“The degree to which a person is helped and aided by Allah depends on the degree of his intention, drive, aim and hopes. Help from Allah comes to people in proportion to their drive, intention, hopes and fears, and failure comes to them in like manner.”
[Imam Ibn al Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah RahimahuAllah]
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"Complain about your situation to Allah and don’t complain about it to His creation. Know for certain that all forms of grief or heartache that come by you are because either He loves you and is therefore testing you, or either He loves you and is therefore purifying you from your sins." - Sh. Salih al-Maghamisi
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"Let not the people come to know except of your happiness, and let them not see except your smile. If life becomes constricted upon you, then within the quran is your orchard. If you feel curtailed and restricted, then to the heavens raise your call. And if they ask you of your affairs then praise Allah and smile.''
-Sheikh Aby Ishaq al-Huwayni
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Had Allah lifted the veil for his slave and shown him how He handles his affairs for him, and how Allah is more keen for the benefit of the slave than his own self, his heart would have melted out of the love for Allah and would have been torn to pieces out of thankfulness to Allah.
Therefore if the pains of this world tire you do not grieve. For it may be that Allah wishes to hear your voice by way of duaa. So pour out your desires in prostration and forget about it and know; that verily Allah does not forget it.
Ibn al-Qayyim (RA)
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"Don't elevate and exonerate yourself. If you see a young person, say, 'This is a young boy and he has never disobeyed Allah. Surely he is better than me.'
If you see an elderly man, then say, 'This man has been worshiping Allah before I was even born. So undoubtedly he is better than me.'
If you see an ignorant man sinning before you, then say, 'This man does not know any better. But I hold in my bosom the sciences of the Qur'an and the sayings of scholars. But I still sin knowingly, regardless of the knowledge Allah has given me.'"
-Imam Al-Ghazali
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None of you should long for death, for if he is a good man, he may increase his good deeds, and if he is an evil-doer, he may stop the evil deeds and repent - [narrated by Sa'd bin Ubaid in Bukhari]
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“Guard against having a bad opinion of people.” - Al-Hasan Al-Basree
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Get close to Allah first before getting close to anyone else; Allah without a man is still Allah, but a man without Allah is nothing.
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The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Strive to do that which will benefit you and seek the help of Allaah, and do not feel helpless.”
Narrated by Muslim, 2664.
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Umar ibn al-Khattab r.a. said:
"May Allah have mercy on the one who brought my faults to my attention."
[Hilyatul-Awliyaa (8/282)]
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STORY -- THE CHILD
Once a boy went to a shop with his mother...
The shop keeper looked at the small cute child and showed him a jar full of sweets and said "Dear Child. You can take some sweets" But the child didn't take. The shop keeper was surprised. Such a small child but why is he not taking the sweets from the jar? Again he said take the sweets. Now the mother also heard this and said "Take the sweets dear" yet he didn't take it.
The shopkeeper, seeing the child not taking the sweets, himself took the sweets and gave them to the child. The child was ecstatic to have been given so many delicious sweets! While returning home the Mother asked the child "why didn't you take the sweets, when the shop keeper told you to take?" Can you guess the response? The child replied:
"Mom! My hands are very small and if I take the sweets I can only take a few.. but now you see when uncle gave with his big hands.... how many more sweets I got!"
Moral: When we take we may get little but when Allah gives...he provides beyond our expectations... more than what we can hold. Allahuakbar!