"Allâh has not put for any man two hearts inside his body." Quran 33:4 It is not possible to love the dunya and the hereafter equally.

Inspirational Story from the East An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!" One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by--still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try." When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!" When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!" If you plant honesty, You will reap trust If you plant goodness, You will reap friends If you plant humility, You will reap greatness If you plant perseverance, You will reap victory If you plant consideration, You will reap harmony If you plant hard work, You will reap success If you plant forgiveness, You will reap reconciliation If you plant openness, You will reap intimacy If you plant patience, You will reap improvements If you plant faith, You will reap miracles But If you plant dishonesty, You will reap distrust. If you plant selfishness, You will reap loneliness If you plant pride, You will reap destruction If you plant envy, You will reap trouble If you plant laziness, You will reap stagnation. If you plant bitterness, You will reap isolation If you plant greed, You will reap loss If you plant gossip, You will reap enemies If you plant worries, You will reap wrinkles If you plant sin, You will reap guilt So be careful what you plant now, It will determine what you will reap tomorrow,The seeds you now scatter, Will make life worse or better,your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday, you will enjoy the fruits,Or you will pay for the choices you plant today.

ips for improving your relationship with the Quran Are you one of those people who rarely touches the Quran? Or do you read daily, but don't find it is having the impact on you that it should? Whatever the case may be, these are some simple tips that can help you connect with the Quran. 1. Before you touch it, check your heart The key to really benefiting from the Quran is to check your heart first, before you even touch Allah's book. Ask yourself, honestly, why you are reading it. Is it to just get some information and to let it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was described by his wife as a "walking Quran": in other words, he didn't just read and recite the Quran, he lived it. 2. Do your Wudu (ablution) Make a fresh wudhu to mentally prepare one for recitation of Qur'an(not absolutely necessary if you already have wudhu).However, making a fresh wudhu would be a goog mental preparation. Doing your Wudu is good physical and mental preparation to remind you you're not reading just another book. You are about to interact with Allah, so being clean should be a priority when communicating with Him. 3. Read only 5 minutes everyday(if not in the habit of reading at all) Too often, we think we should read Quran for at least one whole hour. If you aren't in the habit of reading regularly, this is too much. Start off with just five minutes daily. If you took care of step one, Insha Allah (God willing), you will notice that those five minutes will become ten, then half an hour, then an hour, and maybe even more! 4. Remember, the Quran is more interactive than a CD In an age of "interactive" CD-Roms and computer programs, a number of people think books are passive and boring. But the Quran is not like that. Remember that when you read Quran, you are interacting with Allah. He is talking to you, so pay attention. 5. Don't just read, listen too There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Quran, a number of them with translations as well. This is good to put on one's car's CD or stereo as one drives to and from work. Use this in addition to one's daily Quran reading, not as a replacement for it. 7. Make Dua (supplication) Ask Allah to guide you when you read the Quran. Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of Allah, interact with Him by reading, understanding and applying His blessed words. Making Dua to Allah for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this. Courtesy: Soundvision.com The Prophet, salla Allahu alihi wa sallam, said: “Take benefit of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you are preoccupied and your life before your death.” [Saheeh - al-Haakim & others] The Holy Prophet (SAW) has said: "Enviable is the lot of that Muslim who is with least encumbrance, whose main fortune is Salaat, who remains content with humble provisions: throughout his life, who worships his Lord in a dutiful manner, who lives unknown and who dies an early death, with very little to bequeath and very few to mourn him."

There are no blogs submitted!

View All Entries