Celebrating Success and Graduation | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Sh. Yaser Birjas

Celebrating Success and Graduation

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَعِيذُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

أَمَّا بَعْدُ — اعْلَمُوا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ أَنَّ أَحْسَنَ الْكَلَامِ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ.

My dear brothers and sisters, I'm sure by now perhaps most of us have received all these text messages and emails about booking you for participating in the graduation ceremonies of this family's child and this family's child. Some, mashaAllah, they finish college. Others, they finish high school. Some, they're graduating even actually from kindergarten right now. People love to celebrate. And there is nothing wrong with that because when it comes to success, it's a blessing.

There is no doubt about it. Success is a blessing from Allah. Achievement is a favor from Allah. And knowledge is definitely an honor. Allah says about this in the Quran:

He said that He will raise amongst you those who have faith and have knowledge into higher ranks. So the milestone of accomplishing something such as success in the field of knowledge or any field of life, it's a great thing to celebrate and there is nothing wrong with that.

Najah vs. Falah: Two Kinds of Success

My dear brothers and sisters, but sometimes as a believer, when it comes to thinking about success — and the Arabic word for success is najah, the verb is najaha yanjahu — sometimes we're going to have to also ask ourselves: alhamdulillah, all these beautiful milestones are dunya milestones. But what are my milestones that lead me to the ultimate success? Which Allah called falah.

Najah is success in the dunya. And falah is a different story. Allah uses a different verb and word for the subject of falah in the Quran as well. And that word is fawz — fawzan 'adhiman, al-fawz. Allah says in the Quran that even the bare minimum of passing on the Day of Judgment was considered fawz 'adheem — a great triumph, great victory. He says:

If anyone was drawn away from Jahannam — look at the expression. In the Arabic, the English doesn't actually capture the word zuhziha. Zuhziha is just like when you barely kind of push the person off. Barely touching it. If you just barely kind of like spurred from being in Jahannam, you're drawn out of Jahannam but just for an inch or less — faqad faz. This person is actually successful. Triumph. Won a great victory.

So what does that even mean? How is that so different? And what do we need to do as parents, really? And as adults, when we think about our successful milestones in life and the lives of our children, how much of that has also taken them where they need to have that greatest triumph, that al-fawz al-'adheem as Allah described in the Quran?

I need to make sure, as I'm celebrating my children's success in this dunya, I need them to know: this is nothing in comparison to the greatest success in the akhira. And I need them to know that every single success story they have in this dunya should contribute to the ultimate success for them in the akhira. And I ask my child: when you finish school, when you finish this degree, what do you learn from this? How can this bring you closer to Allah? Will that be the day when you celebrate the best celebration, the Day of Judgment? Or are we completely unaware of that?

As Muslims, Allah commands us in the Quran:

All you who believe, enter into Islam wholeheartedly. What does that mean? We don't do like they did before:

You believe in some and reject some. We're not going to practice Islam selectively. You practice Islam wholeheartedly. And what does that mean? Every step of the way should be within the framework of pleasing Allah, to bring me closer to Allah. So every single milestone in my life — whether it's an education accomplishment, business deals, whatever that is, even your marriage — any of these beautiful milestones should always bring you closer to Allah so you can enjoy that great victory and great success.

The Degrees of Al-Fawz

Brothers and sisters, once again, the word that Allah uses in the Quran for this expression is fawz. And al-fawz in the Arabic language is different from the word najah, success. How so? Al-fawz means safety — it comes with safety as well. Najah, success, doesn't necessarily come with safety. What does that mean? You might succeed in this exam here, but you might fail the whole degree. But al-fawz — no, no, no — it comes with a victory that has no anguish with it. You're always, alhamdulillah, going to be victorious from that moment on. That's a big difference.

And Allah says — and what is the opposite of fawz? He mentioned khusran, khasara. He said:

He will reveal from the Quran, from the verses of the Quran, ma huwa shifa' — healing and mercy for the believers. But those verses would not increase the disbelievers or the transgressors in anything except in loss. Because when they look at the Quran, and they don't want to believe in it, they go into interpretation, denying, rejecting, even refusing to listen to it sometimes. But the believer will move from one moment of success to the other one, one moment of fawz to the other one, until they come to the ultimate success.

Brothers and sisters, we know that fawz is more comprehensive. And that's why Allah mentioned the fawz in the Quran in different degrees. In the Quran, Allah paired the word al-fawz with different words.

One of them: al-fawz al-mubeen — clear, manifest triumph. What does that mean? It's basically the basic salvation from Jahannam and winning Jannah. That's the basic one. That's al-fawz al-mubeen.

Then Allah also said: al-fawz al-kabeer — the great triumph, the great victory, which emphasizes not just entering Jannah, but enjoying all the blessings that come with it as well. So entering it is mubeen — clear — but enjoying it now is kabeer.

And the third one: al-fawz al-'azim — the supreme, magnificent triumph. Allah has mentioned this triumph is going to be everlasting forever, and will come with absolutely no feeling of regret, no sorrow, no grief. May Allah give us that victory, ya Rabb al-'alameen.

Dunya Success vs. Akhira Success

Brothers and sisters, when it comes to the victory of the dunya in comparison to the akhira, obviously it's not even close. The success in the dunya is always limited. How so? Because we know — you do everything in your power to finish high school, and you graduate, and you have the celebration, and you realize, alhamdulillah, that was a great thing. But then what? You realize you still have college. That success is now temporary. All right, let's get to college. Working so hard. And then you graduate. Alhamdulillah, you got your degree. MashaAllah, very successful, right? But then what comes after that? Do I go to graduate school, or do I start working right now? Now you start having all these anxieties that come with that success. So success in the dunya is always limited. It has limitation.

But the success in the akhira absolutely has no limitation to it. Because once you enter al-jannah, that's it. We do it with Allah. And Allah mentioned in the Quran about the people of Jannah — they shall have no fear for the future, and no grief for what happened in the past. And that is the greatest triumph, the greatest fawz.

The Procession of the Angels

What we know, my dear brothers and sisters, is that when it comes to celebration in success moments and milestones of the dunya, we celebrate with our people — human beings. But imagine those who celebrate your success on the Day of Judgment are the angels. Imagine the procession that leads you to Jannah is not your family or your friends — it's actually the angels, as Allah described in Surat az-Zumar:

Those who fear Allah, those who are conscious of Allah, they will be led to Jannah in groups. Like everybody is, mashaAllah, happy to have the company of the good people going to Jannah together. Right when they arrive, the doors start opening. Immediately the doors will open. The doors of Jannah open wide for the people of Jannah. And the guards — those ushers at the doors from the angels — what do they say to the people of Jannah? Salamun 'alaykum — peace with you. Come on in. Tibtum — you are so good, you did well, they would say. Basically they honor your success. Come on in. You will be here for eternity. What a beautiful news you get at the doors of your abode, insha'Allah, in eternity.

Brothers and sisters, here in the dunya as we said, when we celebrate, alhamdulillah, we celebrate with our loved ones. And imagine that you get that love from the angels. And when they express that love, they make du'a for you, istighfar for you, intercede for you. Even if you had any blemishes in your degree, they will still vouch for you. Ya Rabb — they used to recite the Quran. Ya Rabb — they used to come to the masjid. Ya Rabb — this and that of good deeds. They'll always vouch for you. Hopefully it will give you a bonus and an extra honor roll in your degree, bidhni Allah tabaraka wa ta'ala.

Iman is the Key to True Success

Brothers and sisters, the dunya requires a lot of effort — there is no doubt about it — to succeed. I need to be smart in order to pass the tests and the exams and so on. The same thing comes with the akhira as well. But more than just being smart, you also need to have iman in your heart. The conviction that this is actually beyond this world, to Allah. Otherwise, how many smart people do we know in this dunya? Very brilliant, smart people. Look at the tech industry, for example. All these smart people, but what are they using their intelligence for? They're not using it with iman and khawf Allah, with righteousness and piety. Look at the damage they're causing to humanity and even the fitrah, Allah al-musta'an, in our time. So just being smart doesn't mean that it's going to make you successful. And just being successful in the dunya doesn't mean that you are successful in the right direction. It requires iman and steadfastness. Sometimes you're going to have to go against the current. Why? Because you're the one who truly believes.

And Allah elevated the status of the pious ones when the Prophet said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 44, Hadith 2622)

He says: perhaps you will see someone who is disheveled, someone who is dusty. When he comes at the doors, they push him out. No, you don't belong here — like no one pays attention to this person. But if this person swears by Allah, Allah will fulfill his promise. Allah will be there for him, subhanAllah. So it's not about how you look. That iman in the heart is way beyond appearance and makes you more successful than those who are wearing suits and wearing the most elegant things.

So, brothers and sisters, remember — the great success is in these few words:

The most honorable — those who will have the honor roll, the special treatment, the special mention on the Day of Judgment with Allah — are those who are most righteous, those who are most pious.

So, brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the beautiful milestones of our children, ourselves, our loved ones around us, our relatives, all those around us — I want you to remember, and I want you to keep that in mind: how closer is this going to bring me to Allah? And what will be my next milestone, insha'Allah, that brings me closer to Allah? If we keep doing this, but then we fail in our accomplishment in terms of salah, ibadah, and ta'ah — what kind of success is that? Maybe temporary in the dunya, but in the akhira, Allah al-musta'an, al-khusran is waiting for these people. May Allah make us all among the successful.

I say this and I ask forgiveness from Allah. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

The Great Tests of the Akhira

Remember, there are tests — just like in this dunya there are tests, there are also tests for the akhira. The first test that you are going to be graded on over on the Day of Judgment, as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned, is as-salah — your five daily prayers. Not how charitable you are, or how kind and nice to people you are — that will also be part of a test. But at the top, it has the highest grade. If you fail it, you fail everything. It's going to be your salah, as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned:

(Sunan al-Nasai, Hadith 466; graded as Sahih)

If it's good, everything becomes good after that. And if it's not, you're going to be in trouble. So, my dear brothers and sisters, make sure to succeed in your five daily prayers. And make sure your kids do as well.

Also, another test that's going to come on the Day of Judgment is the test of the heart. As the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned — the intentions. Your sincerity. As the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

There's one piece of flesh in the body. If it's good, everything comes good after that. And that is the heart. What are your intentions? What do you harbor in this heart — toward people around you, toward the world, toward Allah? What intentions are you always carrying around as you move on into this life? Make sure to make them good.

The third thing, my dear brothers, is steadfastness. Because Allah promised that He's going to test you day and night with everything you could imagine. Are you succeeding? Are you passing that test? Make sure to do so, insha'Allah, with barakah, with steadfastness and sabr.

And Allah will also test you with how good you are to the people around you. As the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned in the hadith:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat lil-Tabarani, Hadith 6026; graded Hasan by al-Albani)

The most beloved people to Allah are those most beneficial to others. How beneficial are you to the people around you? Not just to one or two people — to the world in general. What goodness are you bringing to the world, my dear brothers and sisters?

And finally, one of those greatest tests that we're going to be actually asked about is gratefulness and gratitude. Are you being grateful? Are you being grateful for all the blessings that you wake up with every single day? And if not, work on it, my dear brothers and sisters.

Du'a

O Allah, teach us what benefits us. And benefit us with what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, All-Wise. O Allah, grant our souls piety and purify them — You are the Best of those who purify them. You are the Protector and the Guardian of Your servants.

O Allah, send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions. O Allah, be pleased with the righteous caliphs — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali — and all the companions, and those who follow them in the best way until the Day of Judgment. And establish prayer.