LESSON OF THE DAY 998

Ayahs of the Day:
Those who scoffed will be driven to hell in crowds; then when they get there, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will say to them, "Didn't messengers from among you come to you and recite to you the signs of your Lord, and warn you of the meeting of this day of yours?" They will say, "Yes, but the sentence of the punishment is justified against the unbelievers." They will be told, "Enter the gates of hell, to abide therein." And how miserable the abode of the self-important! [39: 71,72]

Hadith of the Day:
Whoever relieves a believer's stress of the distressful aspects of this world, Allah will rescue him from a difficulty of the difficulties of the Hereafter. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Overcome your egos that you may be saved from the snares that devoured kings and paupers alike. Liberate yourself from the fretters of the ego and surrender yourself before God. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:
Overcoming negation with love is a matter of attunement. We must concentrate on that which is Good, Beautiful, and True. If there seem to be 999 negative attributes of a situation, and one positive aspect, we must seize on that one good thing, bless it, hold to it with determination, meditate on it, be grateful for it, exaggerate it, and glorify it. We will find that our tiny trickle of goodness has opened into a rushing stream, and then into a mighty river which pours into the ocean of God's storehouse abundant.

We can let go of any notion that we have that God wants us to suffer. Our potential for happiness is unbounded, and that we can all go beyond our limited notions of how good it can be. Every one of us has a great deal to offer, and that we too often sell ourselves short. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
Our error is in making ourselves our own center and thinking more of our claims on others than of our obligations to them. That which of all things unfits man is self-complacency, fatal self-righteousness, and self-sufficiency. We are too much haunted by ourselves, projecting the shadow of self on everything around us. Redemption is this, to forget self in God.