Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

True Wisdom
Al-Baqara (The Cow) Chapter 2: Verses 268-269

"Satan scares you with fears of poverty and tempts you to do shameful things, while God promises you pardon and grace. God is enough of a provider, and He is full of knowledge. He grants wisdom to whomever He wants, and whoever receives wisdom gains great benefits thereby; yet, only the insightful ever realize this."

One of Satan's tactics is to keep people so occupied with the fear of losing their wealth they end up desperately clinging to their money and depriving the needy - and themselves - of the goodness of giving for the sake of God. A person under the spell of irrational fear is more vulnerable to transgress laws, even to the point of indulging in lewdness, for the purpose of gaining profit and wealth.

Although the term has a broad range of meanings, "the wisdom" basically signifies insight, discernment, and knowledge of creation, life, right and wrong, and of the Divine system prevailing in the universe, so as to enable persuasive, convincing answers for such questions as "Who am I? What is the purpose for my existence in this world? Who has sent me to this world and why? Where did I come from and where am I heading? What does death ask of me?" It may be regarded, from one perspective, as harmony with Divine Destiny or knowledge of it.

Deceived by Satan, worldly people believe that it is the height of wisdom to be constantly concerned with saving out of one's earnings and to be perpetually on the look-out for a higher income. But those granted wisdom aim at eternal happiness in the eternal world, which requires spending in God's cause and giving to the needy for a balanced, happy social life.

The cure for fear of poverty is to have a good opinion of God. People who harbour good thoughts about their Provider deflect insidious whisperings about Him and the subtle provocations that create irrational fear. His dominion is never diminished in the least when He gives to His creation all that they need.

Compiled From:
"The Holy Quran: Guidance for Life" - Yahiya Emerick, pp. 40-41
"Purification of the Heart" - Hamza Yusuf, pp. 53, 54
"The Quran: Annotated Interpretation in Modern English" - Ali Unal, pp. 114, 115

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Poor-due

Poor-due at the end of Ramadan (zakat al-fitr) is the prescribed poor-due which every Muslim is required to make at the conclusion of the month of Ramadan.

The poor-due purifies the soul of the fasting person. Ibn Abbas narrated, "The Messenger enjoined charity of the poor-due so that those who observe fasting are purified of their indecent and shameful errors, and the poor and the needy ones are enabled to arrange for their necessities of food and clothing." [Abu Dawud] Poor-due also serves as a token of thankfulness to God for enabled him or her to observe the fast.

Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) made poor-due compulsory on every slave, freeman, male, female, young and old among the Muslims. [Bukhari] Every person who possesses the day's provision for self and family has to pay the poor-due at the end of Ramadan.

Compiled From:
"The Poor-Due of Ramadan" - Navid Hanif

Blindspot!

One Special Good Deed

What is the ONE special good deed that you’d want to remember your Ramadan with this year? Something you’ve never done before, something you’ve pushed yourself beyond your means and out of your comfort zone to achieve! If there’s nothing that comes to mind, this is the time to rush and make sure you make this Ramadan truly memorable for your soul by doing something extraordinary this Ramadan! 

Here are some ideas:

1. Go for Itikaaf.
2. Take out your wallet and give the largest ONE donation you’ve ever given in your life to a charitable cause.
3. Forgive that ONE person you said you’ll never ever forgive. 
4. Get to know a poor family and vow to sponsor them as long as you live.
5. Feed 100 fasting people!

& there are lots more you can do...

What is it going to be for you? 

Something that can make this Ramadan truly special. Think about it then take action!

Compiled From:
ProductiveRamadan.com, ProductiveMuslim