LESSON OF THE DAY 685

Ayah of the Day:
Some people worship God in a fickle way: If something good happens to them, they are satisfied with it, but when a trial happens to them, they are knocked over on their faces. They lose this world and the Hereafter; that is the obvious loss. [22: 11]

Hadith of the Day:
For a person to be classified as a liar it is sufficient that he say everything he hears. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
A small amount of lawful earnings is superior to earnings which are in abundance, but unlawful. Respect is in contentment and comfort in abstention. [Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi]

Guidance of the Day:
The causes of hypocrisy are three: the wish to be known, respected, honored by people, with the intention of profiting from such situation; envy of the good fortune of others, and a desire to have the same for oneself; fear of being criticized and blamed for one's actual state.

The real meaning of hypocrisy is to distort devotion, which is given to us as a means to come close to the One Who is Sacred and Powerful, by using it for other purposes. There are other devices through which one may seek people's favor, but to pretend godliness and piety in order to gain people's attention, love, and confidence is blasphemy and an insult to God. Indeed, if people knew his intentions, the hypocrite would receive the opposite of what he seeks: distrust instead of confidence, hate instead of love. People may not see through a hypocrite, but nothing is hidden from Allah. He certainly knows. And His wrath far surpasses the worst punishment we may receive from human hands.

The least harm a hypocrite should expect is that his actions will be unlawful in the eyes of God. His willful falsification, his presenting something as real while it is not, will turn against him. Although there are degrees of hypocrisy, and divine punishment is in accordance with the gravity of the offense, the hypocrite can expect that all his fraudulent efforts will be in vain. Not only will he gain no favors, but in the eye of God he will stand condemned. [The Path of Muhammad by Imam Birgivi]

Food for Thought:
No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect. Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body. Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.