- Do a work that you love. If you cannot do that, then find a hobby that you love and do it in your spare time and reinforce it.
- Take care of your health for it is the spirit of happiness. This means being moderate in eating and drinking, exercising regularly and avoiding bad habits.
- Have a goal in life, for this will give you motivation and energy.
- Take life as it comes, and accept the bitter and the sweet.
- Live in the present, with no regret for the past and no anxiety about tomorrow that has to come yet.
- Think hard about any action or decision, and do not blame anyone else for your decision or its consequences.
- Look at those who are worse off than you.
- Have the habit of smiling and being cheerful, and keep company with optimistic people.
- Strive to make others happy so that you may benefit from the atmosphere of happiness.
- Make the most of occasions of happiness and joy, and regard them as necessary to renew your own happiness.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
How To Achieve A Happy Life
An American psychologist said: Living a happy life is a fine art which entails 10 things:-
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Despair & Frustration
A young man was jailed and his mother had no one else but him. She could not sleep and distress took hold of her completely. She wept until she could weep no more, then Allah guided her to say, "La hawla wa la quwwata illa Billah (there is no power and no strength except with Allah)."
She repeated these great words, which are one of the treasures of Paradise, and only a few days after she had despaired of her son ever coming out of jail, he was knocking at the door and she was filled with joy.
Such is the reward of the one who puts his trust in Allah, calls upon Him constantly and delegates all his affairs to Him.
So we should recite this dhikr, "La hawla wa la quwwata illa Billah," for these great words, are the secret of happiness and success. Recite them a great deal, chase away the specters of grief and distress with them, and receive the glad tidings that Allah will soon grant us happiness and a way out.
Beware of losing hope or becoming frustrated, for there is no hardship but it is followed by ease. This is how it has always been and there is no need to discuss it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Knowledge of Attributes
It is necessary to believe that God has Attributes which exist by Him, but are neither Him nor a part of Him. He had these Attributes since eternity (azal) and will have them up to eternity (abad).
These are Knowledge (ilm), Power (qudrat), Existence (hayat), Will (iradat), Hearing (sama'), Seeing (basr), Speech (kalam) and Everlastingness (baqa).
These attributes are based on these following verses.
These are Knowledge (ilm), Power (qudrat), Existence (hayat), Will (iradat), Hearing (sama'), Seeing (basr), Speech (kalam) and Everlastingness (baqa).
These attributes are based on these following verses.
- "Verily He knows what is in your mind." [67:13]
- "Allah has the power to do what He wills." [2:284]
- "He is all hearing and seeing." [6:13]
- "He does what he intends to do." [85:16]
- "He exists and nothing but Him exists." [40:65]
- "He is the Truth and His is the Universe." [6:73]
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Heredity of Soul
Children inherit their parents’ nature and soul characteristics, their convictions mixed with social tradition.
The soul is the living energy of the body. Originally, all humans came from one soul and body inheriting the same natural and instinctive capability; imprinted in the subconscious of the soul. A child inherits from his parents the physical characteristics as well as become heir (to some extent) their psychological potential at various stages.
The sanctity of marriage has an effect on the offspring, the good from good and wicked from wicked at variant degrees.
God command believers, to choose believers, “And do not marry untrue believers till they believe” [2:221] for the sake of inheritance of purity of the soul.
The characteristics of the soul are like two poles, the good and the bad at either ends. Adapting a quality can result in a different quantity of positive and negative. Inheritance factors in not only during formative stages but in mannerism as well.
If the soul is initiated with attitudes towards negative side; it could be trained and modified to the positive side in early childhood just as we can train the wild animals to be tamed animals.
The soul has the ability to adapt itself within its surrounding, and wearing the outfit of whom it desires. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish the fundamental nature of a person; it might mislead us by outward appearance and talk.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Hypocrisy
“The hypocrites seek to deceive God, while it is He Who causes them to be deceived (by themselves). When they rise to pray, they rise reluctantly, only to be seen and praised by man, remembering God but seldom.” [4:142]
The hypocrite, assuming false appearance of sincerity, causes people to think he is following God’s principles, while actually he is not. Many people in every religion and society suffer from some sort of inability to do what they think they ought to do.
The hearts of such people are bereft of faith. In their hearts they have a disease that is augmented by their bad actions until it becomes second nature to them without their realizing it.
These are not true believers but hypocrites who are believers only by outward manifestation. In their actions they are in reality driven by selfish needs for the sake of appearance rather than to win the approval of God.
The Qur’an has a chapter devoted to the problems caused by the hypocritical element in a community and the need to guard against it.
The Prophet (s.a.w) defined the character of a hypocrite as follows:
“The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies; when he promises something he does not fulfill his promise; and when he is trusted he does not keep faith.”
So the hypocrite visibly presents himself as a true believer but he is a deceiver and his action cause disturbances in society, yet try to cover this by religious devotion.
The hypocrite, assuming false appearance of sincerity, causes people to think he is following God’s principles, while actually he is not. Many people in every religion and society suffer from some sort of inability to do what they think they ought to do.
The hearts of such people are bereft of faith. In their hearts they have a disease that is augmented by their bad actions until it becomes second nature to them without their realizing it.
These are not true believers but hypocrites who are believers only by outward manifestation. In their actions they are in reality driven by selfish needs for the sake of appearance rather than to win the approval of God.
The Qur’an has a chapter devoted to the problems caused by the hypocritical element in a community and the need to guard against it.
The Prophet (s.a.w) defined the character of a hypocrite as follows:
“The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies; when he promises something he does not fulfill his promise; and when he is trusted he does not keep faith.”
So the hypocrite visibly presents himself as a true believer but he is a deceiver and his action cause disturbances in society, yet try to cover this by religious devotion.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The Tongue
Luqman, who was a wise person, served an officer when he was a young boy. One day, his master said: “Slaughter one of the sheep and roast the best part of its meat for me.”
Luqman obeyed his order and roasted the tongue of the sheep for his master. The next day, the master called Luqman and said: “Roast the worst part of a sheep today.”
Luqman again roasted the tongue of a sheep for his master. When the officer sat down to eat, he was startled to see the roasted tongue again. He felt curious and wanted to know the reason.
Luqman said: “If a tongue is truthful and honest, then it is the best part of the body. But when a tongue lies and utters dishonest words, then it is the worst part of the body.”
God has said in the Holy Qur’an:
“What word is better than calling mankind to His court and doing good deeds.”
This shows that man must do good deeds and invite mankind to obey God, and praise Him. The power of speech is a great blessing of God for man. It is by this quality that man is distinguished from animals. God has said:
“We have honoured the sons of Adam….” [17:72]
Some interpreters think this refers to the power of speech. However, like its merits, speech has its demerits as well. The Prophet (s.a.w) has said: “The worst I fear for my people is the tongue.”
In short, speech is like wine which intoxicates the mind and the one who gets the taste of it cannot leave it.
Therefore, the Sufis, for example, abstain from talking more than is necessary, and keep a close watch over their tongue from the beginning to the end. They speak only when it is for God’s sake, otherwise they keep silent. They firmly believe that God knows their secret thoughts. God says in the Holy Qur’an:
“Do they think We are not aware of what they think and discuss. We are aware of it and Our angels take it down.” [43:80]
The Prophet (s.a.w) has said: “He who keeps silent is saved.” In silence there are many advantages and blessing; while in speech there are many evils.
Speech can be truth or falsehood. If speech is truth, it is better than silence. If it is falsehood, silence is better than speech.
Someone has beautifully said, “He whose silence is because of modesty, his speech is full of life.” When they are with themselves, they love silence, but when they are with God, the people love to write their speech on their heart.
A Sufi sheikh has said: “He whose silence is gold, his speech is alchemy.”
That is to say, his speech makes gold of dust. Therefore, the seeker who is absorbed in God must keep silent so that the Divine tongue speaks out and captivates the hearts of listeners. He should never tell a lie or backbite or offend anyone with the tongue with which he has recited kalimah-i-shahadat and proclaimed God’s unity.
Luqman obeyed his order and roasted the tongue of the sheep for his master. The next day, the master called Luqman and said: “Roast the worst part of a sheep today.”
Luqman again roasted the tongue of a sheep for his master. When the officer sat down to eat, he was startled to see the roasted tongue again. He felt curious and wanted to know the reason.
Luqman said: “If a tongue is truthful and honest, then it is the best part of the body. But when a tongue lies and utters dishonest words, then it is the worst part of the body.”
God has said in the Holy Qur’an:
“What word is better than calling mankind to His court and doing good deeds.”
This shows that man must do good deeds and invite mankind to obey God, and praise Him. The power of speech is a great blessing of God for man. It is by this quality that man is distinguished from animals. God has said:
“We have honoured the sons of Adam….” [17:72]
Some interpreters think this refers to the power of speech. However, like its merits, speech has its demerits as well. The Prophet (s.a.w) has said: “The worst I fear for my people is the tongue.”
In short, speech is like wine which intoxicates the mind and the one who gets the taste of it cannot leave it.
Therefore, the Sufis, for example, abstain from talking more than is necessary, and keep a close watch over their tongue from the beginning to the end. They speak only when it is for God’s sake, otherwise they keep silent. They firmly believe that God knows their secret thoughts. God says in the Holy Qur’an:
“Do they think We are not aware of what they think and discuss. We are aware of it and Our angels take it down.” [43:80]
The Prophet (s.a.w) has said: “He who keeps silent is saved.” In silence there are many advantages and blessing; while in speech there are many evils.
Speech can be truth or falsehood. If speech is truth, it is better than silence. If it is falsehood, silence is better than speech.
Someone has beautifully said, “He whose silence is because of modesty, his speech is full of life.” When they are with themselves, they love silence, but when they are with God, the people love to write their speech on their heart.
A Sufi sheikh has said: “He whose silence is gold, his speech is alchemy.”
That is to say, his speech makes gold of dust. Therefore, the seeker who is absorbed in God must keep silent so that the Divine tongue speaks out and captivates the hearts of listeners. He should never tell a lie or backbite or offend anyone with the tongue with which he has recited kalimah-i-shahadat and proclaimed God’s unity.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Noah & the Ark
Back in my university days my lecturer often said, “If you want to be rich business owner or investor, you need to understand the story of Noah and the Ark.”
Being a Costing lecturer, he did work diligently on improving his ability to see the future. In training his students to be business owners and investors who could also see the future, he would often say, “Do you realize how much faith it took for Noah to go to his family and say, ‘God told me there is a great flood coming, so we need to build an ark.’”
He would then chuckle and say, “Can u imagine what his wife, kids and investors must have said to him? They might have said, ‘But, Noah, this is a desert we live in. It does not rain here. In fact, we are in the middle of a drought. Are you sure God told you to build an ark? It’s going to be tough to raise capital for a boat-building company in the middle of a desert. Wouldn’t building a hotel, spa and golf course make more sense than an ark?’”
In teaching us the importance of having a vision of the future, he would often say, “Always remember that Noah had vision…but more than vision he had faith and courage to take action on his vision. Many people have vision, but not everyone has the sustainable faith and courage to take action on their vision…so their vision of the future is the same as their vision of today.”
In other words, people without faith, courage and vision often do not see the changes that are coming…until it is too late.
Being a Costing lecturer, he did work diligently on improving his ability to see the future. In training his students to be business owners and investors who could also see the future, he would often say, “Do you realize how much faith it took for Noah to go to his family and say, ‘God told me there is a great flood coming, so we need to build an ark.’”
He would then chuckle and say, “Can u imagine what his wife, kids and investors must have said to him? They might have said, ‘But, Noah, this is a desert we live in. It does not rain here. In fact, we are in the middle of a drought. Are you sure God told you to build an ark? It’s going to be tough to raise capital for a boat-building company in the middle of a desert. Wouldn’t building a hotel, spa and golf course make more sense than an ark?’”
In teaching us the importance of having a vision of the future, he would often say, “Always remember that Noah had vision…but more than vision he had faith and courage to take action on his vision. Many people have vision, but not everyone has the sustainable faith and courage to take action on their vision…so their vision of the future is the same as their vision of today.”
In other words, people without faith, courage and vision often do not see the changes that are coming…until it is too late.
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