LESSON OF THE DAY 660

Ayahs of the Day:
Their reckoning has drawn near for humanity, yet they turn away in heedlessness. Whenever a reminder from their Lord comes to them newly revealed, they only listen to it as they play. [21: 1,2]

Hadith of the Day:
The likeness of knowledge from which no benefit is derived is that of a treasure from which no portion is spent in the path of Allah. [Ahmad]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Blessings tend to flee from those who have no measure and gratitude for them. [Sari al Saqati]

Guidance of the Day:
Faith is surety, security, confirmation of teachings brought by the messenger of God from God, believing them in your heart and expressing them with your tongue, your behavior, and your actions. Faith and Islam are one and the same. Every believer is a Muslim and every Muslim is a believer. Knowledge, sincerity, fear and hope in God, honesty, good character and behavior, and good deeds are part of faith and an indication of the perfection of faith. If we sometimes fail in acting upon our faith, we are not faithless, but our faith is weak.

Shari'ah, orthodoxy, the canon law in Islam, literally means the source. It is an obligation for every Muslim to know what to do, how to behave, how to lead his life, even if he does not know or consider why. According to the canons an imitator of right behavior is a firm believer, yet in our times there have appeared a great many innovations, diluting, annulling, or exaggerating and adding to the original codes of Islam at the time of the Prophet. The believer who in all sincerity imitates this kind of behavior is certainly sinning nonetheless.

It is no excuse that we do not know the reason, the source, the causes and effects of what we are asked to do. Therefore, although an imitator is still considered to be a believer, whoever follows the shari'ah blindly is held to be remiss, for he has not made an effort to know the reason, the cause, and the source of what he is doing. Let to themselves, such Muslims may fall into doubt and may claim as right things that which have been asserted by God to be wrong, or even forbidden. This is the cause of losing one's faith in Islam. May Allah protect us from such an eventuality. May we pass through the trials of this life as truly faithful, relying on God and the intercession of His prophet, and attain peace and felicity in this world and the world to come. [The Path of Muhammad]

Food for Thought:
It is a good thing to learn caution from the misfortunes of others. Among mortals second thoughts are wisest. Be slow of tongue and quick of eye. Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; and yield with graciousness, or oppose with firmness.