High Ambitions - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

High Ambitions

أَحِبَّتِي فِي اللَّهِ، أُوصِيكُمْ وَنَفْسِي بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَالإِحْسَانِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ.

My brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and by sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved messenger Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Today I wanted to share with you a story that happened during the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and some of the wisdoms that are in it. And it will revolve around taking a second look at truly what we desire, what our ambitions and our goals are, and are they high enough.

Because as Muslims, among the things every single one of us — young or old — should have is very high aspirations, very high ambitions. We want the pleasure of Allah Almighty, we want to get to the highest place in Jannah, we want to be the best we can possibly be, and this is the character of the believer.

The Story of the Bedouin Man and the Prophet

Our messenger Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was traveling — he was in the countryside — and a Bedouin man hosted him. This was something that was known among the Arabs, especially the Bedouin among them, that they were very hospitable. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was invited into this man's home and he took care of him — he gave them food, shelter — and Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to this man, "If you ever come to the city, if you ever come to Medina, make sure you come to me." Because part and parcel of our religion is when one does good for you, that you do the same for them. Whatever good is done for you, then do good in return.

So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to this man, "When you come to Medina, make sure you come and visit me." Lo and behold, after a while, this Bedouin man comes into the city and he goes to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The Prophet then, of course, took care of him, fed him, and was extremely hospitable to him. But then Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to him, "Ask me anything you want. Ask me anything you want."

Now think about this — the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam giving you the opportunity to ask anything you want. What would you have asked for? This Bedouin man said, "I want a camel I can ride." And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "What else?" And he said, "And a sheep or a goat that I can milk." And the Prophet asked him, "Anything else?" And some other narrations mention that he asked for a watchdog that helps him herd his sheep.

And the Prophet got upset at him. He said, "Could you not even be like the old lady from Banu Israel? Could you not be like the old lady of Banu Israel?"

Now who is this old lady from Banu Israel? What you're thinking is what the Sahaba were thinking. They asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, "Tell us more about this old lady." And then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told them the story. This whole hadith is actually mentioned in the Sahih of Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim, and it has been authenticated by al-Dhahabi and Shaykh al-Albani as well.

The Old Lady of Banu Israel

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that when Musa alayhi wa sallam decided that he and the children of Banu Israel were going to leave Egypt and flee from Fir'aun, they left at night. They were fleeing Fir'aun and his army. But they kept on getting lost and they couldn't find the tariq — the path. This was very peculiar, because they used to use the stars as a guide, as Allah mentioned in the Quran — but the sky would be overcast with clouds and they would struggle.

Musa realized that something was going on — this was not normal. So he asked the ahbar, the knowledgeable people among Banu Israel, for consultation: "What do you think? Why do we keep getting lost?" And remember, they were in an urgent situation — they were trying to flee Fir'aun.

They said, "There was a promise that was made to Prophet Yusuf." Now, Prophet Yusuf is the ancestor of Banu Israel. If you know the story of Yusuf, he was the one that came to Egypt as a young boy. He grew up there, and then Ya'qub and his brothers came to him as well and they settled there. That was the beginning of the children of Israel — because Israel, the person Israel, is Ya'qub alayhi salam. Ya'qub the prophet was also called Israel. So whenever you hear the words Banu Israel — the children of Israel — that just means the children of Ya'qub. They settled in Egypt, and then for generations after, this is when Fir'aun came into power and enslaved these people.

So they said, "Prophet Yusuf, on his deathbed, asked us — requested — that there would come a day when you will leave Egypt and go to the blessed land, Jerusalem and al-Quds. And if you do so, make sure you take my body with you." This was a promise passed down through generations. So then Musa said, "Well, if that's the case, we need to get Yusuf's body with us before we leave. Where is he buried? Does anyone know?" They said, "There is one old lady left from among those who know where Yusuf alayhi salam is buried."

So then Musa went to this old lady so that they could take Yusuf with them and then find their way. She said, "If I do this, will you give me what I want?" He said, "Well, what do you want?" And she said, "I want to be with you in Paradise. That is what I want. I want to be with you, O Musa, in Paradise." And this was of course a very heavy ask.

Now compare that with what the Bedouin asked Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — a camel and a sheep. And this old lady is asking Prophet Musa, "I want to be in Jannah — not just in Jannah — I want to be in the highest place in Jannah where the messengers reside. Not just that, I want to be right there next to you."

Musa said to her, "This is not something I can give you. I'll have to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala." Musa asked Allah, and Allah revealed to him that she would get what she wants, because Allah is Ar-Ra'uf Ar-Raheem. So in that exchange, she got herself a spot in the highest place in Jannah.

Then she pointed towards a buhayrah — a small pond where water collected — and said, "Under this is where Yusuf is buried." So they dove and found Yusuf's body. They took it with them — unchanged, because the bodies of prophets do not decompose, as Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us, because of their maqam and their sharaf, and the earth does not devour them. As soon as they had Yusuf's body with them, it was as if a light was shown for them and this is how they found their way — and managed to flee from Fir'aun. And then after that, you all know the story where Fir'aun's army actually caught up with them, but they escaped through the well-known miracle of the sea splitting.

The Lesson: Aim Higher

Al-Muhim — the Prophet tells this story of this old lady to the Sahaba and this Bedouin man. Why? He wanted this Bedouin man to ask more, to aim higher. A messenger of Allah gave you the opportunity to ask something and you're still thinking about camels and goats and worldly stuff. And this is a mentality — it's a mentality that many of us have.

This is why many of us — sometimes our duas are focused on worldly matters. We raise our hands whenever we are in trouble: "O Allah, I am sick, heal me." There's nothing wrong with that. You should raise your hands when you need Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But if your dua is solely focused on worldly matters, or if your focus is only on worldly matters, then you are not in the correct mindset. Our aim should be the hereafter — and not just the hereafter, it should be the highest place in it.

The Companion Who Asked for the Best

There is a very good example of that with a companion whom the Prophet gave an opportunity, and this companion would help the Prophet ﷺ carry his water for wudu, run some errands for him. He was from the Ashab al-Suffah — those companions who were actually very poor. So the Prophet one time came to him and said, "Ask me anything." This companion said, "Ya Rasulullah, I want to think about it."

Think about this — he is very poor, he is homeless, he is not married, he has no job, and Rasulullah ﷺ said to him, "Ask me anything you want," and he took a few days to think about what he wanted. In Musnad Ahmad, this companion himself narrates the story and says, "I thought about it, and I thought about asking him worldly stuff — I thought about asking him to enrich me, because I was living a very poor lifestyle. But then I realized that this world is going to end and that there is nothing better than Jannah."

And he literally asked the Prophet the very same thing that this old lady had asked — he said:

"Your companionship in Paradise." (Musnad Ahmad)

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Perhaps something else? Is there anything else?" The reason the Prophet ﷺ said this was because he actually wanted to give him wealth, he wanted to honour him. But the companion said, "No, nothing else. I just want to be in Jannah right there with you." And the Prophet ﷺ said, "Okay, but —"

"Help me with yourself by making a lot of sujood." (Musnad Ahmad)

From this hadith we learn: yes, have high ambitions — but there is work involved. You want to go to that place in Jannah? He said, "Help me with a lot of sujood." What does that mean? It means pray often, pray a lot, pray your five daily prayers, pray qiyam, pray the sunnahs — any opportunity you can pray, that is what will get you there. This is of course a bishara from the Prophet — a glad tiding.

Later on, the Prophet would go and tell him, "You should get married." And he would say, "Ya Rasulullah, I have nothing to get married with." The Prophet kept telling him, "You should get married," and finally he said, "Okay, ya Rasulullah, I will — but I have nothing." And then the Prophet ended up helping him to get married and to get a home. But the point is — look at these people, look at this old lady, look at this companion. They wanted not just Jannah, they wanted the highest place in Jannah.

Ask for Al-Firdaws Al-A'la

If you and I want that, we should be in that mentality and we should ask Allah to give us al-Firdaws al-A'la. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith:

"If you ask Allah for Paradise, ask Him for al-Firdaws, for it is the highest part of Paradise and the middle of Paradise." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2790)

If you're going to ask Allah to go to Paradise, to Jannah, then ask Him for al-Firdaws al-A'la — because indeed it is the highest place in Paradise, it is the middle of Paradise, it is where you want to be. Remember, Jannah has a hundred levels, and the Prophet is telling you to aim for the highest. This is the mentality we should be in.

High Ambitions in All Affairs

We should be in this mentality even with our worldly affairs. Don't settle for a C — aim for an A star. This is the mentality we need to grow our young children in: that they can do better, they can aim higher, they can be the best.

This is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when He was talking about the Ibad ar-Rahman — those whom Allah named "the servants of the Most Merciful" — He mentions their mannerisms and qualities, and finally Allah says they are those who say:

Now think about this dua. You would assume someone would say, "O Allah, make me among those who have taqwa — make me among the muttaqeen." But they say, "O Allah, make us the leaders of those who have taqwa" — meaning the best among them, the people at the forefront. And this is what we should want. We should want to be the scholars, we should want to be the people that are the most prestigious, the highest — because that is the character of the believer.

So when you want something, ask for the best. When you're striving for something, strive for the best. When you're planning for something, plan for the best. This is the mentality we need to have, especially with your akhira.

Islam, Iman, and Ihsan

The point is to aim as high as you can with your wants, your needs, and also to strive for them in the correct way. It is not enough just to desire something — because if one wants to go to Jannah, he has to follow its path. If one wants to gain a good grade, he has to study. This is just how life works, and the afterlife is no different.

But that being said, it always depends on what you aim for. Isn't it true that the one who wants to pass with a higher grade will study harder because he's aiming higher? So it's actually a cause and effect. If you say, "I want to be among the prophets in Jannah," you will probably be someone who prays your sunnah prayers. But if you just want to do the bare minimum, then you're not in the correct mindset.

Now the bare minimum might get you into Jannah. There is a hadith that the Prophet ﷺ said: if one prays his five daily prayers, fasts the month of Ramadan, stays away from haram, consumes halal, and worships Allah, he will go to Jannah. So the bare minimum might get you to Jannah — but that is not what the believer strives for. You strive to do ihsan.

This is why as Muslims there are levels: you have Islam, then you have Iman, and then you have Ihsan. Islam is the person who submits generally. Iman is when you have actual faith in Allah and that faith manifests in your actions. And Ihsan is when you worship Allah as if you see Allah. Now how many of us would be sinning if we could see Allah? The number would be zero. So having that level of muraqabah — knowing Allah is watching you — this elevates your being, it elevates your worship, it keeps you away from sin.

This is what we should be striving for. And if you feel like you're not there yet, that is the whole concept of increasing your iman — and you need to be consciously thinking about: Am I increasing my iman? Do I feel closer to Allah today than I did yesterday? This is how you aim not just high, but strive towards that which is better.

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah to forgive our sins and to make us of those that have high aspirations and high ambitions. I ask Allah to make us of those that will enter into Jannah — not just Jannah, but al-Firdaws al-A'la.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.