Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Urge for Sleep
Al-Rum (The Romans) Chapter 30: Verse 23

"And of His Signs is your sleep, at night or day as well as your search for His bounties. In this, behold, there are messages indeed for those who pay heed."

Allah has made day and night for work and sleep respectively. But this is not a hard and fast law. So during both day and night we may sleep as well as work our livelihood. This Sign identifies that Allah is not only the Creator but is also extremely Compassionate and Merciful in that He arranges for the needs and requirements of His creatures.

Allah has placed a powerful urge for sleep in mankind. Sleep overtakes man and compels him to have a few hours of rest in order to be refreshed.

Man has further been given the appropriate limits and suitable physical and mental capabilities for exploring the means and resources of his livelihood.

Compiled From:
"Words That Moved the World" - Qazi Ashfaq Ahmad, p. 69

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Light of Faith

Amir ibn Abd Qais stated, "I heard more than one, two or three of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, 'The Lamp of the faith or the Light of the faith is al-tafakkur (contemplation and reflection).'" [Ibn Kathir]

In the hustle and bustle of the modern world, contemplation and reflection is one important tool of purification (and an act of worship in itself) that is often neglected. Indeed, it seems as though Satan and his troops have a major plan for the humans of the Twenty-First Century: keep them so busy and preoccupied that they have no time to reflect upon what they are truly here for, what they should be doing and what their priorities should be.

One of the greatest blessings that Allah has bestowed upon humans is the human mind and its ability to reflect and understand. When a person uses that mind in the proper way and according to its potential he should be led directly to the truth of God's oneness and a strong desire to worship the one God. On the other hand, if a person uses his mind simply to ponder over more ways to enjoy himself in useless pursuits and lusts, he will not have benefited from this great blessing and he will have wasted something that could have greatly helped in saving his very soul.

Compiled From:
"Purification of the Soul" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 326, 327

Blindspot!

Immovable Trunk

A personal mission statement is like a personal credo or motto that states what your life is about. It is like the blueprint to your life. Countries have constitutions, which function just like a mission statement. And most companies, like Microsoft and Coca-Cola, have mission statements. But they work best with people.

The most important thing writing a mission statement will do is open your eyes to what's really important to you and help you make decisions accordingly.

A personal mission statement is like a tree with deep roots. It is stable and isn't going anywhere, but it is also alive and continually growing.

You need a tree with deep roots to help you survive all of the storms of life that beat you up. As you've probably noticed already, life is anything but stable. Think about it. People are fickle. You're someone's best friend one day, and they're talking behind your back the next.

Think about all of the events you can't control. You have to move. You lose your job. The country is at war.

Fads come and go. Sweaters are popular one year and on their way out the next. Rap music is the thing. Rap music stinks.

While everything about you changes, a personal mission statement can be your deep-rooted tree that never moves. You can deal with change if you have an immovable trunk to hang on to.

Compiled From:
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" - Sean Covey, pp. 81-83