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Today's Reminder

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Living The Quran

Vision of God
Al-Araf (The Heights) Sura 7: Verse 143

"And when Moses came to Our appointed meeting and his Lord spoke unto him, he said, 'My Lord, show me, that I might look upon Thee.' He said, 'Thou shalt not see Me; but look upon the mountain: if it remains firm in its place, then thou wilt see Me.' And when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust, and Moses fell down in a swoon. And when he recovered, he said, 'Glory be to Thee! I turn unto Thee in repentance, and I am the first of the believers.'"

Every one of man's faculties has its appropriate function which it delights to fulfill. This holds good of them all, from the lowest bodily appetite to the highest form of intellectual apprehension. But, even a comparatively low form of mental exertion affords greater pleasure than the satisfaction of bodily appetites. Thus, if a man happens to be absorbed in a game of chess, he will not come to his meal, though repeatedly summoned. And the higher the subject-matter of our knowledge, the greater is our delight in it; for instance, we would take more pleasure in knowing the secrets of a king than the secrets of a vizier. Seeing, then, that God is the highest possible object of knowledge, the knowledge of Him must afford more delight than any other.

But, the delight of knowledge still falls short of the delight of vision, just as our pleasure in thinking of those we love is much less than the pleasure afforded by the actual sight of them. Our imprisonment in bodies of clay and water, and entanglement in the things of sense constitute a veil which hides the Vision of God from us, although it does not prevent our attaining to some knowledge of Him. For this reason God said to Moses on Mount Sinai, "Thou shalt not see Me."

The truth of the matter is this that, just as the seed of man becomes a man, and a buried date stone becomes a palm tree, so the knowledge of God acquired on Earth will in the Next World change into the Vision of God, and he who has never learnt the knowledge will never have the Vision. This Vision will not be shared alike by all who know, but their discernment of it will vary exactly as their knowledge. God is one, but He will be seen in many different ways, just as one object is reflected in different ways by different mirrors, some showing it straight, and some distorted, some clearly and some dimly. A mirror may be so crooked as to make even a beautiful form appear misshapen, and a man may carry into the next world a heart so dark and distorted that the sight which will be a source of peace and joy to others will be to him a source of misery. He, in whose heart the love of God has prevailed over all else, will derive more joy from this vision than he in whose heart it has not so prevailed; just as in the case of two men with equally powerful eyesight, gazing on a beautiful face, he who already loves the possessor of that face will rejoice in beholding it more than he who does not.

Compiled From:
"Alchemy of Happiness" - Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali

From Issue: 959 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Twenty Characteristics of Faith

A member of a delegation from the tribe of Azd Suwayd ibn Al-Harith reports:

I was one of the seven men who were sent as a delegation from our tribe to the Prophet, peace be upon him. When we entered the mosque and spoke to him, he was pleased with our appearance. He asked us what we were. We said: "We are believers." The Prophet smiled and said: "Every statement must have a substance. What is the substance of your statement and your beliefs?" Our answer was: "Fifteen characteristics, five of which we were ordered to believe in by your messengers, and five we were ordered by them to implement, and five were part of our moral code, prior to Islam, which we still maintain unless you reject any of them." The Prophet asked: "What are the five in which my messengers have ordered you to believe?" We said: "They have ordered us to believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers and in resurrection after death."

The Prophet asked: "What are the five that my messengers have ordered you to implement?" We said: "They have ordered us to declare that there is no deity other than God, to attend regularly to our prayers, to pay Zakat, fast in the month of Ramadan and offer pilgrimage to the House if we are able to do so."

The Prophet then asked us: "And what are the five which you have adopted in pre-Islamic days?" Our answer was: "To be thankful in times of plenty and to be patient in times of trial, and to accept the turns of fate, and to show our commitment and dedication when we meet the enemy, and not to express pleasure at misfortunes befalling our enemy."

The Prophet commented: "These people are wise and learned. Indeed, they are so wise that they approach the degree of Prophets." He then said: "I am adding five more qualities so that you have 20 in all. If you are truly as you have described, then do not accumulate what you cannot eat, do not build houses you shall not use for living, do not compete for something you are leaving behind tomorrow, have fear of God, to Whom you shall return and be accountable, and look forward to what you are certainly facing and that in which you shall remain forever." [Ibn Kathir, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah]

Compiled From:
"Muhammad: Man and Prophet" - Adil Salahi, pp. 762, 763

From Issue: 574 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Time-Management Tips

1. First things first: Figure out the real priorities in your life. What's worth spending an hour on? What comes first? What is a must-do and what is good-to-do?

2. Allocate time consistently to activities that matter. Unless you plan for and schedule time for community work, or studies, or attending to parents, spouse, or children, on daily basis, it's not considered important enough to you; chances are you will eventually start neglecting these high priority actions.

3. Schedule your day around five daily prayers. No compromises. This will not only develop your discipline but also your will-power to live a purposeful life.

4. Plan for significant events in your life yearly. Whether it's getting married, or applying for university, or going to Hajj, or paying Zakat, or attending a conference, or organizing a community event, plan for it so other trivial matters do not distract you from your goal.

5. Be an early riser. Schedule your important tasks, especially that require mental exercise, earlier in the day, and see the Baraka (blessings) from Allah do the magic!

6. Honour other's time. Aim to make it to the meetings, classes, events 10 minutes before the start time. If you are running late, inform the other parties. Honouring other's time is part of fulfilling your promise. Breaking a promise not only causes inconvenience to others but also makes you lose respect in their sight.

7. Just do it! Don't waste any opportunity to do good. Don't wait to 'get old' to fix your life. If you are not willing to live a purpose-driven, productive life now, then how do you expect Allah to give you a chance in the future?

8. Be optimistic and futuristic. Do not let failures and disappointments in life distract you from your lofty goals. Look beyond the temporal realities and plan for the future that matters. Otherwise, you may remain a loser now, as well as in the future.

9. Think of a positive legacy you would like to leave, regardless of the time you have. Make your intention today to make a positive difference in your life and the lives of others. If you die tomorrow, your intention will count as your plan for a mission-driven life. But it won't happen if you don't act today to develop a firm intention and plan.

Compiled From:
"9 Things You Can Do To Revive the Prophet's Time-Management Sunnah" - Taha Ghayyur

From Issue: 973 [Read original issue]