Pearls of wisdom 313

1. When trouble and suffering come upon you, accept them and do not complain.

2. Seek a simple and humble life and be happy and content with it.

3. The eyes that shine with the light of Allah will give light to the eyes that look upon them.

4. Beware of your states, count each breath and every moment of time allotted to you -- let it not go to waste.

5. Listen and be respectful and humble in the presence of those who remember and call upon Allah.

6. In generosity and benevolence, follow the example of the holy Prophet (sws).

7. Accept the Truth from those who preach it -- to be humble is to accept the Truth.

8. Expel all self-approval and pride from your being and envy is a dreadful thing that you should flee from.

9. Be more occupied with your inner state than with your outer state -- for the inner state is what Allah looks at.

10. Show respect to the devout, show kindness to the sinful, do not cause discomfort to anyone; let your outer self be the same as your inner self. [Above quotes by Abu Abdul Rahman al Sulami]

LESSON OF THE DAY 1282

Ayahs of the Day:

This is the Book, without doubt, in it guidance for the conscientious, those who believe in the unseen, who practice regular prayer, and who give of what We have provided them; and those who believe in what was revealed to you, and what was revealed before you, and who are certain of the Hereafter. [2: 2,3,4]

Hadith of the Day:

Worldly things are sweet and seemingly, whoever takes them with permission will find them blessed, while whoever takes them with avidness shall not find any blessings in them and will be like those who eat and yet are not satiated. [Bukhari & muslim]

Wise quote of the Day:

When the inward is good the outward is also inevitably so, for the outward follows the inward, whether for good or evil. [Imam Abdullah Ibn Alawi al Haddad]

Guidance of the Day:

The Arabic word ilah is the counterpart of the English word god. Both mean the thing or entity being worshiped. The persian khuda, the Latin deus, and the Turkishi tanri have similar meaning and connotations.

God, with a capital G, is not an exact equivalent of the term Allah. Rather, it is closer to the Islamic conception of ilah. In Arabic, Allah is the essential personal name of God and comprises all His Beautiful Names (asma' al-husan). When Allah is said, the One, the Supreme Being, the Creator, the Owner, the Sustainer, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Encompassing, whose Names and Attributes are manifested in creation, comes to mind. This term also refers to His Absolute Oneness as well as Having no defect or partner.

As Allah is a proper name peculiar to the One Supreme Being, we say la ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah). By saying this, we first deny all non-deities and then affirm the One known by the name Allah. In other words, only Allah is Allah, and only He is worthy of worship. [M. Fethullah Gulen]

Food for thought:

To resist the frigidity of old age, one must combine the body, the mind and the heart, and to keep these in parallel vigor one must exercise, study, and love. A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth, instead of its bringing sad melancholy prospects of decay, it would give us hope of eternal youth in a better world.

If you have to complain then try to be the best of those who complain....

Imām Ibn al-Qayyim {may Allāh have mercy upon him} said:-

The ignorant one complains about Allāh to the people!

This is the height of ignorance in complaining and in whom the complaint is about.

For if a person were to truly know his Lord, he would never complain of Him.

If he truly knew people, he would never complain to them …

The gnostic complains only to Allāh,

and the most knowledgeable of the gnostics are those who complain to Allāh about themselves, not others …

So there are three levels:-

# 1/-The most contemptible of them is to complain to people about Allāh;

#2/ The loftiest of them is to complain to Allāh about oneself;

#3/ The middle level is to complain to Allāh about others.

Pearls of wisdom 312

1. Bring joy into the lives of believers and meet their needs, respond cruelty with kindness.

2. Love each other and meet each other for Allah's sake.

3. Remember that you are a servant of Allah -- humble yourself and do not regard yourself and your actions as significant.

4. Repent ceaselessly, with the strongest will not to return to the sin -- for only then is the repentance acceptable.

5. By loving the ones whom Allah loves, you attract His love for yourself.

6. Retain the fear of Allah both inwardly and outwardly.

7. Fast-- for hunger is a protection against the Devil.

8. The effect of remembrance of Allah (dhikr) inwardly is acceptance (rida) with the Divine decree, and outwardly is humility (khushu) and piety (taqwa).

9. Education of the heart is through safeguarding the limbs and sense organs.

10. Forgive -- even though you may have the power to retaliate; instead of seeking the faults of others, look for your own faults. [Above quotes by Abu Abdul Rahman al Sulami]

What is it that's hard to break?

Diamonds are hard to find but not hard to Break.

What is the hardest thing to break then?

The answer is: HABIT!

If you break the H, you still have A BIT.

If you break the A, you still have BIT.

If you break the B, you still have IT!

Hey, after you break the T in IT, there is still the 'I'.

And that "I" is the root cause of all the problems that you/me/all are facing.

Isn't it right? Do You endorse? Do You agree?

Now you know why "HABIT" is so hard to break.

Moral of the story: 

We have to respect each other's opinion and views too.

We just need to listen others actively and their point of view

KEEP SMILING -- not because of something but despite everything.

LESSON OF THE DAY 1281

Ayahs of the Day:

Say, "I take refuge with the Lord of humankind, the ruler of humankind, the God of humankind, from the ill of flighty suggestion that whispers in the people's hearts from the demonic and human sources." [114: 1 to 6]

Hadith of the Day:

Take advantage of five before (another) five -- your life before your death, your health before illness, your free time before your preoccupation, your youth before your old age, and your wealth before poverty (i.e. preparing for the Hereafter). [Ahmad & Bayhaqi]

Wise Quote of the Day:

Renew your wudu whenever you break it, for wudu is the weapon of the believer, and when the weapon is in evidence, the enemy does not approach. [Abdullah ibn Alawi al Haddad]

Guidance of the Day:

To hope for the Hereafter but do nothing for it in terms of conduct and morality is false hope. A perennial teaching of revealed religion since the creation of Adam is that entry into Paradise is a matter of God's mercy and that this mercy is attained by combining faith and sincere deeds for the sake of God. Unfortunately, on the Day of Judgment many Muslims will find themselves in Hell because of false hopes. All they have to show for their religiosity is the mere declaration of faith, a testimony unconfirmed by deeds, especially the rites of worship and charitable acts towards others.

The Quran states that there are people who desire to continue in their wrongdoing throughout the entirety of their lives. The scholars have said that although people may be aware of ultimate accountability, they put off repentance as if they are guaranteed a long life. This is an ethic exemplified by the saying, "Sow your wild oats," which advocates getting all the lewdness and sin out of life when one is young, and then later calming down and getting serious about religion.

Besides being simply wrong, another terrible flaw in this ethic is that people die at all ages and never get the chance to repent and make amends. Moreover, what kind of repentance is this when people intentionally indulge in sin banking on the possibility that later on in life -- after all the energy and drive diminishes -- they will turn in penitence to God? We know that God loves those who spend their youth obedient to Him and His commandments. [Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Purification of the Heart]

Food for Thought:

Some die without having really lived, while others continue to live, in spite of the fact that they have died. Be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in this life or after death. A faithful life in this world is the best preparation for the next. This world is the land of dying; the next is the land of living.

Raising Moral Children

Nothing is difficult with Allah's help and nothing is easy without His help.

1. Commit to Raising A Moral Child
How important is it for you to raise a moral child? It's a crucial question to ask, because research finds that parents who feel strongly about their kids turning out morally usually succeed because they committed themselves to that effort. If you really want to raise a moral child, then make a personal commitment to raise one.

2. Be a Strong Moral Example
Parents are their children's first and most powerful moral teachers, so make sure the moral behaviors your kids are picking up from you are ones that you want them to copy. Try to make your life a living example of good moral behavior for your child to see. Each day ask yourself: "If my child had only my behavior to watch, what example would he/she catch?" The answer is often quite telling.

3. Know Your Beliefs And Share Them
Before you can raise a moral child, you must be clear about what you believe in. Take time to think through your values then share them regularly with your child explaining why you feel the way you do. After all, your child will be hearing endless messages that counter your beliefs, so it's essential that he/she hears about your moral standards. TV shows, movies, newspapers, and literature are filled with moral issues, so use them as opportunities to discuss your beliefs with your child.

4. Use Teachable Moments
The best teaching moments aren't ones that are planned—they happen unexpectedly. Look for moral issues to talk about as they come up. Take advantage of those moments because they help your child develop solid moral beliefs that will help guide his behavior the rest of his life.

5. Use Discipline as a Moral Lesson
Effective discipline ensures that the child not only recognizes why her behavior was wrong but also knows what to do to make it right next time. Using the right kind of questions helps kids expand their ability to take another person's perspective and understand the consequences of their behavior. So help your child reflect: "Was that the right thing to do? What should I do next time?" That way your child learns from his mistakes and grows morally. Remember your ultimate goal is to wean your child from your guidance so he or she acts right on his or her own.

6. Expect Moral Behavior
Studies are very clear: kids who act morally have parents who expect them to do so. It sets a standard for your child's conduct and also lets her know in no uncertain terms what you value. Post your moral standards at home then consistently reinforce them until your child internalizes them so they become his or her rules, too.

7. Reflect on the Behaviors' Effects
Researchers tell us one of the best moral-building practices is to point out the impact of the child's behavior on the other person. Doing so enhances a child's moral growth: ("See, you made her cry") or highlight the victim's feeling ("Now he feels bad"). The trick is to help the child really imagine what it would be like to be in the victim's place so he or she will be more sensitive to how his or her behavior impacts others.

8. Reinforce Moral Behaviors
One of the simplest ways to help kids learn new behaviors is to reinforce them as they happen. So purposely catch your child acting morally and acknowledge his or her good behavior by describing what he or she did right and why you appreciate it.

9. Prioritize Morals Daily
Kids don't learn how to be moral from reading about it in textbooks but from doing good deeds. Encourage your child to lend a hand to make a difference in his world, and always help him or her recognize the positive effect the gesture had on the recipient. The real goal is for kids to become less and less dependent on adult guidance by incorporating moral principles into their daily lives and making them their own. That can happen only if parents emphasize the importance of the virtues over and over and their kids repeatedly practice those moral behaviors.

10. Incorporate the Golden Rule
Teach your child the Golden Rule that has guided many civilizations for centuries, "Treat others as you want to be treated." Remind him or her to ask himself before acting, Would I want someone to treat me like that? It helps him or her think about his behavior and its consequences on others. Make the rule become your family's over-arching moral principal

Pearls of wisdom 311

1. There is nothing more noble than servitude, nor is there a more perfect title for the believer than 'slave'.

2. Just as 'Lordship' is eternal quality of God, so is 'servitude' a quality of man that stays with Him as long as he lives.

3. Shame means abandoning all pretensions before God.

4. Sincerity is guarding oneself from the opinions of men and truthfulness is cleansing oneself of awareness of self.

5. The sincere one is not hypocritical, and the truthful one is not conceited.

6. Truthfulness is that you be with people just as you perceive yourself to be or that you perceive yourself to be just as you are.

7. God will beautify the inner faculties with contemplation for one who adorns his outer being with striving.

8. Whoever refrains from speaking the truth is a mute devil.

9. It is best that a person be given enough wealth to sustain him and then he maintains himself within those limits.

10. The one who humbles himself before a rich person on account of his wealth loses two thirds of his religion. [Above quotes by Shaykh Abu ad Daqqaq]