Man is strange...‏

He loses his health for earning more money, and then spends his money for gaining health.

He wastes his present by worrying about his future, and in future cries over his past

He lives in a way as if he will never die, and he dies as if he had never lived.

Sheikh Saadi

His name is still alive after 700 years because...‏

...he chose a path for gaining knowledge and exploring the world that very few dare to take...


"I set out alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly intercourse, and no party of travelers with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my friends and tear myself away from my home. As my parents were still alive, it weighed grievously upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow."

Ibn Battuta, A scholar and one of the greatest travelers of all time

Enjoy life now, It has an expiry date

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make food for dinner and every now & then I remember she used to cook for us. One night in particular when she had made dinner after a long, hard day at work.
On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of bread jam and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad.
I was waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt biscuits !! But Dad just ate his biscuit and asked me how was my day at school.
I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember I heard Mom apologizing to dad for burning the biscuits.
And I'll never forget what he said:"Honey, I love burned biscuits.
"Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned.
He wrapped me in his arms and said,"Your momma put in a long hard day at work today and she was really tired. And besides... A burnt biscuit never hurts anyone but harsh words do!
"You know, life is full of imperfect things... And imperfect people.... I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. What I've learned over the years, is that learning to accept each others faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

Please pass this along to someone who has enriched your life...I just did! Life is too short to wake up with regrets... Love the people who treat you right and have compassion for the ones who don't.

The most expensive garden of heaven

Precious jewels are mostly scarce, hence are difficult to get, except for those people who have an immense urge & passion to sacrifice their time, energy & desires to achieve them.

From the heavens, blessings were descended in this world’s spiritual market, through the prophets who handled/conveyed those trusts responsibly with care & perfection. The best gift among them for humanity is also the most difficult one to achieve. It is the garden of ‘good manners’ watered by the gardeners’ pure tears of sincerity & sweat/blood of sacrifices/patience. In every age, very few people in their lifetime are able to reach the heights of this garden to get few flowers from it. In present age, low lives like me can’t even imagine reaching the fragrance of those flowers (qualities). Few of them are:

For the love of Allah (subhana wa'ta'aala); to love those who hate you, to facilitate those who disregard you, to cry at night for one’s own guidance & for one’s opponents, to forgive one’s oppressor, to grant those who deprive you of your rights, to smile at the rude, to pray for those who curse you, to take the blame of other’s faults, to punish oneself for other’s mistakes, to forget one’s pain/intense hunger in feeding /serving others, to sacrifice one’s comfort & butcher one’s emotions/feelings to heal others, to dislike the diseases but not the (spiritual) patients, to respect the disrespectful, to have a big heart for the prejudiced, to give without expectations, to give oneself least importance while to everyone else, the maximum possible!

Easier said but done only with the grace & mercy of Allah (subhana wa'ta'aala).

A glass of water‏

Once a prince was captured, Hazrat Umar (r.a) ordered his beheading as he caused intense pain to Muslims. Hazrat Umar (r.a) saw that he was quiet and sad. When asked about his final wish, he said, “I want a glass of water”. But when given, he wasn’t drinking. Hazrat Umar (r.a) asked the reason, he replied, "I fear that the moment I start drinking, you will order my beheading". Hazrat Umar (r.a) said, “You won't be killed unless you drink it". As Hazrat Umar (r.a) said this, the prince poured it on the ground and said. "You can't kill me now, as you promised not to kill me unless I drink this water"

Hazrat Umar (r.a) realized his mistake but he always kept his words, so he agreed. The prince then said, "If I had accepted Islam before, people would have said that it was out of fear of death. I tricked you to escape this punishment, now I declare that there is no god but ALLAH and Mohammad (saw) is the messenger of ALLAH" Later Ameer Hazrat Umar (r.a) used to take advice from him due to his intelligence. SubhanAllah! May ALLAH Subhana wa'ta'aala also bless us with such truthfulness.

Losing something valuable‏

Haatim (Rah. alaih) once missed his salaat (prayer) with jamaat and was deeply saddened by such a great loss. A couple of people came to condole with him on this loss. He started weeping and then said, "If I had lost one of my sons, half the population of Balkh town would have come to me for condolence, but on the loss of my jamaat you two are the only people condoling with me. It is only because people regard the afflictions in the Hereafter as lighter than the affliction of this world.

The queens of Islam‏

The first person to embrace Islam was a woman...................................KHADIJA (r.a)

The first person to die (get Shahadah) for Islam was a woman..............................SUMAYYAH (r.a)

The greatest scholar ever of Islam was a woman...................................AYESHA (r.a)

The person who loved the prophet (saw) the most was also a woman........................FATIMAH (r.a)

The person who made the biggest sacrifice in a day for Islam was also a woman................KHANSA (r.a) sacrificed her 4 sons.

One of the greatest warriors of Islam, (who even amazed Khalid bin Walid r.a) was also a woman..............KHOWLAH (r.a)

Have you ever thought that there is no surah in Quran in the name of men (as a whole), but there is one in the name of women (as a whole). (Surah Nisaa)

The non-praying good Muslim Vs a praying bad Muslim

He heard the azaan and saw people prepare for salah, but still lazily continued to watch TV and have tea with biscuits. No one commented on his insensitivity towards the call of the ALMIGHTY. Instead, he picked out a 'praying person' and started to pinpoint his shortcomings by saying; "What is the use of his prayers, when he also lies, back bites, abuses......"

The answer that comes to mind is a hadith; The Prophet (saw), when told that so and so prays at night but indulges in theft in the morning, replied; His prayers would soon stop him from this sin. 

[Narrated by Hazrat Abu-Hurrairah r.a]

Imam Ghazali's wisdom on humility‏

IMAM AL GHAZALI WRITES:

Your belief that you are better than others is sheer ignorance. Rather you ought not to look at anyone without considering that he is better than you and superior to you. Thus, if you see a child, you say, ‘This person has never sinned against God, but I have sinned, and so he is better than I.’ And if you see an older person, you say, ‘This man was a servant of God before me, and is certainly better than I.’ If he is a scholar, you say, ‘This man has been given what I have not been given and reached what I did not reach, and knows what I am ignorant of; then how shall I be like him?’

And if he is ignorant, you say, ‘This man has sinned against God in ignorance, and I have sinned against Him knowingly, so God’s case against me is stronger, and I do not know what end He will give to me and what end to him.’ If he is an infidel, you say, ‘I do not know; perhaps he will become a Muslim and his life will end in doing good, and because of his acceptance of Islam something of his sins will be taken away, as a hair is taken from dough; but as for me – God is our refuge (God grant it does not happen) – perhaps God will lead me astray so that I become an infidel and my life ends in doing evil, and then tomorrow he will be among those brought near to God and I shall be among the punished.’

Arrogance will not leave your heart except when you know that the great man is he who is great in the sight of God most high. That is something which cannot be known until the end of life, and there is doubt about that (the end and whether it will be good or bad).

So let fear of the end occupy you and keep you from making yourself out, despite the doubt about your end, to be aboved the servants of God most high. Your certitude and faith at present do not exclude the possibility of your changing in the future; for God is the disposer of hearts; He guides whom He will and leads astray whom He will.

Extract from The Beginning of Guidance by Imam al Ghazali

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