LESSON OF THE DAY 1097

Ayahs of the Day:
And the stupor of death comes for real; that is what you were fleeing from. And the trumpet will be sounded; that is the promised day. And every soul will come with a herder and a witness. You have been heedless of this; so We have removed your covering from you, so your vision today is keen. [50: 19 to 22]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not abuse anyone, do not look down upon any good work, and when you speak to your brother, show him a cheerful face. [Abu-Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Your need for repentance is greater than your need for food, water, and shelter, for sins are veiling you from beholding the Unseen and stand between you and the Beloved. [Shaykh Abdul Khaliq al-Shabrawi]

Guidance of the Day:
The Truth feels good. Our deepest instincts always tell us when we have touched Truth. It feels like home, like a completion, like, "Of course." Truth is the most natural thing there is, but it is the most foreign. Because the values of the world are upside down, light is a stranger, and the darkness welcomed. It is very easy to be normal. The world will love you and support you in your normality, for the world loves its own. Those who gravitate to negativity, gossip, and innuendo have a sure place in society; they shall never beg for company with which to commiserate. The marketplace of common affairs is built on complaints, criticisms, and guilt.

One who chooses the God-path faces loneliness and derision. He cannot expect or hope for understanding from the world. It will seem to accept him with a slight smile, but secretly mock and slander him behind closed doors. Friend and relatives will support him in word but not in thought. The devotee of Truth must be great enough to take the world into his heart though the world would cast him out of his own. This is because the lover of Light can see God in all, while one who lives in darkness sees only veiled reflections of confused images. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]

Food for Thought:
It is suffering and then glory. Not to have the suffering means not to have the glory. Our present joys are sweeter for past pain. It is only the strong who are strengthened by suffering. We, by our sufferings, learn to prize our bliss. In suffering one learns to pray best of all. We need to suffer that we may learn to pity.