LESSON OF THE DAY 426

Ayah of the Day:
The acts of those who repudiate their Lord are like ash blown violently by the wind on a stormy day. They have no control over any thing they have earned, that is the outlandish error. [14: 18]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not hate or envy one another. Instead, be slaves to Allah and brothers. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Understanding is what makes relationships. Many a spoken word is more piercing than an attack. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Stay away from debt in your personal life. Debt, not poverty, is the greatest enemy of financial well-being and peace of mind. There are massive forces arrayed in the world to tell you of the great benefits of debt. They will tell you that by borrowing you establish your legitimacy in the eyes of lenders, and that you can have tomorrow's pleasures at today's prices.

They will present arguments and inducements that are convincing and seductive. They dress debt in a suit and call it credit. But it all comes down to the same thing: You have mortgaged your future to pay for your present, and this is something you don't ever want to do. Debt can make you money because it allows you to invest. Debt can help you in the present and leave your problems for what you hope will be a better time in the future.

But debt defines your future, and when your future is defined, hope begins to die. You have committed your life to making money to pay for your past. Stay away from debt if you can. There is no sadder sight than the person with dreams and promise whose eyes have dulled and whose days are spent pushing the heavy wheel of debt toward an endless horizon. [Simple Truths]

Food for Thought:
Be careful what you wish for. The faculties of humanity were not given in order to gain worldly life like an animal.

LESSON OF THE DAY 425

Ayah of the Day:
And your Lord had the proclamation made, "If you are grateful, I will grant you increase; but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is severe indeed." [14: 7]

Hadith of the Day:
No one may dissociate himself from his brother for more than three nights to such an extent that when they meet, they turn away from each other. The best of them is the one who is first to greet the other. [Bukhar & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If someone gave you a beautiful, expensive new hat, wouldn't you be grateful for the generous gift? But shouldn't you be even more grateful for the One Who gave you the head to put that hat on. [Shaykh Muzaffer Ozak]

Guidance of the Day:
Money rules our lives. You can rail against it. You can claim to be above it or indifferent to it. You can do all the moral and intellectual gymnastics that you will. But when all is said and done, money is at the very center of our existence. Yet money is not of central importance. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the lasting values that make life worth living. This is one of our great dilemmas. How are we to reconcile ourselves to something that is not important but is at the very center of our lives?

People who measure their money against their desires will never be happy, because there is always another desire waiting to lure them. People who measure their money against their needs can gain control over their life by gaining control over their needs.There are certain needs that have to be met. If the burden of poverty comes over you, do not look for money. Look for work. The money will follow, and you can begin to move money out of the center of your life and return it to its rightful place as a tool that helps you live a meaningful life.Financial well-being is nothing more than a balancing act on the back of circumstance. You can be thrown off at any time.

If you know how to be poor with dignity and grace, nothing short of massive financial disaster can disturb your peace of mind. Knowing how to be poor means developing an unerring instinct for the difference between what is essential and what is desirable. It means knowing how to take control of your life--how to repair and maintain the things around you, how to purchase wisely and well, how not to purchase at all when you do not have the means to do so, how to take joy in simple pleasures of life. It means not getting caught up in what is lacking, but finding meaning in what you have. It means knowing how to live with style and creativity without basing your life on money. [Simple Truths by Kent Nerburn]

Du'a of the Week:
Allhumma innee as'aluka'l huda, wa'ttuqa, wa'l afaafa,wa'l ghina. (O Allah I ask You for guidance, piety, dignified restraint, and freedom from need).

Food for Thought:
There are many ways to seek wisdom. Life itself will grant you wisdom in ways you may neither understand nor choose. The true measure of your education is not what you know, but how you share what you know with others.

LESSON OF THE DAY 424

Ayah of the Day:
We never sent a messenger who did not use the language of his people to bring them clarity of understanding. And God leaves people astray at will, and guides anyone at will: and God is the Almighty, Supreme Wise. [14: 4]

Hadith of the Day:
Whoever dissociates himself from his brother for a year, it is as if he had shed his brother's blood. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Every tree is made up of wood. A tree is differentiated by its fruit, and people are differentiated by their piety. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
Those who want to reform the world must first reform themselves. If they want to lead others to a better world, they must purify their inner worlds of hatred, rancor, and jealousy, and adorn their outer worlds with virtue. The words of those who cannot control and discipline themselves, and who have not refined their feelings, may seem attractive and insightful at first. However, even if they somehow manage to inspire others, which they sometimes do, the sentiments they arouse soon wither.

Those who lead the way must set a good example for their followers. Just as they are imitated in their virtues and good morals, so do their bad and improper actions and attitudes leave indelible marks upon those who follow them. Those who strive to enlighten others, seek happiness for them, and extend a helping hand, have such a developed and enlightened spirit that they are like guardian angels.

One who represents any stage of the truth must try to embody it with honesty, trustworthiness, consciousness of duty, a high degree of perception, awareness of circumstances, farsightedness, and absolute chastity. People who hold high office but lack one or more of these virtues must be seen as having one or more serious defects. This is a clear misfortune for those who follow them. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
If we cannot accept the criticism of those we love and who love us, we may lose our friends and remain unaware of our faults.

LESSON OF THE DAY 423

Ayah of the Day:
Those who prefer the life of the world to the hereafter and divert others from the way of God, and seek distortion for it, they are far astray. [14: 3]

Hadith of the Day:
No Muslim has permission to cut off relations with another Muslim for more than three days. As long as they remain estranged, they will stray away from the truth. The reward for the first one of them to repair the relationship will be the expiation of his/her sin of estrangement. If they die before they mend their ties, neither of them will go to Paradise. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Speak, and be known, for a man is hidden under his tongue. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
It is usually wiser not to tell your private concerns to others, especially if they are unattractive, offensive, or lacking in merit. Guarding a secret is the same as guarding ones honor. If you want to tell someone a secret, be sure that you could trust him or her with your honor. He or she must be as meticulous about keeping your secret as he or she would be about his or her own honor.

Keeping a secret and respecting the secrets of others, as opposed to prying into them, is a virtue related to self-discipline and sensitivity. Those who lack understanding cannot guard a secret, those who do not care about the consequences of words and actions cannot be considered discreet.

Hearts are created as safes for keeping secrets. Intelligence is their lock; will- power is their key. No one can break into the safe and steal its valuables if the lock or key are not faulty. Bear in mind that those who carry others' secrets to you might bear yours to others. Do not give such people any chance to learn even the smallest details of your private concerns. If you entrust another secret to someone who previously disclosed one, your lack of perception and poor judgment is plain for all to see. One whose own heart is firm and who is vigilant cannot be deceived. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Explain what you must, but never give away all your secrets. A secret is a power only as long as it stays with its owner, but is a weapon that may be used against its owner if it passes into the hands of others.

LESSON OF THE DAY 422

Ayahs of the Day:
A Book, which We have revealed to you that you may bring the people out of the darknesses into the light, by permission of their Lord, to the way of the Mighty, of the Praiseworthy, of God, to whom belongs what is in the heavens and on earth. And woe to the atheists, for an agony intense. [14: 1,2]

Hadith of the Day:
No two believers who love each other for the sake of Allah and Islam will be split apart by the first wrong that one of them commits. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
To know with certainty that you will never receive less than what was destined for you is the essence of reliance upon Allah. [Abul Hasan Bushaikhi]

Guidance of the Day:
Those who hold their friends in good esteem and treat them with respect gain many supporters. Having faithful friends is just as important as satisfying the vital necessities of life. Wise people, upon seeing that a friendship has become damaged, immediately remove the cause of discontent and restore good relations. Even wiser are those who strive to avoid or prevent disagreement with their friends in the first place.

Love and good relations between friends continue as long as they understand each other, practice self-denial, and make sacrifices within permissible limits. Friendship between those who cannot renounce their interests and preferences for the sake of their friends cannot endure. We are loyal and faithful to our friends to the extent we share their troubles as well as their joys.

Those who maintain a friendship with one who has fallen on hardtimes are true, loyal friends. Those who do not support their friends during their misfortune have nothing to do with friendship. One who desires to have faithful and numerous friends should not disagree with them on trivial matters. Friendship pertains to one's heart and sincerity. Those who think they can gain another's friendship through deception and hypocrisy only deceive themselves. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
You can tell more about a person by what they say about others than by what others say about them.

LESSON OF THE DAY 421

Ayah of the Day:
Those before them plotted too, but the whole plan is up to God, Who knows what every soul earns. And the atheists will know who gets the reward of Paradise. [13: 42]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not spread hatred among one another and do not vie needlessly. Instead, be slaves of Allah and brothers. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not say what you do not know, but neither say all of what you do know. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Be so tolerant that your heart becomes wide like the ocean. Become inspired with faith and love for others. Offer a hand to those in trouble. Applaud the good for their goodness, appreciate those who have believing hearts, and be kind to believers. Approach unbelievers so gently that their envy and hatred melt away.

Remember that you are on the best path and follow an exalted guide, upon him be peace. Be mindful that you have his guidance through the most perfect and expressive revelation. Be fair-minded and balanced in your judgment, for many people do not enjoy these blessings. Return good for evil, and disregard discourteous treatment. An individual's character is reflected in his or her behavior. Choose tolerance, and be magnanimous toward the ill mannered. Accept how God treats you. Make it the measure by which you treat others.

Judge your worth in the creator's sight by how much space He occupies in your heart, and your worth in people's eyes by how you treat them. Do not neglect the truth even for a moment. Always behave decently, and be alert. Do not allow your carnal self to be a referee in any contention, for it will always rule that everyone but you is sinful and unfortunate. Such a judgment signifies your destruction. Be strict and implacable with your carnal self, and be relenting and lenient toward others, and be openhearted toward the truth. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Almost nothing is more predictable than the way people respond when they feel appreciated and valued.

LESSON OF THE DAY 420

Ayah of the Day:
So it is that We have sent it down as wisdom in Arabic. If you followed others' wishes after knowledge came to you, you would have no protector and no defender against God. [13: 37]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not spread hatred or envy among yourselves and do not conspire. Rather, O Slaves of Allah, be brothers. No Muslim may dissociate himself from his brother for more than three nights. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The likeness of this world is that of a river, one of its shores being the Hereafter, and the boat for crossing over is built from taqwa. [Abu Yaqub ibn Ishaq]

Guidance of the Day:
Freedom means that the spirit voluntarily limits itself to nothing other than sublime feelings and thoughts, and serves no principles other than goodness and virtue. True freedom is civilized freedom. It wears the diamond chain of religion and morals, and the golden collar of sound thinking. True wisdom is the freedom of the human mind from all shackles that hinder it from making material and spiritual progress, as long as we do not fall into indifference and heedlessness.

Freedom allows people to do whatever they want, provided that they do not harm others and that they remain wholly devoted to truth. Freedom that does not acknowledge religious ideas and feelings, and that does not serve as the ground for virtue and morality, is like the desire to eventually become restless and wander off the common road of humanity.

Those who regard freedom as absolute liberty confuse human freedom with animal freedom. Animals have no moral questions asked of them, and so are free of moral constraints. Some people desire this kind of freedom and, if they can, use it to indulge the darkest desires of the flesh. Such freedom is worse than bestial. True freedom, however, the freedom of moral responsibility, shows that one is human, for it motivates and enlivens the conscience and removes impediments from the way of the spirit. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Our acceptance of what is, instead of our insistence that life be what we would like it to be, is the key to a more peaceful life.

LESSON OF THE DAY 419

Ayah of the Day:
Those whom We have given scripture rejoice in what We have revealed to you; but there are those among the factions who disavow a part of it. Say,"I have only been instructed to serve God and nor attribute any partners to God. It is to God that I call, and to God I'll return." [13: 36]

Hadith of the Day:
A Muslim should never dissociate himself from his brother for more than three days. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The best sin is the one which results in sincere repentance and the worst act of worship is the one which leads to conceit. [Ibn Ataillah]

Guidance of the Day:
Like a flower worn on the breast, a beautiful women may receive admiration and respect for some short period. But, if she has not been able to get the seeds of her heart and spirit to blossom, she will eventually fade and, like falling leaves, be trampled underfoot. What a sad ending for those who have not found the path to immortality!

Each woman is a precious, exalted jewel that must not be violated and thrown into a sewer. We hope that fortunate future generations will awake to knowledge, spirituality, and truth that women may once again become "the apple of their eye." Our women are the soundest foundation stone of our national honor and nobility. Their part in forming our long and glorious past is equal to that of the warriors who struggled with our enemies.

Thanks to the good successors she raised and left behind, the home of a spiritually mature woman constantly exudes a scent of joy like an incense burner. A woman whose heart is illuminated with the light of faith and whose mind is enlightened with knowledge and social breeding builds her home anew each day by adding new dimensions of beauty to it. A dissolute woman who does not know her true self destroys existing homes and turns them into graves. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Strongly reacting to someone else's low mood behavior is like reacting to bad weather, something that's beyond our power to change.

LESSON OF THE DAY 418

Ayah of the Day:
The description of the garden promised to the conscientious: rivers flow below it; its fruit is perpetual, as is its shade. That is the reward for those who are conscientious; while the reward of the scoffers is fire. [13: 35]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not quarrel with your brother, do not make fun of him, and do not promise to meet him and then fail to do so. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If one seeks peace in something other than God then know that, that thing has become the means for his destruction. [Ibn Ataillah]

Guidance of the Day:
Women train and educate children, and establish order, peace, and harmony in the house. They are the first teachers in the school of humanity. At a time when some are in search of a new place for them in the society, we would like to remind them once again of the unique position God bestowed upon them. A woman awake to virtue in her inner world resembles a crystal chandelier that, with every movement, sends light throughout the house. The most important thing a woman should know is social breeding.

A house that contains an honorable, well-mannered woman loyal to her home is a corner from Heaven. The sounds and breaths heard there are no different from the musical voices of the young people of Paradise and the burbling of the Kawthar stream in Heaven. A good woman speaks wisdom, has a delicate, refined spirit. Her behavior inspires admiration and respect. Familiar looks sense this sacred side of her, and turn instinctive feeling to contemplation.

A woman's inner depth, chastity, and dignity elevate her higher than angels and cause her to resemble an unmatched diamond. A disreputable woman is a false coin, and an undignified woman is a puppet to be ridiculed. In the destructive atmosphere of such women, it is possible to find neither a healthy home nor a sound generation. [Peals of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Giving is a miracle that can transform the heaviest of hearts....the world expands, a moment of goodness is created, and something new comes into being where before, there was nothing.

LESSON OF THE DAY 417

Ayah of the Day:

So who is it that stands over every soul with what it has earned? And yet they attribute partners to God. Say, "Call on them by name; will they inform God of something God does not know on earth, or is it a show of words?" But their conniving seems fine to those who scoff, though they are diverted from the way; and whoever God leaves astray has no guide at all. [13: 33]

Hadith of the Day:

The greatest of all deceptions is to lie to your brother when he believes all that you say. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Only those who fear the Hereafter will find comfort in the Hereafter. [Othman Jabri]

Guidance of the Day:

Our first and foremost duty is to discover ourselves and then turn toward God through the illuminated prism of our nature. Those who remain unaware of their true nature, and who therefore cannot establish any contact with their Most high Creator, spend their lives like those who are ignorant of the treasure they are carrying on their backs.

All human beings are essentially helpless. However, they discover an extraordinary competence by depending on the Infinite Powerful One, for this dependence transforms them from a drop to a waterfall, a particle into a sun, and a beggar into a king.

Our familiarity with the "book" of existence and events, and our establishment of a unity between ourselves and that book, causes sparks of wisdom to appear in our hearts. We begin to recognize our essential nature and obtain knowledge of God through the light of those sparks. Those who are truly human interact with other living beings in the consciousness of personal duty to them and within the limits of need. Those who abandon themselves to bodily desire and pleasure go beyond what is allowed, and therefore cannot maintain the proper distance or balance between duty and desire. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:

The true measure of your education is not what you know, but how you share what you know with others.

LESSON OF THE DAY 416

Ayah of the Day:
Thus have We sent you among a people before whom a plurality of peoples had already passed away, to recite to them what We revealed to you by inspiration; yet they repudiate the Benevolent One. say, "That is my Lord; there is no other deity; it is God that I trust, and to God that I turn." [13: 30]

Hadith of the Day:
Shall I not tell you of a ranking higher than even salah, or fasting, or sadaqah, it is: mending relations between people, for the souring of relations is sure ruin. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Iblis fears nothing more than the light emanating from the believer's heart. Thus it is that those who are detached from worldly desires can never fall prey to his mischief. [abu Sa'id Kharraz]

Guidance of the Day:
Each individual is equipped with sublime emotions, has a natural disposition toward virtue, and is fascinated with eternity. Even the most wretched-looking person has a rainbow=like atmosphere in his or her spirit comprised of the thought of eternity, love of beauty, and virtuous feeling. If people can develop these most basic, inherent elements of their being, they can rise to the highest ranks of humanity and attain eternity.

People are true human beings not in the mortal, material aspect of their existence, but rather in the attraction of their efforts to find it. For this reason, those who disregard their innate spiritual aspect and concentrate only on their physical existence will never find true peace and contentment.

The happiest and most fortunate people are those who are always intoxicated with ardent desire for the worlds beyond. Those who confine themselves within the narrow and suffocating limits of their bodily existence are really in prison, even though they may be living in palaces. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Du'a of the Week:
Allahumma inni a'udhubika min sharri nafsi wa min sharri kulli daabbatin. (O Allah! I seek your protection from the evil of my soul and the evil of every creature on earth).

Food for Thought:
Your thoughts, not your circumstances, determine how you feel. An absence of negative thought brings forth a positive feeling.

LESSON OF THE DAY 415

Ayahs of the Day:
Those who believe and whose hearts are satisfied by remembrance of God. Oh, it is by remembrance of God that hearts are satisfied. For those who believe and do good works, there is happiness and a beautiful destiny. [13: 28,29]

Hadith of the Day:
No one or no thing is more patient with the abuse He hears than Allah. Some people even ascribe a son to Him, and yet He grants them good and provides them with sustenance. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Guard your tongue as you guard your gold, for many a word snatches away blessings and brings adversity. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
There is no limit to doing good to others. Those who have dedicated themselves to the good of humanity can be so selfless that they will even sacrifice their lives for others. However, such selflessness is a great virtue only if it originates in sincerity and purity of intention, and if it does not define "others" by racial preferences. Doing good in return only for good received, or sometimes ceasing to do good to others in order to punish them, implies moral imperfection and immaturity.

It is a sign of great generosity and goodness to others if you ignore some of their faults, improprieties, or bad manners, and tolerate their imperfections. Prying into others' affairs and finding fault is rude and uncivil, and publicizing such affairs is unforgivable. Declaring them to the other's face is a severe blow to the bonds of unity between people, a blow from which, sadly, it is almost impossible for friendship to recover fully.

Those who regard even the greatest good they have done for others as insignificant, while greatly appreciating even the least favor done to themselves, are perfected ones who have acquired the Divine standards of behavior and found peace in their conscience. Such individuals never remind others of the good they have done for them, and never complain when others appear to be indifferent to them. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
The time people spend in trying to impress others could be spent in doing the things by which others would be impressed.

LESSON OF THE DAY 414

Ayah of the Day:
Those who scoff say, "Why was a sign from his Lord not sent down to him?" Say, "God lets anyone wander, at will, but guides to the Divine whoever repents and turns to God. [13: 27]

Hadith of the Day:
Avoid all falsehood, for falsehood will guide you to evil, and evil will take you to the Fire. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Words are under your control until you have spoken them, but you come under their control once you have spoken them [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
When interacting with others, always regard whatever pleases and displeases yourself as the measure. Desire for others what your own ego desires, and do not forget that whatever conduct displeases you will displease others. If you do this, you will be safe not only from misconduct and bad behavior, but also from hurting others.

Considering that favors received make you feel a liking, affection, and attachment for those who bestowed the favor upon you, you should understand how to make others like you, and feel affection and attachment for you. It is said that "people are the slaves of the favors done to them." Therefore, doing others a favor and being good to them is a reliable defense against any harm that may come from them.

Maturity and perfection of spirit is being just in your treatment of others, especially those who have done you an injustice. Answer their evil with good. Do not stop doing good, even to those who have harmed you. Rather, treat them with humanity and nobility, for harming someone is brutish behavior. Returning evil with evil implies a deficiency in character; returning good for evil is nobility. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
All that you achieve and all that you fail to achieve is the direct result of your own thoughts.

LESSON OF THE DAY 413

Ayah of the Day:
God expands the provision of anyone at will, and limits. Yet they delight in the life of the world. But the life of the world is but a utensil in respect to the hereafter. [13: 26]

Hadith of the Day:
Stay with the truth, for the truth will guide you to good, and good will take you to Paradise. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Wisdom: The fruit of following the Sunna.

Chaos: The fruit of following the ego. [Othman al Jabri]

Guidance of the Day:
Respect of parents is a primary and sacred obligation. If you do not respect your parents, you are disobeying God Almighty. From the very moment of conception, a growing and developing child is a care and responsibility for its parents. One cannot estimate the depth of attachment and compassion parents feel for their children, or calculate the troubles and hardships they endure because of them. For this reason, respecting parents is a debt of human gratitude as well as a religious obligation.

Those who value their parents and regard them as a means to obtain God's mercy are the most prosperous in both worlds. Those who regard their parents' existence as a burden or who become weary of them inevitably suffer the most severe hardships in life. The more one respects one's parents, the greater the respect and awe one will feel before his Creator.

Children should respect and obey their parents as much as possible. Parents should give as much importance to their children's moral and spiritual education as they do to their physical growth and health, and should entrust them to the care of the most honorable teachers and guides. How ignorant and careless are those parents who neglect their children's moral and spiritual training, and how unfortunate are the children who suffer neglect and are victimized! [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Family's form a society's foundation. The reciprocal respect of rights and obligations within a family results in a healthy and strong society.

LESSON OF THE DAY 412

Ayah of the Day:
As for those who violate the promise to God after agreement to it, and separate what God has commanded be joined, and cause trouble on earth, the curse is on them, and there is a wretched abode for them. [13: 26]

Hadith of the Day:
Woe to those who insist on doing what they do, even when they know it is wrong. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
A Sufi is he whose obedience to Allah and His messenger is as if he holds the Quran in one hand and the hadith in the other. [Shaykh al Junayd]

Guidance of the Day:
Those who want to secure their future should apply as much energy to raising their children as they devote to other problems. While the energy devoted to many other things may go in vain, whatever is spent for raising a young generation elevates them to the rank of humanity. Such people will be like an inexhaustible source of income.

Those people in our community who are miserable and lost, such as drug addicts, alcoholics, and other dissolute people, were once children. We failed to educate them properly. I wonder if we are sufficiently aware of the kind of people we are preparing to walk on our streets tomorrow.

Communities that pay close attention to the family institution and their young people's education. Communities that neglect the family institution and the young people's education will be crushed by the pitiless wheels of time, no matter how advanced they are in sciences and technology. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Life is but a dream we renew each day. It is up to us to infuse this dream with light, and to cultivate, as best as we are able, the ways and habits of love.

LESSON OF THE DAY 411

Ayahs of the Day:
Everlasting gardens, where they will enter, and the upright ones among their parents, their spouses, and their children; and the angels enter their presence from every gateway: "Peace be upon you, for you were constant; and how excellent the reward of paradise!" [13: 23,24]

Hadith of the Day:
No mercy will be shown to those who show no mercy, and no forgiveness will be given to those who cannot forgive others. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Save yourself from the life of heedlessness, for which sleeping one ever attained his goal? But for the friends of Allah sleep is a bounty. [Shaykh al Junayd]

Guidance of the Day:
A child has the same meaning for humanity's continuation as a seed for a forest's continued growth and multiplication. People who neglect their children decay gradually, and those who abandon them to a foreign culture risk losing their identity.

Children form the most active and productive part of a community after every thirty or forty years. Those who ignore their young generation should consider how important an element of their own community's life they are disregarding, and then shudder.

The vices observed in today's generation, the incompetence of some administrators, and other social problems are the direct result of the conditions prevailing thirty years ago, and of that time's ruling elite. Likewise, those entrusted with educating today's young people are responsible for the vices and virtues that will appear thirty years from now. [Pearls of Purity]

Food for Thought:
Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have--so spend it wisely.

LESSON OF THE DAY 410

Ayahs of the Day:
And those who join what God has ordered to be joined and are in awe of their Lord and dread a terrible reckoning. And those who are constant seeking the favor of their Lord and pray regularly, and give of what We have provided them, secretly and openly, and drive off evil by good; for them is the reward of Paradise. [13: 21,22]

Hadith of the Day:
He who does not show mercy to our young or show esteem for our elders is not one of us. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Knowledge is linked to action, so one who knows acts, as knowledge calls for action and will depart if it is not answered. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
When trees are pruned properly, they produce fruit and their growth improves. If they are not pruned properly, they shrivel and become stunted. Given this, should not each human being, possessing so many talents and abilities, be given at least as much care as a tree?

Those of you who bring children into this world must raise them to the realms beyond the heavens. Just as you take care of their bodily health, so take care of their spiritual life. For God's sake, have pity and save the helpless innocents. Do not let their lives be wasted.

If parents encourage their children to develop their abilities and be useful to themselves and the community, they have given the nation a strong new pillar. Parents have the right to claim their children as long as they educate and equip them with virtue. They cannot make such claim, however, if they neglect them. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Du'a of the Week:
Masha Allahu kana, wama lam yasha' lam yakun, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa biLlahi'l-Aliyyi'l -Azim.
(What Allah wishes happens, and what He does not wish does not; there is neither power nor ability save Allah, the High, the Formidable)

Food for Thought:
The biggest mistake you can make is to be always right. Wise people sometimes change their mind--fools never do.

LESSON OF THE DAY 409

Ayahs of the Day:
So is one who knows that what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth like one who is blind? Only those with reason will think--those who fulfill the promise to God and do not violate the agreement. [13: 19,20]

Hadith of the Day:
A believer does not find fault and is not abusive, obscene, or coarse. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Faith not nourished by worship and good deeds eventually dies. Praying five times a day strengthens our faith and renews our covenant with God. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:
Your true stature before the Creator is measured by your energy and the loftiness of your aims. The clearest signs of these two elements is that you willingly sacrifice your own comfort and desire for the prosperity of others. Can you imagine any greater sacrifice than undermining your own dignity for the sake of social well-being, controlling your temper when you feel like shouting, limiting your own desire at a time of personal prosperity?

It is foolishness to consider only the courage of a victorious army and disregard the role of strategic planning. Similarly, it is stupidity to attribute success to heedless daring, thereby downplaying the critical importance of prudent planning and forethought.

Efforts to secure a goal, as well as precautions taken to realize it, are invitations for the Almighty's help. These are two parts of the same reality. A misguided step in either preparing or enacting a project may cause that help to be withdrawn. If that happens, success will not be forthcoming. Safe, steady progress on the journey is possible for those who constantly remain discerning and vigilant. Fortunate are those who understand this fact. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work. One who wants to leave foot prints in the sand of time must wear work boots.

LESSON OF THE DAY 408

Ayah of the Day:
For those who respond to their Lord is the best; as for those who do not respond to their Lord, even if they had everything on earth and its like besides, they could not redeem themselves with it. They are the ones who will have a painful reckoning; and their abode will be hell. [13: 18]

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

Wise Quote of the Day:
Learn sacred knowledge for it is a source of reverence for one who does so for the sake of God. Seeking it is worship, and reviewing it is supplication. Researching it is a (form) of Jihad. Teaching it to one lacking knowledge of it is charity. Spending for its possessors is a path of nearness to God. [Mu'adh bin Jabal]

Guidance of the Day:
So many who have initiated projects have regretted their actions or blamed fate, just because they failed to assess their situation prudently and confidently. Such people are doubly error: for inadequate deliberation and then for criticizing fate.

However great a project's goal, always take the proper precautions required to attain it. If you do not establish a real plan of action and carefully weigh potential advantages and drawbacks, either you are not serious or you are simply foolish. The efforts of such people are often more harmful than their inaction.

People demonstrate their own virtue and worth through the success they achieve after facing very tough trials and awkward circumstances. Their success under adverse conditions depends primarily on formulating a realistic plan and then sticking to it. Accordingly, a person's worth and virtue are proportional to the resulting success, and one's success is proportional to the degree of prudence exercised before setting out on the venture. [Peals of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Never look down on someone unless you are helping them up. You can't expect people to look eye to eye with you if you are looking down on them.

LESSON OF THE DAY 407

Ayah of the Day:
God sends down water from the sky, and valleys flow according to their measure, with the current carrying swelling froth. And from what they heat in fire for ornaments or utensils comes a similar froth. In this way God exemplifies truth and falsehood. As for the froth, it goes away like foam. And as for what benefits people, it remains on earth. In this way God presents analogies. [13: 17]

Hadith of the Day:
Allah does not love obscenity or those who are obscene. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Anyone who wishes to keep his dignity should give up disputation. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Criticizing and objecting to everything means an attempt to destruction. Give value to every word in a meeting. Do not immediately reject those that do not conform to your ideas. Think that the idea might have been expressed from a different view point, and be patient until the end!

Always exercise prudence, for it can prevent any remorse and regret engendered by loss or failure. Prudence and safety measures are important resources for reaching your goal. It is a serious error to be careless and negligent of anything that eventually might cause you to fail or to be accused of various things by others. Smart people envisage all possible drawbacks and problems, and then figure out how to solve them or deal with them appropriately if they should arise.

Embark upon every duty after you have carried out the proper planning activities and safety measures. Be wary of those steps that do not result in any material or intellectual benefit or add any value. Every project undertaken without adequate precautions is triviality and nonsense, a sign of foolishness and childishness in the person preoccupied with it. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels good. If conscience hurts there is still hope.

LESSON OF THE DAY 406

Ayah of the Day:
True prayer is to God alone: whoever else they pray to will not answer them with anything, except as one who extends his two hands toward water that it may come to his mouth, but it never does come to him. And the supplication of atheists is invariably in error. [13: 14]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not spend your time finding fault with one another. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
It is a false hope which expects forgiveness, while knowingly persisting in sin. [Abdullah bin Khabeeq]

Guidance of the Day:
Holding the tongue, like eating and sleeping only a little, always has been a golden rule followed by men and women of perfection. Those who wish to develop their spiritual faculties are advised firstly to hold their tongue and to refrain from idle talk. They should not say whatever comes to their minds.

Few people are more pathetic than those who tell others to do that which they themselves do not do. Thus in the words of the Most Truthful One, upon him be peace and blessings, holding one's tongue and preserving one's chastity are keys that open the door to Paradise.

The further away you are from drowning others in your words and from preferring your own words over those of other people, the closer and more lovable to the Creator and the created you become. If you cannot abide by this truth, you cannot fulfill your duties to God and other people. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Religion is an examination, a test, which distinguishes elevated spirits from base ones.

LESSON OF THE DAY 405

Ayahs of the Day:
God is the one who shows you lightning, representing fear and hope, and raises the heavy clouds. And thunder celebrates the praise of God, as do the angels from awe thereof. And God sends the thunderbolts, striking with them anyone at will, while they argue about God, Who is Mighty Powerful. [13: 12,13]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not be quick to judge, do not gossip, and do not be one of those who cannot be trusted to keep a secret, for beyond you (in the next world) there will be Hell to pay and (in this world) terrible trials. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If you wish to mention the faults of your friends, mention your own faults first. [Ibn Abbas]

Guidance of the Day:
It is natural that one speaks only when necessary, and keeps silent when words are out of place. However, it is always better that those words which are of great benefit to others should take precedence. Nevertheless, this depends upon acquiring good manners and perceiving the virtue of keeping silent. Such wisdom is reflected in a beautiful proverb: "Those who speak a lot make many mistakes."

Any words spoken should be directed toward solving a problem or answering a question. In either case, the one who asks the question and the one who listens to the answer should not become bored.

People reveal themselves through their words, and manifest their spiritual rank through their manners. Those who act as though they are the only ones with the authority to speak inevitably become disliked and are condemned by their friends. As a result, any valuable words they might express are rejected out of hand. As a corollary, these truths are not accorded the respect they deserve. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
If you heed Satan and your soul, you will fall to the lowest of the low. But if you heed Truth and the Quran, you will rise to the highest of the high and become the most excellent pattern of the universe.

LESSON OF THE DAY 404

Ayah of the Day:
For each there is a succession of angels, in front of him and behind him, protecting him by order of God. God does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition. And when God wants misfortune for a people, there is no averting it; and they have no protection besides God. [13: 11]

Hadith of the Day:
The worst among you are those who carry tales and ruin relations between those who are innocent. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The biggest fault is to find fault with others when you are like that to. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Talking too much is a personality defect stemming from mental and spiritual imbalance. Use precise words that will not confuse the listener's mind, and do not use more words than necessary to convey the intended message. Indeed, using many words may even be harmful, for the words you use, the greater the chance of contradiction, which will confuse the listener even more. This will not benefit the listener; on the contrary, it will work to his or her detriment.

Reasonable people prefer to let those people, whose words might be of more benefit to the audience, speak. If perfected individuals whose minds are saturated with science and whose souls are satisfied with Divine spiritual gifts are present, it is an act of disrespect to allow others to speak. In fact, the silence of such individuals represents a loss to the society.

Speaking little and listening much are virtues and signs of maturity. The desire to make oneself heard at all times is a sign of spiritual imbalance and shamelessness, even if some explain it away as a form of insanity. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Woman was made from the rib of man, she was not created from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be stepped upon. She was made from his side to be close to him, from beneath his arm to be protected by him, from near his heart to be loved by him.

LESSON OF THE DAY 403

Ayah of the Day:
Equal is the one of you who conceals his speech to the one who speaks openly; as is the one who tries to hide himself by night to the one who goes about freely by day. [13: 10]

Hadith of the Day:
The best of you are those who, when seen, remind people of Allah. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Wealth and poverty are Divine gifts. Wealth is corrupted by forgetfulness, poverty by greed. [al Qushayri]

Guidance of the Day:
Humility is a key to all other virtues. One who is humble may have all other virtues, whereas one who lacks humility usually is deprived of other virtues as well. After his fault, Prophet Adam, upon him be peace, nevertheless recovered, through humility, all of his former connections to the world beyond. By contrast, Satan, undergoing the same test as Adam, became the irrecoverable victim of his self-conceit and haughtiness.

Humble people attain high (spiritual) ranks in the institutions of spiritual training. They benefit fully from a good education, whether religious or scientific, and prove useful to their communities. Those whose vainglory and pride do not allow them to benefit from the discipline of these institutions, or to be taught by others, have lost their way.

Since grandeur and pride are among the exclusive attributes of the Divine Being, those who act arrogantly and transgress the limits of modesty are seized and punished by Him. Those who know their true station and remain suitably humble and modest are honored with His Presence. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
No one gives their opinion with more zeal than an ignorant person. The person who knows it all, has a lot to learn.

LESSON OF THE DAY 402

Ayahs of the Day:
God knows what every female bears; and when the wombs are premature and when they are overdue. And God has every thing on a determined measure. Knower of the invisible and the evident, God is the Greatest, the Exalted. [13: 8,9]

Hadith of the Day:
No one who carries tales about others will go to Paradise. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
One who knows that his speech is part of his action will speak little except of that which concerns him. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Humility makes people pleased with God's judgments, and steadfast in the face of reproofs and insults from others. Those who know their place and do not put on airs have truly secured and defended themselves against other people's contempt.

Humility is a sign of virtue and maturity, while haughtiness and self-conceit indicate an imperfect, lowly spirit. The most perfect human beings are those who are at ease and intimate in the company of others. By contrast, those who are too proud to join in with others and form warm friendships with them are the most imperfect human beings and only earn notoriety.

Those who do not seek or claim great prestige in their community sooner or later attain high ranks and are honored. Those who have a superiority complex are repudiated by their community and eventually become strangers in it. Humility is a sign of one's having become truly human. One sign of humility is that one does not change after obtaining high status or wealth, learning or fame, or whatever is publicly esteemed. If any of these circumstances causes a person to alter his or her ideas, attitudes, and behavior, he or she cannot be regarded as having attained true humanity or true humility. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Du'a of the Week:
Allahumma anta Rabbi, La ilaha illa anta, alayka tawakkaltu, wa anta Rabbul-arshil- Azim. (O Allah You are my Lord, there is no God but You, upon You do I rely, and You are the Lord of the Throne, the Formidable).

Food for Thought:
God comforts us, not to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters. Happiness increases the more you spread it around.

LESSON OF THE DAY 401

Ayah of the Day:
They urge you to hasten evils before good, but the punishments to be made examples have already passed before them, and your Lord is full of forgiveness for people for their error; but your Lord is indeed severe in retribution. [13: 6]

Hadith of the Day:
On the Day of Judgment, those who curse will be neither witnesses nor interceders. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Always safeguard your aspiration and your courage, for it is through these that anything can be accomplished. [Abu Bakr Saidlani]

Guidance of the Day:
Just because you are a learned one does not mean that you are truly human. Learned people are freed from carrying the burden of superfluous information and attain greatness to the extent that they serve humanity and set a good example for others through their high morals and virtues. Otherwise, they are no more than people who have wasted their lives. Those with high morals and virtues, even if they lack learning are as seemingly dense as iron, may sometimes prove to be useful and valuable like gold.

Humble and modest people are highly regarded by the created and the Creator. Haughty and self-conceited people, who belittle others and are arrogant, are always disliked by the created and punished by the Creator.

Self-conceit shows a lack of sensibility and maturity. Those who are more reflective and spiritually mature have the sense to attribute whatever gifts they may have to the Creator, the Most High, and devote themselves to Him with humble gratitude. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Conscience is a judge with such penetrating insight that it can issue verdicts based on truths and its verdicts will deceive no one.

LESSON OF THE DAY 400

Ayah of the Day:
But if you wonder, what is amazing in their saying, "When we are dust, will we be in a new creation?" They are the ones who disbelieved in their Lord, and they will have yokes on their necks, and they will be inmates of the fire, where they will remain. [13: 5]

Hadith of the Day:
O' People! Spread the greetings of peace, feed (the poor and needy), behave kindly to your relatives, offer prayer when others are asleep, and (thus) enter Paradise in peace. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
To be angered quickly is a sign that one is in the grip of his ego. [Abu Bakr wasti]

Guidance of the Day:
Morals are a set of principles that originate in high spirituality and govern human conduct. For this reason, people who neglect spirituality, and therefore lack spiritual values, cannot sustain conduct in accordance with these principles.

Preferring the interests of others over one's own is high spirituality and liberality. Those who always do good without expecting any return will one day bow before God in wonder and admiration when, unexpectedly, they meet the accumulated results of their considerate nature and all the good they have done.

Never deceive anyone, even if they deceive you. Fidelity and uprightness are two of the highest virtues. Even if following this advice brings you loss, which it usually does, always be faithful and upright. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
Freedom is not the right to do as you please, but the liberty to do as you should.

LESSON OF THE DAY 399

Ayah of the Day:
And on earth are neighboring sections, and vineyards of grapes and fields of grain, and date palms, from the same root and otherwise: they are watered by the same water, but We have favored some over others as foods. Truly in that is a sign for people who understand. [13: 4]

Hadith of the Day:
The most blame worthy trait is obscenity. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Modesty, which is praise worthy, is a character trait that leads one to avoid that which is religiously or socially reprehensible. [Barkawi]

Guidance of the Day:
Love means the heart's attachment and the willpower's inclination toward the beloved. It also means the feelings being purified of anything or anyone else other than the beloved and all the senses and faculties of the lover being turned to and set on the beloved only. Every act of the lover reflects the beloved; his or her heart always beats with yearning for the beloved; his or her tongue always murmurs the beloved's name, and his or her eyes open and close with the beloved's image.

One should not confuse true love (for the Divine) with the feeling felt for members of opposite sex. Such love, although sometimes transformed into true love, is deficient, temporary, and has no inherent value. It is impossible to express love with words, for love is an emotional state that can be understood only by the lover.

If we do not plant the seeds of love (for the Divine) in the hearts of young people, whom we try to revive through science, knowledge, and modern culture, they will never attain perfection and free themselves completely from their carnal desires. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
In an argument the best weapon to hold is your tongue. Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

LESSON OF THE DAY 398

Ayah of the Day:
And God it is who spread out the earth, and placed on it mountains and rivers, and made mated pairs of all fruits; and causes the night to cover the day. Therein are signs for people who reflect. [13; 3]

Hadith of the Day:
Beware of anger, for it is a live coal on the heart of the descendants of Adam. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
What anxiety is there for the one who is detached from the world, and what need for excuses is there for the one who remains silent? [Mansur Ammar]

Guidance of the Day:
Love is a natural and essential aspect of our being. But when it is transformed into "true love"--love of the Creator--it acquires its true nature and color, and later becomes "pure" pleasure at the threshold of union. One's heart is a receptive pot for Divine manifestations. Your love of the Creator and yearning to return to Him is the clearest sign of your being loved by God.

Love is the most direct and safest way to human perfection. It is difficult to attain the rank of human perfection through ways that do not contain love. Other than the way of "acknowledging one's innate impotence, poverty, and reliance on God's Power and Riches, and one's zeal in His way and thanksgiving," no other way to truth is equal to that of love. Love is a mount, bestowed upon us by God, that carries us toward the Paradise we lost. No one who has ridden this mountain has ever been stranded on this road. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose sixty seconds of happiness that you can never get back.

LESSON OF THE DAY 397

Ayah of the Day:
God is the one who raised the heavens without pillars you can see, then mounted the throne and subjected the sun and the moon: each runs for a determined period. God arranges the order and elucidates the signs, so you may be certain of meeting your Lord [13: 2]

Hadith of the Day:
A believer is not fault-finder and is not abusive, obscene, or course. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
One who knows that his speech is part of his action will speak little except of that which concerns him. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Those with strong will power and good, sound character will not lose anything of their virtuous essence, even if they are made to suffer thousands of kinds of pains and sorrows and forced to change their views and ways. What shall we say about those weak ones who, without provocation, change their thoughts and ways every day?

Ignorance is like a veil drawn over the face of things. The unfortunate ones who cannot remove this veil, will never be able to penetrate into the truths of creation. The greatest ignorance is unawareness of God and if it is combined with arrogance, it becomes a kind of insanity impossible to cure.

A sensible person is not one who claims infallibility and therefore is indifferent to others' ideas. Rather, a truly sensible person is one who corrects his or her errors and makes use of others' ideas in acknowledgment of the fact that human beings are prone to error. [Pearls of Wisdom]

Food for Thought:
True service to others is doing something for someone, who will never find out, who did it.