LESSON OF THE DAY 541

Ayah of the Day:
Your Lord may have mercy on you. But if you are hostile, We will be hostile: And We have made Hell a prison for the ungrateful. [17: 8]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not feel malice toward one another. [Bukhari]

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

Guidance of the Day:
Malice: This is the condition of malice (hiqd) that asserts itself in the state of anger when one lacks the power to take revenge. It is the seed of many evils. When anger has not been satisfied, its vapors engulf the heart, producing a seething effect that boils the heart. This vapor and sentiment plants the malice in the heart. This results in frustration. Malice is an intentional condition. It is not the feeling of mere dislike, which arises against your will. In malice, one entertains evil in the heart for another by design, and at the same time one is busy with schemes to harm the one at whom the malice is directed. If intention and desire to harm are absent, it will not be malice, but will be known as dejection (inqibad), which is not a sinful state as this is natural.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said that "two persons harboring malice for one another are not forgiven." The reference to this malice is malice based on injustice and wrong. Hatred for the sake of religion is not within the scope of the malice described here. Such hared is meritorious, since the hadiths command that love be for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah.

The Remedy: The cure for malice is to overlook the fault of the one toward whom malice is felt and to associate with him irrespective of the difficulty one may experience in the adoption of such a kindhearted attitude. [The Path to Perfection]

Du'a of the Week:
Allahumman fa'ni bima allamtani wa allimni bima yanfa'ni wa zidni ilma. (O Allah! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me the knowledge that will be useful to me. And increase me in knowledge).

Food for Thought:
The habit of looking on the bright side in every circumstance is more valuable than having a large income.