Following Hadith taken from "Gardens of the Righteous" : The Holy Prophet (saws) said: A man will be brought on the Day of Judgment and will be thrown into the Fire, whereby his arteries will protrude out of his belly and he will go round and round holding them as does a donkey working a mill.  The denizens of the Fire will gather round him and say: What is this? Did you not enjoin good and forbid evil? He will say: That is so.  I enjoined good, but did not do it; and I forbade evil but did it (Bokhari and Muslim)...

Continuing our series of weekly extracts of writings from Hazrat Masih-e-Maud (as) from "Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam": The law of nature informs us that for the achievement of each purpose there is appointed a straight path and the purpose can be achieved only by following that path. For instance, if we are sitting in a dark room, the straight path for obtaining the light of the sun is for us to open the window that faces the sun...

Following Hadith taken from "Gardens of the Righteous" : The Holy Prophet (saws) directed: Refrain from sitting in the streets.  It was said to him: Messenger of Allah, we cannot help sitting in the streets.  There is no other place where we can sit and discuss matters.  He said: In that case fulfill the obligations due to the street.  He was asked: What is due to the street? He said: Restraining of looks, removal of obstructions, reciprocation of greetings, enjoining good and forbidding evil (Bokhari and Muslim)...

Continuing our series of weekly extracts of writings from Hazrat Masih-e-Maud (as) from "Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam": God's inscribing faith on their hearts with His own hand and helping them with the Holy Spirit means that no one can achieve true purity and righteousness unless he receives heavenly help....

Following Hadith taken from "Gardens of the Righteous" : The Holy Prophet (saws) said: The case of those who observe the limits set by Allah and those who are careless about them is like passengers on a ship who cast lots to determine who should occupy the upper deck and who should be on the lower deck. Those who were on the lower deck passed through those of the upper deck whenever they had to fetch water. So they said to the occupants of the upper deck: If we were to bore a hole through our part, we would not have to trouble you. Now, if the occupants of the upper deck were to leave the others to carry out their plan they would all perish together; but if they were to stop them they would all be saved (Bokhari)...

  There is a type of serenity for those who are pearls of greatness. Those individuals whose wisdom creates an illuminating light. I was able to sit amongst one such light during this year’s Ijtema. Having just flown across the country in a red-eye flight, my eyes were slightly red to say the least. The Ijtema site was a sight for sore eyes, for the grandeur of all the activities and the grandeur size of the site itself. I remember reaching the warm cafeteria, taking off my shoes in hopes that my soggy socks would dry. It was in that disheveled state of mine that I met Rashid Ahmad American Sahib. He was an illuminating light in that empty cafeteria. His serenity spoke even while silent. At that time, I was with Dr. Ahsan Khan and we both were graced by Rashid Sahib’s presence. As I continued to hear from Rashid Sahib’s accounts, I found out that this was a person who was...

Continuing our series of weekly extracts of writings from Hazrat Masih-e-Maud (as) from "Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam": It should be remembered that the highest spiritual condition of a person in this life is that he should find comfort in God and all his satisfaction, and ecstasy and delight should be centered in God.  This is the condition a person is bestowed the heavenly life in this very world in return for his perfect sincerity, purity, and faithfulness...

Following Hadith taken from "Gardens of the Righteous" : Hadhrat Ubadah ibn Samat relates: We made a covenant with the Holy Prophet (Saws) to hear and obey in adversity and in prosperity, in hardship and in ease; to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute the assumption of authority by others, except in a case of open repudiation of faith such as is condemned by clear authority; to tell the truth in every contingency and not to mind in that behalf any reproach or rebuke (Bokhari and Muslim)...

Continuing our series of weekly extracts of writings from Hazrat Masih-e-Maud (as) from "Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam": Neither the sun or moon can move outside its orbit.  Were there not a Regulator of the whole of this system behind the scenes, the system would fall into chaos...