08.18.09
Ounce of prevention, pound of cure
Repel the thought, for if you don’t, it becomes an idea. So repel the idea, for if you don’t it will become a desire. So fight against that (desire), for if you don’t, it will become a determination and a passion. And if you don’t repel that, it will become an action. And if you don’t replace it with its opposite, it will become a constant habit. So at that point, it will be difficult for you to change it.
- Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah [from al-Fawaa'id]
05.03.09
5 Ingredients…
“The medicine of the heart is five things:
Reading Qur’aan and pondering the meaning,
Having an empty stomach,
Praying qiyaam al-layl,
Beseeching Allaah at the time of suhoor,
And keeping company with righteous people.”
-Yahya Ibn Mu’aadh
03.22.09
Lessons of the Day
03.15.09
Pearls of Wisdom
2. Generosity goes hand in hand with compassion. If you have no compassion you cannot have generosity.
3. All adversity is really an opportunity for our souls to grow; all adversity is really a form of growing pain.
4. A truly wise person will have the wisdom to know what he can do, accept what he can’t do, and have the generosity of spirit to extend himself in ways that can make a difference.
5. To hold a grudge against anyone is like carrying the devil on your shoulders.
6. Two things, at minimum, are needed——-an ability to appreciate the positives in our life, and a commitment to action to do good..
7. Peace of mind has nothing to do with the external world; it has only to do with our connection with God.
8. The fact that you are praying and meditating is not as important as how much good you bring back from your prayer and meditation.
9. Often it is the lowest points in life that we learn the most. Those low moments are the magical moments. They are the beginning stages of our journey to our Lord.
03.12.09
Pearls of Wisdom
1. Let not obedience make you joyous because it comes from you, but rather, be joyous over it because it comes from Allah (SWT) to you.
2. Whoever is not thankful for graces runs the risk of losing them, and whoever is thankful fetters them with their own cords.
3. Be fearful lest the existence of His generosity towards you and the performance of your bad behavior towards Him not lead you step by step to ruin.
4. He made the Hereafter an abode to reward His believing servants only because this world cannot contain what He wishes to bestow upon them and because He deemed their worth too high to reward them in a world without permanence.
5. The real journey is when the world’s dimension is rolled away from you so that you see the Hereafter closer to you than yourself.
6. Far be it for our Lord to recompense with credit the servant who deals with Him in cash.
7. Suffice it is a recompense for you for obedience that He has judged you worthy of obedience.
8. When He gives, He shows you His kindness; when He deprives, He shows you His power. And in all that, He is making Himself known to you and coming to you with His gentleness.
9. Deprivation hurts you only because of the lack of your understanding of Allah (SWT) in it.
10. When He loosens your tongue with a request, then know that He wants to give you something.
[Above quotes by Ibn Ata'Allah]
03.07.09
Pearls of Wisdom
1. A friend cannot be considered a friend until he is tested on three occasions—- in time of need; behind your back; and after your death. [Ali radi Allah anhu]
2. One of your sins should seem weightier to you than a thousand of your virtues. [Imam Ja'far al Sadiq]
3. There can be no good in excess, just as there is no excess in good. [Imam Abu Hanifah]
4. If there is a good deed which is difficult, hold on to it, for in the end, the good deed will remain and the difficulty will perish. [Ali radi Allah anhu]
5. To be humble is to accept the truth and submit to it even if you heard it from a child or someone who is uneducated or ignorant. [Fudhayl ibn Iyaadh]
6. Even if you studied for a hundred years and collected a thousand books, you would not be eligible for the mercy of Allah except through action. [Imam al Ghazali]
7. Live as long as you want, but you must die; love whatever you want, but you will become separated from it; and do what you want, but you will be repaid for it. [Imam al Ghazali]
8. Allah loves the voice of the one who recites the Qur’an, and the voice of the one who seeks forgiveness before dawn break. [Sufyan al Thawri]
9. Knowledge without action is madness and action without knowledge is void. [Imam al Ghazali]
10. Know that the knowledge which does not remove you from sins today and does not convert you to obedience, will not remove you tomorrow from the Hell fire. [Imam al Ghazali]
02.19.09
…so true!…
“If you want something in your life and you aren’t praying tahajud for it then in reality you don’t really want it.” Shaykh Yasir Qadhi
some more quotes by the shaykh:
“Judging someone else’s intentions only shows your own insincerity.”
“Allah won’t judge them [other Muslims] according to your knowledge. Allah will judge them by their own knowledge!”
01.11.09
*inspiration*
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) is narrated to have said:
“The degree to which a person is helped and aided by Allah depends on the degree of his intention, drive, aim, and hopes.
Help from Allah comes to people in proportion to their drive, intention, hopes, and fears; and failure comes to them in like manner.”
02.23.08
Wisdom for Life
Do not dispute anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit. [Imam al Ghazali]
01.04.08
Wisdom on Expectations
“Everyone besides Allah (swt) will disappoint your expectations…So long as you place any hopes in creation, you are necessarily going to be disappointed.”
~Br. Nou’man Ali Khan <— Mashaa’Allah awesome speaker
