LESSON OF THE DAY 1226

Ayahs of the Day:

When the sun is rolled up and when the stars fall lusterless and when the mountains are blown away and when the pregnant camels are neglected and when the wild beasts are herded and when the oceans are flooded and when the souls are matched and when the infant girl who was buried is asked for what offense she was killed: And when the pages are opened, and when the sky is stripped and when the blaze is fired up and when the garden is drawn near each soul will know what it has brought about. [81 to 14]

Hadith of the Day:

Of all the lawful acts, the most detestable to God is divorce. [Abu-Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:

God fills the hearts of those who love Him with peace, thus enabling them to endure afflictions with ease. [Al-Hujwiri]

Guidance of the Day:

Know that supplication even with insistence does not compromise contentment; on the contrary, it is a part of it. How can it not be so when prayer expresses true faith in God's unity, is the language of servitude, and the hallmark of the realization of helplessness, neediness, humility, and poverty?

Anyone who has realized these attributes has attained to knowledge and arrival, and to the utmost nearness to God. It has been related that the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, said that prayer is the marrow of worship, the weapon of the believer, and the light of the heavens and earth; and that who do not ask God incur wrath. Our Lord (Majestic is His power!) has said: To God belong the most beautiful names; thus call on Him by them! (7: 180) And: Your Lord has said: Pray to Me and I will answer you. (40: 60) [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope. Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgment of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you're going to do about it. God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Pearls of wisdom 262

1. Be very wary of disobedience to Allah Most High -- and really cleave to His door.

2. Devote your energies and your efforts to His obedient service -- apologetically and submissively.

3. Devote your energies and your efforts to His obedient service -- admitting your shortcomings in all humility.

4. Devote your energies and your efforts to His obedient service -- paying no attention to His creatures and not following your own inclinations.

5. Devote your energies and your efforts to His obedient service -- seeking no worldly or otherworldly recompense.

6. Devote your energies and your efforts to His obedient service -- seeking no promotion to high positions and honorable stations.

7. Be fully aware that you are His servant, and that the servant and all he possesses belong to his Master, against whom he has no claim.

8. Observe good manners and do not be distrustful of your Master -- for 'everything with Him is according to measure.'

9. Know that none can bring forward what He has postponed, and none can put back what He has brought to the fore.

10. Know that you will receive what He has assigned to you at the proper moment and time. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1225

Ayahs of the Day:

Then when the deafening noise comes, that day a man will flee his brother and his mother and his father and his wife and his children. Everyone of them that day will have enough to preoccupy him. Some faces will be glowing that day, laughing with delight; while some faces will have dust on them that day, covering them with grime -- those will be the shameless disbelievers. [80: 33 to 42]

Hadith of the Day:

On every Monday and Thursday the angels report the states of all humanity. All who have realized, admitted, and repented their sins are forgiven, except for the vengeful, who cannot repent because of their vengeance. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:

He who truly fears his Lord has freed his tongue from vain talk, He whose heart is in the awe of his Lord, everything in creation is in awe of him. [Fudhail ibn Iyadh]

Guidance of the Day:

One frequently hears the villains of today replying when asked about why they abandoned obedience and committed transgressions, 'This is something God has predestined us to do; we cannot avoid it, and are but subjugated slaves.' This is the Fatalistic outlook, and those who hold such an opinion are implying, although not explicitly saying, that there was no point in sending Messengers and revealing Books.

How can someone who claims to have faith argue in favor of himself and against his Lord, when God's is the most profound argument against all His creatures? And how can a believer be willing to imitate the polytheists. And even the idolaters when they return to God will not be able to use such an untenable argument; on the contrary they will say: Our Lord! Our evil fortune overwhelmed us and we were people astray. (23: 106) [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

The soul, uneasy and confined from home, rests and expiates in a life to come. The soul has this proof of its divinity: that divine things delight it. The soul alone renders us noble. Speech is a mirror of the soul, as a man speaks, so is he. The soul of man is immortal and clothed in many bodies. Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

Pearls of wisdom 261

1. Never complain to anyone about your luck, whether it be friend or foe -- rather proclaim your blessings and gratitude.

2. How may blessings you enjoy without acknowledging them for what they are!

3. Most of the various disasters that afflict a human being are due to his complaints against His Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He).

4. Be in your best behavior, persevere in the face of misfortune, even if you are incapable of patience.

5. Discard anything that strikes you as dubious if it is mixed up with something that inspires no such doubts.

6. Choose the course that bears no taint of doubt or suspicion and leave what causes you to have misgivings.

7. Let go of what people have at their disposal -- give up trying to acquire it, and stop setting your heart on it.

8. Allah is always testing His believing servant in proportion to the faith -- thus if a person's faith is very great and steadily increasing his trial will be great as well.

9. Allah (Exalted is He) subjects the believers to incessant testing, so they will always stay in His presence and never relax their vigilance, for He loves them.

10. Affliction serves as a clamp for the hearts and a noose for the selfish natures, checking their tendency to drift away from their true goal and to place their confidence and trust in others instead of their Creator. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1224

Ayahs of the Day:

So let man consider his food: We pour forth water and split the ground, producing grain in it, and grapes and herbs and olives and dates and gardens full of trees and fruits and vegetation for your use and for your livestock. [80: 24 to 32]

Hadith of the Day:

Gather, in this world, no more than you need and no more than you can carry, for on the Day of Judgment, you will be forced to carry all that you owned in this life. [Tabarani]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Do not be aggrieved by thoughts of sustenance; you will be sustained. Instead be steadfast and frequent the divine court. [Mawlana Rumi]

Guidance of the Day:

Certain wealthy people neglect some duties and commit some transgressions and yet feel secure; this has nothing at all to do with contentment, for disobedience and neglect of one's duties are causes of God's wrath, so how can one be content with that which displeases Him? Such wretched people are pleased only with themselves, but think they are pleased with their Lord! Being pleased with oneself and being pleased with one's Lord are far apart and never unite in the same place.

How excellent is that which imam al-Ghazali, may God be pleased with him, wrote: 'Contentment is to be content inwardly with God's acts, and outwardly to do what pleases Him.' Should a person wish to know how much contentment he has, then let him search for it when hardships arrive, afflictions descend, and sicknesses become severe, for in these circumstances he will either find it or not. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

We can't let talking get in the way of action. Words are mere bubbles of water, but deeds are drops of gold. A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds. Life is worth being lived, but not worth being discussed all the time. Words gain credibility by deeds. Well done is better than well said.

Pearls of wisdom 260

1. Do not wish for anything but that which He commands, and have no aversion except for that which He forbids. Let this wish be enough for all purposes of this world and the Hereafter.

2. When you are in conformity with His commandment, all beings are at your command, and when you detest what He forbids, all loathsome things will flee from you wherever you happen to be.

3. An order (from Allah) calls for strict attention and a quick response, a prohibition calls for holding back, recoil and disengagement.

4. Slaves of passionate desire serve their passions, while slaves of Allah are servants of the Lord.

5. Slaves of this world behold this world, while slaves of Allah behold the Lord of earth and heaven.

6. Slaves of this world enjoy created comforts, while slaves of Allah feel at home with the Truth.

7. The hearts of slaves of this world are attached to earthly beings, while the hearts of slaves of Allah are attached to the Lord of the Throne.

8. Slaves of this world are preyed upon by those who notice, while slaves of Allah see only the Creator of all and whatever He may show.

9. Slaves of this world remain in pawn to the worldly cravings and perish, while slaves of Allah attain Him and achieve their salvation.

10. Slaves of Allah are extinct to the creation, to passion and will and desire, for they have attained to the King Most High, and He helps them to accomplish what He wants from them in the way of obedient worship, eulogy and praise. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1223

Ayahs of the Day:

This is a message for any who wants to remember, in honored scriptures, elevated and immaculate, by the hands of scribes honorable and upright. Man is ruined -- what makes him scoff? Of what did God make him? From a drop. God created him and enabled him, and smoothes the way for him, then causes him to die and entombs him, and then will resurrect him at will. But no, he has not fulfilled what God commanded him. [80: 11 to 23]

Hadith of the Day:

Do not ever doubt that truthfulness always eventually will lead you to success and good, and that doing good will lead you to salvation and Paradise. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Gaining a little certainty is better than all that the world contains; for this is an increase which draws one to the Eternal abode. [Dhunnun al Misri]

Guidance of the Day:

Matters which concern you are of two kinds:

Firstly, those which suit you, such as good health and prosperity. Resentment is inconceivable here except through looking at those who possess more of these things than you do; your duty is then to be content with what God has allotted you because His is the right to do as He pleases in His kingdom, or better still because He has chosen what is best and most suitable for your circumstances.

Secondly, that which does not suit you, such as misfortunes, illnesses, and infirmities. It is then forbidden that you be discontented and restless in this regard; it is better to accept these things contentedly and surrender (to God's will). If you cannot, then patiently endure for the sake of God. The Prophet said, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'Worship God by being content, and if you cannot, then know that in patient endurance of that which is unpleasant lies much good.' [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

He best keeps from anger who remembers that God is always looking upon him. There is indeed a God that hears and sees whatever we do. God is light that is never darkened; and unwearied life that cannot die; a fountain always flowing; a garden of life; a seminary of wisdom; a radical beginning of all goodness. Who has God has all; who has Him not, has less than nothing.

Pearls of wisdom 259

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 everything save Him, so that you can see the soul inclining to obey Him.

3. With God, love consists in casting off the appetitive desires and personal wishes.

4. Allow not your soul to be attached to anything, and you will be one of those well rooted in religious knowledge.

5. If thoughts of disobedience and the world occur in your heart, caste them under your feet with disdain and indifference, and your heart will be filled with knowledge and right guidance.

6. There is no guidance at all except for one who fears God, and there is no fear of God (taqwa) except for one 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. If you desire to look toward God with the sight of faith and firm belief continually, then be thankful for the favors of God and be content with His decree -- Whatever favor you have is from God.

9. Take pity on your soul and be kind to it. Make good use of the tools and instruments you have been given, by dedicating your intelligence, faith, and inner awareness and knowledge to the service of your Lord.

10. Hold fast to the divine commands and prohibitions, use them as guidelines on the path of your Lord, and leave the rest to the safekeeping of the One who created you and brought you into being. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1222

Ayahs of the Day:

They ask you about the end of time, for when it is set; What have you to do with reminder of that? Its end is up to your Lord. You are just a warner of those who dread it. It will seem to them, the day that they behold it, that they had stayed but an evening, or till the next day. [79: 42 to 46]

Hadith of the Day:

The best of my people are those whose strength of religion is like steel. [Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

How can a sane person be conceited about his spiritual works, when his works are but a gift from Allah and a blessing from Him that he should thank Him for. [Abu Sulaiman al Darani]

Guidance of the Day:

Your duty, O believer, is to know and believe that God the Exalted is the One Who causes guidance and misguidance, misery and happiness, and nearness and remoteness; He gives and withholds, abases and exalts, and causes harm and benefit. Having known and believed in this your duty is never to object, whether outwardly or inwardly, to any of His acts.

To object means to say: 'Why was that?' and 'What for?' Why was it not like this or that?' What did so-and-so do to deserve this?' There can be none so ignorant than he who raises objections to the way God deals with His kingdom or disputes His sovereignty, while remaining aware that God the Exalted is the Unique Creator, Authority, Sovereign, and Manager, Who does what He wills and decides what He wishes. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

Hope and patience are two sovereign remedies for all, the surest reposals, the softest cushions to lean on in adversity. Patience is the art of hoping. Hope is patience with the lamp lit. All human wisdom is summed up in two words -- wait and hope.

Pearls of wisdom 258

1. Wealth is your servant, and you are the servant of the Master.

2. If you pay more attention to Him than to material wealth, He will make you a present of it without deducting a single atom.

3. Do not wrong your own soul by being preoccupied with other things to the neglect of His commandments.

4. Make good use of the tools and instruments you have been given, by dedicating your intelligence, faith, inner awareness and knowledge to the service of your Lord.

5. Hold fast to the Divine commands and prohibitions, use them as guidelines on the path to your Lord.

6. Be not ungrateful to Him who created you from dust and made you grow.

7. When you are in conformity with His commandment, all beings are at your command.

8. When you detest what He forbids, all loathsome things will flee from you wherever you happen to be or make your stay.

9. An order (from the Creator) calls for strict attention and quick response.

10. A prohibition calls for holding back, recoil and disengagement -- be nourished with this diet, so that you may flourish in good health, and be cured of the sickness of sin. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1221

Ayahs of the Day:

Then when the greatest calamity comes, the day that man remembers what he strove for, and hellfire will be exposed for anyone to see. Then, for those who were excessive, preferring the life of the world, hellfire will be the abode. And for those who dreaded standing before their Lord and restrained the self from caprice, the garden will be the abode. [79: 34 to 41]

Hadith of the Day:

A person is together with the one he loves in this world and in the Hereafter. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Satan does not bother to misguide the one who runs after the world for he is already misguided. [Muhammad Wa'se]

Guidance of the Day:

You must be content with God's decrees, for this contentment is among noble consequences of love and gnosis. It is the attribute of the lover to be pleased with the acts of his Beloved, whether they be sweet or bitter.

The Prophet has said, may blessings and peace be upon him, that God says: 'Anyone who is not content with My decrees and cannot patiently endure My trials, let him seek a lord other than I!' And the Prophet said: 'When God loves a people He afflicts them, the one who is content receives (His) contentment and the one who is angry receives (His) anger. [Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance]

Food for Thought:

Religion brings to man an inner strength, spiritual light, ineffable peace. Never trust anybody not of sound religion, for he that is false to God can never be true to man. A man who puts aside his religion because he is going into society is like one taking off his shoes because he is about to walk on thorns.