Not much to say about this really. It's just like I said alongside the first Prayer for the Day, I just picked a piece of the Qur'an that I liked and then talked about it. 

Sometimes when people read the Qur'an for the first time, they can find the references to the torments of Hell, rather frightening and forbidding, and indeed we are told to fear God. Fear is a powerful stimulus for action, and it is our actions that are the true focus of Qur'anic advice, concerned with the effects they have on our happiness and well-being in this life, as well as in the next.

From the chapter called Abraham vv. 28-34

Have you not seen those who exchanged the bounty of God for unthankfulness and caused their people to dwell in that abode of utter desolation - Hellfire, in which they are roasted, an evil place to stay. For they claimed there are powers that could rival God, and so they strayed from His way. Say: "Take your joy! Your journey's end will be the Fire!"

Say to My servants who believe, that they perform the prayer, and spend, secretly and openly, of what We have provided for their sustenance, before a day comes when there shall be neither bargaining nor befriending.

It is God who created the heavens and the earth, and sent down out of heaven water with which He brings forth all manner of fruits to feed you. And He subjected to you the ships which run upon the sea at His commandment; and He subjected to you the rivers and the sun and the moon constant upon their courses, and He subjected to you the night and day, and gave you of what you asked of Him. If you count God's blessing, you will never number it; surely man is persistently sinful, stubbornly ungrateful!

No matter how much we get we still want more. It's a common misunderstanding that in things we like, more is always better, but this way of looking at the world doesn't always do us any favours. We choose not to enjoy what we have, lost in envy for what we don't. We indulge ourselves in ingratitude, and the world becomes a place of anguish. Dissatisfaction and envy are hell on earth. Their fire doesn't blister the skin, but can be as distressing as physical torment, and burning hellfire is all that is most painful in our experience.

We have a natural urge to acquire wealth, for all the food, the goods and the comforts that money can buy. This drives us on to work towards survival and achievement, but without an understanding of the power of God working in Creation, it's all to easy to be misled into believing that our provision is the fruit of our own labour. Yet the flowers and vegetables do not grow because we plant the seeds. By planting the seeds we create an environment in which God grows the fruit and flowers.

And after all the digging, what will protect us from disease and bad weather? For work as we might to shape our future, in the end our destiny is outwith our control, and rather than trust in a rabbits foot or good luck charm to help us face the future, is it not better to trust in the One Who gives life to the plants, and feeds the birds and other creatures. Living in God's abundance not fear of scarcity, sharing with others, not hoarding for ourselves.

Recognition of the power of God brings with it a sense of proportion, and contains the boundless inclinations of our arrogance, and greed. Why believe that things will satisfy our cravings, when in our hearts we long for happiness and serenity, which nothing temporal and tangible can provide? It is gratitude for present blessings, and trust in God to protect us and provide for us, that enables us to appreciate the pleasures of paradise.

In the Name of the One Who is All-merciful and All-compassionate. O God! Help me to see the signs of Your existence in Creation. Fill my eyes with beauty and my mind with awe and wonder. Give me the understanding, the strength and patience to work for the benefit of all, and fill my heart with gratitude for the bounty you have provided, in the past, the present, and in days to come. Amen