Monday, June 29, 2009

Avoid the following four (10-6)

The following four deeds bring misery to a person’s heart, so avoid them:
1. Complaining and being angry with what Allah (GOD) has decreed.
2. Committing sins without repenting afterwards.
3. Hating people for the blessings that Allah (GOD) has bestowed upon them.
4. Turning away from the remembrance of Allah

To find peace, turn to your Lord (10-7)

Allah’s slave - i.e. every one of us can find comfort only by turning to Allah (GOD) Almighty.
Tranquility means having a heart that is at peace and that has a sound trust in Allah (GOD). Tranquility is a state of calm enjoyed by those believers who have been saved from doubt. And it is according to one’s closeness to Allah (GOD) that one will achieve tranquility and peace.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Some of the positive results of experiencing hardship (10-8)

Hardship makes one turn humbly toward one’s Lord. Someone once said, “How Perfect is Allah (GOD), Who has elicited supplication through hardship.” It has been related that Allah (GOD) tested one of His slaves in a matter and then said to the Angels that it was, “In order to hear his voice,” meaning his supplications and invocations.
Hardship instills humility in the heart of the afflicted.
People give comfort to, and pray for, the afflicted. Thus during times of hardship the believers come together in a spirit of brotherhood.
Hardship should make one grateful for having been saved from that which is greater than the hardship with which he was afflicted.
Furthermore, hardship atones for sins.
When the slave of Allah (GOD) gains an appreciation of these facts, he will be thankful.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Happiness is a divine present that does not differentiate between the rich and the poor (10-9)

It is not uncommon to see laborers who are so poor that whatever they earn on any given day is spent on that same day. Yet many of them are happy, peaceful, with strong hearts and tranquil souls. This is because they are too busy to think about yesterday or tomorrow. Their life-style has given them an appreciation of today since they have not been afforded the opportunity of thinking about anything else. Compare these to those who live in mansions. Inactivity and free time have afforded them with plentiful time to think about their problems and their lack of purpose in life. Thus misery and worry afflict many of them day and night.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Invoke GOD with the following (10-10)

“O’ Allah (GOD), give us a good share of piety, for You serve as a barrier between us and between our disobeying You. Give us that share of obedience to You with which You make us enter Paradise, and a share of the faith that serves to make the calamities of this world seem easy for us. Make us enjoy the blessings of our hearing, sight, and strength as long as You give us life, Grant us revenge against those who have wronged us and help us against those who have transgressed against us. And do not make our calamity to be in our religion, do not make the world to be the most important matter with us, nor make it the extent of our knowledge. And on account of our sins, do not give those who show us no mercy the power to subjugate us.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

A Lord Who wrongs not (10-11)

You should feel reassured in that you have a Lord Who is just.

Allah (GOD), the Exalted, admitted a woman into Paradise because of a dog and another into the Hellfire because of a cat. The first was a prostitute from the children of Israel, because she once gave drink to a thirsty dog, Allah (GOD) forgave her and admitted her into Paradise.
This was a just recompense for her sincerity in doing a good deed, for her sincerity to Allah (GOD). The second was a woman who confined a cat to a room. She neither fed it nor gave it drink, by confining the cat, she prevented it from eating insects in the fields, and so Allah (GOD) made her enter the Hellfire.
The story of the first woman is one that brings coolness to the heart, because it makes one know that Allah (GOD) gives great rewards for small deeds.

So help the grief-stricken, give to the poor, aid the oppressed, visit the sick, pray over the dead, guide the blind, give comfort to the afflicted, guide the misguided, and be generous to both guest and neighbor. All of these are deeds of charity, deeds that not only help the receiver of your kind acts, but that also help you by giving you comfort and peace.