" Thank You............."

" The Sublimity of Life..............."

The sublimity of life..............


The hustle and bustle of life leaves a man very little time to think of his general condition. The news he receives is from the newspapers, internet, are very limited sources, and so he depends upon them for his ideas; and the intoxication of life leaves him very little time to think about the real meaning of life. When he looks around him and considers the condition of the nations today, he finds that in spite of all the progress, there is an increase in ill-feeling between them. Friendship only exists for self-interest. A nation only thinks about its own interest whether it has to deal with friend or enemy. ...

What is needed today is an education that will teach humanity to feel the essence of its religion in everyday life. Man is not put upon this earth to be an angel. He need not be praying all day long, nor go into the wilderness. He needs only to better understand life. He must learn to set apart a certain time in the day to think about his own life and doings. He must ask himself, 'Have I done an honest deed today? Have I proved myself worthy in that place, in that capacity?
In this way, he can make his everyday life a prayer. ...

The need of the world today is not only learning, but how to become considerate towards one another. To try and find out in what way happiness can be brought about, and in this way to realize that peace which is the longing of every soul; and to impart it to others, thereby attaining our life's goal, the sublimity of life.

" From the Garden of Paradise................"

From the Garden of Paradise.........

- Yaa Rabb.......when we are wrong, make us willing to change.
And when we are right, make us easy to live with.

- Don't be so busy adding up your troubles that you forget to count your blessings. The smallest deed done is greater than the best of intentions.

- Love is a language that can be heard by the deaf and seen by the blind.

- A house is made of wooden beams. A home is made of love and dreams.

- To be a good friend open your ears and heart more often than your mouth.

- People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

- The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash.

- God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily.

- Good manners are made up of small sacrifices.

- The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon,
but that we wait so long to begin it.

- Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

- You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over the future.

- God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.

- All people smile in the same language.

- A hug is a great gift... one size fits all. It can be given for any occasion and it's easy to exchange.

- Everyone needs to be loved... especially when they do not deserve it.

- Laughter is God's sunshine. Everyone has beauty...but not everyone sees it.

- Take time to laugh, for it is the music of the soul. For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 seconds of happiness that you can never get back.

- It’s The Special Things In Life That Make It Mean So Much.
The Sun, The Rain, The Sky; The Thoughts and The Touch.
If We Let These Precious Things Float Out To an Endless Sea,
We Lose Our Hope, Our Love, And Most, Our Reason To Be

" Oneness................"

Oneness……

Life enables us to perceive that every individual is dependent upon every other. This is true of all aspects of life. The rich are dependent upon the poor, the strong upon the weak, the wise upon the foolish. When we see how limited man is even at his best, we see that it cannot be otherwise than that each one must depend upon another in order to obtain the needs of life.

It is evident that the servant is dependent upon the wages that are paid him, that the worker is dependent on the money he receives. But there are needs which money cannot meet, and then he who receives repays by love or kindness or care. Times come when money is too poor, when influence is powerless to buy or take. When this is so, the natural thing is to pay respect and give adoration to the one to whom money cannot be given and who cannot be influenced. It does not matter whether the respect and adoration are given with a selfish or an unselfish motive; in either case there is the same dependence. One is dependent upon one's beloved, or upon one's wife/husband, or upon one's neighbor, even upon one's servant. How many troubles and difficulties begin if that servant happens not to be at home! Whether one pays money, or whether one can only show love and adoration, one is dependent just the same. From the time when one first opens one's eyes as an infant, one's life is nothing but dependence all through.

Those who watch keenly will see what is real dependence, and how far-reaching that dependence is in our lives. Those who need money, are they not dependent on people who have money? Those who desire position, are they not dependent upon someone who has position, such as a Secretary of State, a lord, a duke, a high official? The more a man reflects, the vaster does he find this web of dependence to be. It becomes more and more clear that all the sources upon which people depend exist for the use of the different individuals. One individual desires or needs wealth; and therefore there are people who have it, and he can be dependent upon them. Another may desire or need a rise in position; therefore there is someone who is in a high position, who can distinguish him or place him in a higher position. He will bow to this one; he will respect him; he will do anything to gain his favor and kindness.

When we discern that every individual has some different source of power before which he bows, to which he turns, on which he is dependent, we begin to ask whether there is any one source which is supreme above all these other sources of power. These various sources depend on one another; is there one which reigns over all? And the answer is that there is one; there is a source which reigns over all other sources of power, and it is this one source which we idealize and name God (Allah swt).

Those who idealize this source call upon Him, pay all their respect to Him, turn to Him in every difficulty, in every trouble, in every case of need. There is no one else who will suffice to console them, there is no means of assistance, no help to be obtained but this one ideal on which they fix their eyes, this ideal which is not known nor seen, yet is idealized in the mind. How poor all other sources are compared with that one source! Whereas all the various sources before which men bow and on which men depend are so uncertain that today they are kind and tomorrow they are not yet that one source is all-sufficient, never changing, and almighty. From that source all things can be obtained. All other sources are only apparent powers; for after all, even if they do succeed in giving any help, it is still really the one source that has given them the power to provide our needs.

In the Quran there is a surah which says, 'God alone is rich, and all are poor.' The more we study life, the more we see the truth of this surah. People may live in palaces endowed with all manner of wealth and comfort, and yet they can still feel, 'If only I had that, I would never be unhappy again.' People may have their motorcars, their furs, their wealth of millions, and yet cannot truthfully say they are perfectly happy. Can they say they have all that they need in life? Is there anyone who can say this? You are more likely to find such a one among the poor than among the wealthy.

This shows that God alone is rich. Whoever has need is poor. Poverty means need. As long as there is need there is poverty. Since man's life is full of needs, he must be in poverty. He is still in darkness if he does not realize that there is only One who is rich.

Undoubtedly, all of us have our needs through life. How often do we experience disappointment regarding them! How many are disappointed in love, in money, in help, in service! How apt is the heart to be discouraged, disappointed, broken, feeling, 'O, this is my brother, my only brother, and yet he has not helped me in this hour of need.' – 'I looked on her as my sister, and yet she has failed me at this crucial time.' People meet so many disappointments in life. One depends, depends on limited sources, never reflecting that these sources can only sometimes be helpful, and that often they are quite unable to help, however much they may desire to do so.

There remains the one source which is always helpful, and can always help. It is only because man does not see Him, does not realize Him, that he doubts whether there is such a being as God. However religious or pious he is, he always looks to a material agent for help. However religious or pious, he cannot explain God; not even a mystic or philosopher can explain Him. The ideal of God is the first lesson that must be learnt; and it cannot be learnt by analysis. Therefore the intellectual mind which seeks for an analysis of God is always sure to be disappointed. The philosopher spoke truly when he said, 'To analyze God is to dethrone God.' Analysis can never portray even the ideal of God. That is why messenger, Muhammad (saw) emphasized the one word: faith.

The first step is faith, and not reasoning or intellectual perception. Can one explain why it is that a diamond is worth twenty thousand pounds? Is there any reason for this? 'Yes,' a person will say, 'it is because it is sold in the market for that price. There is no other explanation; it is a precious stone.' But another may say, 'Yes, it is a bright stone; no doubt it is better than glass and it is certainly brighter than a crystal; but why twenty thousand pounds?'

The answer is just this, that it is worth twenty thousand pounds because our ideal has made it so. What we call an ideal is only another way of saying that there is no explanation. We have to accept it that twenty thousand pounds is its value. It is the same with every ideal, even with the ideal of God. An ideal is beyond explanation.

" The Truth.................."

When a man looks at the ocean, he can only see that part of it which comes within his range of vision; so it is with the truth........

".....As there is water in the depths of the earth, so there is truth at the bottom of all things, false or true.
In some places, one has to dig deep; in other places, only a short distance; that is the only difference.
But there is no place where there is no water. One may have to dig very, very deep in order to get it;
but in the depths of the earth, there is water, and in the depths of all this falsehood that is on the surface, there is truth.
If we are really seeking for the truth, we shall always find it........."

" Do things for the sake of Allah............."

Do things for the sake of Allah.............

In the battle of Khandaq, the Muslims dug a ditch around themselves for their defense, so that the enemy could not get across.

A man from the enemy side called Amr bin Abdawud who was known for his strength, courage and art of fighting managed to get across the ditch.

All the Muslims were terrified to fight him and only Hazrat Ali (A.S.) came forward to fight this man.

There was a fierce fight until at last Hazrat Ali (A.S.) threw Amr down onto the ground and mounted his chest ready to kill him.

Just as Hazrat Ali (A.S.) was about to kill this enemy of Islam, he spit on the face of Hazrat Ali (A.S.).

Everybody was certain that because of this insult, Amr would meet his death even faster still, but to their amazement, Hazrat Ali (A.S.) moved from Amr's chest and walked away.

Amr attacked Hazrat Ali (A.S.) again and after a short while, Hazrat Ali (A.S.) again overpowered Amr and killed him.

After the battle was over people asked Hazrat Ali (A.S.) the reason why he had spared Amr's life when he had first overpowered him.

To which Hazrat Ali (A.S.) replied that if he had killed him then it would have not been only for the sake of Allah but also for the satisfaction of his anger and so he let him free.

Then Hazrat Ali (A.S.) controlled his anger and killed Amr purely for the sake of Allah.

( Although your intention may be pure to begin with it can very easily change so always make sure you do things for the sake of Allah only.)

" Is Money Is Everything ?..................."

Is money is everything?............


Qambar, the servant of Hazrat Ali (A.S.) relates the following incident:
"Once and only once Hazrat Ali (A.S.) got annoyed with me. It was the occasion when I showed him the money that I had hoarded. It was from my share of income given to me like others from the Muslim treasury and the gift I had received from the members of his family. I had no immediate use of it and had collected the amount. It was not much, being barely 100 dirhams. When I showed him the amount he looked annoyed and what pained me more was that he looked sad.

"I enquired as to why he was so sad. He said, " Qambar, if you had no use of this money, were there not people around you who were in need of it, some of them might have been starving and some ill and infirm, could you not have helped them. I never thought that you could be so heartless and cruel, and could love wealth for the sake of wealth. Qambar, I am afraid you are not trying to acquire much from Islam, try more seriously and sincerely. Take these coins out of my house."

"I took them out and distributed them amongst the beggars in Kufa mosque."

Some people say 'money is everything'. It will be advisable for such people to consider the following facts:

"Money will buy a bed but not sleep, Books but not brains, Food but not appetite, Finery but not beauty, Medicine but not health; Luxuries but not culture, Amusements but not happiness, Passport to every where but not to Heaven".

" Are You Blessed?......................"

Are You Blessed?..........

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness..........you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation.......you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace....... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married........you are very rare

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful.....you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you prayed yesterday and today........you are in the minority because you believe God does hear and answer prayers.

If you can read now, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

" Important Than Presents................."

Important Than Presents.........

A man going abroad to work leaves his fiancee crying. "Don't worry, I will write you everyday," he said. For years he did write her. But since he was happy with his job, he had no immediate plans of going home. One day, he received a wedding invitation. His girl friend was scheduled to be married. To whom? To the mailman bringing regularly the letters of her boy friend! Indeed, distance does make hearts flounder.

The poor boyfriend surely explained, "What went wrong? I sent her letters, chocolates, and flowers." When relationships go wrong, the list of things given and done for the person usually crops up. We say, "I have given you this and that...I have done these things for you." It seems that love is simply proven by the bestowal of gifts and favors.

But while presents are important, love demands what is basic: presence of the beloved. let us observed for instance, the orchids . When the owner was away for a long time, they are unhealthy and many of them wither. But when she is around, they bloom with beautiful flowers. She only does nothing exceptional. She just spends much time talking and caressing them.

I guess persons all the more require a caring presence. Love is fundamentally a commitment to a person. We may be committed to our business, job, hobby, sports and clubs, but strictly speaking, they cannot love us back. Only a person can love us in return, and for that matter the highest commitment as human beings is spending time with those persons we love. And since people need affection and nourishment, material things can only help up to a certain degree in fostering love. But it can never replace the greatest gift of presence.

Martha was busy with her job. She believed she had to work harder because she loves her father who is sick of cancer. She has to provide for his expensive medicines. Her brothers and sisters meanwhile stayed with their father most of the time. They bathed him, sang for him, spoon-fed him or simply kept him company.

One day Martha was hurt. She overheard her father telling her mother, "All our children love me except Martha." "How can this be?" Martha thought. "Am I not the one killing myself in my work to have money to buy for his medicines? My brothers and sisters do not even provide their share in the expenses as much as I do."

One night, as Martha was as usual late in going home, she peeped for the first time in the room where her father was lying. She noticed that her father was still awake. She decided to come close at his bedside. Her father held her hands and said, "I miss you. I don't have much time. Stay with me." And she stayed with her father holding his hand the whole night.

The next morning Martha said to everybody, "I have taken a leave of absence. I would like to be with father. I will bathe him and sing for him from now on." Her father had a beautiful smile. He knew this time Martha loves him.

" Tragedy or a Blessing?.................."

Tragedy or a Blessing?......... Years ago in Scotland, the Clark family had a dream. Clark and his wife worked and saved, making plans for their nine children and themselves to travel to the United States. It had taken years, but they had finally saved enough money and had gotten passports and reservations for the whole family on a new liner to the United States. The entire family was filled with anticipation and excitement about their new life. However, seven days before their departure, the youngest son was bitten by a dog. The doctor sewed up the boy but hung a yellow sheet on the Clarks' front door. Because of the possibility of rabies, they were being quarantined for fourteen days. The family's dreams were dashed. They would not be able to make the trip to America as they had planned. The father, filled with disappointment and anger, stomped to the dock to watch the ship leave - without the Clark family. The father shed tears of disappointment and cursed both his son and God for their misfortune. Five days later, the tragic news spread throughout Scotland - the mighty Tittanic had sunk. The unsinkable ship had sunk, taking hundreds of lives with it. The Clark family was to have been on that ship, but because the son had been bitten by a dog, they were left behind in Scotland. When Mr. Clark heard the news, he hugged his son and thanked him for saving the family. He thanked God for saving their lives and turning what he had felt was a tragedy into a blessing. Although we may not always understand, all things happen for a reason.

" THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM................"

THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM............. Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied... "Things aren't always what they seem". The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," he accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die." "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem." Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. Have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later.

" The Most Important Things..............."

The Most Important Things..........

• LOVE:
  The Special Feeling That Makes You Feel
  All Warm And Wonderful.
  
  
• RESPECT:
  Treating Others As Well As You Would Like To Be Treated.
  
  
• APPRECIATION:
  To Be Grateful For All The Good Things Life Has To Offer.
  
  
• HAPPINESS:
  The Full Enjoyment Of Each Moment. A Smiling Face.
  
  
• FORGIVENESS:
  The Ability To Let Things Be Without Anger.
  
  
• SHARING:
  The Joy Of Giving Without Thought Of Receiving.
  
  
• HONESTY:
  The Quality Of Always Telling The Truth.
  
  
• INTEGRITY:
  The Purity Of Doing What's Right, No Matter What.
  
  
• COMPASSION:
  The Essence Of Feeling Another's Pain, While Easing Their Hurt.
  
  
• PEACE:
  The Reward For Living The 10 Most Important Things.

" Always Look On The Inside................"

Always Look On The Inside..............

I remember reading a story once about a man who was exploring some caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled up some clay and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him.

As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw.

He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left, then it struck him.

He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have had tens of thousands, but he just threw it all away.

You know sometimes, it's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it; we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.
But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

" What Will Matter............."

What Will Matter..................."

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought,
but what you built,
not what you got but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success,
but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned,
but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence,
but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.

What will matter is not your memories,
but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

" Our Lives In MOney.................."

Our lives in money.........

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well", he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson", he said, "No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless.... and especially to those who love you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by WHO WE ARE.

"You are special - Don't EVER forget it."

" A Mother...................."

A Mother................


There was a young man, before he was a Muslim; he lived with his mother until he was about 18 years old. Then he moved out of his home and lived in a different place on his own. During those days, he met some Muslims and became very close friend to them. Eventually he himself became a Muslim after learning about the beautiful religion of Islam from them. He made an effort every day to learn more and more about Islam.

One day, he came to learn about the benefits of being good to one’s parents After knowing this, he decided to visit his mother whom he did not visit for many years. He bought some flowers and fruits for her on his way. His mother was very pleased to see him after so long. He started spending lots of time with his mother on a regular basis. During his visits, he would stare at his mother and tears would roll down from his eyes. The mother noticed this happening many times and asked him one day the reason, why he visits her so much all of a sudden and why he cries. He told her about how he became a Muslim and that the position of a mother in Islam is very high.
He also told her about the reward he gets for looking at her.

But while looking at her, he cries because the mother is not a Muslim and would not be able to save herself if she dies in this state. The mother immediately recognized the beauty of Islam and became a Muslim.

There is a great deal of love and respect for mother in Islam. Over 1400 years ago, one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked him who the most deserving person of his kindness and his companionship was.

The Prophet (saw) said, "Your mother.”
The man asked, “Then whom?”
He said, “Your mother.”
The man asked for the third time, “Then whom?”
The Prophet (saw) said, “Your mother”
The man asked for the fourth time, “Then whom?”
The Prophet (saw) said “Your father.”

p/s :Paradise lies beneath the feet of a mother.

" The Wise Sage................."

The Wise Sage ...........


There once was a wise sage who wandered the countryside. One day, as he passed near a village,
he was approached by a woman who told him of a sick child nearby. She beseeched him to help this child.

So the sage came to the village, and a crowd gathered around him, for such a man was a rare sight.
One woman brought the sick child to him, and he said a prayer over her.

"Do you really think your prayer will help her, when medicine has failed?"
yelled a man from the crowd.

"You know nothing of such things! You are a stupid fool!" said the sage to the man.

The man became very angry with these words and his face grew hot and red.
He was about to say something, or perhaps strike out, when the sage walked over to him and said:
"If one word has such power as to make you so angry and hot, may not another have the power to heal?"

And thus, the sage healed two people that day.

"Language does have the power to change reality. Therefore, treat your words as the mighty instruments they are - to heal, to bring into being, to nurture, to cherish, to bless, to forgive."

" As A Child Learning To Walk................"

As a child learning to walk ...........

"..........Man is limited in his thought, in his speech, in his action. Therefore naturally he is liable to follies and errors, and his progress through life can only be made as a little child learns to walk. The child falls a thousand times before he can stand, and so many times he falls again when he begins to walk. We human beings are not more than the child before God.

If we take this attitude in life, not considering that if yesterday we failed today we shall fail, and if we always hope that some day we shall walk aright, that hour will come.Imagine if the child thought that as he had fallen so often perhaps he would never walk! That would make a mental impression on his soul, and he would never be able to walk. But there is the natural impulse, with the hope, "Next time I shall walk", that makes him walk.

So with us. Our follies, shortcomings, errors, are natural, but when we defend ourselves, hiding our errors from others and making virtues out of our shortcomings, it is then we make a mistake. It is just like nurturing our errors and wanting to err more. We must always develop the sense of justice, and that sense can never be developed if we judge others. The only way of developing that sense is to judge ourselves continually and see where we are in fault, and then in prayer to ask pardon and to ask for right guidance.........."