LESSON OF THE DAY 1245

Ayahs of the Day:
So advise, if advice avails. Those who fear God will take a lesson, while the most wretched will turn away -- those who will roast in the greatest fire where they will neither die nor live. Happy are those who have purified themselves and remember the name of their Lord and pray. [87: 10 to 15]

Hadith of the Day:
The similitude of the one who makes remembrance of his Lord and the one who does not is like the living and the dead. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The sign that Allah has turned away from a servant is that He makes him busy with matters that are of no concern to him -- when a person reaches such a point, he must repent and ask Allah to guide him to those matters that are important and beneficial. [Hasan al-Basri]

Guidance of the Day:
Put a ceiling on your desires. This is one of the most important spiritual lessons I've ever been lucky enough to learn. I say "lucky" because, without this bit of wisdom to guide your life, happiness can be an elusive experience that is going to happen "someday" rather than something you experience "along the way."

A "ceiling on your desires" means you put an end to the never-ending, ever-increasing list of wants, needs, and preferences that seem to dominate our lives, the "I'll be happy when I get one more thing" trap. In virtually all cases, without a "ceiling" on your desires will be insatiable. As soon as one desire is fulfilled, another one magically takes its place. A rather typical example around the home might be: "I'll be happy when I get a larger apartment." That desire, once filled, is replaced with: "I'll be happy when we can afford to purchase a home." If you're not careful , you'll continue this process. The same principle applies to all material things -- cars, clothes, equipment, and everything else. [Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- with your family]

Food for Thought:
It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about? Who makes quick use of the moment, is a genius of prudence. Whoever admits that he is too busy to improve his methods has acknowledged himself to be at the end of the rope. And that is always the saddest predicament which anyone can get into. What we hope to do with ease, we must learn first to do with difficulty.