Secrets to Success - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Secrets to Success

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. Whomsoever He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner.

And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, purest of heart, of His creation, and of His companions. Allah has sent him to all people as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the ummah. And He left us on the white path — its night is like its day, and nothing escapes it except destruction.

May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, upon his family and companions, and upon those who were guided by his guidance and invited by his call to the Day of Judgment.

My brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and thanking Him, for He is indeed deserving of our constant gratitude. And I send blessings and salutations upon our beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

What I want to talk to you about today is: how do we measure success? And to truly understand what success is, and who is the successful person. And to do that, as Muslims, we always have to go back to — who does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala consider the person that succeeded? And who does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala consider the person that didn't succeed?

This is very important because most of the time, the way we look at the world, the way we look at ourselves and the people around us, is from a worldly perspective. Today, if you see someone that is homeless or wandering around and has no home — this is not something that you would consider to be success. If you see someone that is very poor, that needs handouts, someone that is struggling financially, someone that is deported — generally, this is something you don't associate success with.

But then, the most successful human beings to have ever lived were in poverty. Sometimes they were kicked out of their own homes, out of their own towns and cities. They were deported. Yet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala considers them the most successful people that walked on this earth. We consider them the most successful people that walked on this earth.

My brothers and sisters, I'm talking about the prophets of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Most of them were not people that were considered successful in a worldly way. Rasulullah ﷺ would struggle financially — two months would go by and they would not even have a cooked meal in his house. He would be in such a state where they would have to tie rocks against their stomachs to fool themselves that they were full, because they didn't have anything to eat. If you look at Ibrahim ﷺ and how his father kicked him out of his house, how he had to go and walk in the desert — and you look at all these great messengers — if we looked at them the way we look at each other and how we measure success today, we wouldn't consider them to be successful.

This is why today, if we tell many people, "Masha'Allah, this young man has memorized the Qur'an cover to cover, but he works at Morrison's," and another young man has a degree and is a doctor — a lot of times you might gravitate towards the one that is successful in the worldly matter. But that shouldn't be the case.

Now, am I trying to say to you, let's not excel in dunya and in worldly matters, in our education and in our work? No. We should excel, because Allah loves those who excel in everything. But when we are measuring success, we should keep in mind what success is regarding Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And Allah taught us the keys and the secrets to true falah and fawz — success — in Surah al-'Asr. And what I want to do today is go through this surah with you. A very short surah — most of us, if not all of us, have memorized it.

Allah swears by the time. And generally speaking, when someone swears an oath — if I say to you wallahi — whatever is going to follow that oath is something that I'm trying to emphasize, something that I find to be of great importance. Otherwise I wouldn't swear by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We shouldn't take Allah's name in vain and just swear on things that are not important — or subhanAllah, even worse, lie.

So generally speaking, the adab and the manners we should have with regards to when we say wallahi: don't use it unless it's necessary. Only swear by Allah's names, for if you do otherwise you fall into shirk. And also, if you're going to swear by Allah's name, let the statement you're going to say be truthful. For those who swear by Allah and then lie have not understood the greatness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And when our Creator — Allah — swears, and He can swear by whatever creation He wills, whichever creation Allah swears by in the Qur'an shows a great deal of honor in that creation. Allah says: I swear by the time. Time that we are losing. Time that we don't have enough of. So many years wasted, so many hours gone by — have we used it correctly, efficiently, the way we should?

And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: Indeed mankind is in loss. The greatest thing you can lose is Allah's pleasure with you and Jannah. And many will lose that because of how they behave in this world. And those who win, those who succeed, are those that get to go to Jannah. May Allah make us of those.

Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaches us four things in this surah — four qualities that, if you have them, you will be among the successful. And this is why we should listen. Imam al-Shafi'i said that if one were to pay attention to this surah, Wal-'Asr, and act upon it and understand it, it would have been enough. There are enough lessons and enough benefits in this short chapter that it should have been enough — only if we pondered.

The First Key to Success: Iman (Faith)

And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us the first key to success, the first secret to true success:

All of mankind is in loss except those who have iman — those who believe. To believe in Allah. To believe in His Messenger. To believe in the world of the unseen. Especially during times where belief and faith has become very difficult.

And the Prophet ﷺ warned us: there will be a time where one of you being connected to his faith, holding on to his belief and iman, will be like holding on to a burning coal. There are so many doubts being showered upon us — we have to stay firm and believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rewards you for your belief and your iman. Never waver. And remember — your belief increases and decreases depending on your worship. So if you feel like your iman is low, what lifts up your iman is to worship more. And you can never worship Allah enough. Always work on your iman. Take care of your iman. And you do it by surrounding yourself with people that remind you of good.

And amazingly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — in this very surah — these four keys to success or secrets to success that Allah is teaching us, they depend on one another. For Allah tells you to have iman. Then we say, okay, but how do we take care of our iman? How do we make sure it increases? Allah tells you how:

And do righteous actions. The more you do righteous actions, the more your iman increases. It is with your belief that you will enter into Jannah, for Allah has promised those who have true belief and iman that they will eventually and definitely end up in Jannah.

Allah promises in the Qur'an those who have iman that He will give them a good life:

A promise of Allah — Allah will give you a good life. If you have iman, Allah promises you two things. If you have them, nothing else will ever matter. Allah says:

Those who have iman and they do not mix their iman, or taint their iman, with zulm — with oppression, falsehood, shirk, and disbelief. Those who have true iman and do not taint their iman with shirk, disbelief, doubts, and falsehood — Allah said, I promise them amn: they will have safety and security. وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ — and they will be guided.

Safety and security doesn't only mean in this world. Allah will keep you safe from falling into shirk. Allah will keep you safe from falling into bid'ah. Allah will keep you safe from falling into falsehood. And in the akhira, Allah will keep you safe from falling into hellfire. What more do you want? وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ — Allah said, I will guide them. They will be guided in this world to the straight path, guided to the sunnah, guided to tawheed and la ilaha illallah. And when they die, they will be guided to al-Jannah. This is what you get from iman.

So the first key to success is to have iman. How do you work on your iman? Do you want your belief in Allah to increase? Get to know Allah with knowledge, with ilm. Learn His names and attributes. Learn what He is owed and what His rights are. The more you know Allah, the more your belief in Him will increase, and the more you will want to worship Allah. For those who truly know Allah, they worship Him. They know Him, they fear Him, and they hope in His mercy.

So the first key to success is belief in Allah — true iman. And this iman can increase or decrease depending on your worship. With this iman, you will be given safety, security, and guidance. With this iman, Allah will give you a good life. And you work on this iman through knowledge and seeking ilm. There is nothing greater than Allah — Allahu Akbar. And there is nothing greater than learning about Allah with regards to knowledge. No knowledge is greater.

The Second Key to Success: Righteous Actions

We're talking about those who will not lose — those who will succeed are those who have iman, Allah says, and do righteous actions. Some of the scholars say Allah says وَعَمِلُوا صَالِحَاتٍ — those who do a few good deeds, because صَالِحَاتٍ is jam' qillah, it doesn't mean a lot. Because Allah has so much mercy on us, He doesn't want us to do so much. This is why, if a person only sticks with that which is obligatory upon him, he will go to Jannah.

If you only do the fard, the wajib, you will go to Jannah. And there is a hadith where the Prophet ﷺ — a man approached him and asked him what he must do. The Prophet ﷺ said upon you are five daily prayers. He asked, do I have to do more than that? The Prophet ﷺ said no, إِلَّا أَن تَطَوَّعَ — unless you want to do more voluntary and you want more reward. And the man said he wouldn't do that, he'd just do the five. Then he asked if he had to do anything else. The Prophet ﷺ said yes, there is a charity you must pay — mandatory zakat. And he asked if he had to give more. The Prophet ﷺ said no, except if you want more reward and you're doing extra. He said he wouldn't do that, he'd just do the zakat. And then he asked, O Rasul, is there anything else I must do? And the Prophet ﷺ said yes, you must fast one month in the year — Ramadan. And he asked if he had to fast any more than that. No, unless of course you want more reward. He said he wouldn't do that, he'd just do Ramadan.

After the Prophet ﷺ went through the pillars of Islam and the things the person must do, this Sahabi — he was a Bedouin Sahabi — said, I swear by Allah, I will not decrease from that, nor will I increase in it. I will just do the obligation. And the Prophet ﷺ, in one riwayah, said, if any one of you wants to look at a person that will go to Jannah, let him look at that man. In another riwayah, the Prophet ﷺ said:

He is successful — he has succeeded — if he is truthful in his statement that he will only stick with the obligations. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 63; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 11)

Now of course, there is a level beyond that — and that level is those who add on to the obligations. They do the sunnah prayers, they do the sunnah fasts, they do the recommended, and they seek Allah's pleasure not just through the obligations, but also through the recommended acts as well. The point I'm trying to make is, five daily prayers is something all of us here can do, for Allah would have never made something obligatory upon us that we cannot do:

Two Conditions for a Righteous Action

Another important point that must be made: Allah said they do righteous actions — good deeds. What is considered a good deed within Islam? You must have two things. If the action that you're doing is going to be considered righteous and good, there must be two things present.

The first one is al-ikhlas — sincerity. Every single act of worship you do must be done only for Allah. The reason you're doing it must be to seek the pleasure and the rida of Allah. The reason you're doing it is to get reward from Allah and nothing else. There must be no worldly benefit connected to it. If you're praying so that your father can be happy with you — this is incorrect. Pray because Allah told you to do so. If you're praying because it's embarrassing and everyone else is praying, that prayer will not be accepted. This is riya. If you're doing it to show off or to please others, this is not accepted. Every act of worship is something between you and your Creator, that you do for Allah.

And this is why, my brothers and sisters — ask yourself this: how many acts of worship do I do that only Allah knows about? It is a problem if every single act of worship that you do is known to others. Is there anything that you do that only Allah knows about, that you haven't told anyone — not your wife, not your children, not your neighbor, not the congregation?

Did you know there is more reward in praying the sunnah at home than in the masjid? There is more reward in praying the sunnah at home than in the masjid. And we should liven our homes with prayer. Now imagine someone wakes up for night prayer and no one knows about it. He prays and only Allah sees him. There is no doubt this person is sincere — who else is he doing it for if not Allah? So: sincerity, ikhlas.

The other condition is that it has to be upon the sunnah — the mutaba'ah of the Prophet ﷺ. We do not make our own actions up. We do not worship Allah the way we want. Allah sent us a messenger to teach us how to worship Him. So how we worship Allah, what we do, must be in accordance with the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. We follow him in what he did, and we can never exceed him in worship. He was the most fearful of Allah and he worshipped Allah more than anyone else could. So we should follow in his footsteps.

Indeed, within the Prophet lies a great and an excellent example. So every single act of worship that you do, let it be sincerely for Allah alone. Let it be in accordance with the way of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Now we have two keys to success: faith — iman — and righteous actions. And Allah says in the Qur'an:

And whoever does righteous actions — male or female — while he has iman, Allah will give him a good life. May Allah make us those that have a good life in this world and the world to come.

The Third Key to Success: Recommending One Another the Truth

Everyone — all of mankind — is in loss, except those who have iman, do righteous actions, and recommend one another the truth. Advise one another to the truth. What does this mean? To recommend one another, advise one another to the truth — it is simply to call each other to that which is good, and forbid one another from that which is wrong, haram, and evil:

And this is such an important aspect of our religion. We are not individualistic, where we just focus on our own selves and the betterment of yourself. No — we work on the whole community. I want you to be able to tell me if I'm wrong, and I should give you the same courtesy. You need to remind me of good, and I should do the same. And if we all did that, we would be a better community.

What happens to us? You see a Muslim brother or a Muslim sister upon haram and falsehood — we walk by. We don't even have the courage to tell them, "Sister, brother..." and advise them. Allah is telling us: advise each other. Recommend one another to the truth. Call each other to the khair.

If you know a brother or a sister that doesn't pray, and you're friends with them, and you don't remind them to pray — then something is wrong with you. If you know someone that is immersed in haram and you're friends with them, or you know them, and you never tell them that there is something wrong there — perhaps on the Day of Judgment they will be able to say, "O Allah, I was with this person for such and such time and he never reminded me." And those of us who have been reminded, whose friends have approached them and called them to khair — know that this is a true friend.

The Story of the People of the Sabbath

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us an amazing story in the Qur'an about the Jews of Bani Israel — the people of Musa ﷺ. How Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prohibited them from going to fish on Saturdays. The whole week they were allowed, but on Saturdays they weren't. And Allah would test them, because on Saturdays it would be the best day to fish — fish would be jumping up and down, visible everywhere. Some of them tried to deceive Allah, bringing out their nets on Fridays, catching fish, and only collecting them on Sunday. Then they would say, "We haven't done anything on Saturday." This kind of deception is not allowed in Islam — it is known as tahayul, and it is not allowed. And who are you deceiving except yourself?

Anyway, the story is very famous. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in Surah al-A'raf that there were three types of people there. Those that transgressed — those that did the haram, they put their nets out even though they were not allowed. You had that group. And Allah tells about the group that were so bothered by this, they spoke out against it. They tried to stop them. They recommended the truth. And then Allah tells about the third category — those that were silent. They didn't speak out.

Allah tells us in the Qur'an: when a punishment came upon them, Allah said, and We saved those who were forbidding the evil. So we know that category were saved — those who spoke out, they were saved. As for those who did the oppression and did the sin, they were punished.

You know who Allah did not talk about in this? Allah did not mention those who were quiet. فَسَكَتَ اللَّهُ عَنِ السَّاكِتِينَ — Allah did not mention to us what happened to them. And scholars discuss this and say: wait a minute — these people that were quiet, that didn't speak out, were they among those who were saved or among those who were punished? And the fact that there is doubt whether they were on this side or that side is enough evidence that you should never be quiet. You'd rather be of those who speak out.

The Manners of Calling to the Truth

Now of course, there are certain adab and certain manners of calling to the truth, giving da'wah, forbidding evil, and calling towards good. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about it in the Qur'an.

Number one — you have to call people upon knowledge. You have to be able to tell them why it's haram, who said it's haram. You have to be informed before you speak out:

Upon knowledge. Also, not just knowledge — wisdom:

Wisdom. You can't just go around if you're not using wisdom. Sometimes you're not supposed to be harsh — sometimes you should be gentle. Perhaps other times you shouldn't be gentle, depending on the situation. But you should be more often gentle than harsh. And the Prophet ﷺ recommended us that in our da'wah, I would say 99% of the time, we should always be gentle. A few times when you're reprimanding someone, maybe you can be firm — and that doesn't mean you use harsh words or make the person feel bad. But our deen is comprehensive and we use hikmah. Wisdom.

So: knowledge, wisdom, and gentleness. This is what is needed in your da'wah. And subhanAllah, if you know that speaking out might cause more harm, don't speak — because you're supposed to rectify things, not make them worse. And if you know this person might not listen to you and you're not the best person for it, then it shouldn't be about ego — perhaps there is a better person, more equipped to handle this. All of this is part of hikmah and da'wah.

If you know someone is older than you and they might not listen to you because of your age — maybe you get someone of similar age, someone they respect. This is using hikmah. Sometimes the way you teach someone is not directly. Perhaps you can use an indirect manner — maybe instead of talking to the person straight, you give them a book on the topic. Maybe you recommend them a lecture to listen to. Maybe you can just be a really good friend. But be careful that you do not become the one that condones it or is okay with it.

If you're friends with someone who doesn't pray for 10 years and you have never told him to pray or ever tried to speak to him, and you say, "Akhi, I'm using hikmah" — no, that's not hikmah. We have to recommend one another the truth, and of course we do it based on the sunnah, based on ilm, knowledge, wisdom, good character, and loving khair for the other person.

Loving khair — you know where this comes from? This urge to tell other people about good and to forbid from evil should come from a place of goodness in your heart. You want good for others. You have to have a heart that wants good for others — you will be more sincere. Have you noticed that sometimes when someone speaks to you, another person might say the exact same thing, but you are more drawn to this one person? Sometimes it is because, as the scholars say, it comes from the heart — مِن القَلبِ إِلى القَلب. So be someone that truly wants good for others.

The third key to success is recommending one another the truth, advising one another toward khair, being those who call towards good and are never silent — unless perhaps it is the most wise decision to be silent.

The Fourth Key to Success: Patience (Sabr)

We mentioned that the third key to success is calling one another to khair and good. And we do that — if you can change the munkar with your hands, that is best. If you cannot do that, then you speak out against it. If you can't do that, then perhaps the wisest thing — as the Prophet ﷺ said — is that you dislike it in your heart. Never be okay with that which Allah is not okay with.

And the final thing is to have patience. The three things we mentioned earlier all require patience. To be strong in faith and iman requires sabr, especially in this day and age — this is why the Prophet ﷺ gave the example of someone holding a burning coal. It requires patience. To be able to do righteous actions — to wake up for the salah, to fast a long day, to do khair — it requires patience. To call others towards good — sometimes you might find it embarrassing, sometimes you might not have the courage, sometimes you might feel it is going to make a situation awkward — it requires patience. All of the above require sabr, which is the fourth thing that leads to success:

And they recommend one another to have patience with all these things. We should have sabr with regards to all the things that are wajib upon us — all the obligations. If they are difficult, have sabr and do them anyway. We should have sabr with regards to staying away from all the haram. Sometimes you are inclined to something that is haram — you want to do it, you have a desire to do it. Stop yourself. And you need patience for that, and so Allah rewards you for that patience as well. And we definitely need to have patience and sabr with regards to the calamities and difficulties we face in life, for they are from the qadr of Allah.

Conclusion

These four, my brothers and sisters, are the keys and the secrets to true success. And this is how we should measure falah and success. I ask Allah to make us of those who are successful. I ask Allah to make us of those who are successful.