The True Meaning of Success

The True Meaning of Success

I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. Allah gave us a simple message about the meaning of success:

He says: "Successful are the believers."

Now in Arabic, the word al-falah is actually a very profound, deep word in terms of its meaning. It's not like najah, because the translation for najah is actually "success." But falah has no one English word for it — they have to explain it with a sentence, by saying it is actually the ultimate success in everything. And that means what's in this world and beyond this world.

The Nature of Human Success and Loss

Allah says, and that is how human beings always desire success. He says in Surah al-Rum:

If We give the people the taste of mercy — meaning if Allah blesses people with something — they rejoice, and they become very prideful of that success they have in this dunya. However, He says: "But if Allah afflicts them with a calamity or something of hardship, because of what their hands have earned, they fall into despair."

No one wants to be desperate in this dunya. No one wants to always be anxious and going through anxiety and depression and so on. We need to be successful. How can we do this?

Principles of Success in This World

If Allah wants us to be successful in everything, look at these principles of dunya that He wants us to be successful in. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2320; Sahih Muslim, Book 22, Hadith 10)

Even if you are a farmer: if you plant a shoot, if you plant something in the ground, or sow a seed — a tree, a shrub, or whatever — and from it a human eats, or an animal eats, or a bird eats, then you will get reward for that. Like for your success of planting this plant or this seed that people benefit from, then you're successful. So your success has to translate into benefit not just to yourself, but to other people.

If you would like to have a job, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1209)

A businessman, a business person, a merchant who is saduq — truthful — and al-amin — trustworthy — will be in the ranks of the anbiya, the siddiqin, and the righteous ones.

Why is that? Why is this truthful merchant going to be at that level? Because money tempts people. When you start becoming wealthy and rich and you see that your trade, mashallah, is becoming successful, sometimes we lose focus. We lose the meaning of this. We fall into the dunya so much so that to remain steadfast and patient, to stay rich and still be grateful to Allah, it is hard work. There is only a level that the anbiya and salihin can handle.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says in the hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2072)

There is no food that you eat that is more worthy for you, that is better for you, than that you eat from what your hand has earned — that you go and work and earn money.

SubhanAllah, yesterday I had a conversation with some of the brothers in regard to the subject we discussed on Wednesday class. And the principle: da' ma yuribuka ila ma la yuribuka — leave what you're doubtful about for what you're certain about. One of the matters we discussed was: if someone has an opportunity to work for Walmart versus to live on welfare, which is better for them? Because Walmart has haram elements in it — should they just live off of welfare, and would that be better for them?

I said absolutely not. Because the objective of the shariah is not for you merely to survive. That is not the objective of the shariah. It is actually to work. It is to be productive. That is the purpose. Sitting down and taking money for free and living off it just because you don't want to work — that is not what the shariah wants from you. So it is extremely important for people to understand that.

Success is not to cheat the system. It's not to claim that you're clever because you can. Success is that you do it right and you do it with the anticipation of reward from Allah before anything else.

Using the Dunya for the Akhirah

Brothers and sisters, Allah is telling us that the success of this dunya — you need to utilize it for the akhirah. In the story of Qarun, the wealthiest man who ever walked on the face of the earth — whatever Allah has bestowed upon you in this dunya, utilize it for the akhirah. Seek the pleasure of Allah and the reward of the akhirah. But don't forget about your share from this world. Still be successful in this dunya. Pursue that which is right. But don't forget about the meaning of it. It's supposed to be like a plant — you're planting your seeds here in this world, and you earn the reward for it in the akhirah, insha'Allah.

The Meaning of Loss

Brothers and sisters, when it comes to the concept of success, obviously if you don't succeed you're going to lose. And that's what bothers people in this dunya. No one wants to be a loser, and that's why we're always trying to escape that — whether it's at a personal level, in your marriage, in your parenting skills with your children, in your work, in your personal life, in your spirituality. No one wants to feel they're losing or not performing at the level of success.

But what does it mean to be a loser? Allah is telling us it's all about that principle. The successful one — the one who is truly successful — is the one who purifies himself and purifies his soul. And doomed is the one who corrupts his soul:

So the ultimate success is in purifying your nafs and your soul, and that translates to good deeds. And the ultimate loss is when people corrupt themselves, corrupt their fitrah — their natural innate disposition — and their soul. That is when the person is completely doomed. They might be successful in this dunya, but in the akhirah, they are losers.

Shall I inform you? Allah says: shall I tell you about those who are the worst, the biggest losers?

Those who struggle so hard, who work so hard in this dunya, who make a lot of achievements in this world — they think they're doing well. But in the eyes of Allah, they are the biggest losers.

You see, sometimes people sit down and start boasting about how many cars they own, how many houses they have, how big their accomplishments are, or how much they earned from this transaction and so on — boasting about all these matters of dunya. And they forget that they're going to be standing before the Lord to be questioned about the meaning of this success. How did it translate into their personal life for the dunya and for the akhirah?

So it is extremely important to realize that the biggest loss is not in this dunya. You might not be the most successful in terms of dunya measurement. Maybe you're not in the highest tier of leadership. You're not the most successful parent in raising your children. You're not driving the fanciest car. You're not getting the best pay. But guess what? Allah is pleased with you. What is better than that? I'm content with what Allah has given me. I'm not going to cheat or steal just because I don't have like everybody else. I'm content. That is a big success.

Allah says about those who lose — those who deny and reject faith, all their deeds are in loss:

The biggest losers are those who lose themselves in this dunya — by distracting themselves from where they're supposed to be, lost in the midst and the indulgence of this world. They are going to lose themselves and their families on the Day of Judgment. Indeed, this is the greatest loss. May Allah protect us.

The Truly Successful Believers

Brothers and sisters, remember — Allah is reminding us, when it comes to success, about the success of the true believers. Those when they pray, they pray with khushu and concentration. Those who have faith and have migrated from the path of kufr to the path of guidance, and they struggle for the sake of Allah. They sacrifice their wealth. They sacrifice their time and their effort. These are the people who will have the highest degree with Allah. And these are the winners — the most successful people.

What Is Driving You?

My dear brothers and sisters, to be successful you have to have a drive for it — whether it's in dunya or akhirah. What is your drive? What's driving you in this life? Ask yourself this question. What is driving you as a parent to push your kids towards success? Is it the grade? Is it the shame of loss in front of the people and the families? Is it the pictures? Is it the party you're going to throw for the family to know that your son or daughter did this and that? What is driving you towards success?

Ask yourself this question. If what's driving you towards success is matters of this dunya, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said in the hadith:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4105; also recorded in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2465)

Whoever makes the dunya their biggest concern, Allah will make their efforts disperse all over the place — they're going to have to struggle to fight for that kind of concern they're looking for in this dunya — and He will put poverty between their eyes. And they will not get from this dunya except what Allah has written for them.

But those who put the akhirah between their eyes — that is the drive for them, because they want to please Allah in every aspect of their life — Allah will bring their efforts together, put the dunya under their feet. And they will get more than what they even anticipated and expected.

The Rule of Success from Surah al-Anfal

Brothers and sisters, in the Quran, Allah gave us a specific rule — a specific law for success. And it is mentioned in one ayah in Surah al-Anfal — three things. Please teach your children these values as they move on into this life, insha'Allah.

First: for you to succeed, you need to obey Allah and obey the messenger. Teach your children: whatever other kids say, whatever teachers tell them in regard to values — Allah first and foremost. Ask: if that's what my teacher is teaching me today, would that please Allah? Is that okay? You need to measure everything by the command of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). This is between you and Allah.

Second: between you and the people. Teach your children to be compassionate, to be loyal to their communities, to their families, to the people around them — to have the passion and compassion to be good citizens and good human beings. That's what it means. Otherwise, if you build them on awful, evil competition, what kind of value are we teaching our kids?

Third: Allah says — persevere in patience. Tell yourself and your kids: this path requires a lot of patience. You can't have it all in an instant. It takes time to build the character.

May Allah make us among those who listen to this speech and act upon it for the best, O Lord of all the worlds.