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Success – How Does Islam Define It?
Everything we do in life is shaped by our definition of success. For some people, having a lot of money is what they think makes them successful. For others, if you are famous and know people of status, then you are to be deemed successful. For many, the more expensive your car is and the more houses you own, the more successful you are. As mumineen, believers in Allah, and as obedient slaves of Allah, we need to know how Allah defines the word success. We need to know how Allah describes the path of success. Allah tells us in the Qur’an: وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ “And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ) will be admitted to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein, and that will be the great success.” [4:13] In another verse, Allah describes success by saying :وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ وَرِضْوَانٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ “Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence. But the greatest bliss is the Pleasure of Allah. That is the supreme success.” [9:72] Allah repeatedly tells us that real success is: 1) Attaining Paradise / the pleasure of Allah 2) Avoiding the fire of Hell / the punishment of Allah A question to myself and you brothers is, does our definition of success match Allah’s definition of success? Does the definition of success from the One who created the Heavens and the Earth match our definition of success? If the answer is yes, then we need to carry on worshipping Allah. We need to continue worshipping Allah by doing the best good deeds we possible can and avoiding evil. However, if the answer is no, then we need to change today in order to be successful tomorrow. We should start with the basics. We should perform our daily prayers and spend some time with the Quran, even if it is only two or three minutes per day. We should say Salam to each other, help each other, and remind each other of Allah and all His bounties.
Second Part
When pleasing Allah becomes part of our definition of success, when aspiring for Paradise becomes part of our definition of success, then, we will truly look for opportunities to be successful. A young orphan was building a wall on his property. But there was a tree in the way which belonged to a companion named Abu Lubabah. The only way to continue the construction was to either cut down the tree or to include it in his land. So, the orphan went to Abu Lubabah and asked if he could have the tree. Abu Lubabah said, “No.” So, the orphan asked to buy the tree, but Abu Lubabah once again declined. The orphan then went to the Prophet ﷺand complained. The Prophet ﷺ then asked Abu Lubabah to give the boy the tree. He replied, “No, O Prophet of Allah, it is my right.” The Prophet ﷺ then asked him to sell the tree to the orphan. He replied, “No, O Prophet of Allah, it is mine.” The Prophet ﷺthen said, “O Abu Lubabah, give him this tree and Allah will give you a tree in Jannah.” Abu Lubabah still refused, and then he left. A person called Abu Dahdah, who had witnessed all of this, went to the Prophet ﷺ and asked, “If I buy the tree, will I also get a tree in Jannah?” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “Yes.” So Abu Dahdah ran after Abu Lubabah and said, “My orchard has 400 trees. It is yours if you give me your tree.” Abu Lubabah agreed to this deal and Abu Dahdah gave the tree to the orphan. So, Abu Dahdah earned himself Paradise; he became successful as he attained Paradise, even though he had to sacrifice his beautiful garden. What a successful deal this was for Abu Dahdah, as he realised that true success was in attaining Jannah and not in accumulating wealth in this life. If you ask the richest person on earth whether he wants to make more money, I am sure he or she will reply “Yes.” Similarly, even if I ask you brothers, once you have mastered a game, would you want to move on to another game. You will reply yes. The point is that, even if you have what you want, and consequently consider yourself as being successful, will you be happy with it? The answer is no. You will always want more. You will truly be successful and, therefore, happy, when you enter Paradise, as everything in Paradise gets better and better, in terms of quantity and quality. Therefore, my brothers, redefine the word success and work towards the true and everlasting success which one can attain by worshipping Allah in any and every situation. Perform your prayers, spend some time reciting the Quran, and read something about the life of the greatest creation of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. I’ll end the Khutbah by repeating the words of the Quran I mentioned earlier :وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ وَرِضْوَانٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ “Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence. But the greatest bliss is the Pleasure of Allah. That is the supreme success.” [9:72] May Allah give us the tawfeeq to carry on worshipping Him and may Allah give us the best in this Dunya and in the Akhirah.