guidance of the Day:
Know that the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil must be carried out with wisdom and goodly exhortation. Should it be necessary to enter into a debate with someone, this must be done in the best way possible. This is more likely to lead to acceptance and success; to do otherwise would be erroneous and foolish.

It is the consensus (ijma) of the Nation that it is forbidden to accuse anyone of disbelief who recognizes the Qibla, unless he denies God, commits blatant idolatry not open to interpretation, denies Prophecy, rejects whatever else is known to be an indispensable part of religion, or something which has been handed down by many chains of transmission (tawatur) or indispensable knowledge that has been confirmed by the consensus of the Nation.

Anyone who rejects something which is known to be an indispensable part of religion, such as Tawhid,Prophecy, Muhammad's status as "Seal of the Messengers (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him), the Resurrection on the last Day, the judgment, reward and punishment, or the Garden and the Fire, is a disbeliever. No Muslim may claim ignorance as his excuse for this, unless he has only recently entered Islam, in which case he is excusable until he learns about them. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
In an argument the best weapon to hold is the tongue. He who blows in the fire will get sparks in his eyes.

LESSON OF THE DAY 316

Ayahs of the Day:
Do they not see they are tested once or twice a year? Yet they do not repent, and they do not learn.Whenever a chapter is revealed, they look at each other: "Does anyone see you?" Then they go away. God has diverted their hearts, because they are people who do not understand. [9: 126,127]

Hadith of the Day:
God, in His equity and justice, has made joy and relief the consequence of contentment; and worry and sorrow the consequence of discontent. [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The worshippers of Allah do not worship in anyway better than avoiding what Allah has forbidden. [Hasan al Basri]

Guidance of the Day:
A further kind of deviation is that committed by certain recent commentators on the Quran, who have imagined themselves to be possessed of knowledge which would allow them to comment on the Quran in a novel way unknown to the commentators of old.

They gave themselves the title of "Renewers" and proceeded the prostration of the sun as its "rotation," the angels and jinn as "forces," and so forth. Their argument was that since they had not observed in the visible world the sun prostrating, the existence of angels or jinn, they are obliged to ignore the evident meaning of the words and interpret them as references to these claims that their minds could accommodate.

They are oblivious to the fact that because something is inaccessible to the senses does not mean that it does not exist. Many things in existence are invisible to the eye and can only be perceived through their effects, such as the spirits, electricity, various forms of energy, and other things which lie behind matter. These people deny the very existence of angels and jinn in the world, and this is the precursor to explicit disbelief. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
Money talks--it says "good bye," but it doesn't say when it's coming back. The easiest way to be poor is to pretend to be rich. Nothing sets a person back like keeping up a front.

LESSON OF THE DAY 315

Ayahs of the Day:
When a chapter is revealed, some of them say, "Which of you is increased in faith by this?" In the case of those who believe, it increases their faith, and they rejoice. As for those with sickness in their hearts, it will add doubt to their doubt, and they will die as atheists [9: 124,125]

Hadith of the Day:
He has not thanked God who does not thank men. [Tirmidhi,Abu Dawud]

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

Guidance of the Day:
In every generation God has entrusted the defense of His Religion, His Sharia, His Book, and the hadiths of His Messenger to trustworthy imams, who have researched, recorded, elucidated, and transmitted reports from the bearer of Message (may God's blessings and peace be upon him and his family), from his companions, their followers, and the imams of the Muslims, thereby bringing to naught the fraud and distortion of the extremists and mischief-makers.

They studied and researched grammar and the facts of the Sharia. They examined the Prophetic hadiths meticulously, and sifted them with the utmost care. Their sciences and behavior were a lantern of light which irradiated the whole Muslim world and illuminated the path of those who sought to acquire knowledge, practice it, and study the Book of God and the prophetic hadiths. their knowledge furnished devastating proofs against the claims of the distorters and misinterpreters.

Muslims should rely on the explanations and clarifications made by these imams regarding their religion, the practice of their Sharia, and the understanding of its text and rulings. Let Muslims beware of deviant and the false interpretations they propagate among the common people, for they represent nothing but sedition and error. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
Keep an open mind, but don't keep it too open or people will throw a lot of rubbish into it. There is a limit to everything, except the number of untrue things people will believe.

LESSON OF THE DAY 314

Ayah of the Day:
The believers should not go forth all together; why not have a group from every band of them stay behind to apply themselves to understanding the religion and to preach the people, when they return to them, that they may be aware? [9: 122]

Hadith of the Day:
When you ask, ask only God, and when you seek help, seek only God's help. And know that if the whole nation were to unite to benefit you, they would benefit you only with something that God has (already) decreed for you; and were they to unite to harm you, they would harm you with something that God has (already) decreed for you. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The way to attract people to Islam is not self-righteous sermonizing, but sincere and selfless service. [Prof. Tariq Ramadan]

Guidance of the Day:
The Messenger of God (may blessings and peace be upon him) spoke the truth when he said, "God does not remove knowledge by seizing it from people, but by seizing the scholars (in death), until, when none of them remain, people will choose ignorant leaders who when asked will give legal judgments not based on knowledge, such that they go astray and lead others astray." This hadith contains a dire warning not to seek legal judgments from the ignorant nor to follow their pronouncements.

They attempt to solve problems and deliver legal judgments (fatwas) that have newly presented themselves though they have neither studied the principles (usul) nor the jurisprudence at the hands of a real master who knows the texts; nor have they been accredited or permitted to lecture--let alone give legal judgments--by those qualified to give such authorizations.

It is also a powerful threat to those who give legal judgments without being possessed of knowledge, for it brands such a person as one who has himself strayed and is leading others astray. If those self-deceivers knew how hazardous this attitude was, and that they stand on the very precipice of Hell, they would retreat from their fearful position. [Key of the GARDEN]

Du'a of the Week:
Allahumma inna na'oozubika min khizyiddunya wa azaabil akhirah (O Allah we seek refuge in You from the disgrace of this world and the punishment of the Hereafter ,ameem.)

Food for Thought:
Something to do will keep us busy, something to love will keep us motivated and something to hope for will take us faster towards our goal.

LESSON OF THE DAY 313

Ayah of the Day:
And any help they (the believers) give, be little or much, and any alley they ford, it is recorded in their favor, that God may recompense them for the best of what they did. [9:121]

Hadith of the Day:
Guard (your duties toward) God and He will guard you; guard (your duties toward) God and you will find Him before you. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Everyone in this world is a guest, and his money is but a loan. The guest must return sooner or later and the loan must be returned. [Ibn Mas'ud radiAllah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
No translation could possibly do justice to the Quran's meanings, purposes, and aims. It would be devoid of its qualities of eloquent clear expression, the secrets of its inimitable miraculousness, the awe it inspires, and its majesty. This is why the scholars all agreed that it is impossible to translate the Quran literally in any way that would truly correspond to it and reproduce its meanings and intents, or convey its secrets and special properties. The productions of those who have had the audacity to try are very far-off indeed from the Quran, and represent an obvious attempt to tamper with its holiness.

As for literal translations which lay no claim to an identical status, they are less perilous than the sort discussed above, but are still incapable of reproducing the meanings of the verses or of possessing the unique aspects of eloquence, or the secrets of the Quran's miraculousness.

However to translate only the meanings of the Quran and the sayings of the reliable commentators into any language is required, although it must be done by those who can translate well, and without altering the original meanings. In this way those who know no Arabic, or not enough, will be able to know the true nature of the Islamic call and what it involves, through the meanings of the Quranic verses, and that is what Muslims have been doing ever since the scholars started writing commentaries on the Quran. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
Conscience: that still voice that makes you still smaller. The best tranquilizer is a clear conscience. Most of us follow our conscience as we follow a wheel barrow, we push it in front of us in the direction we want to go.

LESSON OF THE DAY 312

Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, be conscious of God, and be with the sincere. It was not fitting for the people of the city and the desert Arabs around them to stay behind the messenger of God, or to prefer themselves to him. That is because whatever thirst or fatigue or hunger they undergo in the cause of God, whatever steps they take that incense the atheists, whatever happens to them from an enemy, it is recorded in their favor as a good deed. for God does not neglect the reward of those who do good. [9: 119,120]

Hadith of the Day:
Love God for the gifts that He bestows upon you, love me for the love of God, and love my family for the love of me. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
As for those that reject the four madhabs and pretend to follow Qur'an and Sunna independently today, they are like one who rejects rocket technology and says he'll go to the moon on his own good feet. BON VOYAGE. [Gibril Haddad]

Guidance of the Day:
It is necessary for anyone who wishes to derive judgments of Shari'a from the two sources, which are the Book and the Sunna,to be fully versed in both, in the way set out in the science of the Principles of Jurisprudence (Usul al Fiqh).

He must also have a mastery of classical Arabic, including rhetoric and other well-known disciplines, for this is the indispensable tool for understanding the "Clear Arabic Book," whose supremacy of style and variety of expression attain to the level of the miraculous; and (it is required also) for understanding the Sunna that has been transmitted from the most eloquent man ever to speak Arabic and from his Companions, who were unsurpassed in their eloquence.

It is not permissible for anyone lacking any of these tools to undertake this grave matter, for he would go astray and lead others astray, thereby committing a monstrous sin. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value. Fools think that they need no advice, but the wise listen to others.

LESSON OF THE DAY 311

Ayahs of the Day:
God will not mislead a people after having guided them, to make clear to them what to beware. For God knows everything. It is to God that the dominion of the heavens and the earth belongs; God gives life, and causes death; and you have no protector and no savior aside from God. [9: 115,116]

Hadith of the Day:
The best generation is my generation, then that which will follow, then that which will follow. [Bukhari]

(These three generations were specifically mentioned by the Prophet, may God's blessings and peace be upon him, and this is why they are to this day greatly revered and taken as models by most Muslims).

Wise Quote of the Day:
Disputes that escalate to high levels can often only be defused if only one of the parties lays down its arms and surrenders, preferring family harmony and the pleasure of God Most High over personal grudges. [Hamza Karamali]

Guidance of the Day:
In His Book, God the Exalted has commanded that the Sunna of His Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) be followed. This was made a duty and an obligation, and therefore no faith can be sound without it. To deny that the Sunna should be followed is disbelief because it is a denial of what has been stated in the Qur'an.

This is the reason why Muslims have taken such great care with hadith, from the days of the Companions until the present. These were recorded and transmitted verbally and in writing, and researched in the most profound manner as regards their memorization, accuracy, recording, and freedom from flaws.

Only those whose faith is defective regarding the one who brought the Sunna would detract from its value or altogether snub it; by so doing they would set themselves outside the consensus, method, and doctrine of the Muslims, and would show themselves to be either ignorant of Islam or its blatant foes. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
What I see in nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility.

LESSON OF THE DAY 310

Ayah of the Day:
Those who repent, those who serve, those who praise, those who bow, those who journey and fast, those who prostrate themselves, those who enjoin good and forbid evil, and those who keep the ordinances of God: announce the good news to the believers. [9: 112]

Hadith of the Day:
God shall remove the fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and cast the weakness into your yours, as a result of the disease called wahn; meaning the love of this world and the aversion of death. [Abu dawud, Ahmad]

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

Guidance of the Day:
Know that a large proportion of those who suffer an evil end consists of people who neglect their obligatory ritual Prayer and Zakat, ferret out the hidden faults of other Muslims, and who cheat when giving measure and weight (Quran,11:84), and deceive, defraud, and delude other Muslims in matters of religion.

Similar are those who detract from the Prophetic Sunna, and call for a reduction in its status by creating suspicions and doubts about it, despite the fact that it is the greatest collection of Prophetic literature in the human history. No Prophet has had so much preserved of his sayings, acts, and states as our Prophet Mohammad (may blessings and peace be upon him). The Sunna contains an unrivaled collection of legislation, social organization, extraordinary concepts, and comprehensive sciences.

The Sunna consists of the sayings, acts, and approvals of the Messenger of God (May God's blessings and peace be upon him and his family). The Sunna is a clarification and an explanation of the Qur'an.The Prophet (may blessings and peace be upon him) elucidated and explained in detail, in his words, deeds. and approval or disapproval of other people's acts, what had been sent forth in more general terms in the Book. The obedient servant who follows the example of the Greatest Beloved (may God's blessings and peace be upon him), becomes beloved by God, by virtue of his love of His Beloved. [Key to the GARDEN}

Food for Thought:
A person with a reservoir of knowledge is not well educated unless they know when to turn the spigot off and on. There is no need to show your ability before everyone.

LESSON OF THE DAY 309

Ayah of the Day:
God has accepted their persons and property from the believers in exchange for paradise for them--they fight in the cause of God, so they kill and are killed--as a promise binding on God in the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Qur'an. And who is more faithful to a promise than God? So be happy with the bargain you've made, for that is the great success. [9: 111]

Hadith of the Day:
It is not poverty that I fear for you, but I fear that the world shall open its gates for you, that you shall compete for it, and that it will destroy you as it has destroyed them. [Bukhari]

(The destruction in question is obviously religious and moral, having to do with the state of the people on the Day of Judgment)

Wise Quote of the Day:
Destroyed is the one who does not have a heart that recognize what is good and what is evil. [Abdullah ibn Mas'ud]

Guidance of the Day:
To die believing in Tawhid and Islam is the ultimate happiness this life has to offer. A Muslim continually implores and asks God to make him die as a Muslim, and this is how God has described His Prophets and the righteous among His servants. He has stated that Joseph (peace be upon him) said, "You are my Patron in this world and in the next; make me die a Muslim, and make me join the virtuous"(12:101). He has exhorted that Abraham and Jacob (peace be upon them) exhorted their children to die as Muslims.

One should strive properly to guard one's Islam and to strengthen it by complying with God's commands. A person who neglects God's commands exposes himself to the risk of dying outside Islam, for his lack of obedience is proof of his low opinion of the rights religion has over him.

One should avoid transgressions and sins, for these weaken one's Islam, shake its foundations, and put one in danger of it being snatched away at the time of death. Likewise, one should continually ask God for a good ending, so that one dies with the Testimony, and one should dread a bad ending, for it leads to perdition. [Key to the GARDEN]

Food for Thought:
The line between self-confidence and conceit is very narrow. A conceited person never gets anywhere because he thinks he is already there.

LESSON OF THE DAY 308

Ayah of the Day:
As for the first vanguard of the emigrants and the helpers and those who followed them in good deeds, God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with God. And God has prepared gardens for them beneath which rivers flow, where they will abide for ever. That is the great salvation. [9: 100]

Hadith of the Day:
He is not one of us who imitates other than us. He who imitates certain people is one of them [Tirmidhi, Abu dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
By Allah it is not allowed for you to harm a dog or a pig without a just cause, how then can you harm a Muslim? [Fudhail ibn Iyaadh]

Guidance of the Day:
Jihad is the struggle to fulfill the rights and responsibilities of one's family as well as those who are close, such as neighbors and relatives. To make sure that one does not harm them either with his hand or with his tongue. In the same token, jihad is the struggle to forgive the wrongs of others, to overlook their misgivings, and hide their faults.

Jihad is the struggle to help the needy, the orphan, the widow, and the homeless by sacrificing our wealth. It is to show love and gentleness to our young ones, and respect and honor to our elders. It is to protect the honor and property of every single member of society, whether man or woman. Jihad is the struggle to speak out against injustice, to ensure that everyone is given just measure, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion. Ultimately Jihad is that struggle in which we are willing to give our lives in the name of Allah so that these ideals will endure and bring peace and justice to countless others, thus truly bringing the harmony of the heavens down the earth.

Though we can only skim the surface of this vast ocean, the essence of Jihad is tied to our very existence. For if we were to ask what the purpose of our creation is, then it is no less than a struggle, a jihad, to submit our will to Our Creator, thereby achieving peace and unity with the rest of the cosmos in celebrating His Majesty and Glory.

Food for Thought:
The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected time. If you never see the good deed again at least you will have made the world a better place, after all, isn't that what life is all about.

LESSON OF THE DAY 307

Ayah of the Day:
The only case is against those who ask you for exemption even though they are rich, preferring to be with those who stay behind. God has sealed their hearts, so they do not know. [9: 93]

Hadith of the Day:
It is a sign of the nearness of the hour that evil people will be elevated while good people will be abased, that talking will be profuse, while doing will be scarce. [Al Hakim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Three things destroy a person: persisting in sins with false hopes of repentance; delaying repentance with the delusion of long life; and despairing of His mercy. [Shaqeeq al Balkhi]

Guidance of the Day:
JIHAD: Jihad is the struggle to remove all those things from one's life that incur Allah's displeasure, and to replace them with those things that will gain His acceptance. Jihad is the struggle against one's inner self and it's bestial inclinations. It is this struggle, in fact, which the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said is "the greater jihad".

Having lived in the world for atleast a few years, it is not hard for us to see why this is so. All the havoc that humans cause on this planet can be said to spring from the villains in our hearts, against whom the Prophet (may blessings and peace be upon him) declared this great jihad. These villains include: arrogance, avarice, pettiness, selfishness, jealousy, greed, self delusions, and vain passions. Furthermore, jihad is the struggle to replace these villains with goodly traits, such as mercy, honor, humbleness, generosity, gentleness, dignity, and other qualities that are aptly described as "heavenly".

Food for Thought:
The way of seeking guidance is to have close living relations with living scholars in one's land. The point of life is not to live the salvific minimum, but to follow the means of increasing in faith and piety (taqwa), which are the best keys for electhood, and the good pleasure of Allah Most High.