LESSON OF THE DAY 545

Ayah of the Day:
Whoever accepts guidance is guided for his own soul alone, and whoever goes wrong only wrongs his own soul. For no responsible person can bear the burden of another. But We do not inflict punishment until We have sent a messenger. [17: 15]

Hadith of the Day:
He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must show honor to his guests. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Obedience to Allah and His prophet is the key to respect. Seeking forgiveness and fear of Allah is the key to sustenance. [Ibn al Qayyim]

Guidance of the Day:
Repentance: Repentance (tawba) is the regret and sadness that arises in the heart when remembering a sin. For the validity of the repentance, shunning the sin, firmly resolving to abstain from it in future, and controlling the lower self when it calls for the sin are necessary. The meaning of repentance is to return from distance to proximity. It has a beginning and an end. The beginning of repentance is the realization that the sin committed is a fatal poison that wreaks spiritual disaster.

This realization induces regret and fear, which result in a true and sincere yearning to compensate for the sin. This yearning is of such a degree that shunning the sin is immediate. Further, a firm resolve and intention are made to totally abstain from the sin in future. Along with this intention a full effort is made to compensate for past short comings. When the result is this fruit of repentance pertaining to the past, present, and future, then perfection of repentance has been acquired. This then is the end of repentance.

Since the reality of repentance is to regard sin as a fatal poison and disaster for the life of the Hereafter, and to firmly resolve to shun sin, this much repentance is part of faith. Its being compulsory and necessary is apparent to every believer. Allah Most High will forgive, have mercy upon, and aid the person, who after having sinned, renders repentance according to the dictates of the Shari'a and reforms his acts for the future--he abstains from all evil, practices in conformity with the Shari'a, and remains firm in his repentance. [The Path to Perfection]

Food for Thought:
When you have learned how to live, life itself is a reward. It is only when you are no longer afraid to die that you can say that you are truly alive.