Pearls of wisdom 257

One of the greatest means to prevent Satan from overwhelming our hearts is to know the entrances he exploits to find a way into them. Some of them are:

1. Anger and lustfulness.

2. Jealousy and avarice.

3. Overeating -- this strengthens the carnal appetites which are the weapons of Satan.

4. Love of ostentatious furniture, clothing and houses.

5. Seeking to impress people.

6. Haste and inadequate preparation for tasks.

7. The love of money.

8. Stinginess and fear of poverty.

9. A fanatical defense of one's positions and opinions.

10. A bad opinion of other Muslims. [Imam Ghazali]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1220

Ayahs of the Day:

Are you harder to create than the sky? God constructed that, raising its ceiling and proportioning it, making its night dark and bringing forth its daylight, unrolling the earth after that, bringing forth its water and its grassland from it, and anchoring its mountains for your convenience, and that of your livestock. [79: 27 to 33]

Hadith of the Day:

A Muslim is not permitted to argue with a fellow Muslim, to make fun of him, or to make him a promise that he cannot keep. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

If you are bent on committing that sin, then seek out that place which is bent on keeping God out. [Othman radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:

Know that love for the Messenger of God, and all of God's other Prophets, angels, and virtuous servants, and all who assist in His obedience, is part of one's love for Him. The Prophet has said, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'Love God for the favors He grants you, and love me for the love of God, and love the people of my house for my love.' And: 'God has said: "My love is due to those who love each other for My sake, who sit with each other for My sake, who visit each other for My sake, and who give to each other for My sake."

Sincere love has signs, the greatest and highest of which is perfection in one's following the Messenger in his speech, acts, and attributes. God the Exalted has said: Say: If you love God, then follow me and God will love you. (3: 31) Following God's beloved is in proportion to one's love for God; if the latter is abundant then the former will be abundant likewise, while if the latter is little, the former will be little also.

Food for Thought:

Resentments are burdens we don't need to carry. Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. Resentment is the "number one" offender. From it stems all forms of spiritual diseases.

Pearls of wisdom 256

Benefits of remembrance of God:

1. It repulses, represses and breaks the resolve of Satan.

2. It pleases the Most Merciful.

3. It removes concerns and gloom from the heart.

4. It brings joy, happiness and delight to the heart.

5. It strengthens the heart and the body.

6. It attracts sustenance.

7. It illuminates the face and the heart.

8. It envelopes the remembering servant in reverence, sweetness and radiance.

9. It engenders love, which is the very spirit of Islam.

10. It brings awareness of God's surveillance.

11. It encourages repentance.

12. It brings nearness to God.

13. It opens one of the great doors of gnosis.

14. It brings about reverence, and veneration of his Lord.

15. It is coupled with God's remembrance of His remembering servant, as the Most High states, "Remember Me and I will remember you (2:152)". [Above quotes by Imam Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyya]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1219

Ayahs of the Day:

The day the spirit and the angels stand in ranks and none will speak except whoever God permits and who says what's right. That day will be reality; so let whoever will take a way back to his Lord. Now We have warned you of an imminent agony, a day when man will see what his two hands have produced, and the disbeliever will say, "Oh, would that I were dust!" [78: 37 to 40]

Hadith of the Day:

Attachment to this world is the foundation of all the errors in life. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

One who often thinks and reflects develops his foresight and vision. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:

Know that the basis of love is knowledge, and that its fruit is contemplation. Its lowest degree is that the love of God should be supreme in your heart, and the test of sincerity here is to disobey the person whom you love should he invite you to which that which would incur God's anger such as sins or the neglect of obedience.

Its uppermost degree is that there remain in your heart not the slightest love for other than God. This is a rare and precious thing, and to persist therein is even more so. When it persists the human attributes fade away completely and an absorption in God obtains which leaves no room for any awareness of the existent universe and its people. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

He who offers God a second place offers Him no place. God is He without whom one cannot live. He who serves God has a good manner. We cannot break God's laws -- but we can break ourselves against them. God is not a fault-finder, always looking for things to condemn in us. He estimates us at our best, not our worst.

Pearls of wisdom 255

1. Do not fear anything except your sins.

2. Do not long for anything other than your Lord.

3. Let no one of you lacking knowledge be too shy to ask until he learns.

4. Do not let one who is asked something he lacks knowledge of refrain from saying, 'I do not know.'

5. Beware of having long term expectations (for this world), for it makes one forget his true purpose.

6. Death is always a silent companion.

7. Regret over misdeeds erases them, and pride over good deeds ruins them.

8. To panic during a calamity is itself a greater calamity.

9. Time wasted in youth should be made up in later years, if what you seek is a solicitous end.

10. Self satisfaction is a sure sign of lacking intellect. [Above quotes by Ali radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1218

Ayahs of the Day:

For the conscientious there will be an abode of felicity with groves and grape vines, and companions of equal age, and a cup full. They will not hear any nonsense there, and no falsehood, as recompense, a deserved gift from your Lord. [78: 31 to 36]

Hadith of the Day:

To see things one should not see -- is one of the poisonous arrows of the Devil. Whoever restrains from this due to his love and fear of Me, I will give him such faith that his heart will be totally filled. [Hadith Qudsi, Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Only God and no living creature has the power to control destinies. With that conviction entrust all your cares to the Lord and follow the path of the Truth, conforming to the divine edicts. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:

If you are one who loves because of what you receive, then (know that) there is no graciousness, favor, honor, or provision bestowed upon you or any other creature but that God the Exalted has favored you with it purely through His generosity and liberality. How many a good thing has He given you! How many a favor has He granted you! He is your Lord and Guardian, Who created and guided you, to whom your life and your death belong, Who gives you to eat and drink, Who provides and looks after you, Who shelters you and gives you refuge.

He sees your ugly behavior and conceals it; you ask Him to forgive you and He does so, and He sees your righteous behavior and increases and manifests it. You obey Him by His providence and aid and He mentions your name in the Unseen, and casts respect and love for you into the hearts of others. You disobey Him using His favors, yet disobedience does not make Him withhold His favors. How can you love other than this Generous God? Or how could you disobey this Compassionate Lord? [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

We must move from asking God to take care of the things that are breaking our hearts, to praying about the things that are breaking His heart. We should pray for a sane mind in a sound body. We do pray for mercy, and that same prayer does teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.

Pearls of wisdom 254

1. Take yourself to account before you are taken to account.

2. Weigh your actions before they are weighed.

3. Beautify yourself (with Qur'an and Sunnah) for the ultimate presentation.

4. One who fears God does not give vent to his rage.

5. One who fears God will refrain from doing whatever his ego desires.

6. There is no good in people who do not give sincere advice.

7. There is no good in people who do not love those who offer sincere advice.

8. The strength in one's resolve is that one does not leave for tomorrow what one can do today.

9. Doing good for a good done to you is simply a repayment, whereas doing good for an evil done to you is a tremendous virtue.

10. Worldly honor may be through wealth, but heavenly honor is certainly through works. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1217

Ayahs of the Day:

As for hell, it is an ambush, a destination for oppressors, where they will remain for eons. They will taste nothing cool there, and no drink but boiling and putrid, a fitting reward, for they hadn't anticipated an accounting, having scoffed at Our signs, denying their truth. But We have kept a record of everything: so have a taste, for We'll not give you more of anything but agony. [78: 21 to 30]

Hadith of the Day:

Lying is the opposite of faith in God. The two cannot be together. And the worst of lies is slander. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

There are four signs of a diseased heart:

1. To feel no enjoyment in worship.

2. To be in a state without fearing God.

3. To take no lessons from worldly events.

4. To learn something and not to put into practice. [Dhunnun al Misri]

Guidance of the Day:

You must love God until He becomes (Transcendent is He!) dearer to you than all else, and until you have no other beloved but Him. The cause of the presence of love is either a perfection existing in the beloved or something that one receives from him. If you are one in whom love is caused by perfection, then (know that) perfection, majesty, and beauty are God's alone, and that He has no associates in them.

Any perfection or beauty seen in any existing things comes from God's perfecting or beautifying it, for He has created and designed it and had He not favored it with existence it would have been a thing inauspicious indeed. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

When you watch the sunset, let your worries go with it. See them burning up in the brilliant colors. Allow the beauty to remind you there is more to life than trouble! When you put your troubles away with the sunset, you make room for blessings to fill the next day.

Pearls of wisdom 253

1. Beware of intellectualizing faith, acting on your whims, leaving the truth, acknowledging falsehood, and then seeking forgiveness while failing to repent.

2. Do not be content with a half-hearted effort for there is no excuse for shortcomings, and no one is free of God.

3. Know that the happiness of a person lies in his having a good opinion to obtain what God, Most High, alone possesses, and being given the facilitation to attain His love.

4. When God desires good for anyone He blesses him with a sound intellect, makes knowledge (of the deen) beloved to him, bestows fear (of God) on him, makes gentleness his way, enriches him with contentment, and shows him his own faults.

5. You should know, that truthfulness and sincerity are the foundation of every state.

6. Patience, contentment, true asceticism, pleasure and intimacy are branches of truthfulness.

7. Sincerity branches out into certitude, fear, love majesty, shyness, and magnifying (God).

8. Truthfulness is in three things -- truthfulness of the heart in faith that is actualized; truthfulness of intention in religious actions; and truthfulness of expression in speech.

9. Patience is in three things -- patience in avoiding those things God has forbidden; patience in (dealing with the difficulty involved in) following the command of God; and patience at the time of calamity, while anticipating God's grace.

10. Contentment is in three things -- (being content with) little materially even though material means are available; with deprivation when possessing nothing and the prospects of future abundance are lacking; and with the tranquility found in worship of God, Mighty and Majestic, despite being steeped in poverty. [Above quotes by Imam Harith al Muhasibi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1216

Ayahs of the Day:

As for the day of decision, its time is appointed: the day the trumpet is sounded and you come in crowds and the sky is opened as doors, and the mountains are made to pass away as a mirage. [78: 17 to 20]

Hadith of the Day:

Be sincere toward Allah in your faith. Even if your achievements are few, if they are sincere, that is sufficient for you. [Hakim]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Do not press claims against your Lord because your request has been delayed; instead, press claims against yourself for slackening in your behavior. [Ibn Ata'Allah]

Guidance of the Day:

The one whose reliance is sincere has three marks: The first is that he neither has hopes in nor fears other than God. The sign of this is that he upholds the truths in the presence of those in whose regard people usually have hope or fear, such as princes and rulers.

The second is that worrying about sustenance never enters his heart, because of his confidence in God's guarantee, so that his heart is as tranquil when in need as when his need has been fulfilled, or even more.

The third is that his heart does not become disturbed in fearful situations, knowing that that which has missed him could never have struck him, and that which has struck him could never have missed him. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

The finest test of character is seen in the amount and the power of gratitude we have. A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues. If you have good health, unimpaired eye-sight, clear mental faculties and full use of all your limbs, you have the four greatest causes of thankfulness in this world. These are four great corner-stone blessings.

Pearls of wisdom 252

1. Know that the most relaxed people are those with the least worldly concerns -- they are the true ascetics.

2. The most stressed people are those with the worldliest preoccupations -- they are those obsessed with the world.

3. The characteristic that is most helpful in attaining true asceticism is abandoning the expectation of a long life.

4. Know that there is no path more accessible than truthfulness, no guide surer than knowledge, and no provision more beneficial than piety.

5. The nobility of a believer lies in his piety, his forbearance in his patience, his intellect in his effort to beautify himself, his love in his ability to overlook and pardon others, and his honor in his humility and gentleness.

6. Nothing is more stronger in negating the whisper of Satan than abandoning excess.

7. Nothing gives more illumination to the heart than a magnanimous spirit.

8. One who knows God does not blame Him.

9. One who understands God is pleased with His decree.

10. Act on the truth, trust in God, command good and forbid wrong. [Above quotes by Imam Harith al Muhasibi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1215

Ayahs of the Day:

And We made the day a means of livelihood. And We built seven firmaments over you, and We set up a brightly burning lamp, and shower pouring water from the rain clouds to produce thereby grains and vegetables and orchards thickly growing. [78:11 to 16]

Hadith of the Day:

The best of men is the one who has a long life and spends his time in good deeds, and the worst of men is the one who has a long life and spends it selfishly. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

For a healthy spiritual life, perfect piety can be obtained by avoiding doubtful things and minor sins. In order to do this, however, one must know what is lawful and what is forbidden, and have a certain knowledge of God. [Fethullah Gulen]

Guidance of the Day:

Know the basis of reliance on God is the heart's knowledge that all matters are in God's Hand, whether beneficial or harmful, unpleasant or pleasant, and that were all creatures to unite to be of benefit to someone they would benefit him only in the way which God has already written for him; and that if they were to unite to harm him they would do so only in that which God has already written for him.

It is a condition of sound reliance that it does not lead you to disobey God, and that you avoid what He has forbidden and perform what He has commanded, relying in all this on Him, seeking (only) His assistance and committing yourself to Him. Using any of the world's means does not invalidate your reliance as long as you rely on God and not on that which you use. Certainly, for the one whose reliance is sincere, his use of worldly means will become meager. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

Every beginning is hard. The first step is the hardest. The important thing is somehow to begin. The way to get ahead is to start now. Begin what you want to do now. It is no good hearing an inner voice or getting an inner prompting if you do not immediately act on that inner prompting. Even if you're on the right track, you'll be run over if you just sit there.

Pearls of wisdom 251

1.Be resolute in loving for the sake of God, and be decisive in breaking relations for His sake.

2. Befriend righteous people, sit in the circles of scholars, and keep the company of intelligent, spiritual people.

3. Follow the way of the scholars who preceded you, and be a sincere teacher of the Muslims who will come after you, a leader for the righteous, and a refuge for the seekers of guidance.

4. Do not openly complain to anyone, and do not allow your worldly affairs to consume your religion.

5. Exert your self when giving counsel.

6. Take your fair share of isolation (for the remembrance of Allah Most High).

7. Only eat from the lawful, avoid waste, and be content with what suffices you from the world.

8. Know the constancy of God's grace to you despite your constantly opposing His commandments, His forbearance with you despite your neglecting His remembrance, His veiling your faults despite the paucity of your shyness before Him, and His absolute independence from you, despite your absolute need of Him.

9. Just as a person lacking vision cannot benefit from daylight, similarly, only the righteous can be illuminated by the light of knowledge.

10. Just as the downpour will not cause anything to grow on a solid rock, likewise, wisdom will not emerge from a heart in love with the world. [Above quotes by Imam Harith al Muhasibi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1214

Ayahs of the Day:

What are they asking each other about? About the great announcement, on which they differ. In spite of that, they will know; yes, in spite of that they will know. Haven't We made the earth and expanse with the mountains as pegs? And We created you in pairs, and We made your sleep for rest, and We made the night a cloak. [78: 1 to 10]

Hadith of the Day:

An hour spent in the evening to study the fundamentals of my religion is better than praying the whole Night of Power. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Fools exult in life while the pious prepare for the journey ahead. A major portion of their wealth is spent in God's way, and they themselves suffice with the bare minimum, striving toward the hereafter. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Guidance of the Day:

You must rely on God, for He suffices, enriches, and concerns Himself with those who do so. Reliance (on God) is one of the fruits of a sincere Monotheism which is established and has prevailed in the heart. God the Exalted has said: Lord of the East and Lord of the West, there is no god but Him, so take Him as a Patron (73: 9). Notice how He began by affirming His Lordship, and then the exclusive Oneness of Divinity, and then ordered us to rely on Him (Majestic and High is He!) so that no man has any excuse to forsake this.

And He has commanded His servants to rely on Him and encouraged them to do so in His saying: And upon God let the believers rely (3: 122). And: So rely on God, indeed God loves those who rely (on Him) (3: 159). And the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'Were you to rely on God as He rightly should be relied on. He would provide for you as He provides for the birds which go off hungry in the morning and return full in the evening'. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence is the quality that most frequently makes for success. A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.

Pearls of wisdom 250

1. Exalt God's mention by not attributing calamities to Him.

2. Profit from your time, and realize how much of it is wasted by night and by day.

3. Consider well those who have gone before you.

4. Constantly repent to God. Reflect on the fate of the two parties that will stand before God: A party that will be in Heaven owing to His pleasure, and a party in the blazing inferno of Hell having incurred His anger.

5. Know just how close God is to you, and honor the noble angels recording your every deed.

6. Receive the blessings of God by trying to understand the wisdom behind them by praising God and thanking Him in the very best manner.

7. Beware of your soul causing you to imagine spiritual stations for yourself that you have not attained, or holding the truth to be foolishness by demeaning people -- both of these are deadly poison.

8. Avoid fearing that you will fall from the esteem of people, by fearing that God will hate you for that.

9. Avoid the fear of poverty by realizing just how close the expiration of your life span is.

10. Divide your time into three parts: A third for seeking knowledge, a third for worship, and a third for dealing with your rights and responsibilities. [Above quotes by Imam Harith al Muhasibi]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1213

Ayahs of the Day:

Woe to the scoffers that day -- "Eat and enjoy yourselves a little, for you are sinners." Woe to the scoffers that day! When told to bow, they do not bow. Woe to the scoffers that day! What message beyond that will they believe? [77: 45 to 50]

Hadith of the Day:

God may delay the punishment of some major sins until Judgment Day, but not the punishment of one's sins against one's parents. People suffer for those very quickly, and in this life. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:

All believers are friends of Allah, 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 Hanifa]

Guidance of the Day:

Take little from the world always, and confine yourself to your needs, whether it be in the matter of clothes, food, marriage, housing, or any other comfort. Beware of indulgently seeking its pleasures while claiming to renounce it, using arguments unacceptable to God, and contriving interpretations which are far removed from the truth.

The way in which the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, shunned the world's pleasures while able to enjoy them licitly is quite obvious to anyone who has the least knowledge. If you are incapable of renouncing the world and you admit your desire for it, you are not to blame; you will only have sinned if you pursue and enjoy it in a manner forbidden by the Law. Renunciation is a degree higher than this. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices. Reckon the days in which you have not been angry. I used to be angry every day; now every other day; then every third and fourth day; and if you miss it as long as thirty days, offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

Pearls of wisdom 249

1.Never fail to recompense any good that is done for you, even if the only means you have to do so is prayer.

2. Turn away from ignoramuses, and patiently endure the imprudence of fools.

3. Seek the council of those who fear God.

4. Help your brother when he is oppressed, and turn him back to the path of truth when he is an oppressor.

5. Fully extend to your brother the rights you owe him, while foregoing the rights he owes you.

6. Be lenient with one indebted to you, and be gentle in your treatment of widows and orphans.

7. Honor those who endure poverty with patient dignity.

8. Never envy anyone for a blessing, and never backbite anyone.

9. Shut the door to greed by realizing people can ultimately offer you nothing, and seek to open the door to true wealth with contentment.

10. Close the door to your entertaining a bad opinion of others by fearing the responsibility (before God), and open the door leading to a good opinion of others by interpreting their actions in the most gracious manner. [Above quotes by Imam Harith al Muhasibi]