1. The part of your life that has gone by is irreplaceable, and that which has arrived is priceless.
2. Your obedience does not benefit Him, and your disobedience does not harm Him. It is only for your own good that He commanded the one and prohibited the other.
3. The best knowledge is the one accompanied by fear.
4. He only made affliction come at the hands of people so that you not repose them. He wants to drive you out of everything so that nothing would divert you from Him.
5. If you know that the devil does not forget you, then do not, for your part, forget Him who has your forelock in His hand.
6. So long as you have not contemplated the Creator, you belong to created beings; but when you have contemplated Him, created beings belong to you.
7. Meditation is the lamp of the heart; so when it goes away, the heart has no illumination.
8. Many a life is long in years but meager in fruits, and many a life is short in years but rich in fruits.
9. He who has been blessed in life attains, in a short time, to such gifts from God that no expression or symbolic allusion could describe.
10. For those who do good, finding the fruits of the acts of obedience in this world is glad tidings of their reward in the Hereafter. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1175
Ayah of the Day:
God is the one who created seven heavens, and their like of earth, with the order descending between them so that you may know God has power over every thing, and God has already encompassed every thing in knowledge. [65: 12]
Hadith of the Day:
Whoever gives mischief to another Muslim has given mischief to me, and whoever has given mischief to me has given mischief to Allah. [Tabarani]
Wise Quote of the Day:
It is said that only the ones who know Allah can fear Allah. By the same token, only the ones who fear Allah can know Him. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that when you enjoin or forbid something then this should be done sincerely for God, gently, wisely, and with compassion, for these attributes do not combine in one person who acts and refrains in accordance with his injunctions but that his words become effective and evoke reverence, a powerful response from the heart, and a sweetness in the ears; seldom shall his words be rejected.
Anyone who has true vigilance for God, reliance upon Him, and has acquired the attribute of mercy towards His servants cannot prevent himself from removing every evil that he sees except when prevented from doing so by means which he cannot overcome. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The love of God is the ultimate reality, the deepest and strongest force in the universe; and it is revealed to the man who resolutely girds himself to the conflict. In the triangle of love between ourselves, God and other people, is found the secret of existence, and the best foretaste, that we can have on earth of what heaven will probably be like.
God is the one who created seven heavens, and their like of earth, with the order descending between them so that you may know God has power over every thing, and God has already encompassed every thing in knowledge. [65: 12]
Hadith of the Day:
Whoever gives mischief to another Muslim has given mischief to me, and whoever has given mischief to me has given mischief to Allah. [Tabarani]
Wise Quote of the Day:
It is said that only the ones who know Allah can fear Allah. By the same token, only the ones who fear Allah can know Him. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that when you enjoin or forbid something then this should be done sincerely for God, gently, wisely, and with compassion, for these attributes do not combine in one person who acts and refrains in accordance with his injunctions but that his words become effective and evoke reverence, a powerful response from the heart, and a sweetness in the ears; seldom shall his words be rejected.
Anyone who has true vigilance for God, reliance upon Him, and has acquired the attribute of mercy towards His servants cannot prevent himself from removing every evil that he sees except when prevented from doing so by means which he cannot overcome. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The love of God is the ultimate reality, the deepest and strongest force in the universe; and it is revealed to the man who resolutely girds himself to the conflict. In the triangle of love between ourselves, God and other people, is found the secret of existence, and the best foretaste, that we can have on earth of what heaven will probably be like.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....213
1. If you want gifts to come your way, then perfect the spiritual poverty you have, "Alms are only for the poor."
2. Realize your attributes and He will help you with His Attributes.
3. Realize your lowliness and He will help you with His Sublimity.
4. Realize your impotence and He will help you with His Power.
5. Realize your weakness and He will help you with His Might and Force.
6. Sometimes a charisma is bestowed upon someone whose righteousness is not perfect.
7. He made the service of Him obligatory upon you, which is as much as to say that He made entry into His Paradise obligatory for you.
8. Sometimes darkness come over you in order that He make you aware of the value of His blessings upon you.
9. He who does not know the value of graces when they are present knows their value when they are absent.
10. Do not deem His giving to be slow; but rather, deem your approaching to be slow. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
2. Realize your attributes and He will help you with His Attributes.
3. Realize your lowliness and He will help you with His Sublimity.
4. Realize your impotence and He will help you with His Power.
5. Realize your weakness and He will help you with His Might and Force.
6. Sometimes a charisma is bestowed upon someone whose righteousness is not perfect.
7. He made the service of Him obligatory upon you, which is as much as to say that He made entry into His Paradise obligatory for you.
8. Sometimes darkness come over you in order that He make you aware of the value of His blessings upon you.
9. He who does not know the value of graces when they are present knows their value when they are absent.
10. Do not deem His giving to be slow; but rather, deem your approaching to be slow. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
Monday, December 28, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1174
Ayahs of the Day:
God has arranged intense agony for them; so be conscious of God, you with intelligence, who believe; God has sent you a reminder, a messenger reciting the clarifying signs of God to you, to bring those who believe and do good works out of darknesses into light. And any who believe in God and act with integrity God will admit to gardens where streams flow below, where they will dwell forever; God has made the best provision for them. [65: 10,11]
Hadith of the Day:
The best of you are those who, when you look at them, you remember Allah. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Whoever forgets death will be punished in three ways: he will delay repentance, he will no longer be content with what is sufficient, and he will be lazy in worship. [Shaykh al-Daqaq]
Guidance of the Day:
When you become angry because you were wronged or insulted, and this shows on your face and you find that your loathing of that deed and the person who did it are more than your loathing of evil that you see or hear about, then know for certain that your faith is weak, and your honor and wealth are dearer to you than your religion.
You are permitted to remain silent if you know with certainty that if you enjoin good or forbid evil your words will neither be listened to nor accepted, or there will ensue obvious harm either to yourself or your property. This is when enjoining and forbidden change from being an obligation into being a tremendous virtue which indicates that the one who does them loves God and prefers Him to all else. And if you come to know that an evil will increase if forbidden, or that the harm will involve other Muslims in addition to yourself, then the silence is better and, in some cases, obligatory. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Forgive all who have offended you, not for them but for yourself. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart, it saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits. When you forgive, you in no way change the past, but you do sure change the future.
God has arranged intense agony for them; so be conscious of God, you with intelligence, who believe; God has sent you a reminder, a messenger reciting the clarifying signs of God to you, to bring those who believe and do good works out of darknesses into light. And any who believe in God and act with integrity God will admit to gardens where streams flow below, where they will dwell forever; God has made the best provision for them. [65: 10,11]
Hadith of the Day:
The best of you are those who, when you look at them, you remember Allah. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Whoever forgets death will be punished in three ways: he will delay repentance, he will no longer be content with what is sufficient, and he will be lazy in worship. [Shaykh al-Daqaq]
Guidance of the Day:
When you become angry because you were wronged or insulted, and this shows on your face and you find that your loathing of that deed and the person who did it are more than your loathing of evil that you see or hear about, then know for certain that your faith is weak, and your honor and wealth are dearer to you than your religion.
You are permitted to remain silent if you know with certainty that if you enjoin good or forbid evil your words will neither be listened to nor accepted, or there will ensue obvious harm either to yourself or your property. This is when enjoining and forbidden change from being an obligation into being a tremendous virtue which indicates that the one who does them loves God and prefers Him to all else. And if you come to know that an evil will increase if forbidden, or that the harm will involve other Muslims in addition to yourself, then the silence is better and, in some cases, obligatory. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Forgive all who have offended you, not for them but for yourself. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart, it saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits. When you forgive, you in no way change the past, but you do sure change the future.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....212
1. Nothing pleads on your behalf like extreme need, nor does anything speed gifts to you quicker than lowliness and want.
2. People praise you for what they suppose is in you; but you must blame your soul for what you know is in it.
3. When He lets praise of you burst forth, and you are not worthy of it, praise Him for what He is worthy of.
4. Your desire that people know your particular distinction is a proof of insincerity in your servanthood.
5. Make mankind's looking at you disappear by being content with God's looking at you!
6. Slip away from people's approach to you by contemplating His approach to you.
7. He who knows God contemplates Him in everything.
8. He who is extinguished by Him is absent from everything.
9. He who loves Him prefers nothing to Him.
10. Sometimes you will find more benefit in states of need than you will find in fasting or ritual prayer. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
2. People praise you for what they suppose is in you; but you must blame your soul for what you know is in it.
3. When He lets praise of you burst forth, and you are not worthy of it, praise Him for what He is worthy of.
4. Your desire that people know your particular distinction is a proof of insincerity in your servanthood.
5. Make mankind's looking at you disappear by being content with God's looking at you!
6. Slip away from people's approach to you by contemplating His approach to you.
7. He who knows God contemplates Him in everything.
8. He who is extinguished by Him is absent from everything.
9. He who loves Him prefers nothing to Him.
10. Sometimes you will find more benefit in states of need than you will find in fasting or ritual prayer. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1173
Ayahs of the Day:
How many populations defied the decree of their Lord and the messengers! We called them to account with a severe reckoning, and We punished them with an unheard-of torment, and they experienced the unhealthiness of their action, as the outcome of their action was loss. [65: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
Every religion has a quality that is characteristic of that religion, and the characteristic of my religion is modesty. [Ibn Maja]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Whoever remembers death frequently will benefit in three ways: he will hasten to repent, he will be content with what is sufficient, and he will be active in worship. [Shaykh al-Daqaq]
Guidance of the Day:
You must enjoin good and forbid evil, for this is the pivot around which religion revolves, and is the reason why God revealed His Books and sent His Messengers. It is considered a duty by the consensus of all Muslims, and a great many passages in the Book and sunna enjoin it and warn about its neglect.
Whenever you enjoin good or forbid evil and are not listened to, you must leave the place where evil is being committed and those who commit it until they return to God's ordinance. Like wise you must detest sins and those who persist in committing them, and abhor them for the sake of God; this being a duty of all Muslims. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything. For him who has no concentration, there is no tranquility. The secret to success in any human endeavor is total concentration. A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective.
How many populations defied the decree of their Lord and the messengers! We called them to account with a severe reckoning, and We punished them with an unheard-of torment, and they experienced the unhealthiness of their action, as the outcome of their action was loss. [65: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
Every religion has a quality that is characteristic of that religion, and the characteristic of my religion is modesty. [Ibn Maja]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Whoever remembers death frequently will benefit in three ways: he will hasten to repent, he will be content with what is sufficient, and he will be active in worship. [Shaykh al-Daqaq]
Guidance of the Day:
You must enjoin good and forbid evil, for this is the pivot around which religion revolves, and is the reason why God revealed His Books and sent His Messengers. It is considered a duty by the consensus of all Muslims, and a great many passages in the Book and sunna enjoin it and warn about its neglect.
Whenever you enjoin good or forbid evil and are not listened to, you must leave the place where evil is being committed and those who commit it until they return to God's ordinance. Like wise you must detest sins and those who persist in committing them, and abhor them for the sake of God; this being a duty of all Muslims. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything. For him who has no concentration, there is no tranquility. The secret to success in any human endeavor is total concentration. A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Five reasons why God uses problems
The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you - depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:
1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways."
2. God uses problems to INSPECT you.
People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot ever water! Has God tested your faith with a problem What do problems reveal about
you? "When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience."
3. God uses problems to CORRECT you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.... But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something... health, money, a relationship. .. by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws."
4. God uses problems to PROTECT you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem - but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...
5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity. "We can rejoice when we run into problems...they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."
Here's the point:
God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it.
But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.
"Success can be measured not only in achievements, but in lessons learned, lives touched and moments shared along the way"
Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:
1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways."
2. God uses problems to INSPECT you.
People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot ever water! Has God tested your faith with a problem What do problems reveal about
you? "When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience."
3. God uses problems to CORRECT you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.... But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something... health, money, a relationship. .. by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws."
4. God uses problems to PROTECT you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem - but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...
5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity. "We can rejoice when we run into problems...they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."
Here's the point:
God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it.
But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.
"Success can be measured not only in achievements, but in lessons learned, lives touched and moments shared along the way"
Monday, December 21, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1172
Ayahs of the Day:
So be conscious of God as much as you can, and listen and obey and contribute, for your own good. And those safeguarded from the avarice of their selves, they are the ones who thrive. If you advance God a loan, God will multiply it for you, and forgive you; for God is most appreciative, most clement, Knower of the invisible and the evident, the almighty, epitome of wisdom and justice. [64: 16,17,18]
Hadith of the Day:
Beware of wrong doing, for wrong doing becomes manifold darknesses on the Day of Judgment. [Muslim & Ahmad]
Wise of the Day:
Keep to silence, bear with the annoyance of those who show ignorance against you, and forgive those who wrong you. [Muhammad ibn al Siddiq Ghumari]
Guidance of the Day:
You must scrupulously avoid prohibited and suspect things. Scrupulousness is the pillar of religion and it is the pivot emphasized by the practicing scholars. Know that those who acquire prohibited and suspect things are seldom granted success in performing good deeds, and when they appear to be doing so, these are inevitably inwardly tarnished with hidden things which spoil them, such as self-admiration and ostentation.
In any case, the works of those who subsist on illicit (resources) are rejected, for God is Good and accepts only that which is good. The explanation of this is that acts can only be performed by using the body, and the body can only move by energy obtained from food. If that food is vile the energy it produces and the movements which result from it also will be vile. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food of the Day:
You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversities. Building a relationship takes work. It is an ordeal and struggle because two people are giving birth to this new entity, and labor pains hurt. Build your relationships out of love and hold them together with a sense of humor.
So be conscious of God as much as you can, and listen and obey and contribute, for your own good. And those safeguarded from the avarice of their selves, they are the ones who thrive. If you advance God a loan, God will multiply it for you, and forgive you; for God is most appreciative, most clement, Knower of the invisible and the evident, the almighty, epitome of wisdom and justice. [64: 16,17,18]
Hadith of the Day:
Beware of wrong doing, for wrong doing becomes manifold darknesses on the Day of Judgment. [Muslim & Ahmad]
Wise of the Day:
Keep to silence, bear with the annoyance of those who show ignorance against you, and forgive those who wrong you. [Muhammad ibn al Siddiq Ghumari]
Guidance of the Day:
You must scrupulously avoid prohibited and suspect things. Scrupulousness is the pillar of religion and it is the pivot emphasized by the practicing scholars. Know that those who acquire prohibited and suspect things are seldom granted success in performing good deeds, and when they appear to be doing so, these are inevitably inwardly tarnished with hidden things which spoil them, such as self-admiration and ostentation.
In any case, the works of those who subsist on illicit (resources) are rejected, for God is Good and accepts only that which is good. The explanation of this is that acts can only be performed by using the body, and the body can only move by energy obtained from food. If that food is vile the energy it produces and the movements which result from it also will be vile. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food of the Day:
You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversities. Building a relationship takes work. It is an ordeal and struggle because two people are giving birth to this new entity, and labor pains hurt. Build your relationships out of love and hold them together with a sense of humor.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....211
1. The trials that arrive in this world are but reminders to you of what you ignore of indigence.
2. Your best moment is the one wherein you witness your actual indigence and, through it, reach the reality of your lowliness.
3. When He loosens your tongue with a request, then know that He wants to give you something.
4. Whoever supposes that His gentleness is separate from His Decree of Fate does so out of shortsightedness.
5. Do not press claims against your Lord because your request has been delayed; instead, press claims against yourself for slackening in your behavior.
6. When He makes you submissive to His commands outwardly and provide you with resignation to His power inwardly, then He has truly enhanced the favor accorded you.
7. He commanded you in this world to reflect upon His creations; but in the Hereafter He will reveal to you the perfection of His essence.
8. Ritual prayer is a purification for hearts and an opening-up of the door of the invisible domains.
9. Ritual prayer is the place of intimate conversations and a mine of reciprocal acts of purity wherein the regions of innermost being are expanded.
10. He knew the existence of weakness in you, so He made the number of ritual prayers small; and He knew of your need of His grace, so He multiplied their fruitful results. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata' Allah]
2. Your best moment is the one wherein you witness your actual indigence and, through it, reach the reality of your lowliness.
3. When He loosens your tongue with a request, then know that He wants to give you something.
4. Whoever supposes that His gentleness is separate from His Decree of Fate does so out of shortsightedness.
5. Do not press claims against your Lord because your request has been delayed; instead, press claims against yourself for slackening in your behavior.
6. When He makes you submissive to His commands outwardly and provide you with resignation to His power inwardly, then He has truly enhanced the favor accorded you.
7. He commanded you in this world to reflect upon His creations; but in the Hereafter He will reveal to you the perfection of His essence.
8. Ritual prayer is a purification for hearts and an opening-up of the door of the invisible domains.
9. Ritual prayer is the place of intimate conversations and a mine of reciprocal acts of purity wherein the regions of innermost being are expanded.
10. He knew the existence of weakness in you, so He made the number of ritual prayers small; and He knew of your need of His grace, so He multiplied their fruitful results. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata' Allah]
Thursday, December 17, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1171
Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, among your mates and your children are some inimical to you, so beware of them. But if you overlook and pardon and forgive, then God is indeed most forgiving, most merciful. Your possessions and your children are only a test, there is a greater reward in the presence of God. [64: 14,15]
Hadith of the Day:
Allah [Exalted is He] has said: "He who makes an enemy of a friend of Mine, I declare war against him. [Hadith al Qudsi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
You aspire to the heights, but you are stuck in the mud, you aspire to the Garden (Paradise), but you are not doing the work that must be done in order to gain entry to it. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]
Guidance of the Day:
You must take care of your outward and inward cleanliness, for the one who is completely clean becomes inwardly and in his spirit a spiritual angel, although in his body and outward form he remains a physical human being. Inward cleanliness is achieved by purifying the soul from vile traits of character such as pride, ostentation, envy, love of the world, and other similar things, and by adorning it with noble traits of character such as humility, modesty, sincerity, generosity, and so forth.
As for outward cleanliness, this depends on avoiding transgressions, and keeping to obedience. The one who adorns his outward with perseverance in good works, and his inward with taking on praiseworthy attributes, has completed his cleanliness. Otherwise, he would only have a share of it proportionate to his remoteness from reprehensible traits and acts, and nearness to good ones. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When God measures a man, He puts the tape around the heart instead of the head. A proud man has no God; the envious man has no neighbor; the angry man has not himself. What good then, is being a man, if one has neither himself nor a neighbor nor God.
Believers, among your mates and your children are some inimical to you, so beware of them. But if you overlook and pardon and forgive, then God is indeed most forgiving, most merciful. Your possessions and your children are only a test, there is a greater reward in the presence of God. [64: 14,15]
Hadith of the Day:
Allah [Exalted is He] has said: "He who makes an enemy of a friend of Mine, I declare war against him. [Hadith al Qudsi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
You aspire to the heights, but you are stuck in the mud, you aspire to the Garden (Paradise), but you are not doing the work that must be done in order to gain entry to it. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]
Guidance of the Day:
You must take care of your outward and inward cleanliness, for the one who is completely clean becomes inwardly and in his spirit a spiritual angel, although in his body and outward form he remains a physical human being. Inward cleanliness is achieved by purifying the soul from vile traits of character such as pride, ostentation, envy, love of the world, and other similar things, and by adorning it with noble traits of character such as humility, modesty, sincerity, generosity, and so forth.
As for outward cleanliness, this depends on avoiding transgressions, and keeping to obedience. The one who adorns his outward with perseverance in good works, and his inward with taking on praiseworthy attributes, has completed his cleanliness. Otherwise, he would only have a share of it proportionate to his remoteness from reprehensible traits and acts, and nearness to good ones. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When God measures a man, He puts the tape around the heart instead of the head. A proud man has no God; the envious man has no neighbor; the angry man has not himself. What good then, is being a man, if one has neither himself nor a neighbor nor God.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....210
1. He made Hereafter an abode to reward His believing servants only because this world cannot contain what He wishes to bestow upon them and because He deemed their worth too high to reward them in a world without permanence.
2. If you want to know your standing with Him, look at the state He has put you in now.
3. Hope goes hand in hand with deeds; otherwise, it is just wishful thinking.
4. If you want a glory that does not vanish, then do not glory in a glory that vanishes.
5. The real journey is when the world dimensions are rolled away from you so that you see the Hereafter closer to you than yourself.
6. Suffice it as a recompense to you for obedience that He has judged you worthy of obedience.
7. When He gives, He shows you His kindness; when He deprives, He shows you His power; and in all that, He is making Himself known to you and coming to you with His gentleness.
8. Deprivation hurts you only because of your incomprehension of God in it.
9. A disobedience that bequeaths humiliation and extreme need is better than an obedience that bequeaths self-infatuation and pride.
10. There are two graces that no being can do without and that are necessary for every creature: the grace of existence, and the grace of sustenance. He bestowed His grace upon you, first, through giving you existence, and , second, through uninterrupted sustenance. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
2. If you want to know your standing with Him, look at the state He has put you in now.
3. Hope goes hand in hand with deeds; otherwise, it is just wishful thinking.
4. If you want a glory that does not vanish, then do not glory in a glory that vanishes.
5. The real journey is when the world dimensions are rolled away from you so that you see the Hereafter closer to you than yourself.
6. Suffice it as a recompense to you for obedience that He has judged you worthy of obedience.
7. When He gives, He shows you His kindness; when He deprives, He shows you His power; and in all that, He is making Himself known to you and coming to you with His gentleness.
8. Deprivation hurts you only because of your incomprehension of God in it.
9. A disobedience that bequeaths humiliation and extreme need is better than an obedience that bequeaths self-infatuation and pride.
10. There are two graces that no being can do without and that are necessary for every creature: the grace of existence, and the grace of sustenance. He bestowed His grace upon you, first, through giving you existence, and , second, through uninterrupted sustenance. [Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
Monday, December 14, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1170
Ayahs of the Day:
No disaster can occur except with leave of God; and whoever believes in God, God guides his heart. And God has perfect knowledge of everything. So obey God, and obey the messenger. But if you turn away, the only obligation of Our messenger is clear communication. There is no deity but God so let it be in God that the believers trust. [64: 11,12,13]
Hadith of the Day:
The one who holds on to my sunna when corruption spreads in my community shall have the reward of a martyr. [Tabrani]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The lover will sacrifice for the Beloved reason, logic, and interest, will obey the Beloved in perfect bondage, will be ready to sacrifice everything he has for the Beloved. One who cannot lay down his life for his beloved has no business pretending to the title of lover. [Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that you will never attain to the performing of the obligations, the avoiding of the prohibited things, and the performance of the supererogatory acts that He has laid down for you to draw nearer to Him, save through knowledge. Seek it then! Knowledge makes you aware of what is a duty, what is recommended, what is forbidden, how to perform your duties and recommended acts, and how to avoid what is prohibited.
Therefore, you must have knowledge and cannot dispense with it; for on the practice of it your happiness in this world and the hereafter depends. Know that those who worship but have no knowledge end up receiving more harm from their worship than benefit. How many a worshipper has tired himself out in worshipping while persistently committing a sin which he believed to be an act of obedience or (at any rate) not a sin! [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Give strength, give thought, give deeds, give wealth;
Give love, give tears, and give yourself.
Give, give, be always giving.
Who gives not is not living;
The more you give, the more you live.
No disaster can occur except with leave of God; and whoever believes in God, God guides his heart. And God has perfect knowledge of everything. So obey God, and obey the messenger. But if you turn away, the only obligation of Our messenger is clear communication. There is no deity but God so let it be in God that the believers trust. [64: 11,12,13]
Hadith of the Day:
The one who holds on to my sunna when corruption spreads in my community shall have the reward of a martyr. [Tabrani]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The lover will sacrifice for the Beloved reason, logic, and interest, will obey the Beloved in perfect bondage, will be ready to sacrifice everything he has for the Beloved. One who cannot lay down his life for his beloved has no business pretending to the title of lover. [Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that you will never attain to the performing of the obligations, the avoiding of the prohibited things, and the performance of the supererogatory acts that He has laid down for you to draw nearer to Him, save through knowledge. Seek it then! Knowledge makes you aware of what is a duty, what is recommended, what is forbidden, how to perform your duties and recommended acts, and how to avoid what is prohibited.
Therefore, you must have knowledge and cannot dispense with it; for on the practice of it your happiness in this world and the hereafter depends. Know that those who worship but have no knowledge end up receiving more harm from their worship than benefit. How many a worshipper has tired himself out in worshipping while persistently committing a sin which he believed to be an act of obedience or (at any rate) not a sin! [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Give strength, give thought, give deeds, give wealth;
Give love, give tears, and give yourself.
Give, give, be always giving.
Who gives not is not living;
The more you give, the more you live.
Friday, December 11, 2009
The five categories of people who pray
By Imam ibn al Qayyam al Jawzeeyah
The first: The category of the oppressor to himself, the negligent one, one who is deficient in performing ablution for it, negligent with its appointed time periods, its boundaries and its pillars.
The second: One who preserves it appointed time periods, its boundaries, its outward pillars and ablution for it. However, he forsakes striving against his own self from whisperings and thinking to himself, and so is preoccupied with whisperings and thoughts.
The third: One who preserves its appointed time periods, its pillars as well as strives against himself in repelling whisperings and distracting thoughts that overcome him, he is busy in striving against his enemy in order to prevent him from stealing his prayer, he is in prayer as well as Jihaad.
The fourth: One whom when he stands for prayer perfects its rights, its pillars and its boundaries. His heart is occupied with preserving its boundaries and preventing anything of it being lost, rather all his attention is directed to performing it as it should be, in its most complete and perfect form, his heart is occupied with the prayer and worshiping his Lord the Elevated with it.
The fifth: One who performs the prayer like the previous person, but in addition to this, he has taken his heart and presented it to his Lord. He looks at his Lord with his heart, fully concerned with Him, in utmost obedience out of love and reverence for Him, it is as if he sees and witnesses his Lord. All distracting thoughts and whisperings fade away and the veil between him and his Lord is removed. The difference between this person in his prayer and others, is greater and better than all that is between the heavens and earth, he is fully occupied and overjoyed with his Lord in his prayer.
The first category is punished, the second is held accountable, the third is pardoned, the fourth is rewarded and the fifth is brought close to his Lord, because he gains a portion of what made the prayer a delight to him. For whoever is delighted with his prayer in the life of this world, will be delighted by being close to his Lord in the afterlife as well as being delighted with his Lord in this life, and whoever is delighted with Allaah, everything would be delighted with him, and whoever is not delighted with Allaah the Elevated, his soul will be torn apart for the life of this world in loss.
It is narrated that when a servant stands for prayer, Allaah the Glorified says; “Remove the veil.”, and if the servant turns away He says: “Replace it.”
This ‘turning away’ has been explained as the turning of the heart away from Allaah the Mighty to other than Him. So if he turns away, the veil is replaced between him and his Lord and Shaytaan enters and presents worldly affairs to him, he shows them to him in the image of a woman. But if he turns with his heart to Allaah and does not turn away, Shaytaan would not be able to come between Allaah and that heart, he only enters if the veil is replaced. If he returns to Allaah the Elevated with his heart, the Shaytaan would escape, and if he turns away, the Shaytaan would return, such is his state with his enemy in prayer.
The first: The category of the oppressor to himself, the negligent one, one who is deficient in performing ablution for it, negligent with its appointed time periods, its boundaries and its pillars.
The second: One who preserves it appointed time periods, its boundaries, its outward pillars and ablution for it. However, he forsakes striving against his own self from whisperings and thinking to himself, and so is preoccupied with whisperings and thoughts.
The third: One who preserves its appointed time periods, its pillars as well as strives against himself in repelling whisperings and distracting thoughts that overcome him, he is busy in striving against his enemy in order to prevent him from stealing his prayer, he is in prayer as well as Jihaad.
The fourth: One whom when he stands for prayer perfects its rights, its pillars and its boundaries. His heart is occupied with preserving its boundaries and preventing anything of it being lost, rather all his attention is directed to performing it as it should be, in its most complete and perfect form, his heart is occupied with the prayer and worshiping his Lord the Elevated with it.
The fifth: One who performs the prayer like the previous person, but in addition to this, he has taken his heart and presented it to his Lord. He looks at his Lord with his heart, fully concerned with Him, in utmost obedience out of love and reverence for Him, it is as if he sees and witnesses his Lord. All distracting thoughts and whisperings fade away and the veil between him and his Lord is removed. The difference between this person in his prayer and others, is greater and better than all that is between the heavens and earth, he is fully occupied and overjoyed with his Lord in his prayer.
The first category is punished, the second is held accountable, the third is pardoned, the fourth is rewarded and the fifth is brought close to his Lord, because he gains a portion of what made the prayer a delight to him. For whoever is delighted with his prayer in the life of this world, will be delighted by being close to his Lord in the afterlife as well as being delighted with his Lord in this life, and whoever is delighted with Allaah, everything would be delighted with him, and whoever is not delighted with Allaah the Elevated, his soul will be torn apart for the life of this world in loss.
It is narrated that when a servant stands for prayer, Allaah the Glorified says; “Remove the veil.”, and if the servant turns away He says: “Replace it.”
This ‘turning away’ has been explained as the turning of the heart away from Allaah the Mighty to other than Him. So if he turns away, the veil is replaced between him and his Lord and Shaytaan enters and presents worldly affairs to him, he shows them to him in the image of a woman. But if he turns with his heart to Allaah and does not turn away, Shaytaan would not be able to come between Allaah and that heart, he only enters if the veil is replaced. If he returns to Allaah the Elevated with his heart, the Shaytaan would escape, and if he turns away, the Shaytaan would return, such is his state with his enemy in prayer.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1169
Ayahs of the Day:
Believe in God and the messenger of God, and the light that We sent down, as God is aware of whatever you do. The day God assembles you for a day of gathering, that will be a day of outdoing----whoever believes in God and acts with integrity, God will efface their evils from them and admit them to gardens below which rivers flow, to abide therein forever: that is the great success. [64: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
The best jihad is to speak a word of justice to an oppressive ruler. [Abu Dawud]
Wise Quote of the Day:
We are designed to fall to our knees. The True king admits the beggar first, let's pray O Lord............. [Shaykh Abdul Hakeem Murad]
Guidance of the Day:
The one who performs the obligations, avoids the prohibited things, and does not add anything to this is better than him who performs acts of supererogation but neglects some obligations. Beware therefore, of neglecting any obligations while occupied with acts of supererogation, for you would thereby sin, and by abandoning your obligations your acts of supererogation will become unacceptable to God.
An example of this is the man who occupies himself with acquiring a kind of knowledge which is, for him, supererogatory, and neglects acquiring the kind which is, for him, obligatory, either outwardly, or inwardly. Another is the man who is able to but neglects working for a livelihood and busies himself with supererogatory devotions, leaving his children to beg from others. You can use these two examples to assess by analogy other similar situations. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When a man begins to understand himself, he begins to live. A humble knowledge of oneself is a surer road to God than a deep searching of the sciences. Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment. The life which is unexamined is not worth living.
Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.
Believe in God and the messenger of God, and the light that We sent down, as God is aware of whatever you do. The day God assembles you for a day of gathering, that will be a day of outdoing----whoever believes in God and acts with integrity, God will efface their evils from them and admit them to gardens below which rivers flow, to abide therein forever: that is the great success. [64: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
The best jihad is to speak a word of justice to an oppressive ruler. [Abu Dawud]
Wise Quote of the Day:
We are designed to fall to our knees. The True king admits the beggar first, let's pray O Lord............. [Shaykh Abdul Hakeem Murad]
Guidance of the Day:
The one who performs the obligations, avoids the prohibited things, and does not add anything to this is better than him who performs acts of supererogation but neglects some obligations. Beware therefore, of neglecting any obligations while occupied with acts of supererogation, for you would thereby sin, and by abandoning your obligations your acts of supererogation will become unacceptable to God.
An example of this is the man who occupies himself with acquiring a kind of knowledge which is, for him, supererogatory, and neglects acquiring the kind which is, for him, obligatory, either outwardly, or inwardly. Another is the man who is able to but neglects working for a livelihood and busies himself with supererogatory devotions, leaving his children to beg from others. You can use these two examples to assess by analogy other similar situations. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When a man begins to understand himself, he begins to live. A humble knowledge of oneself is a surer road to God than a deep searching of the sciences. Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment. The life which is unexamined is not worth living.
Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....209
1. Actions are lifeless forms, but the presence of an inner sincerity within them is what endows them with life-giving spirit.
2. So long as you are in this world, be not surprised at the existence of sorrows. For, truly, it manifests nothing but what is in keeping with its character or its inevitable nature.
3. Among the signs of success at the end is the turning to God at the beginning.
4. Do not keep company with anyone whose state does not inspire you and whose speech does not lead you to God.
5. You might be in a bad state; then, associating with one who is in a worse state, you see virtue in yourself.
6. There is no minor sin when His justice confronts you; and there is no major sin when His grace confronts you.
7. Let not obedience make you joyous because it comes from you; but rather, be joyous over it because it comes from God to you.
8. Whoever does not draw near to God as a result of the caresses of love is shackled to Him with the chains of misfortune.
9. Whoever is not thankful for graces runs the risk of losing them; and whoever is thankful, fetters them with their own cord.
10. Be fearful lest the existence of His generosity toward you and the persistence of your bad behavior toward Him not lead you step by step to ruin.
[Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
2. So long as you are in this world, be not surprised at the existence of sorrows. For, truly, it manifests nothing but what is in keeping with its character or its inevitable nature.
3. Among the signs of success at the end is the turning to God at the beginning.
4. Do not keep company with anyone whose state does not inspire you and whose speech does not lead you to God.
5. You might be in a bad state; then, associating with one who is in a worse state, you see virtue in yourself.
6. There is no minor sin when His justice confronts you; and there is no major sin when His grace confronts you.
7. Let not obedience make you joyous because it comes from you; but rather, be joyous over it because it comes from God to you.
8. Whoever does not draw near to God as a result of the caresses of love is shackled to Him with the chains of misfortune.
9. Whoever is not thankful for graces runs the risk of losing them; and whoever is thankful, fetters them with their own cord.
10. Be fearful lest the existence of His generosity toward you and the persistence of your bad behavior toward Him not lead you step by step to ruin.
[Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1168
Ayahs of the Day:
God created the heavens and the earth soundly, and formed you all, fashioning you expertly; and the destination is to God. God knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. And God knows what is contained in hearts. [64: 3,4]
Hadith of the Day:
You will not believe as long as you do not love one another. (Muslim)
Wise Quote of the Day:
All buildings eventually crumble, all cars end up in scrap yards and our own bodies are doomed eventually to die. From all this, we may conclude that surrender and submission are deeper truths than planning and will power. [Joel Ibrahim Kreps]
Guidance of the Day:
You must observe the obligations and the prohibitions, and increase your supererogatory (nawafil) devotions. For if you do this purely for the sake of God you will attain to the utmost proximity of Him, the gift of love shall be bestowed upon you, and then all your movements and times of stillness will become for and by him. This is the bestowal of sainthood or even vice-regency (khilafa).
So make haste! Make haste, if you are determined to reach the degrees of perfection and wish to attain to the ranks of men. The path is now clear before you, and the radiance of realization has appeared to you. Know that God has put much good into supererogatory devotions, through His grace and mercy, for many imperfections occur in obligatory worship. However, imperfections in an obligatory act can only be redeemed by an act of supererogation of the same kind: prayer by prayer, and fasting by fasting. Obligations are the basis and acts of supererogation are dependent upon them. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Thank you God for this good life and forgive us if we don't love it enough. What power has love than forgiveness. One forgives to the degree one loves. Forgiveness is the final form of love. To err is human, to forgive is divine, to continue in sin is devilish. Forgiveness is the fragrance that violet sheds on the heel of the one that crushed it.
God created the heavens and the earth soundly, and formed you all, fashioning you expertly; and the destination is to God. God knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. And God knows what is contained in hearts. [64: 3,4]
Hadith of the Day:
You will not believe as long as you do not love one another. (Muslim)
Wise Quote of the Day:
All buildings eventually crumble, all cars end up in scrap yards and our own bodies are doomed eventually to die. From all this, we may conclude that surrender and submission are deeper truths than planning and will power. [Joel Ibrahim Kreps]
Guidance of the Day:
You must observe the obligations and the prohibitions, and increase your supererogatory (nawafil) devotions. For if you do this purely for the sake of God you will attain to the utmost proximity of Him, the gift of love shall be bestowed upon you, and then all your movements and times of stillness will become for and by him. This is the bestowal of sainthood or even vice-regency (khilafa).
So make haste! Make haste, if you are determined to reach the degrees of perfection and wish to attain to the ranks of men. The path is now clear before you, and the radiance of realization has appeared to you. Know that God has put much good into supererogatory devotions, through His grace and mercy, for many imperfections occur in obligatory worship. However, imperfections in an obligatory act can only be redeemed by an act of supererogation of the same kind: prayer by prayer, and fasting by fasting. Obligations are the basis and acts of supererogation are dependent upon them. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Thank you God for this good life and forgive us if we don't love it enough. What power has love than forgiveness. One forgives to the degree one loves. Forgiveness is the final form of love. To err is human, to forgive is divine, to continue in sin is devilish. Forgiveness is the fragrance that violet sheds on the heel of the one that crushed it.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....208
1. How should God inflict pain on an innocent person? So know that your suffering is the result of some lapse; the blow was inflicted because of your sensuality.
2. The world is like a mountain---------what ever you say good or evil, will come back to you. If you imagine that you spoke beautifully, but the mountain returned an ugly echo, that is absurd.
3. God makes an unfortunate man suffer and he flees from Him in ingratitude. But when He sends suffering to a fortunate man, he moves closer to Him.
4. Tribulations and fear for one's life are touchstones----------through them the brave are distinguished from the coward.
5. O you who cannot bear to be without this despicable world! How can you bear to be without Him Who spread it as a carpet.
6. O you who cannot bear to be without luxuries and comforts! How can you bear to be without the Generous God.
7. Until copper becomes gold, it does not know it is copper. Until the heart becomes king, it does not know it is indigent.
8. Intellect is a man's wings and feathers. If he lacks intellect, then let him find the intellect of a guide.
9. You know the value of every merchandise; but you do not know your own value---------that is stupidity.
10. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'you have no more faithful companion than your works. If they are good, they will be your friends forever; but if they are bad, they will be the serpents in your grave.' [Spirtiual Teachings of Mawlana Rumi]
2. The world is like a mountain---------what ever you say good or evil, will come back to you. If you imagine that you spoke beautifully, but the mountain returned an ugly echo, that is absurd.
3. God makes an unfortunate man suffer and he flees from Him in ingratitude. But when He sends suffering to a fortunate man, he moves closer to Him.
4. Tribulations and fear for one's life are touchstones----------through them the brave are distinguished from the coward.
5. O you who cannot bear to be without this despicable world! How can you bear to be without Him Who spread it as a carpet.
6. O you who cannot bear to be without luxuries and comforts! How can you bear to be without the Generous God.
7. Until copper becomes gold, it does not know it is copper. Until the heart becomes king, it does not know it is indigent.
8. Intellect is a man's wings and feathers. If he lacks intellect, then let him find the intellect of a guide.
9. You know the value of every merchandise; but you do not know your own value---------that is stupidity.
10. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'you have no more faithful companion than your works. If they are good, they will be your friends forever; but if they are bad, they will be the serpents in your grave.' [Spirtiual Teachings of Mawlana Rumi]
Friday, December 04, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1167
Ayahs of the Day:
Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth glorifies God, to whom belongs the dominion and who deserves all praise; and who has power over all things. That is the one who created you all; but some of you deny, while some of you believe. And God sees whatever you do. [64: 1,2]
Hadith of the Day:
A truthful and trustworthy merchant is associated with the Prophets, the upright, and the martyrs. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Faith leads to humility, avoidance of vanity in word and deed, charity, confidence, faithful observance of trusts and covenants, and devout approach to Allah-----surest steps to bliss. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that not everyone is capable of independently evaluating all affairs, outward and inward, against the Book and sunna, for only erudite scholars can do this. Should you ever find difficulty doing so, go to one of those whom God commanded you have recourse in His saying (Exalted is He): So ask the people of remembrance if you do not know. (16: 43)
The people of remembrance are those who have knowledge of God and His religion, practice what they know for His sake, have no desire for the world, are not distracted by commerce from His remembrance, summon to Him clear-sightedly, and to whom His secrets are unveiled. Those who seek them with sincerity and zeal will not, by God's Will, fail to find one of them. Sincerity is a sword that is never used against anything without cutting it. The earth is never without those who uphold the matter for God. These are the stars of the earth, the carriers of the Trust, the deputies of the Chosen One, and the heirs of the Prophets; God is well-pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with Him. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. The one thing worth living for is to keep one's soul pure. The proper function of man is to live-----not to exist. The purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is after all, to have made some difference that you lived at all.
Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth glorifies God, to whom belongs the dominion and who deserves all praise; and who has power over all things. That is the one who created you all; but some of you deny, while some of you believe. And God sees whatever you do. [64: 1,2]
Hadith of the Day:
A truthful and trustworthy merchant is associated with the Prophets, the upright, and the martyrs. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Faith leads to humility, avoidance of vanity in word and deed, charity, confidence, faithful observance of trusts and covenants, and devout approach to Allah-----surest steps to bliss. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that not everyone is capable of independently evaluating all affairs, outward and inward, against the Book and sunna, for only erudite scholars can do this. Should you ever find difficulty doing so, go to one of those whom God commanded you have recourse in His saying (Exalted is He): So ask the people of remembrance if you do not know. (16: 43)
The people of remembrance are those who have knowledge of God and His religion, practice what they know for His sake, have no desire for the world, are not distracted by commerce from His remembrance, summon to Him clear-sightedly, and to whom His secrets are unveiled. Those who seek them with sincerity and zeal will not, by God's Will, fail to find one of them. Sincerity is a sword that is never used against anything without cutting it. The earth is never without those who uphold the matter for God. These are the stars of the earth, the carriers of the Trust, the deputies of the Chosen One, and the heirs of the Prophets; God is well-pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with Him. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. The one thing worth living for is to keep one's soul pure. The proper function of man is to live-----not to exist. The purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is after all, to have made some difference that you lived at all.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....207
1. Every thing is good and perfect in relation to God. For example, in a king's realm there are prisons, gallows, robes of honor, estates, retinue, banquets etc. In relation to the king, all is good.
2. Knowledge and wisdom exist to distinguish the right from the wrong; if everything were the right way, then wisdom would be useless.
3. Look at this: In spite of all the world's bitterness, you are passionately attached to it. Know that bitter tribulation is a mercy!
4. The cruelty of time and of every suffering that exists is easier than distance from God and heedlessness. For cruelty will pass, but distance from Him will not, no one possesses good fortune but he who takes to Him an aware spirit.
5. Religion cannot exist without unbelief, since religion is the abandonment of unbelief; therefore an unbelief must exist for us to abandon.
6. If man can pass beyond his own ego, his spirit can join its original state of purity and unity.
7. Those who are the elect of Adam's children breathe the breath of 'We have wronged ourselves.' Display your need for God-------do not argue like the impudent and accursed Iblis.
8. Hell is a dragon with seven heads; your greed is the bait, and hell is the snare.
9. Each and every part of the world is a snare for the fool and a means of deliverance for the wise. For one person it is candy, for another poison; for one it is gentleness, for another severity.
10. If we do not achieve the state of 'seeing things as they are' in this world, we will certainly achieve it in the next. However, that may well be too late for us to reap any benefit from it. [Spiritual Teachings of Mawlana Rumi]
2. Knowledge and wisdom exist to distinguish the right from the wrong; if everything were the right way, then wisdom would be useless.
3. Look at this: In spite of all the world's bitterness, you are passionately attached to it. Know that bitter tribulation is a mercy!
4. The cruelty of time and of every suffering that exists is easier than distance from God and heedlessness. For cruelty will pass, but distance from Him will not, no one possesses good fortune but he who takes to Him an aware spirit.
5. Religion cannot exist without unbelief, since religion is the abandonment of unbelief; therefore an unbelief must exist for us to abandon.
6. If man can pass beyond his own ego, his spirit can join its original state of purity and unity.
7. Those who are the elect of Adam's children breathe the breath of 'We have wronged ourselves.' Display your need for God-------do not argue like the impudent and accursed Iblis.
8. Hell is a dragon with seven heads; your greed is the bait, and hell is the snare.
9. Each and every part of the world is a snare for the fool and a means of deliverance for the wise. For one person it is candy, for another poison; for one it is gentleness, for another severity.
10. If we do not achieve the state of 'seeing things as they are' in this world, we will certainly achieve it in the next. However, that may well be too late for us to reap any benefit from it. [Spiritual Teachings of Mawlana Rumi]
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1166
Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, don't let your properties or your children divert you from remembrance of God; any who do that will be the losers. And give of what We have provided you, before death comes to one of you and he says, "My Lord, why didn't You let me stay awhile-------I would have given charity, and would have been among the righteous." But God will not let a soul stay behind when its time has come; and God is fully aware of what you do. [63: 9,10,11]
Hadith of the Day:
There is no obedience to the created beings when it entails disobedience to the Creator. [Tirmidhi & Ahmad]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Judge your worth in the Creator's sight by how much space He occupies in your heart, and your worth in people's eyes by how you treat them. Do not neglect the Truth even for a moment. [Fethullah Gulen]
Guidance of the Day:
You must hold fast to the Book and the sunna. Take refuge in them, for they are the upright religion of God, and His straight path. Those who adhere to them find safety, profit, guidance and protection, while those who deviate from them go astray, grieve, lose, and are broken. Let them govern you and control what you do, and consult them in your every affair, in obedience to the counsel of God and that of His Messenger.
If it pleases you to be well-guided along the white road in which there is neither crookedness nor curvature, then measure all your intentions, traits, acts, and words against the Book and sunna, then retain whatever conforms to them and abandon whatever does not. And always be cautious and follow the better alternative. Never innovate in religion, nor follow the ways of the non-believers, or else you will lose both this world and the hereafter, which thing is the manifest loss. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
We are all dust and clay until we find inspiration in our lives. When we are inspired, we change the world, not by changing others, but by changing ourselves. If everyone on this planet felt inspired and breathed life into each other, we would have a world of companionship and love. Inspire deeply for yourself and all those in your life.
Believers, don't let your properties or your children divert you from remembrance of God; any who do that will be the losers. And give of what We have provided you, before death comes to one of you and he says, "My Lord, why didn't You let me stay awhile-------I would have given charity, and would have been among the righteous." But God will not let a soul stay behind when its time has come; and God is fully aware of what you do. [63: 9,10,11]
Hadith of the Day:
There is no obedience to the created beings when it entails disobedience to the Creator. [Tirmidhi & Ahmad]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Judge your worth in the Creator's sight by how much space He occupies in your heart, and your worth in people's eyes by how you treat them. Do not neglect the Truth even for a moment. [Fethullah Gulen]
Guidance of the Day:
You must hold fast to the Book and the sunna. Take refuge in them, for they are the upright religion of God, and His straight path. Those who adhere to them find safety, profit, guidance and protection, while those who deviate from them go astray, grieve, lose, and are broken. Let them govern you and control what you do, and consult them in your every affair, in obedience to the counsel of God and that of His Messenger.
If it pleases you to be well-guided along the white road in which there is neither crookedness nor curvature, then measure all your intentions, traits, acts, and words against the Book and sunna, then retain whatever conforms to them and abandon whatever does not. And always be cautious and follow the better alternative. Never innovate in religion, nor follow the ways of the non-believers, or else you will lose both this world and the hereafter, which thing is the manifest loss. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
We are all dust and clay until we find inspiration in our lives. When we are inspired, we change the world, not by changing others, but by changing ourselves. If everyone on this planet felt inspired and breathed life into each other, we would have a world of companionship and love. Inspire deeply for yourself and all those in your life.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....206
1. People look at secondary causes and think that they are the origin of everything that happens. But it has been revealed to the saints that secondary causes are no more than a veil.
2. Each and every part of the world is a snare for the fool and a means of deliverance for the wise.
3. When patience and intellect go, your ego incites to evil.
4. The sensual ego is blind and deaf to God.
5. All the disgraceful qualities derive from water and clay. Once the mirror of your heart becomes pure and clear, you will see pictures from beyond the domain of water and clay.
6. The saints have polished their breasts until cleansed of greed, cupidity, avarice, and hatred. Without doubt the pure mirror is the heart acting as a receptacle for infinite pictures.
7. Things become clear through their opposites. God created suffering and heartache so that joyful -heartedness might appear through its opposite.
8. No opposite can be known without its opposite. Having suffered a blow, you will know a caress.
9. There is no absolute evil in the world, for evil is relative-----know this also:
The snakes venom is life for the snake, but death in relation to man.
Creatures of water see the ocean as garden, creatures of earth see it as death and torment.
Nothing God has created is in vain, whether wrath, or forbearance, sincere council or guile.
None of these things is absolutely good, none absolutely evil.
The benefit and harm each depends upon the situation.
For this reason knowledge is necessary and useful. [Spiritual Teachings of Mawlana Rumi]
2. Each and every part of the world is a snare for the fool and a means of deliverance for the wise.
3. When patience and intellect go, your ego incites to evil.
4. The sensual ego is blind and deaf to God.
5. All the disgraceful qualities derive from water and clay. Once the mirror of your heart becomes pure and clear, you will see pictures from beyond the domain of water and clay.
6. The saints have polished their breasts until cleansed of greed, cupidity, avarice, and hatred. Without doubt the pure mirror is the heart acting as a receptacle for infinite pictures.
7. Things become clear through their opposites. God created suffering and heartache so that joyful -heartedness might appear through its opposite.
8. No opposite can be known without its opposite. Having suffered a blow, you will know a caress.
9. There is no absolute evil in the world, for evil is relative-----know this also:
The snakes venom is life for the snake, but death in relation to man.
Creatures of water see the ocean as garden, creatures of earth see it as death and torment.
Nothing God has created is in vain, whether wrath, or forbearance, sincere council or guile.
None of these things is absolutely good, none absolutely evil.
The benefit and harm each depends upon the situation.
For this reason knowledge is necessary and useful. [Spiritual Teachings of Mawlana Rumi]
Monday, November 30, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1165
Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, when the call to pray is given on the day of congregation, hasten to remembrance of God, leaving business aside. That is best for you, if you only knew. Then when the prayer is concluded, disperse through the land seeking the bounty of God, remembering God a lot, that you may thrive. [62: 9,10]
Hadith of the Day:
Worshipping at times of tribulations and confusion is like migrating to join me. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The one who is esteemed by people should deem himself worthy of no such honor or respect, so as not to fall into delusion. [Abdullah ibn Mubarak]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that hastening to acts of goodness, being careful with acts of worship and persevering in obedience, constitute the way of the Prophets and Saints, both at the beginning and end of their affair, for they are the creatures with the most knowledge of God, and it is therefore not surprising that they are the most worshipful, obedient, and fearful of Him (Mighty and Majestic is He!)
The attentiveness of a servant is equal to his love of his Lord. Love is consequent upon knowledge: in as much as God's servant grows more knowledgeable of Him, so also shall he love Him more and worship Him more abundantly. If you become too busy amassing worldly things and following passions to have awrad (spiritual works) and keep to acts of worship, strive to give your Lord an hour at the end of the day when you occupy yourself with glorifying Him, asking forgiveness, and other kinds of devotions. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
We should worship as though the Deity were present. If our mind is not engaged in our worship, it is as though we worshipped not. It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to grow. Worship is the act of rising to a personal, experimental consciousness of the real presence of God which floods the soul with joy, and bathes the whole inward spirit with refreshing streams of life.
Believers, when the call to pray is given on the day of congregation, hasten to remembrance of God, leaving business aside. That is best for you, if you only knew. Then when the prayer is concluded, disperse through the land seeking the bounty of God, remembering God a lot, that you may thrive. [62: 9,10]
Hadith of the Day:
Worshipping at times of tribulations and confusion is like migrating to join me. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The one who is esteemed by people should deem himself worthy of no such honor or respect, so as not to fall into delusion. [Abdullah ibn Mubarak]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that hastening to acts of goodness, being careful with acts of worship and persevering in obedience, constitute the way of the Prophets and Saints, both at the beginning and end of their affair, for they are the creatures with the most knowledge of God, and it is therefore not surprising that they are the most worshipful, obedient, and fearful of Him (Mighty and Majestic is He!)
The attentiveness of a servant is equal to his love of his Lord. Love is consequent upon knowledge: in as much as God's servant grows more knowledgeable of Him, so also shall he love Him more and worship Him more abundantly. If you become too busy amassing worldly things and following passions to have awrad (spiritual works) and keep to acts of worship, strive to give your Lord an hour at the end of the day when you occupy yourself with glorifying Him, asking forgiveness, and other kinds of devotions. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
We should worship as though the Deity were present. If our mind is not engaged in our worship, it is as though we worshipped not. It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to grow. Worship is the act of rising to a personal, experimental consciousness of the real presence of God which floods the soul with joy, and bathes the whole inward spirit with refreshing streams of life.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
GRATITUDE
1. Say thank you, until you mean it.
2. Thank God, for every one and every thing sent your way.
3. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
4. Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.
5. Gratitude turns denial into acceptance.
6. Gratitude turns chaos into order.
7. Gratitude turns confusion into clarity.
8. Gratitude turns a meal into a feast.
9. Gratitude turns a house into a home.
10. Gratitude turns a stranger into a friend.
11. Gratitude turns problems into gifts.
12. Gratitude turns failures into successes.
13. Gratitude turns unexpected into perfect timings.
14. Gratitude turns mistakes into important events.
15. Gratitude turns an existence into a real life.
16. Gratitude turns disconnected situations into important beneficial lessons.
17. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
18. Gratitude makes things right.
19. Gratitude turns negative energy into positive energy.
20. There is no situation or circumstance so small or large that it is not susceptible to gratitude's power.
21. We can start with who we are and what we have today, apply gratitude, then let it work its magic.
22. Say thank you, until you mean it. If you say it long enough you will believe it. [Melody Beatie]
2. Thank God, for every one and every thing sent your way.
3. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
4. Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.
5. Gratitude turns denial into acceptance.
6. Gratitude turns chaos into order.
7. Gratitude turns confusion into clarity.
8. Gratitude turns a meal into a feast.
9. Gratitude turns a house into a home.
10. Gratitude turns a stranger into a friend.
11. Gratitude turns problems into gifts.
12. Gratitude turns failures into successes.
13. Gratitude turns unexpected into perfect timings.
14. Gratitude turns mistakes into important events.
15. Gratitude turns an existence into a real life.
16. Gratitude turns disconnected situations into important beneficial lessons.
17. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
18. Gratitude makes things right.
19. Gratitude turns negative energy into positive energy.
20. There is no situation or circumstance so small or large that it is not susceptible to gratitude's power.
21. We can start with who we are and what we have today, apply gratitude, then let it work its magic.
22. Say thank you, until you mean it. If you say it long enough you will believe it. [Melody Beatie]
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....205
1. Praising the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) should come from loving him, and loving him should entail desiring what he desired, which was nothing other than to follow and obey Allah. [Aftab Ahmad Malik]
2. If your love were truthful, you would have obeyed Him;
verily the lover is obedient to the One he loves. [A poet]
3. To take the messenger as a model means to emulate him, follow his sunna, and to abandon opposition to him in either word or action. [Ibn Ali al Tirmidhi]
4. "The path of those whom You have blessed," means to follow the sunna. [Salh al Tustari]
5. The people of the sunna have the greatest knowledge of the Book of Allah. [Omar radi Allah anhu]
6. The invocation of God is a sign of faith, a liberation from hypocrisy, a protection from the devil, and a refuge from hell fire. [Anas ibn Malik radi Allah anhu]
7. Seek for sweetness in three things---------in ritual prayers, in invocation, and in reciting the Qur'an. [Hasan ibn Ali radi Allah anhuma]
8. Just as the effect of an atom's weight of food or drink or medicine is not lost on the body, so too the effect of an atom's weight of goodness or evil is not lost either in drawing near to God's door or in estrangement from Him. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
9. Remember Me when you are angry and I will remember you when I am angry [Gospel]
10. Strive to be as mindful of the Qur'an in deed as you are mindful of it in your recitation. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
2. If your love were truthful, you would have obeyed Him;
verily the lover is obedient to the One he loves. [A poet]
3. To take the messenger as a model means to emulate him, follow his sunna, and to abandon opposition to him in either word or action. [Ibn Ali al Tirmidhi]
4. "The path of those whom You have blessed," means to follow the sunna. [Salh al Tustari]
5. The people of the sunna have the greatest knowledge of the Book of Allah. [Omar radi Allah anhu]
6. The invocation of God is a sign of faith, a liberation from hypocrisy, a protection from the devil, and a refuge from hell fire. [Anas ibn Malik radi Allah anhu]
7. Seek for sweetness in three things---------in ritual prayers, in invocation, and in reciting the Qur'an. [Hasan ibn Ali radi Allah anhuma]
8. Just as the effect of an atom's weight of food or drink or medicine is not lost on the body, so too the effect of an atom's weight of goodness or evil is not lost either in drawing near to God's door or in estrangement from Him. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
9. Remember Me when you are angry and I will remember you when I am angry [Gospel]
10. Strive to be as mindful of the Qur'an in deed as you are mindful of it in your recitation. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1164
Ayahs of the Day:
Say, "The death you flee from will itself come to meet you; then you will be returned to the Knower of the hidden and the manifest, who will tell you of what you'd been doing. [62: 8]
Hadith of the Day:
The (significance of) this world (in comparison) to the Hereafter is similar to one of you dipping his finger in the ocean and seeing (the amount of water) that has stuck to it. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The sickness affecting your heart, O poor one, comes from the passions which pass through you. If you were to abandon them and concern yourself with what God ordains for you, your heart would not suffer as it suffers now. [Shaykh al Darqawi]
Guidance of the Day:
You should have a wird (any spiritual work which is done on regular basis) of reflection in every twenty-four hours. Know that the state of one's religious and worldly affairs depends upon the soundness of one's reflection. Anyone who has a share of it has an abundant share of everything good. It has been said: 'An hour's reflection is better than a year's worship.' and 'Reflection is the lamp of the heart; if it departs the heart will have no light.'
Know that you must reflect on this worldly life, its numerous preoccupations, hazards, and the swiftness with which it perishes, and upon the hereafter, and its felicity and permanence. You should reflect on the imminence of death and the regret and remorse which occur when it is too late.
You should reflect on those attributes and acts by which God has described His friends and His enemies, and on the immediate and delayed rewards which He has prepared for each group, so that you come to love the fortunate, habituate yourself to emulating their behavior and taking on their qualities, and detest the wretched, and habituate yourself to avoiding their behavior and traits of character. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When you work seven days a week, fourteen hours a day, you get lucky. You have to be in a position for luck to happen. Luck doesn't go around looking for a stumblebum. Get as much experience as you can, so that you're ready when luck works. That's the luck.
Say, "The death you flee from will itself come to meet you; then you will be returned to the Knower of the hidden and the manifest, who will tell you of what you'd been doing. [62: 8]
Hadith of the Day:
The (significance of) this world (in comparison) to the Hereafter is similar to one of you dipping his finger in the ocean and seeing (the amount of water) that has stuck to it. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The sickness affecting your heart, O poor one, comes from the passions which pass through you. If you were to abandon them and concern yourself with what God ordains for you, your heart would not suffer as it suffers now. [Shaykh al Darqawi]
Guidance of the Day:
You should have a wird (any spiritual work which is done on regular basis) of reflection in every twenty-four hours. Know that the state of one's religious and worldly affairs depends upon the soundness of one's reflection. Anyone who has a share of it has an abundant share of everything good. It has been said: 'An hour's reflection is better than a year's worship.' and 'Reflection is the lamp of the heart; if it departs the heart will have no light.'
Know that you must reflect on this worldly life, its numerous preoccupations, hazards, and the swiftness with which it perishes, and upon the hereafter, and its felicity and permanence. You should reflect on the imminence of death and the regret and remorse which occur when it is too late.
You should reflect on those attributes and acts by which God has described His friends and His enemies, and on the immediate and delayed rewards which He has prepared for each group, so that you come to love the fortunate, habituate yourself to emulating their behavior and taking on their qualities, and detest the wretched, and habituate yourself to avoiding their behavior and traits of character. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When you work seven days a week, fourteen hours a day, you get lucky. You have to be in a position for luck to happen. Luck doesn't go around looking for a stumblebum. Get as much experience as you can, so that you're ready when luck works. That's the luck.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....204
1. Capability is a condition for commanding good and forbidding evil. So its level of obligation on a particular person is proportional to his capability. [Ibn Taymiyyah]
2. None is to command good and forbid evil unless he understands what he is commanding and what he is forbidding, is gentle and is patient. [Ibn Taymiyyah].
3. The believer tries to find excuses for others, while the hypocrite looks out for mistakes. [Ibn al Mubarak]
4. Although today, we find ourselves without a khalifah, this is not the cause of our troubles; rather we as an Umma have become neglectful of our Deen and have become preoccupied with this life. [Aftab Ahmad Malik]
5. All the believers are the Friends of Allah (Awliya), and the noblest of them in the sight of Allah are those who are the most obedient and who most closely follow the Qur'an. [Imam Abu Hanifah]
6. The best form of speech is that in which a little removes the need to say more, and the meaning is self evident in the words. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
7. People are warned to beware of indulging in talk on matters that are of no concern to them, or when there is no occasion for them to speak------for a person who speaks out of place has indulged in excess. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
8. The real miracle occurs when the one who has broken the creational norms of his soul by taking its low customary nature to being attached to the values of the Shari'ah completely in all movements and stillness. [Shaykh Othman]
9. Engage yourself not in speech either with the learned or the fool. For the former is likely to defeat you, and the latter is likely to abuse you. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
10. Mention your brother favorably in his absence, not in a way that you displease him, were he to hear you. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
2. None is to command good and forbid evil unless he understands what he is commanding and what he is forbidding, is gentle and is patient. [Ibn Taymiyyah].
3. The believer tries to find excuses for others, while the hypocrite looks out for mistakes. [Ibn al Mubarak]
4. Although today, we find ourselves without a khalifah, this is not the cause of our troubles; rather we as an Umma have become neglectful of our Deen and have become preoccupied with this life. [Aftab Ahmad Malik]
5. All the believers are the Friends of Allah (Awliya), and the noblest of them in the sight of Allah are those who are the most obedient and who most closely follow the Qur'an. [Imam Abu Hanifah]
6. The best form of speech is that in which a little removes the need to say more, and the meaning is self evident in the words. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
7. People are warned to beware of indulging in talk on matters that are of no concern to them, or when there is no occasion for them to speak------for a person who speaks out of place has indulged in excess. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
8. The real miracle occurs when the one who has broken the creational norms of his soul by taking its low customary nature to being attached to the values of the Shari'ah completely in all movements and stillness. [Shaykh Othman]
9. Engage yourself not in speech either with the learned or the fool. For the former is likely to defeat you, and the latter is likely to abuse you. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
10. Mention your brother favorably in his absence, not in a way that you displease him, were he to hear you. [Ibn Abbas radi Allah anhu]
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1163
Ayahs of the Day:
Everything in the heavens and everything on earth praises God, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Almighty, the Wise: that is who sent the unlettered a messenger from among them to recite the signs of God to them, and purify them, and teach them scripture and wisdom----even if they had indeed been in evident error before-----and others of them when they join them. And God is the Almighty, the Epitome of wisdom. That is the grace of God, which God grants to whomever God will; and God is the holder of supreme grace. [62: 1 to 4]
Hadith of the Day:
The marriage which is most blessed is the one which is lightest in burden and expense. [Bayhaqi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The sincere person is safe, secure, and at peace in this world and the Hereafter. His actions find divine reward. Allah is pleased with him, and he is pleased with his Lord. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
You should have a wird of reading useful knowledge, which is that which increases your knowledge of the Essence of God, His Attributes, Acts and favors, makes you aware of His commands and prohibitions, leads you to renounce the things of this world and wish only for the hereafter, and brings your faults, the defects in your acts and the plots of your enemy to your notice.
You should have a wird of remembering God (dhikr), which you must define with either a determined time or number. Remembrance has fruits and consequences which those who persevere in it with good manners and attentiveness find. The least of these is to find it so sweet and pleasurable that every worldly pleasure that one knows becomes insignificant. The highest is to become extinct in the Remembered, to the remembrance, and to all else. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss. All life is an experiment. No great man complains of want of opportunity. Our greatest glory is not in never failing but rising up every time we fail.
Everything in the heavens and everything on earth praises God, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Almighty, the Wise: that is who sent the unlettered a messenger from among them to recite the signs of God to them, and purify them, and teach them scripture and wisdom----even if they had indeed been in evident error before-----and others of them when they join them. And God is the Almighty, the Epitome of wisdom. That is the grace of God, which God grants to whomever God will; and God is the holder of supreme grace. [62: 1 to 4]
Hadith of the Day:
The marriage which is most blessed is the one which is lightest in burden and expense. [Bayhaqi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The sincere person is safe, secure, and at peace in this world and the Hereafter. His actions find divine reward. Allah is pleased with him, and he is pleased with his Lord. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
You should have a wird of reading useful knowledge, which is that which increases your knowledge of the Essence of God, His Attributes, Acts and favors, makes you aware of His commands and prohibitions, leads you to renounce the things of this world and wish only for the hereafter, and brings your faults, the defects in your acts and the plots of your enemy to your notice.
You should have a wird of remembering God (dhikr), which you must define with either a determined time or number. Remembrance has fruits and consequences which those who persevere in it with good manners and attentiveness find. The least of these is to find it so sweet and pleasurable that every worldly pleasure that one knows becomes insignificant. The highest is to become extinct in the Remembered, to the remembrance, and to all else. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss. All life is an experiment. No great man complains of want of opportunity. Our greatest glory is not in never failing but rising up every time we fail.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....203
1. Break away from the lower self and lust, seek the help of God, for how excellent is the Master.
2. It is incumbent upon you to have real faith, and the sense of God's presence in well-doing. Hold fast to that with knowledge, and you will experience the increase in wisdom.
3. Cling to sincerity and godly piety, and forsake the abodes of evil, and you will attain the loftiest degrees.
4. Be not be heedless of God, neither consider yourself secure from His cunning. Look to no one except God, and you will acquire sciences, gifts, and understandings, and you will obtain from God an unceasing reward.
5. Serve your Lord wherever you may be with contentment, and you will enjoy what the people of beneficence have obtained.
6. Faith is increased by thanksgiving for graces, endurance under trial, and contentment with the Divine decree.
7. Remembrance of God is the light of the heart, and His presence is the key to the invisible.
8. The understanding man is one who has an understanding from God of His signs and whose occupation is dhikr of and reflection upon His favors.
9. The real significance of remembrance lies in one's being detached from remembrance and joined to the One remembered in the dhikr, and detached from everything except Him.
10. Whenever anyone of the jinn and men intimidates you, say, 'Our sufficiency is God, and He is an excellent Protector. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. It is incumbent upon you to have real faith, and the sense of God's presence in well-doing. Hold fast to that with knowledge, and you will experience the increase in wisdom.
3. Cling to sincerity and godly piety, and forsake the abodes of evil, and you will attain the loftiest degrees.
4. Be not be heedless of God, neither consider yourself secure from His cunning. Look to no one except God, and you will acquire sciences, gifts, and understandings, and you will obtain from God an unceasing reward.
5. Serve your Lord wherever you may be with contentment, and you will enjoy what the people of beneficence have obtained.
6. Faith is increased by thanksgiving for graces, endurance under trial, and contentment with the Divine decree.
7. Remembrance of God is the light of the heart, and His presence is the key to the invisible.
8. The understanding man is one who has an understanding from God of His signs and whose occupation is dhikr of and reflection upon His favors.
9. The real significance of remembrance lies in one's being detached from remembrance and joined to the One remembered in the dhikr, and detached from everything except Him.
10. Whenever anyone of the jinn and men intimidates you, say, 'Our sufficiency is God, and He is an excellent Protector. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Monday, November 09, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1162
Ayah of the Day:
Believers, be helpers of God, as Jesus Son of Mary said to the disciples, "Who will be my helpers to God?" The disciples said, "We will be helpers of God." And a part of the Israelites believed, while a part scoffed; We backed those who believed against their enemies, so they became victorious. [61: 14]
Hadith of the Day:
The excellence of a person's Islam includes leaving what does not concern him. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Servantship is strengthened by persisting in neediness, impotence, weakness and lowliness before God. [Shaykh Abul Hasan al-Shadhili]
Guidance of the Day:
You must fill up your time with acts of worship so that no period of time elapses, whether by night or by day, without being used in some act of goodness. This is how the baraka within time is manifest, the purpose of life fulfilled, and the approach to God the Exalted made constant.
You should allocate specific periods of time for your habitual activities such as eating, drinking, and working for livelihood. Know that no state can be sound in the presence of neglect, and no wealth useful in the presence of heedlessness. If you abandon yourself to neglect and purposelessness, as the cattle do, and just do anything that may occur to you at any time it happens to occur to you, most of your time will be wasted. Your time is your life, and your life is your capital; it is the basis of your transactions (with God), and the means to attain to everlasting felicity, in the proximity of God the Exalted. Each of your breaths is a priceless jewel, and when it passes away it never returns. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
There are many fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is yours is the present. Don't wait until your time is almost up to call home and say, "I love you." Don't bring flowers to the grave; rather, bring them home or send them to the person who is precious to you today.
Believers, be helpers of God, as Jesus Son of Mary said to the disciples, "Who will be my helpers to God?" The disciples said, "We will be helpers of God." And a part of the Israelites believed, while a part scoffed; We backed those who believed against their enemies, so they became victorious. [61: 14]
Hadith of the Day:
The excellence of a person's Islam includes leaving what does not concern him. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Servantship is strengthened by persisting in neediness, impotence, weakness and lowliness before God. [Shaykh Abul Hasan al-Shadhili]
Guidance of the Day:
You must fill up your time with acts of worship so that no period of time elapses, whether by night or by day, without being used in some act of goodness. This is how the baraka within time is manifest, the purpose of life fulfilled, and the approach to God the Exalted made constant.
You should allocate specific periods of time for your habitual activities such as eating, drinking, and working for livelihood. Know that no state can be sound in the presence of neglect, and no wealth useful in the presence of heedlessness. If you abandon yourself to neglect and purposelessness, as the cattle do, and just do anything that may occur to you at any time it happens to occur to you, most of your time will be wasted. Your time is your life, and your life is your capital; it is the basis of your transactions (with God), and the means to attain to everlasting felicity, in the proximity of God the Exalted. Each of your breaths is a priceless jewel, and when it passes away it never returns. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
There are many fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is yours is the present. Don't wait until your time is almost up to call home and say, "I love you." Don't bring flowers to the grave; rather, bring them home or send them to the person who is precious to you today.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....202
1. Whenever you desire to do a certain thing or abstain from doing it, flee to God, and call to Him for help. Accustom yourself to that.
2. Take heed not to lose confidence in God. Trust in God, for God loves the trustful.
3. Knock on the door of dhikr, seeking shelter with God and avowing your need of Him, if you desire to have spiritual sufficiency.
4. Sustenance is Divinely apportioned. It is not the piety of a pious man that increases it, nor it is the impiety of an impious man that diminishes it.
5. Display not your knowledge in order that men may consider you to be sincere, but display your knowledge in order that God may consider you to be sincere.
6. Act toward God with certainty. Stand fast where He has established you, abstain from forbidden where He has forbidden you, with true insight (basira) in the religious certainty, and be not one of heedless.
7. If a person loves God, and He loves him, his friendship is brought to perfection.
8. The lover in very truth is he over whose heart there is no authority belonging to any except his Beloved and in which there is no will other than His will.
9. He whose friendship in relation to God has been established for him feels no aversion in meeting with God (on the Day of Judgment).
10. The veritable friend (of God) is not averse to death if it comes to him, since one who has tasted of intimacy with his Master will love meeting with Him. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. Take heed not to lose confidence in God. Trust in God, for God loves the trustful.
3. Knock on the door of dhikr, seeking shelter with God and avowing your need of Him, if you desire to have spiritual sufficiency.
4. Sustenance is Divinely apportioned. It is not the piety of a pious man that increases it, nor it is the impiety of an impious man that diminishes it.
5. Display not your knowledge in order that men may consider you to be sincere, but display your knowledge in order that God may consider you to be sincere.
6. Act toward God with certainty. Stand fast where He has established you, abstain from forbidden where He has forbidden you, with true insight (basira) in the religious certainty, and be not one of heedless.
7. If a person loves God, and He loves him, his friendship is brought to perfection.
8. The lover in very truth is he over whose heart there is no authority belonging to any except his Beloved and in which there is no will other than His will.
9. He whose friendship in relation to God has been established for him feels no aversion in meeting with God (on the Day of Judgment).
10. The veritable friend (of God) is not averse to death if it comes to him, since one who has tasted of intimacy with his Master will love meeting with Him. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Thursday, October 29, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1161
Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, shall I guide you to a trade that will save you from intense agony-----you believe in God and the messenger of God and strive for the cause of God with your properties and your persons------that is best for you, if you knew: God will forgive you your sins and admit you to gardens with streams flowing below, pleasant abodes in gardens of eternity-------that is the great success. And another you will like----help from God, and victory close at hand; so give the good news to the believers. [61: 10 to13]
Hadith of the Day:
The best (act of worship) in the sight of God is that which is done regularly. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
He is not a person of intelligence who does not strengthen himself by the strength of God. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that one who claims to have a thriving inward but whose outward has been corrupted by his abandoning outward acts of obedience is a pretender and a liar. The one who exerts himself in the reform of his outward aspect by caring about the way he dresses and appears, speaks, moves, sits, stands, and walks, but leaves his inward full of repellent attributes and vile traits, is one of the people of affectation and ostentation, who have turned away from the Lord.
Beware, O brother, of doing in secret that which if seen by people would make you ashamed and worried about being censured. If you cannot make your inward better than your outward, the least that you can do is to make them equal, so that you behave equally well privately and publicly in obeying God's injunctions, avoiding His prohibitions, respecting what He has made sacred, and hastening to please Him. This is the first step a servant takes on the path of special knowledge. Know this! Success is from God. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you----love, prayer and forgiveness. As long as you don't forgive, who and whatever will occupy rent free space in your mind. Resentment is one burden that is incompatible with your success, always be the first to forgive.
Believers, shall I guide you to a trade that will save you from intense agony-----you believe in God and the messenger of God and strive for the cause of God with your properties and your persons------that is best for you, if you knew: God will forgive you your sins and admit you to gardens with streams flowing below, pleasant abodes in gardens of eternity-------that is the great success. And another you will like----help from God, and victory close at hand; so give the good news to the believers. [61: 10 to13]
Hadith of the Day:
The best (act of worship) in the sight of God is that which is done regularly. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
He is not a person of intelligence who does not strengthen himself by the strength of God. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
Guidance of the Day:
Know that one who claims to have a thriving inward but whose outward has been corrupted by his abandoning outward acts of obedience is a pretender and a liar. The one who exerts himself in the reform of his outward aspect by caring about the way he dresses and appears, speaks, moves, sits, stands, and walks, but leaves his inward full of repellent attributes and vile traits, is one of the people of affectation and ostentation, who have turned away from the Lord.
Beware, O brother, of doing in secret that which if seen by people would make you ashamed and worried about being censured. If you cannot make your inward better than your outward, the least that you can do is to make them equal, so that you behave equally well privately and publicly in obeying God's injunctions, avoiding His prohibitions, respecting what He has made sacred, and hastening to please Him. This is the first step a servant takes on the path of special knowledge. Know this! Success is from God. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you----love, prayer and forgiveness. As long as you don't forgive, who and whatever will occupy rent free space in your mind. Resentment is one burden that is incompatible with your success, always be the first to forgive.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....201
1. Take to yourself for armor ritual purification, fasting, worship, patience, performance of the dhikr, recitation of the Qur'an, and disclaiming the strength and power of God, and you will be in safety.
2. The increased blessings are actually the increases of religious knowledge, certainty, and intuitional knowledge (ma'rifa).
3. Every desire that summons you to long for the thing represented in the mind is the tool and weapon of Satan; and every desire that summons you to obey God and long to perform good deeds is praise worthy.
4. So long as your heart is attached to your knowledge and your striving, you are not as one going toward God, and you will not be such until you despair of everything, cleaving to hope in God with every breath---------then you will find help from God.
5. Whenever God honors a servant in his activities and moments of rest, He assigns to him service to perform (ubudiya) and conceals from him his personal gratifications.
6. Steadfastness before God with a clear consciousness of Him is the fairest of obedient acts.
7. He is described as niggardly and blame worthy who holds back his possessions on account of fear of poverty, wrong conjecture about God, contempt for the respect due to the believers.
8. Whenever you find pleasure in your outer or inner states, say: 'Whatever God wills, there is no force except with God.'
9. If we fear God with a fear that makes us secure from everything, then there is no sense at all in having fear of anything, since He is by everything, with everything, above everything, below everything, near everything, enveloping everything.
10. May your servant ship consist in resignation, contentment, acceptance of what is sent, good opinion of God in whatever you encounter, and being occupied with what is most worthy. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. The increased blessings are actually the increases of religious knowledge, certainty, and intuitional knowledge (ma'rifa).
3. Every desire that summons you to long for the thing represented in the mind is the tool and weapon of Satan; and every desire that summons you to obey God and long to perform good deeds is praise worthy.
4. So long as your heart is attached to your knowledge and your striving, you are not as one going toward God, and you will not be such until you despair of everything, cleaving to hope in God with every breath---------then you will find help from God.
5. Whenever God honors a servant in his activities and moments of rest, He assigns to him service to perform (ubudiya) and conceals from him his personal gratifications.
6. Steadfastness before God with a clear consciousness of Him is the fairest of obedient acts.
7. He is described as niggardly and blame worthy who holds back his possessions on account of fear of poverty, wrong conjecture about God, contempt for the respect due to the believers.
8. Whenever you find pleasure in your outer or inner states, say: 'Whatever God wills, there is no force except with God.'
9. If we fear God with a fear that makes us secure from everything, then there is no sense at all in having fear of anything, since He is by everything, with everything, above everything, below everything, near everything, enveloping everything.
10. May your servant ship consist in resignation, contentment, acceptance of what is sent, good opinion of God in whatever you encounter, and being occupied with what is most worthy. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Monday, October 26, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1160
Ayahs of the Day:
They want to extinguish the light of God with their mouths, but God will complete the divine illumination in spite of the hatred of the unbelievers. God is the one who sent the messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, to reveal it to all religion, even if polytheists object. [61: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
The onus of proof is upon the one who makes the claim. [Bayhaqi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Abstaining from the unlawful is the beginning of renunciation of the world, just as contentment with one's lot is a branch of satisfaction with the will of God. [Abul Qasim al-Qushayri]
Guidance of the Day:
You must, O my brother, improve your inward aspect until it becomes better than your virtuous outer appearance, for the former is the where the gaze of the Real obtains, while the latter is where the envious gaze of creation is to be found. God never mentioned the inward and the outward in His Book without beginning with the inward. And the Prophet used to pray, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'O God! Make my inward better than my outward, and make my outward virtuous.'
When the inward is good the outward is also inevitably so, for the outward always follows the inward, whether for good or evil. The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'In the body there lies a small piece of flesh; when it is good the rest of the body is good also, and when it is corrupt the rest of the body becomes corrupt also: it is the heart.' [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
If we make religion our business, God will make it our blessedness. Nobody is anything except as he joins himself to something. You cannot be a whole unless you join a whole. This is religion. Religion-----that voice of the deepest human experience.
They want to extinguish the light of God with their mouths, but God will complete the divine illumination in spite of the hatred of the unbelievers. God is the one who sent the messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, to reveal it to all religion, even if polytheists object. [61: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
The onus of proof is upon the one who makes the claim. [Bayhaqi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Abstaining from the unlawful is the beginning of renunciation of the world, just as contentment with one's lot is a branch of satisfaction with the will of God. [Abul Qasim al-Qushayri]
Guidance of the Day:
You must, O my brother, improve your inward aspect until it becomes better than your virtuous outer appearance, for the former is the where the gaze of the Real obtains, while the latter is where the envious gaze of creation is to be found. God never mentioned the inward and the outward in His Book without beginning with the inward. And the Prophet used to pray, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'O God! Make my inward better than my outward, and make my outward virtuous.'
When the inward is good the outward is also inevitably so, for the outward always follows the inward, whether for good or evil. The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'In the body there lies a small piece of flesh; when it is good the rest of the body is good also, and when it is corrupt the rest of the body becomes corrupt also: it is the heart.' [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
If we make religion our business, God will make it our blessedness. Nobody is anything except as he joins himself to something. You cannot be a whole unless you join a whole. This is religion. Religion-----that voice of the deepest human experience.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....200
1. Some of the most sublime bestowals of God are contentment with the reliance upon God in hardships, and recourse to Him in reverses of fortune.
2. Love is a seizure that God grants to the heart of His servant and that distracts him from seeing everything save Him, so that you can see the soul inclining to obey Him.
3. If anyone would abide strictly by the command of God, let him do it by remembrance, reflection, promptness, and submission to the command of God.
4. Allow not your soul to be attached to anything, and you will be one of those well rooted in religious knowledge from whom no secret or knowledge is hidden.
5. If thoughts of disobedience and the world occur to your heart, caste them under your feet with disdain and indifference, and your heart will be filled with knowledge and the right guidance.
6. There is no guidance at all except for one who fears God, and there is no fear of God (taqwa) except who shuns the world.
7. He who neglects his heart despises his religion, and he who is preoccupied with his outer behavior is taking his religion as a jest.
8. The grace of God in the matter of contentment with His decree is that it causes you to forget your misfortunes by looking forward to the Day of Rendezvous.
9. Good intention in relation to matters between God and you means turning the heart respectfully toward God, with respect for the commanding of God, and with respect to what He has commanded.
10. The understanding man is one who has an understanding from God of His signs and whose occupation is dhikr and reflection upon His favors, taking refuge in and avowing dire need of Him, and seeking protection with Him. He appeals to God, and so God responds to him. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. Love is a seizure that God grants to the heart of His servant and that distracts him from seeing everything save Him, so that you can see the soul inclining to obey Him.
3. If anyone would abide strictly by the command of God, let him do it by remembrance, reflection, promptness, and submission to the command of God.
4. Allow not your soul to be attached to anything, and you will be one of those well rooted in religious knowledge from whom no secret or knowledge is hidden.
5. If thoughts of disobedience and the world occur to your heart, caste them under your feet with disdain and indifference, and your heart will be filled with knowledge and the right guidance.
6. There is no guidance at all except for one who fears God, and there is no fear of God (taqwa) except who shuns the world.
7. He who neglects his heart despises his religion, and he who is preoccupied with his outer behavior is taking his religion as a jest.
8. The grace of God in the matter of contentment with His decree is that it causes you to forget your misfortunes by looking forward to the Day of Rendezvous.
9. Good intention in relation to matters between God and you means turning the heart respectfully toward God, with respect for the commanding of God, and with respect to what He has commanded.
10. The understanding man is one who has an understanding from God of His signs and whose occupation is dhikr and reflection upon His favors, taking refuge in and avowing dire need of Him, and seeking protection with Him. He appeals to God, and so God responds to him. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1159
Ayahs of the Day:
God has not forbidden you to be charitable and just to those who have not fought you over religion or driven you from your homes, for God loves the just. God only forbids you to befriend those who fight you over religion and drive you from your homes, and back your expulsion; and any who befriend them are themselves wrongdoers. [60: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
Let your tongue never cease to be moist with the remembrance of God. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The gates of salvation are only reached through struggle. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
Whenever you notice in your soul any laziness in His worship or inclination to disobedience, remind it that God hears and sees you and knows your secrets and secret conversation. If this reminding does not benefit it because of inadequacy of its knowledge of the Majesty of God, remind it of the two noble angels who record good and evil deeds. If this reminding does not influence it, remind it of the proximity of death, that it is the nearest of all hidden and awaited things; frighten it of its sudden pouncing, whereby if it does come when it is in an unsatisfactory state it will end up in endless perdition.
If this threat is of no use, remind it of the immense reward which God has promised those who obey Him, and the painful torment with which He has threatened those who disobey Him. Say to it: 'O soul! After death there will be no opportunity to repent, and there will be, after this life, only the Garden or the Fire. Choose, if you will, obedience, the consequence of which is triumph, contentment, immortality in vast gardens, and looking at the Face of God, the Generous, the Beneficent; or else disobedience, the consequence of which is degradation, humiliation, mockery, deprivation, and imprisonment between layers of fire.' Endeavor to cure your soul through such reminders when it neglects obedience and inclines to rebellion, for they are useful medicines for the heart's diseases. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Motherhood: all love begins and ends there.
Thank her for it
And live your life with the love she bestowed on you, then share that love with all,
The gift of love is a mother's greatest gift.
Appreciate, respect, and acknowledge this.
God has not forbidden you to be charitable and just to those who have not fought you over religion or driven you from your homes, for God loves the just. God only forbids you to befriend those who fight you over religion and drive you from your homes, and back your expulsion; and any who befriend them are themselves wrongdoers. [60: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
Let your tongue never cease to be moist with the remembrance of God. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The gates of salvation are only reached through struggle. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
Whenever you notice in your soul any laziness in His worship or inclination to disobedience, remind it that God hears and sees you and knows your secrets and secret conversation. If this reminding does not benefit it because of inadequacy of its knowledge of the Majesty of God, remind it of the two noble angels who record good and evil deeds. If this reminding does not influence it, remind it of the proximity of death, that it is the nearest of all hidden and awaited things; frighten it of its sudden pouncing, whereby if it does come when it is in an unsatisfactory state it will end up in endless perdition.
If this threat is of no use, remind it of the immense reward which God has promised those who obey Him, and the painful torment with which He has threatened those who disobey Him. Say to it: 'O soul! After death there will be no opportunity to repent, and there will be, after this life, only the Garden or the Fire. Choose, if you will, obedience, the consequence of which is triumph, contentment, immortality in vast gardens, and looking at the Face of God, the Generous, the Beneficent; or else disobedience, the consequence of which is degradation, humiliation, mockery, deprivation, and imprisonment between layers of fire.' Endeavor to cure your soul through such reminders when it neglects obedience and inclines to rebellion, for they are useful medicines for the heart's diseases. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Motherhood: all love begins and ends there.
Thank her for it
And live your life with the love she bestowed on you, then share that love with all,
The gift of love is a mother's greatest gift.
Appreciate, respect, and acknowledge this.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....199
1. Mystical knowledge is that which has severed from everything except God and brought you back to Him.
2. Whenever He hinders you from attaining what you desire and makes you resort to what He desires, it is a sign of His love for you.
3. Serving God consists in reflecting upon God's commands and studying thoroughly the religion of God.
4. If anyone is entirely satisfied with his good works, he is bankrupt. But if anyone is completely satisfied with God, he has true satisfaction.
5. The sign of commitment (tafwid) to God is the lack of distress when distasteful things befall.
6. Whenever you come to see that in everything that exists you have no benefactor except Him, then you will be a thankful slave.
7. May your main concern be three things-------repentance, piety, and vigilance.
8. The work most indicative of love to Him is disdain of the world and despair of its people through living in harmony with them.
9. The Divine ordinances (fara'id) are well known, and the acts of disobedience are common knowledge, keep the Divine ordinances and shun the acts of disobedience.
10. Guard you heart from worldly desire, the love of high repute. In all of these, be content with what God has allotted to you. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. Whenever He hinders you from attaining what you desire and makes you resort to what He desires, it is a sign of His love for you.
3. Serving God consists in reflecting upon God's commands and studying thoroughly the religion of God.
4. If anyone is entirely satisfied with his good works, he is bankrupt. But if anyone is completely satisfied with God, he has true satisfaction.
5. The sign of commitment (tafwid) to God is the lack of distress when distasteful things befall.
6. Whenever you come to see that in everything that exists you have no benefactor except Him, then you will be a thankful slave.
7. May your main concern be three things-------repentance, piety, and vigilance.
8. The work most indicative of love to Him is disdain of the world and despair of its people through living in harmony with them.
9. The Divine ordinances (fara'id) are well known, and the acts of disobedience are common knowledge, keep the Divine ordinances and shun the acts of disobedience.
10. Guard you heart from worldly desire, the love of high repute. In all of these, be content with what God has allotted to you. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Monday, October 19, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1158
Ayahs of the Day:
Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth praises God, who is the almighty, the supremely wise. Believers, why do you say what you do not do? It is tremendously hateful to God that you say what you do not do. God loves those who fight for the sake of God in a battle line as though they were a solid building. [61: 1 to 4]
Hadith of the Day:
Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Invocations are a barrier between the servant and hellfire. If the remembrance is continuous and permanent, then the barrier is good and solid, if not, it is fragile and torn. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
Guidance of the Day:
If you find emerging in your heart, when you call to mind the fact that God observes you, a shyness that prevents you from disobeying Him and drives you to exert yourself in obeying Him, you are in possession of something of the realities of vigilance (muraqaba). Know that vigilance is one of the most noble stations, high positions, and lofty degrees. It is the station of excellence (ihsan).
Each believer has faith that nothing on earth or in heaven is concealed from God, that God is with him wherever he is, and that none of his movements or times of stillness are concealed from Him. But the important thing is that this awareness be permanent and that its results appear, the least of which is that he does nothing, when alone with God, that he would be ashamed of should a man of virtue see him. This is rare, and it eventually leads to that which is rarer still, whereby the servant is totally immersed in God, annihilated in Him and thus rendered unaware of all else, absent from creation through his contemplation of the True King. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is, you still have to get out of it. Do not shorten the morning by getting up late; look upon it as the quintessence of life, and to a certain extent sacred. If God added another day to our life, let us receive it gladly. Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of living.
Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth praises God, who is the almighty, the supremely wise. Believers, why do you say what you do not do? It is tremendously hateful to God that you say what you do not do. God loves those who fight for the sake of God in a battle line as though they were a solid building. [61: 1 to 4]
Hadith of the Day:
Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Invocations are a barrier between the servant and hellfire. If the remembrance is continuous and permanent, then the barrier is good and solid, if not, it is fragile and torn. [Ibn Ata'Allah]
Guidance of the Day:
If you find emerging in your heart, when you call to mind the fact that God observes you, a shyness that prevents you from disobeying Him and drives you to exert yourself in obeying Him, you are in possession of something of the realities of vigilance (muraqaba). Know that vigilance is one of the most noble stations, high positions, and lofty degrees. It is the station of excellence (ihsan).
Each believer has faith that nothing on earth or in heaven is concealed from God, that God is with him wherever he is, and that none of his movements or times of stillness are concealed from Him. But the important thing is that this awareness be permanent and that its results appear, the least of which is that he does nothing, when alone with God, that he would be ashamed of should a man of virtue see him. This is rare, and it eventually leads to that which is rarer still, whereby the servant is totally immersed in God, annihilated in Him and thus rendered unaware of all else, absent from creation through his contemplation of the True King. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is, you still have to get out of it. Do not shorten the morning by getting up late; look upon it as the quintessence of life, and to a certain extent sacred. If God added another day to our life, let us receive it gladly. Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of living.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....198
1. If anyone knows God, everything becomes of little importance for him.
2. If anyone loves God, everything becomes contemptible to him.
3. If anyone asserts the unity of God, he associates nothing with him.
4. If anyone has faith in God, he is safe from everything.
5. If anyone is resigned to God, rarely does he disobey Him.
6. If he does disobey Him, he begs Him to be excused; if he begs Him to be excused, his excuse is accepted.
7. If anyone has faith in the Divine apportionment, he should not dispute the Divine wisdom.
8. God does not afflict punishment for ease accompanied by humility, but He does inflict punishment for toil accompanied by pride.
9. Love is a fundamental principle for enabling one to understand. So, if anyone loves God, he has from Him an understanding of everything.
10. There are two virtues that facilitate the way to God------mystical knowledge and love. Your love for the material things renders you blind and deaf. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. If anyone loves God, everything becomes contemptible to him.
3. If anyone asserts the unity of God, he associates nothing with him.
4. If anyone has faith in God, he is safe from everything.
5. If anyone is resigned to God, rarely does he disobey Him.
6. If he does disobey Him, he begs Him to be excused; if he begs Him to be excused, his excuse is accepted.
7. If anyone has faith in the Divine apportionment, he should not dispute the Divine wisdom.
8. God does not afflict punishment for ease accompanied by humility, but He does inflict punishment for toil accompanied by pride.
9. Love is a fundamental principle for enabling one to understand. So, if anyone loves God, he has from Him an understanding of everything.
10. There are two virtues that facilitate the way to God------mystical knowledge and love. Your love for the material things renders you blind and deaf. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Thursday, October 15, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1157
Ayahs of the Day:
God has not forbidden you to be charitable and just to those who have not fought you over religion or driven you from your homes, for God loves the just. God only forbids you to befriend those who fight you over religion and drive you from your homes, and back your expulsion; and any who befriend them are themselves wrongdoers. [60: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
Let your tongue never cease to be moist with the remembrance of God. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The gates of salvation are only reached through struggle. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
Whenever you notice in your soul any laziness in His worship or inclination to disobedience, remind it that God hears and sees you and knows your secrets and secret conversation. If this reminding does not benefit it because of inadequacy of its knowledge of the Majesty of God, remind it of the two noble angels who record good and evil deeds. If this reminding does not influence it, remind it of the proximity of death, that it is the nearest of all hidden and awaited things; frighten it of its sudden pouncing, whereby if it does come when it is in an unsatisfactory state it will end up in endless perdition.
If this threat is of no use, remind it of the immense reward which God has promised those who obey Him, and the painful torment with which He has threatened those who disobey Him. Say to it: 'O soul! After death there will be no opportunity to repent, and there will be, after this life, only the Garden or the Fire. Choose, if you will, obedience, the consequence of which is triumph, contentment, immortality in vast gardens, and looking at the Face of God, the Generous, the Beneficent; or else disobedience, the consequence of which is degradation, humiliation, mockery, deprivation, and imprisonment between layers of fire.' Endeavor to cure your soul through such reminders when it neglects obedience and inclines to rebellion, for they are useful medicines for the heart's diseases. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Motherhood: all love begins and ends there.
Thank her for it
And live your life with the love she bestowed on you, then share that love with all,
The gift of love is a mother's greatest gift.
Appreciate, respect, and acknowledge this.
God has not forbidden you to be charitable and just to those who have not fought you over religion or driven you from your homes, for God loves the just. God only forbids you to befriend those who fight you over religion and drive you from your homes, and back your expulsion; and any who befriend them are themselves wrongdoers. [60: 8,9]
Hadith of the Day:
Let your tongue never cease to be moist with the remembrance of God. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
The gates of salvation are only reached through struggle. [Imam Birgivi]
Guidance of the Day:
Whenever you notice in your soul any laziness in His worship or inclination to disobedience, remind it that God hears and sees you and knows your secrets and secret conversation. If this reminding does not benefit it because of inadequacy of its knowledge of the Majesty of God, remind it of the two noble angels who record good and evil deeds. If this reminding does not influence it, remind it of the proximity of death, that it is the nearest of all hidden and awaited things; frighten it of its sudden pouncing, whereby if it does come when it is in an unsatisfactory state it will end up in endless perdition.
If this threat is of no use, remind it of the immense reward which God has promised those who obey Him, and the painful torment with which He has threatened those who disobey Him. Say to it: 'O soul! After death there will be no opportunity to repent, and there will be, after this life, only the Garden or the Fire. Choose, if you will, obedience, the consequence of which is triumph, contentment, immortality in vast gardens, and looking at the Face of God, the Generous, the Beneficent; or else disobedience, the consequence of which is degradation, humiliation, mockery, deprivation, and imprisonment between layers of fire.' Endeavor to cure your soul through such reminders when it neglects obedience and inclines to rebellion, for they are useful medicines for the heart's diseases. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Motherhood: all love begins and ends there.
Thank her for it
And live your life with the love she bestowed on you, then share that love with all,
The gift of love is a mother's greatest gift.
Appreciate, respect, and acknowledge this.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....197
1. There are two evils, having which, an abundance of good works is seldom profitable-----discontentment with God's decree and wronging God's servants.
2. Remembrance of God is the light of the heart, and His presence is the key to the invisible.
3. May God be your aim and death your desire, and indulge not in a long future hope.
4. Real asceticism (zuhd) is emptying the heart of whatever is other than the Lord.
5. Real prostration (sujud) is the yielding of the heart to the ordinance (ahkaam) of the Lord.
6. The perfect man is not one who lives in himself. The perfect man is only one through whom others live.
7. Sufism (tasawwuf) is training the self in servant hood and restoring it to the rules of Lordship.
8. The true Muslim is one who does not turn his attention to mankind, and who has relied on nothing except the promises of the True One.
9. There is no great sin greater than-------love of the world, and remaining in a state of ignorance with contentment.
10. Love of the world is the apex of all inequity, and remaining in ignorance is the root of every act of disobedience. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. Remembrance of God is the light of the heart, and His presence is the key to the invisible.
3. May God be your aim and death your desire, and indulge not in a long future hope.
4. Real asceticism (zuhd) is emptying the heart of whatever is other than the Lord.
5. Real prostration (sujud) is the yielding of the heart to the ordinance (ahkaam) of the Lord.
6. The perfect man is not one who lives in himself. The perfect man is only one through whom others live.
7. Sufism (tasawwuf) is training the self in servant hood and restoring it to the rules of Lordship.
8. The true Muslim is one who does not turn his attention to mankind, and who has relied on nothing except the promises of the True One.
9. There is no great sin greater than-------love of the world, and remaining in a state of ignorance with contentment.
10. Love of the world is the apex of all inequity, and remaining in ignorance is the root of every act of disobedience. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1156
Ayahs of the Day:
Perhaps God may establish friendship between you and those of them you regard as enemies: and God is able; and God is most forgiving, most merciful. [60: 7]
Hadith of the Day:
Procrastination in repaying debt by a wealthy person is oppression. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
With both eyes, see the beginning and the end!
Be not one eyed, like the accursed Iblis!
Close your Iblis-like eye for a moment.
After all how long will you gaze upon form?
How long? How long? [Mawlana Rumi]
Guidance of the Day:
You must, O my brother, be mindful of God in all your movements and times of stillness, at every moment, with every blink of the eye, with every thought, wish or any other state. Feel His nearness to you! Know that He looks and is Aware of you, that nothing that you conceal is hidden from Him. He is with you wherever you are, with His knowledge, awareness and power. If you are righteous, He will guide, assist and protect you.
Have modesty before your Lord as you should; make sure that He never sees you in a situation which He has forbidden you, and never misses you where He has commanded you to be; worship Him as if you saw Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Maturity is humility. A mature person is able to say, "I was wrong." And when he is proved right, he does not have to say, "I told you so." Maturity means dependability, integrity, keeping one's word. Maturity is the ability to live in peace with things we cannot change.
Perhaps God may establish friendship between you and those of them you regard as enemies: and God is able; and God is most forgiving, most merciful. [60: 7]
Hadith of the Day:
Procrastination in repaying debt by a wealthy person is oppression. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
With both eyes, see the beginning and the end!
Be not one eyed, like the accursed Iblis!
Close your Iblis-like eye for a moment.
After all how long will you gaze upon form?
How long? How long? [Mawlana Rumi]
Guidance of the Day:
You must, O my brother, be mindful of God in all your movements and times of stillness, at every moment, with every blink of the eye, with every thought, wish or any other state. Feel His nearness to you! Know that He looks and is Aware of you, that nothing that you conceal is hidden from Him. He is with you wherever you are, with His knowledge, awareness and power. If you are righteous, He will guide, assist and protect you.
Have modesty before your Lord as you should; make sure that He never sees you in a situation which He has forbidden you, and never misses you where He has commanded you to be; worship Him as if you saw Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Maturity is humility. A mature person is able to say, "I was wrong." And when he is proved right, he does not have to say, "I told you so." Maturity means dependability, integrity, keeping one's word. Maturity is the ability to live in peace with things we cannot change.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....196
1. Do not stir your feet except where you expect the reward of Allah.
2. Do not sit except where you are likely to be safe from disobeying Allah.
3. Do not keep the company except of him you seek help from in obeying Allah.
4. Do not take as your friend except him through whom your certainty increases.
5. He who guides you to this world has cheated you; he who guides you to works has tired you; but he who guides you to Allah has truly counseled you.
6. To turn to people's acceptance is to turn away from Allah.
7. Faith is strengthened by thanksgiving for graces, endurance under trial, and contentment with the Divine decree.
8. Trust is strengthened by parting company with the lower self, forgetting men, depending on the True One, and persistence in invoking God in dhikr.
9. Servant ship is strengthened by persisting in neediness, impotence, weakness and lowliness before God.
10. The heart has four defenses against evil----------binding the heart to God; renouncing what is other than God; looking not with your eyes upon what God has forbidden; and moving not your feet where you do not expect God's reward. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
2. Do not sit except where you are likely to be safe from disobeying Allah.
3. Do not keep the company except of him you seek help from in obeying Allah.
4. Do not take as your friend except him through whom your certainty increases.
5. He who guides you to this world has cheated you; he who guides you to works has tired you; but he who guides you to Allah has truly counseled you.
6. To turn to people's acceptance is to turn away from Allah.
7. Faith is strengthened by thanksgiving for graces, endurance under trial, and contentment with the Divine decree.
8. Trust is strengthened by parting company with the lower self, forgetting men, depending on the True One, and persistence in invoking God in dhikr.
9. Servant ship is strengthened by persisting in neediness, impotence, weakness and lowliness before God.
10. The heart has four defenses against evil----------binding the heart to God; renouncing what is other than God; looking not with your eyes upon what God has forbidden; and moving not your feet where you do not expect God's reward. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abul Hasan al Shadhili]
Friday, October 09, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1156
Ayah of the Day:
Our Lord, don't make us a test for those who scoff; and forgive us, our Lord, for You are the epitome of power and wisdom. [60: 5]
Hadith of the Day:
Every sin of a martyr is forgiven except debt. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not lose hope in adversity and complain that God singled you out for punishment, remitting others guilty of worse sins. Your present state could very well be His intent to elevate your spiritual station; or He could just be testing your faith. Everyday that you persevere, you grow closer to perfection. Thus your present despair may be beginning of an infinite blessing. [shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]
Guidance of the Day:
Intentions do not affect sins, just as purification does not affect that which is, by it very nature, impure. A man who goes along with another who is slandering a Muslim, then pretends that he only wanted to humor him, is himself a slanderer. A malicious intention attached to a good deed spoils it and renders it malicious; likewise when one performs good deeds for the sake of wealth and prestige. Strive always to intend that your obedience be solely for the sake of God, and that whatever licit things you may use are only to help you obey Him.
Know that many intentions can attach to a single act, and that each of them will attract its full reward. An example of this in devotional activities is when someone reads the Qur'an intending to commune with God, but also to extract from it different kinds of knowledge, to profit those who listen or just happen to hear, or any other good intention. And an example in licit matters is to eat with the intention of obeying the command of your Lord in His saying (Exalted is He!): O you who believe! Eat of the good things with which We have provided you, and give thanks to God. (2: 172) Intend by doing so to acquire strength for devotion, and to put yourself in a situation where you must thank your Lord. You can apply these two examples in an analogous fashion to all other devotional and licit activities. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Maturity is the ability to control anger, and settle differences without violence or destruction. Maturity is patience, the willingness to give up immediate pleasure in favor of the long-term gain. Maturity is perseverance, sweating out a project despite setbacks. Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and disappointment without becoming bitter.
Our Lord, don't make us a test for those who scoff; and forgive us, our Lord, for You are the epitome of power and wisdom. [60: 5]
Hadith of the Day:
Every sin of a martyr is forgiven except debt. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not lose hope in adversity and complain that God singled you out for punishment, remitting others guilty of worse sins. Your present state could very well be His intent to elevate your spiritual station; or He could just be testing your faith. Everyday that you persevere, you grow closer to perfection. Thus your present despair may be beginning of an infinite blessing. [shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]
Guidance of the Day:
Intentions do not affect sins, just as purification does not affect that which is, by it very nature, impure. A man who goes along with another who is slandering a Muslim, then pretends that he only wanted to humor him, is himself a slanderer. A malicious intention attached to a good deed spoils it and renders it malicious; likewise when one performs good deeds for the sake of wealth and prestige. Strive always to intend that your obedience be solely for the sake of God, and that whatever licit things you may use are only to help you obey Him.
Know that many intentions can attach to a single act, and that each of them will attract its full reward. An example of this in devotional activities is when someone reads the Qur'an intending to commune with God, but also to extract from it different kinds of knowledge, to profit those who listen or just happen to hear, or any other good intention. And an example in licit matters is to eat with the intention of obeying the command of your Lord in His saying (Exalted is He!): O you who believe! Eat of the good things with which We have provided you, and give thanks to God. (2: 172) Intend by doing so to acquire strength for devotion, and to put yourself in a situation where you must thank your Lord. You can apply these two examples in an analogous fashion to all other devotional and licit activities. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Maturity is the ability to control anger, and settle differences without violence or destruction. Maturity is patience, the willingness to give up immediate pleasure in favor of the long-term gain. Maturity is perseverance, sweating out a project despite setbacks. Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and disappointment without becoming bitter.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....195
1. Following the sunna is attained by caution and good character.
2. Indifference to others' acceptance or rejection is attained by patience and trust in Allah.
3. Satisfaction in Allah is attained by contentment with what one has and submission to the will of Allah.
4. Turning to Allah Most High is attained by praise and thanks to Him in happiness and taking refuge in Him in affliction.
5. Whoever's aspiration is high, his rank rises.
6. Whoever maintains respect for what Allah honors, his own respect is upheld.
7. Whoever gives goodly service is necessarily shown generosity.
8. Whoever carries out his spiritual resolutions continues to have guidance.
9. Whoever sees Allah's blessings as great gives thanks for them, and whoever gives thanks for them has necessitated their increase from the Bestower of Blessings, by virtue of His true promise. [Above quotes by Shaykh Ahmad al Zarruq]
2. Indifference to others' acceptance or rejection is attained by patience and trust in Allah.
3. Satisfaction in Allah is attained by contentment with what one has and submission to the will of Allah.
4. Turning to Allah Most High is attained by praise and thanks to Him in happiness and taking refuge in Him in affliction.
5. Whoever's aspiration is high, his rank rises.
6. Whoever maintains respect for what Allah honors, his own respect is upheld.
7. Whoever gives goodly service is necessarily shown generosity.
8. Whoever carries out his spiritual resolutions continues to have guidance.
9. Whoever sees Allah's blessings as great gives thanks for them, and whoever gives thanks for them has necessitated their increase from the Bestower of Blessings, by virtue of His true promise. [Above quotes by Shaykh Ahmad al Zarruq]
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1155
Ayahs of the Day:
Neither your relatives nor your children will be of any avail to you on the day of resurrection. God will judge between you, seeing whatever you do. [60: 3]
Hadith of the Day:
Someone who sets forth in search of knowledge is busy in the cause of Allah until he returns from his quest. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not dispute with anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argument lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit. [Imam Ghazali]
Guidance of the Day:
You must improve the soundness and sincerity of your intentions, examine them, and reflect well before embarking on your actions. For intentions are the bases of deeds; according to them your deeds will either be good or ugly, sound or unsound. You must, therefore, utter no word, do no action, and decide no matter without the intention of drawing nearer thereby to God and seeking the reward He has assigned, through his beneficence and grace, to the intended act.
And know that drawing nearer to Him can only be done through the obligatory and supererogatory devotions that He has indicated through His Messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him. A sincere intention may change the merely licit into the devotional, for means are judged according to their ends. For example, one may eat to get strength to perform devotions. It is a condition of the sincere intention that behavior does not belie it. For instance, a man who seeks knowledge claiming that his intention is to practice and teach it will be proved insincere in his intention if, when he becomes able to, he does not do so. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the air plane takes off against the wind, not with it. Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.
Neither your relatives nor your children will be of any avail to you on the day of resurrection. God will judge between you, seeing whatever you do. [60: 3]
Hadith of the Day:
Someone who sets forth in search of knowledge is busy in the cause of Allah until he returns from his quest. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Do not dispute with anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argument lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit. [Imam Ghazali]
Guidance of the Day:
You must improve the soundness and sincerity of your intentions, examine them, and reflect well before embarking on your actions. For intentions are the bases of deeds; according to them your deeds will either be good or ugly, sound or unsound. You must, therefore, utter no word, do no action, and decide no matter without the intention of drawing nearer thereby to God and seeking the reward He has assigned, through his beneficence and grace, to the intended act.
And know that drawing nearer to Him can only be done through the obligatory and supererogatory devotions that He has indicated through His Messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him. A sincere intention may change the merely licit into the devotional, for means are judged according to their ends. For example, one may eat to get strength to perform devotions. It is a condition of the sincere intention that behavior does not belie it. For instance, a man who seeks knowledge claiming that his intention is to practice and teach it will be proved insincere in his intention if, when he becomes able to, he does not do so. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the air plane takes off against the wind, not with it. Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....194
1. The lovers of God derive their strength and spiritual energy from dhikr. They find happiness and glory in this world and in the Hereafter.
2. Lovers of God should be righteous, they must guard their hands, tongues, and loins from every act forbidden by their Beloved Lord.
3. Lovers should obey the Beloved and fulfill the demands of His obedience with affection, sincerity, and obedience.
4. Lovers strive to ensure that no harm comes to anyone as a result of what they do or say.
5. Lovers of Truth do not notice people's faults, for their own failings blind them to those of others.
6. Lovers of Truth do not curse nor do they wish harm to anyone at all.
7. Affection for those who love God, is in fact affection for God Himself.
8. Anyone who hopes to be together with those loved by God, and His faithful lovers, on the Day of Resurrection, should nourish love and affection toward them.
9. A heart without love for the Truth is the house of Satan.
10. A heart that is enlivened by the love of God, enlightened by the love of the Prophet (peace and blessings by upon him), polished and cleansed by ardent remembrance-------such is the heart called 'qalb saleem'. [Above quotes by Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
2. Lovers of God should be righteous, they must guard their hands, tongues, and loins from every act forbidden by their Beloved Lord.
3. Lovers should obey the Beloved and fulfill the demands of His obedience with affection, sincerity, and obedience.
4. Lovers strive to ensure that no harm comes to anyone as a result of what they do or say.
5. Lovers of Truth do not notice people's faults, for their own failings blind them to those of others.
6. Lovers of Truth do not curse nor do they wish harm to anyone at all.
7. Affection for those who love God, is in fact affection for God Himself.
8. Anyone who hopes to be together with those loved by God, and His faithful lovers, on the Day of Resurrection, should nourish love and affection toward them.
9. A heart without love for the Truth is the house of Satan.
10. A heart that is enlivened by the love of God, enlightened by the love of the Prophet (peace and blessings by upon him), polished and cleansed by ardent remembrance-------such is the heart called 'qalb saleem'. [Above quotes by Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
Monday, October 05, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1154
Ayahs of the Day:
This is the God, other than which there is no deity: knower of the invisible and the evident, the Benevolent, the Merciful. This is the God,other than which there is no deity: the Sovereign, the Holy, Peace, the Giver of Safety, the Protector, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Overwhelming; glory to God, beyond any association they attribute. This is God, the Originator, the Creator, the Shaper, to whom refer the most beautiful names, celebrated by everything in the heavens and on earth, being the Almighty, the Perfectly Wise. [59: 22,23,24]
Hadith of the Day:
The first to be summoned to Paradise on the Day of Judgment will be those who praise God (both) in prosperity and adversity. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Put your trust in God, the Truth;
And commit to Him all your affairs
So that you may find peace. [Ibrahim Haqqi]
Guidance of the Day:
Certainty derives its power and excellence from many things. The first, most essential and pivotal of these is that the servant listen attentively with his heart as well as his ears to verses and hadiths relating to God, His Majesty, Perfection, Magnitude, and Grandeur, His Uniqueness in creating and deciding, ruling and compelling: likewise to the truthfulness and perfection of the Messengers, the miracles they were aided with, and the sundry chastisements which befell those who opposed them.
The second is to learn from looking at the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and the wondrous and astounding creatures that God made them teem with. The third is to behave according to what one believes, outwardly and inwardly, zealously, and to the limit of one's resources. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The only sure way to take fear out of living is to keep a respectful fear of God in our lives, which means to maintain a reverent attitude toward His place and influence in the scheme of things. This brand of fear is a healthy ingredient, a deterrent to want, a spur to courage and confidence, an insurance against loss, a source of comfort and understanding at any age.
This is the God, other than which there is no deity: knower of the invisible and the evident, the Benevolent, the Merciful. This is the God,other than which there is no deity: the Sovereign, the Holy, Peace, the Giver of Safety, the Protector, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Overwhelming; glory to God, beyond any association they attribute. This is God, the Originator, the Creator, the Shaper, to whom refer the most beautiful names, celebrated by everything in the heavens and on earth, being the Almighty, the Perfectly Wise. [59: 22,23,24]
Hadith of the Day:
The first to be summoned to Paradise on the Day of Judgment will be those who praise God (both) in prosperity and adversity. [Tirmidhi]
Wise Quote of the Day:
Put your trust in God, the Truth;
And commit to Him all your affairs
So that you may find peace. [Ibrahim Haqqi]
Guidance of the Day:
Certainty derives its power and excellence from many things. The first, most essential and pivotal of these is that the servant listen attentively with his heart as well as his ears to verses and hadiths relating to God, His Majesty, Perfection, Magnitude, and Grandeur, His Uniqueness in creating and deciding, ruling and compelling: likewise to the truthfulness and perfection of the Messengers, the miracles they were aided with, and the sundry chastisements which befell those who opposed them.
The second is to learn from looking at the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and the wondrous and astounding creatures that God made them teem with. The third is to behave according to what one believes, outwardly and inwardly, zealously, and to the limit of one's resources. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
The only sure way to take fear out of living is to keep a respectful fear of God in our lives, which means to maintain a reverent attitude toward His place and influence in the scheme of things. This brand of fear is a healthy ingredient, a deterrent to want, a spur to courage and confidence, an insurance against loss, a source of comfort and understanding at any age.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....193
1. Love brings the servant near to God, Glorified and Exalted is He.
2. Love reminds the slave of his servitude and increases his devotion.
3. Love removes vanity and hypocrisy, increases truthfulness and sincerity.
4. Love solves all problems, opens all closed doors.
5. Love illumines the heart and delights the mind.
6. Love causes neither sleep nor hunger nor thirst.
7. Love makes us weep.
8. Love makes us speak.
9. Love makes us hear.
10. One who is a lover of God, Exalted is He, also remembers Him, always and everywhere. This is the duty and proof of love, this much does love demand. [Above quotes by Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
2. Love reminds the slave of his servitude and increases his devotion.
3. Love removes vanity and hypocrisy, increases truthfulness and sincerity.
4. Love solves all problems, opens all closed doors.
5. Love illumines the heart and delights the mind.
6. Love causes neither sleep nor hunger nor thirst.
7. Love makes us weep.
8. Love makes us speak.
9. Love makes us hear.
10. One who is a lover of God, Exalted is He, also remembers Him, always and everywhere. This is the duty and proof of love, this much does love demand. [Above quotes by Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
Thursday, October 01, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1153
Ayahs of the Day:
The inmates of the fire and the inhabitants of the garden are not equal; the inhabitants of the garden are the ones who are triumphant. Had We sent this Recital down on a mountain, you would see it humbled, cracking in awe of God. And those are the examples We set forth to humanity, so that they might reflect. [59: 20,21]
Hadith of the Day:
A woman is married for her wealth, her reputation, her beauty, or her religion. Choose the religious one or you may be ruined. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
To advise is an easy matter, the difficulty is accepting advice, since it is bitter for those who follow their own inclinations and desires. [Imam Ghazali]
Guidance of the Day:
You must strengthen and improve your certainty. For when certainty prevails in the heart and establishes itself therein the unseen becomes as if seen and the man aided by providence says, as Ali, may God ennoble his face, said: "Were the cover to be removed, I would not increase in certainty."
Certainty is power, firmness and stability of faith so great that it becomes as a towering mountain which no doubts can shake and no illusions rock. Rather, doubts and illusions disappear completely, and when they come from outside are neither listened to by the ear nor heeded by the heart. The Devil cannot approach the possessor of such certainty; he flees from him, fears from his shadow, and is content to keep at a safe distance. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Be charitable in your thoughts, in your speech, and in your actions. Give what you have to give. Small acts of care and grace can mean more than you ever dare to think. There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situation.
The inmates of the fire and the inhabitants of the garden are not equal; the inhabitants of the garden are the ones who are triumphant. Had We sent this Recital down on a mountain, you would see it humbled, cracking in awe of God. And those are the examples We set forth to humanity, so that they might reflect. [59: 20,21]
Hadith of the Day:
A woman is married for her wealth, her reputation, her beauty, or her religion. Choose the religious one or you may be ruined. [Bukhari]
Wise Quote of the Day:
To advise is an easy matter, the difficulty is accepting advice, since it is bitter for those who follow their own inclinations and desires. [Imam Ghazali]
Guidance of the Day:
You must strengthen and improve your certainty. For when certainty prevails in the heart and establishes itself therein the unseen becomes as if seen and the man aided by providence says, as Ali, may God ennoble his face, said: "Were the cover to be removed, I would not increase in certainty."
Certainty is power, firmness and stability of faith so great that it becomes as a towering mountain which no doubts can shake and no illusions rock. Rather, doubts and illusions disappear completely, and when they come from outside are neither listened to by the ear nor heeded by the heart. The Devil cannot approach the possessor of such certainty; he flees from him, fears from his shadow, and is content to keep at a safe distance. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]
Food for Thought:
Be charitable in your thoughts, in your speech, and in your actions. Give what you have to give. Small acts of care and grace can mean more than you ever dare to think. There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situation.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....192
1. One who has affection for Almighty God must sacrifice himself for the sake of his Beloved-----such is the symbol of affection.
2. One who is sincere in his love for his Beloved will be obedient to his Loved One.
3. Love and affection for God, is to expel and erase from the heart everything unwanted and unloved by God--------the Lord of Majesty and Perfection.
4. Love and affection for God, is to burn to ashes all bad qualities, attributes and desires for the sake of the command and will of the True Beloved.
5. Love and affection for God, is to cleanse the self in the ocean of spiritual knowledge, and to enlighten it with the radiance of affection.
6. The lover will sacrifice for the Beloved reason, logic, and interest, will obey the Beloved in perfect bondage.
7. The lover will be ready to sacrifice everything he has for the Beloved. One who cannot lay down his life for the Beloved has no business pretending to the title of lover.
8. If you really are a lover of Truth, you must always and everywhere prefer God's words to the words of men.
9. If you love God be with Him and find Him in yourself. Be ever in search of His pleasure and desirous of His beauty.
10. The shortest route by which to draw near to God is dhikr (remembrance), by dhikr alone would it be possible to attain Divine Approval. [Above quotes by Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
2. One who is sincere in his love for his Beloved will be obedient to his Loved One.
3. Love and affection for God, is to expel and erase from the heart everything unwanted and unloved by God--------the Lord of Majesty and Perfection.
4. Love and affection for God, is to burn to ashes all bad qualities, attributes and desires for the sake of the command and will of the True Beloved.
5. Love and affection for God, is to cleanse the self in the ocean of spiritual knowledge, and to enlighten it with the radiance of affection.
6. The lover will sacrifice for the Beloved reason, logic, and interest, will obey the Beloved in perfect bondage.
7. The lover will be ready to sacrifice everything he has for the Beloved. One who cannot lay down his life for the Beloved has no business pretending to the title of lover.
8. If you really are a lover of Truth, you must always and everywhere prefer God's words to the words of men.
9. If you love God be with Him and find Him in yourself. Be ever in search of His pleasure and desirous of His beauty.
10. The shortest route by which to draw near to God is dhikr (remembrance), by dhikr alone would it be possible to attain Divine Approval. [Above quotes by Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak]
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
LESSON OF THE DAY 1152
Ayahs of the Day:
Believers, be conscious of God; and let every soul see what it has sent forth for the morrow. And be conscious of God, for God is aware of whatever you do. And don't be like those who have forgotten God, who therefore has made them forget their souls; they are the ones who are dissolute. [59: 18,19]
Hadith of the Day:
Whoever wishes to be delivered from the Fire (of hell) and enter the Garden (of paradise) should treat people as he wishes to be treated by them. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
A man's character is that of the company he keeps. Thus, if a man achieves any state, inevitably his companions will be affected by it. [Imam al-Mawlud]
Guidance of the Day:
Learning to forgive and forget is essential. Remembering pain keeps it alive, perpetuates it. Forgive and forget everything from the past, so that you are free to be fully alive to today. Complete everything. Forget the source of the pain, for it really doesn't matter anymore. It is never too late to forgive or to say goodbye to experiences or events or people from the past.
Say whatever you need to say and do whatever you need to do, but be sure you have no unfinished business with the past. In doing so, you will give yourself the enormous freedom to live fully present to today, and the possibility of living a great life. The willingness to be open and awake to life, to engage wholeheartedly in life, and to live with passion means that you will reach enormous depths and expanses of human experiences. And sometimes life will hurt. But know that you have what it takes to recover yourself quickly. You don't have to suffer. NOW ENJOY YOURSELF! [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]
Food for Thought:
Live everyday as if it were your last.
Do every job as if you were the boss.
Drive as if all other vehicles were police cars.
Treat everybody else as if he were you.
Believers, be conscious of God; and let every soul see what it has sent forth for the morrow. And be conscious of God, for God is aware of whatever you do. And don't be like those who have forgotten God, who therefore has made them forget their souls; they are the ones who are dissolute. [59: 18,19]
Hadith of the Day:
Whoever wishes to be delivered from the Fire (of hell) and enter the Garden (of paradise) should treat people as he wishes to be treated by them. [Muslim]
Wise Quote of the Day:
A man's character is that of the company he keeps. Thus, if a man achieves any state, inevitably his companions will be affected by it. [Imam al-Mawlud]
Guidance of the Day:
Learning to forgive and forget is essential. Remembering pain keeps it alive, perpetuates it. Forgive and forget everything from the past, so that you are free to be fully alive to today. Complete everything. Forget the source of the pain, for it really doesn't matter anymore. It is never too late to forgive or to say goodbye to experiences or events or people from the past.
Say whatever you need to say and do whatever you need to do, but be sure you have no unfinished business with the past. In doing so, you will give yourself the enormous freedom to live fully present to today, and the possibility of living a great life. The willingness to be open and awake to life, to engage wholeheartedly in life, and to live with passion means that you will reach enormous depths and expanses of human experiences. And sometimes life will hurt. But know that you have what it takes to recover yourself quickly. You don't have to suffer. NOW ENJOY YOURSELF! [Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]
Food for Thought:
Live everyday as if it were your last.
Do every job as if you were the boss.
Drive as if all other vehicles were police cars.
Treat everybody else as if he were you.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Pearls of Wisdom....191
1. Silence is golden--------the unsaid is often more important and deeper than the said.
2. Human beings, despite all of the new technologies of the modern era, are essentially weak and helpless.
3. Terrorism is a symptom of an illness, rather than the illness itself.
4. The traditional religious viewpoint states that our major preoccupation in life should be our relationship with the Creator.
5. We are spirit, not matter. The spirit is equipped with a body in order to be able to operate in the material universe.
6. At death, the spirit dissociates from the body in order to operate in another world.
7. The essence of spirituality and religion is the cultivation of our relationship with the Absolute.
8. Exercising our will and insisting on our plans lead to stress and anxiety.
9. Most problems, when solved, are not solved by voluntary decisions, but rather as the result of a process. [Above quotes by Joel Ibrahim Kreps]
2. Human beings, despite all of the new technologies of the modern era, are essentially weak and helpless.
3. Terrorism is a symptom of an illness, rather than the illness itself.
4. The traditional religious viewpoint states that our major preoccupation in life should be our relationship with the Creator.
5. We are spirit, not matter. The spirit is equipped with a body in order to be able to operate in the material universe.
6. At death, the spirit dissociates from the body in order to operate in another world.
7. The essence of spirituality and religion is the cultivation of our relationship with the Absolute.
8. Exercising our will and insisting on our plans lead to stress and anxiety.
9. Most problems, when solved, are not solved by voluntary decisions, but rather as the result of a process. [Above quotes by Joel Ibrahim Kreps]
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