LESSON OF THE DAY 1241

Ayahs of the Day:
The power of your Lord is truly tremendous; for that is who begins and renews, and is most forgiving and loving, Lord of glorious Throne, independently acting at will. Has the story reached you of the troops of Pharaoh and Thamud? Those who scoff are still in denial, though God surrounds them from beyond. But this is a glorious Recital on a preserved tablet. [85: 12 to 22]

Hadith of the Day:
Anger comes from Satan and Satan is created from fire. Fire can only be put out by water. So whenever one of you is stricken by anger, make an ablution. [Abu Dawud]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Material good is nothing compared to the spiritual. In the Hereafter no plea 'that others misled' will avail.' Each soul must answer for itself. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]

Guidance of the Day:
Experience calm surrender. Calm surrender is a term I use to describe the process of "letting go" around the home and elsewhere. Simply put, it means surrendering, with grace and humility, to the chaos of life. It's a form of acceptance, of being okay with what is, of ending the struggle. Often, we struggle against aspects of life that are largely beyond our control -- noise, confusion, comments we don't approve of, lost items, rudeness, imperfections, broken pipes, clogged drains, whatever. We fight, get angry and annoyed, and wish things were different. We complain, fret, and commiserate. Yet, when you add up all this frustration, the end result is always the same: The things we are frustrated about remain as they are. In fact, it only adds fuel to the fire, often making things worse than they already are.

Calm surrender is not about giving up. Nor is it about being apathetic, lazy, or not caring. Instead, it's about appropriate acceptance, being willing to let go of our insistence that events in our lives be any certain way or different than they actually are. The wisdom of the strategy is simple: Although you might wish things were different (or demand it), they are not. They are exactly as they are. This doesn't mean you shouldn't make changes or encourage improvements -- you absolutely should do so in those instances where you feel it's important or necessary. What this strategy is suggesting is the frustration that comes from not having things go your way. If you are willing to give this strategy a try, you'll be amazed at the results. The calmer you become, the easier your life will be. [Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- with your family]

Food for Thought:
To repent is to alter one's way of looking at life; it is to take God's point of view instead of one's own. True repentance is to cease from sin. To do it no more is truest repentance. God has promised pardon to him that repents, but he has not promised repentance to him that sins.