What is meant here by 'the harvest of the tongues' is the punishment for saying forbidden things. A man, through his actions and words, sows the seeds of either good or evil. On the Day of Resurrection he harvests their fruits. Those who sow the seeds of good words and deeds harvest honour and blessings; those who sow the seeds of evil words and deeds reap only regret and remorse. A Hadith related by Abu Huraira RA says, "What mostly cause people to be sent to the Fire are the two openings: the mouth and the private parts." Abu Huraira RA also related that the Rasulullah SAW said, "The servant speaks words, the consequences of which he does not realise, and for which he is sent down into the depths of the Fire further than the distance between the east and the west." The same hadith was transmitted by at-Tirmidhi with slight variations: "The servant says something that he thinks is harmless, and for which he will be plunged into the depths of the Fire as far as seventy autumns."

Uqba ibn Amir RA said: "I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is our best way of surviving?' He, SAW replied: "Guard your tongue, make your house suffice for sheltering your privacy, and weep for your wrong actions." It has been related on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa'd RA that Rasulullah SAW said, "Whoever can guarantee what is between his jaws and what is between his legs guarantees him the Garden." It has also been related by Abu Huraira RA that Rasulullah SAW said, "Let whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day either speaks good or remain silent." Thus talking can either be good, in which case it is commendable, or bad, in which case it is haraam.

Rasulullah SAW said: "Everything the children of Adam say goes against them, except for their enjoining good and forbidding evil, and remembering Allah, Glorious and Might is He." This was reported by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Ma'jah on the authority of Umm Habiba RA. Umar ibn al-Khattab RA visited Abu Bakr RA and found him pulling his tongue with his fingers. Umar said "Stop! may Allah forgive you!" Abu Bakr replied; "This tongue has brought me to dangerous places." Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "By Allah, besides Whom no god exists, nothing deserves a long prison sentence more than my tongue." He also used to say: "O tongue, say good and you will profit; desist from saying evil things and you will be safe; otherwise you will find only regret." Abu Huraira RA reported that Ibn al-Abbas RA said: "A person will not feel greater fury or anger for any part of his body on the Day of Judgement more than what he will feel for his tongue, unless he only used it for saying or enjoining good." Al-Hassan said: "Whoever does not hold his tongue cannot understand his Deen."

The least harmful of a tongue's faults is talking about whatever does not concern it. The following Hadith of Rasulullah SAW is enough to indicate the harm of this fault: "One of the merits of a person's Islam is his abandoning what does not concern him." Abu Ubaida RA related that al-Hassan said: "One of the signs of Allah's abandoning a servant is His making him preoccupied with what does not concern him." Sahl said, "Whoever talks about what does not concern him is deprived of truthfulness."

As we have already mentioned above, this is the least harmful of the tongue's faults. There are far worse things, like backbiting, gossiping, obscene and misleading talk, two-faced and hypocritical talk, showing off, quarrelling, bickering, singing, lying, mockery, derision and falsehood; and there are many more faults which can affect a servant's tongue, ruining his heart and causing him to lose both his happiness and pleasure in this life, and his success and profit in the next life. Allah is the One to Whom we turn for assistance. 

More than 70 000 Muslims attended a rally called by the Hizbut Tahrir group in Indonesia. They filled a sports stadium in the capital, Jakarta, waving flags as they listen to speeches.

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is consulting her lawyers over an article that appeared in a Sunday newspaper.

The situation has called down near Diepsloot north of Johannesburg. Yesterday two motorists were injured by rioters.

Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nquakula says South Africa will not be setting up refugee camps for Zimbabweans crossing into the country.

Early results in Sierra Leone's elections show a run-off might be needed to choose a new president. Unofficial results show the opposition candidate, Ernest Bai Koroma, leading in Freetown and the north.

The Governor of the Ghazni province in Afghanistan says the Taliban are ready to release two women captives today.

The crow thought hard for a while. Then looking around her, she saw some pebbles. She suddenly had a good idea. She started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. Her plan had worked!

MORAL: If you try hard enough, you may soon find an answer to your problem. 

Method
Boil the milk and vermicelli on low heat till thick, then leave to cool. Liquidize the rest of the ingredients as well as the milk mixture (more condensed milk may be added if more sweetness is required). Pour the mixture into a dessert bowl and cover the top of it with the other half of the cream. Top with freshly grated coconut. Decorate with red and green cherries. Refrigerate and enjoy.

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While there is truth in acknowledging their incredible talent, there is also a lie in pretending that because we don't have their genetic gifts, we are somehow excused from the necessity of doing our best. That is simply not true! The vast majority of highly successful people, in any area of life, are simply those who worked a bit harder, stayed a bit longer, and did a bit more.

The highest paid people in any industry earn many times more than the average income. Is that because they are 100 times smarter? Are they 50 times more ambitious? Do they work 20 times harder or do they have more hours in a day? Of course not!

The highest paid, most successful people do the little things extremely well. They remember the details, acknowledge their friends, and they keep their promises. They return phone calls on time. They remember to say "Please" and "Thank You!", and they smile. They get to work just a bit earlier, make one or two more calls or stay just a bit later at the end of the day. The simple truth is this: They go the extra mile, and it makes a difference.

They take care of the "little things", and the difference is reflected in their paychecks! What opportunities do you have to improve your performance by just 1 percent this week? It's call the "1 Percent Solution", and over time, it makes all the difference! 

The clerk ponders a bit then says, "You should take them to the zoo." "Hey, that's a good idea," says the man in the car and drives away.

The next day the man with the car is back at the same gas station. The clerk sees the penguins are still in the back seat of the car. "Hey, they're still here! I thought you were going to take them to the zoo."

"Oh, I did," says the driver, "And we had a swell time. Today I am taking them to the beach."