LESSON OF THE DAY 1297

Ayahs of the day:
And spend for the sake of God, and do not invest in ruin by your own hands. And do good; for God loves those who do good. [2: 195]

Hadith of the day:
Traders will be gathered on the Day of Judgment as transgressors, except those who feared Allah, were righteous in their oaths and spoke the truth. [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

Wise quote of the day:
Before the time of prayer comes, the servant must be in a state of preparation and his attitude must be that which is essential for prayer, namely a state of meditation and recollection, free from wandering thoughts and consideration or remembrance of anything save God alone. [Abu Nasr al Sarraj]

Guidance of the day:
The Qur'an says backbiting is like eating flesh of a dead brother. It is a grave sin, a kabirah, not an ordinary one. Backbiting is a sin just as consuming wine, eating pork, stealing or robbing are sins. Rather, it is more severe. To drink wine or to consume pork is to violate rights of Allah and the sin pertains to the self of the perpetrator and has no relation with rights of fellow men. Hence, if Allah will enable the sinner at anytime and he repents to Him then He will forgive the sin.

The sin of backbiting, however, pertains to fellow human beings. The principle in such cases is that the sin is not forgiven unless the owner of the rights forgives it. The sinner may make repentance and seek forgiveness for thousands of times, offer salah and fasting, but the sin of backbiting will not be forgiven. Allah has said, "I will forgive you My rights. But, if you damage My slave physically or his property, or his honor; or you violate his rights then until he pardons you or you repay him his rights, I will not forgive you." The case of rights of fellow men is very serious but we have considered it very ordinary and minor. Backbiting is also among rights of fellow men. [Spiritual Discourses by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani]

Food for thought:
Faith means, no worrying. Faith is passionate intuition. Every tomorrow has two handles -- we can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. He who has faith has an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well, even though to the world it may appear to come out badly.