LESSON OF THE DAY 629

Ayah of the Day:
And God increases the guidance of those who accept guidance. And the things that endure, the good deeds, are better, with your Lord, in terms of reward; and best for their final return. [19: 76]

Hadith of the Day:
A truthful and trustworthy trader will be in the company of the prophets, the very truthful, and martyrs. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Inordinate desires have close relations with misfortunes and calamities. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Allah created the universe for man so man is the macrocosm or greater world while the universe is the microcosm or lesser world. The universe was created outwardly great but is inwardly small. All that exists was brought into creation for the sake of man.

Islam is an inoculation against the ills, the pains, the diseases of the world. The greatest gift that Allah has given is the gift to worship Him. But He has also allowed us the free will to decide whether or not that is what we want to do. That decision is linked to everything about us, to whatever problems we may think we have in life, to whatever ills, to whether we are conscious about how we use our health before we lose it or how we use our leisure before we have none. It is also linked to an attitude that each of us has, whether we truly believe that Allah created man, and He sent a book and a man to give us an example, and yet we still live our lives with a certain number of veils that cover how and what we see.

We still have not understood that the manner in which we look at something will reveal untold bits of knowledge. We create blocks within our own lives and within our own experiences that do not allow us to see clearly. One way we always make a block that doesn't allow us to get closer to Allah is the misuse of our words. The heaviest burden that we carry from one place to another is our words. As soon as we say something that criticizes someone, as soon as we say something that judges someone, this tongue which is locked behind two rows of hard teeth and two lips that close as soon as we allow words to go out without thinking first, and gossip or ridicule or say something about someone, we are creating a block that doesn't let us get close to Allah. That is why the Prophet of Islam (Peace be upon him) said, "Hold your tongue," to somebody when he was asked, "What can I do to help myself?" Because who a person is, is hidden beneath his tongue. [When you hear hoof beats think of a zebra]

Food for Thought:
Not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free from indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.