LESSON OF THE DAY 1268

Ayahs of the Day:
The catastrophe: What is the catastrophe, and what will convey to you what the catastrophe is? A day when humanity will be like scattered moths and the mountains like fluffed wool. Then those whose balance is heavy will be in a pleasant life, while those whose balance is slight wind up in an abyss. And what will convey to you what this is? Raging fire. [101: 1 to 11]

Hadith of the Day:
Allah is kind and loves kindness in every matter. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Hoping for Paradise without good works, hoping for the intercession (of the Prophet, may blessings and peace be upon him) without embodying the sunna, and hoping for mercy while constantly in sin, are nothing but absurdities. [Ma'ruf al Kharkhi]

Guidance of the Day:
Don't read between the lines: This is a common problem -- especially at home. When we know someone really well there is an almost insidious tendency to think that we know what that person is thinking and/or how he or she is going to behave. You can probably see that this tendency greatly contributes to sweating the small stuff at home. When you read between the lines, it's almost as though you're actively looking for things that bother and annoy you. And when you're looking for something, especially when you assume you're going to find it, you rarely disappoint yourself.

Obviously, an occasional assumption isn't going to ruin a relationship and is no big deal. However, this tendency is rarely occasional. Instead, it becomes a way of life -- a habit, something we do a great deal of the time, often without even knowing we are doing so. Our mind works so quickly in its assumptions -- what it thinks it knows -- that it prejudges without any awareness on our part.

The solution is simple -- but not easy. You must have the humility to admit that you don't know what someone is going to do or what he or she is thinking -- you only think you do. It's important to take each day, each individual circumstance, as it comes. Don't assume that simply because something has always been a certain way there is no room for change. When you do, you show a subtle form of disrespect. After all, you probably don't appreciate it when someone you love reads your mind and predicts your behavior. When you make a shift from predicting behavior to responding to it, you'll find yourself being annoyed far less. In many cases, this slight shift can make a world of a difference in the feelings of mutual respect in a family. [Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- with your family]

Food for Thought:
No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants. Riches are not an end of life, but an instrument of life. A man's true wealth is the good he does in this world.