Ultimate Success

H.ilyas
May 6, 2015
4 min read

Success. What defines success? Is it money, wealth or status? Is it when you’re marrying your ideal spouse? Or is it the number of children you have?

Picture this: there are 2 sets of photos. One showed a man who posed with his wife and 5 children outside a big mansion. You could see 3 expensive cars parked at the lawn. This man looked very happy.

Then, in the second photo, a man who looked homeless was sitting next to what seem like his home - a cupboard box. This man looked miserable in the photo.

Who do you think is successful? Most of us will say the first one, am I right?

Okay, now let me give you some real examples:

Qarun - His treasure was said to be enormous that if the keys to these treasures were to be carried by a strong man, he would not be able to handle it. [28:76]
Fir’aun - The King of Egypt during the times of Prophet Musa AS and he had almost everything – status, wealth, an entire army and slaves who worked for him, etc. As a result, he proclaimed himself as god
Prophet Ibrahim AS – he was made homeless after his people had forced him into exile
Asiyah – Wife of Fir’aun – Fira’un was known as the most wicked leader in human history
Maryam – Mother to Prophet Isa AS whom never got married.

From the list above, who do you think were successful? And why?

Allow me to give you some backgrounds of the people in the list:

Qarun – Qarun was blessed with great wealth but due to his arrogance and ungratefulness, Allah had caused the earth to swallow both him and his fortune - [28:76-82]
Fir’aun – he had everything but he refused to believe and submit to Allah. In returned, he died while crossing the red sea and his body was preserved as a sign for us especially those who are heedless of Allah’s Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, revelations, etc) [10:90-92]
Prophet Ibrahim AS – Allah had raised his rank and had appointed him and his offspring to be a leader for mankind to follow (our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW was a direct descendent of Prophet Ibrahim through his son, Prophet Ismail) [2:124]
Maryam –She is one of the most righteous women in Islamic history. She is among the four best women in Paradise
Asiyah –She is also known to be one of the best women of Paradise because of her full submission to Allah (The 2 other best women in Paradise are Khadijah and Fatimah)

So, which of the people in the above list are successful? What have made them successful?

In the Quran, Allah has mentioned the people who are successful. Let us reflect on some of these verses:

Surah Al Mu’minum, verses 1 to 9 [23:1-9]

Successful are the believers
Those who offer their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness
And those who turn away from Al Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk, falsehood and all that Allah has forbidden)
And those who pay the Zakat
And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts)
Except from their wives or (the slaves) that their right hands possess – for them, they are free from blame)
But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors
Those who are faithfully true to their Amanat (all the duties which Allah has ordained, honesty, moral responsibility and trusts) and to their convenants
And those who strictly guard their Salawat (prayers) (at their fixed times)

Surah Ash Shams, verse 9 [91:9]

Indeed he succeeds who purifies his own self (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds).

Surah Al Hashr, verse 20 [59:20]

Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful.

From the verses mentioned above, we are told of what makes someone successful. It is not due to their wealth, status or any other worldly gain but a true success in Islam can be defined as achieving the main purpose of our creation - that is worshipping Him alone. This includes, following and performing His orders, striving to seek His Pleasure and not associating Him with another partner(s). Those who are able to accomplish these are indeed successful as they are rewarded with the ultimate prize – Jannah (Paradise).

So, while Islam never forbids us to work hard to gain worldly accomplishments, we should always remember our ultimate success. Never should you compromise this ultimate success while trying to attain worldly achievements.

And lastly, Allah is indeed Ar Rahman Ar Raheem (The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful). Time and time again He reminds us of how we can obtain this success. One of His ways is that He calls us to success 5 times a day..