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.
Monday, November 30, 2009
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]
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