At these testing times of continuous attacks on Muslims and Prophet Mohammad and the incessant ignorance of many Muslims who do not hesitate to hurt their religion and their prophet through their violent acts, we stand perplexed at what can be done to make things right. However, as we re-examine the Prophet’s tradition we find nothing but wisdom and light to guide those who are in search of one to make their journey safely through the darkness engulfing this life. Here are some of the Prophet’s words of wisdom I translated some time ago. 1- There is no poverty like ignorance and no riches like wisdom. 2. There is no isolation like conceit and no assistance like seeking counsel. 3. There is no smart measure like frugality, no pedigree like good manners and no worship like contemplation. 4. Prevarication is the bane of talk. 5. Forgetfulness is the bane of knowledge and slackness is the bane of piety. 6. The bane of forgiveness is humiliation and the bane of beauty is vanity. 7. The bane of courage is excess and the bane of good ancestry is conceit. 8. Be truthful and never tell a lie whatsoever. 9. Never commit a treachery however small it was. 10. Fear God as if you see him. Spend your money and yourself in defense of your religion. 11. Keep the good manners and avoid ill manners. 12. Three things are the dearest to God: Doing the duties God imposed on you, avoiding the things that God banned and having satisfaction with what God has given you. 13. Three things are good manners: Reach out to those who avoided you, give those who deprived you and forgive those who did wrong unto you. 14. Three things come at your rescue: Holding your tongue, crying over your sins, and having a big house. 15. Three traits are the masters of deeds: Being fair to people, treating brothers-in-God equally and remembering God at all times. 16. Three actions are rewarded in this life: Hajj negates poverty, charity repels calamity and kindness to relatives gains longevity. 17. Three missing traits renders deeds ineffective: Fear of God that prevents you from committing sins, knowledge to fend off ignorance and wisdom in dealing with people. 18. Three people will be under the shade of God’s throne at the day of Judgment: A man who loves unto others what he loves unto himself, a man who became aware of something and did not act before he made sure that what he will do will anger or please God, and a man who does not point at others’ faults before fixing that same fault in himself. Man must always be busy fixing his own faults for whenever he is done fixing one, he will discover another to fix. 19. Three traits are the gateways to godliness: Generosity, nice talk, and patience on nuisance. 20. Four things are coupled with four others as mentioned in the Torah: Whoever is overwhelmed with this life will always be unhappy with God, whoever complains of a plight inflicted on him will be complaining of God, and whoever approaches a rich person with humility will lose two thirds of his religion and whoever in this nation enters Hell is someone who makes fun of God’s teachings. 21. Four are coupled with four: ruling over others is coupled with despotism, not seeking counsel is coupled with regret and if you judge others, prepare to be judged; and finally poverty of religion is the greatest death. 22. All eyes are in tears at the Day of Judgment except three: An eye that stayed vigilant in the service of God, an eye that shut its lids to illicit sights, and an eye that welled with tears from the fear of God. 23. Blessed be the person who cries for a sin that no one knows about but God. 24. Three deadly sins and three salvaging deeds. The deadly sins are: pursuing fancies, persistent parsimony, and self-conceit. The salvaging deeds are: Fairness, satisfaction, indignation, frugality whether rich or poor you maybe, and fear of God in secret and in public in such a way as if you can see Him and if you cannot see Him, He can see you. 25. Three where prevarication can be approved: trick at war, promise to your wife, and reconciling among the people. 26. Three where truthfulness can be bad: calumny, telling someone what he hates to hear about his wife, and telling someone they are liars. 27. Four things turn useless: eating after fullness, a torch light in the moonlight, farming in the salty land, and doing favor unto people who do not deserve it. 28. Four that call for the acceleration of punishment: a man you did favor unto him and rewarded you with insult, a man who attacks you although you did not attack him, a man you had an agreement with on something and they act treacherously with you, and a relative you are kind to but treat you with abandonment. 29. Four traits without which one’s Islam would not be complete: Truthfulness, thankfulness, chastity, and good manners. 30. Lack of need for people is an immediate richness and excessive need for people is humiliation of oneself and it is an immediate poverty.