LESSON OF THE DAY 811

Ayahs of the Day:
Your Lord creates and selects at will; they have no choice. Glory to God, who is exalted beyond any association they make. And your Lord knows best what their hearts conceal, and what they reveal. [28: 68,69]

Hadith of the Day:
I bring good tidings to the generous one who spends freely for Allah's sake from what he possesses, and who keeps the company of wise and knowledgeable. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:
If you wish to shine like the daylight, burn up the night of self-importance. Dissolve the self like copper in the elixir; dissolve in Him who fosters all existence. But you are bound by the discord of "I" and "We." The cause of your ruin is this sad dualism. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:
Judgments are not always negative. Your judgments are what keep you from walking around like an open membrane, open and exposed to whatever information you come in contact with. At times, your judgments serve to help you decide what beliefs and thoughts you choose to let in from the outside world and help you discern what is true for you. Without your sense of judgment, you would be bombarded with hundreds of conflicting ideas over which you would have no power to discriminate.

At other times, however, your judgments can limit you and prevent you from being compassionate when and where that is needed. When your judgments become more overpowering than your ability to practice empathy, you separate yourself from your own human essence. You put yourself into a box of self-righteousness and seal yourself off from your innate need to connect with other people. You may feel superior to those you are judging, but you may also feel the chill of loneliness imposed by your isolation. The only antidote to rigid judgment is compassion. The secret to learning to open your heart is the willingness to connect to your essence and the essence of the person you are judging. From these, the magic of compassion opens limitless doors to human connection. [Scott, If Life is a Game, These are the Rules]

Food for Thought:
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. Great men are they who see that the spiritual is stronger than any material force. The strength of a man consists in finding out the way God wants them to go, and going that way.