A Beautiful and Amazing Story Without Words..............continued

A Beautiful and Amazing Story without words.Contd...)

The Path to Paradise.

The path to God is only illuminated when a person recognizes the central place of God in his life and strives to develop his self accordingly. The Messenger of God said:

If someone wants to know what position he enjoys in the eyes of God, he has only to look at what place he gives to God [in his heart and life]. (Hakim)

The term nearest in meaning to self development in the Quranic vocabulary is: tazkiyah. Tazkiyah means purification and refers to the cleansing of the human self from all that is unwholesome, undesirable and unwelcome.

It also refers to the nurturing and strengthening of all the qualities within the human self that are essential for growth and development, for blossoming and flowering.

Success and happiness in this world and the Hereafter depend on tazkiyah, the purification and nurturing of our personality. The Quran states that true success is only reserved for those who seek to purify themselves:

[Successful indeed is the one who purifies his whole self.] (Ash-Shams 91:9)

Our personality comprises not only the physical body but also the mind and the heart, feelings and attitudes, character and behavior. Proper nurturing and development of these elements of the personality will achieve desirable goals.

When goals are desirable, the process of aspiring to, working towards and achieving them also becomes desirable. This is part of human nature. It is critical, therefore, that we recognize and understand the true nature of our ultimate goal in life.

For the believer, the most coveted goal in life is to seek the good pleasure of Allah Paradise. Our Creator has set this goal for us:

[And surely Paradise – it is the goal.] (Al-Nazi`at 79:41)

[Indeed the Next abode – it is truly the life!] (Al-`Ankabut 29:64)

[The companions of Paradise – they are the triumphant ones.] (Al-Hashr 59:20)

Know, however, that attaining the pleasure of Allah takes precedence over seeking Paradisebut the two are closely connected. Paradise can only be attained through seeking Allah's pleasure, and when Allah's pleasure is gained, we will indeed be granted Paradise.

Reflect upon the following two verses in the Quran:

[And there is a kind of person who would willingly give up personal interests, seeking Allah’s pleasure; and God is Most Compassionate towards His servants.] (Al-Baqarah 2:207)

[Indeed Allah has purchased from the Believers their lives and their possessions, promising them Paradise, in return.] (At-Tawbah 9:111)

The alternative to attaining Paradise in the Hereafter is to be placed in Hellfire and to receive its punishments.

The Quran states: [But in the life to come: [it is either] severe suffering, or God’s forgiveness and His goodly acceptance.] (Al-Hadid 57:20)

What is it that makes a person deserving of such a suffering? The answer is to be found in the second part of the same verse: [for the life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion.] (Al-Hadid 57:20)

Hell, therefore, is for those who seek as their ultimate goal in life, not the pleasure of Allah or Paradise, but the enjoyment of worldly gains.

The pursuit of worldly gain is but a mirage. All worldly gains are left behind when you die. All that is on earth is bound to perish while Allah and His good favor will remain forever.

It is for this reason that the Quran advises:

[Vie with one another in seeking to attain to your Sustainer’s forgiveness, and to a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been readied for those who have attained to faith in God and His messengers: such is the bounty of Allah which He grants unto whomever He wills – for Allah is limitless in His great bounty.] (Al-Hadid 57:21)

All your efforts in this world should therefore be focused only on seeking Paradise. It is the promise of the Almighty that:

[You will only be rewarded fully for all your good deeds on the Day of Resurrection, and [on that Day] whoever will be drawn away from Hell-fire, and admitted into Paradise, will indeed have triumphed.] (Al-`Imran 3:185)

Joy :)

We could never learn to be brave and patient , if there was only JOY in the world.
(Helen Keller)

What is more Important ?

What is more important : doing things that makes you happy and one feels that its good for them or doing things for the people you love , even if one doesnt like them and it doesnt make them happy?

Perspective.

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?' 'It was great, Dad.' 'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked. 'Oh yeah,' said the son. 'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father The son answered: 'I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.' The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.' Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

'Life is too short and friends are too few.'