LESSON OF THE DAY 1280

Ayahs of the Day:

Say,"I take refuge in the Lord of dawn from the ill of what is created, and from the ill of darkness when it's gloomy, and from the ill of those who curse, and from the ill of the envious when he envies." [113: 1 to 5]

Hadith of the Day:

Allah has revealed to me that you must be humble, so that no one boasts over another. [Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Your time is your life, and your life is your capital, it is the basis of your transactions (with God), and the means to attain everlasting felicity, in the proximity of God the Exalted. [Imam Ghazali]

Guidance of the Day:

It is no coincidence that those very people who do good and hope to do more of it are in fact those who reflect on death and work for the Hereafter the most, so that the Day of Judgment will be a moment of joy and light for them. It is wise to meditate on death -- its throes and the various states after it. For example, one should imagine -- while he or she has life and relatively safe -- the trial of the Traverse(Sirat) that every soul must pass over in the Hereafter, beneath which is the awesome inferno and the screams and anguish of those evildoers who already have been cast therein.

People of spiritual elevation prepare themselves psychologically for the ultimate journey. Although death is a sudden severance from this life, one remains conscious in a different way. In fact, the deceased is in a hyper-conscious state that makes this life appear life a dream. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, said, "People are asleep. When they die, they wake up."

Many of the righteous forbears of Muslim civilization stressed that one should visualize the states of death and the Afterlife -- their bodies being washed and prepared for burial, being lowered into the grave, having soil cove them, being questioned by the angels, climbing out of the grave on the Day of Resurrection, and being called to stand in judgment before God the Exalted. Reflecting on death brings sobriety to one's state. [Hamza Yusuf,Purification of the Heart]

Food for Thought:

What most counts is not to live, but to live aright. Not only must we be good, but we must be good for something. Purpose is what gives life a meaning. A useless life is an early death. Be a life long or short, its completeness depends on what it was lived for. Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes. Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.