In Part 1 we looked at if success us a part of our value system or is it something that we’re blessed with as a result of our values? What is true success?

Looking at the example of Prophet Noah he tried sincerely to preach to his people for 900 years and garnered only a handful of followers. From this we see the value of trying, even in the face of apparent defeat.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ

“Indeed, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions.” – Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) in a Sahih hadith

True success lies with God, in His accepting our sincere good deeds and in His accepting our striving even if it bears little to no visible fruits within our lifetimes.

Many famous and celebrated people throughout history were not acknowledged until after their passing, artists and scientists whose theories went unnoticed until after they died. Did that make them wrong to try so hard during their lives? Not at all, through their pursuit of truth and meaning, they uncovered deep value for society and future generations, even though it was unrecognised within their lifetimes.

Legacies

رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ  ” إِذَا مَاتَ الإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلاَثَةٍ إِلاَّ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ “

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “When a man dies, [all off] his actions come to an end, apart from three: recurring charity (sadaqah jaariyah), knowledge [by which people] benefit, and a pious son who prays for him.”

When we die our money and our status can’t come with us to the next life, but what about the legacy we leave behind? The legacy is built off of good-deeds, knowledge and on-going charity.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” يَتْبَعُ الْمَيِّتَ ثَلاَثَةٌ، فَيَرْجِعُ اثْنَانِ وَيَبْقَى مَعَهُ وَاحِدٌ، يَتْبَعُهُ أَهْلُهُ وَمَالُهُ وَعَمَلُهُ، فَيَرْجِعُ أَهْلُهُ وَمَالُهُ، وَيَبْقَى عَمَلُهُ “

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Three accompany a dead person (in his funeral procession), two of whom return (after his burial) and one remains with him. His relatives, his property, and his deeds follow him. His relatives and his property go back while his deeds remain with him.”

Leap of Faith

What can we do to make sure we’re always striving to build our legacy and performing good deeds that will benefit us in this life and after we die?

Part of striving means always trying our best; pushing ourselves, maybe even beyond our comfort-zone. Trying to move beyond what we find easy — with new and maybe even challenging experiences! That is where we learn the most, through overcoming challenges.

If there is an opportunity where we can see goodness, but we’re worried about the time commitment or we are scared of failing – it’s important we take the time to draw out a plan and then dive right in!

وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بَـٰلِغُ أَمْرِهِۦ ۚ قَدْ جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدْرًۭا ٣

“He will provide for them from an unexpected source; God will be enough for those who put their trust in Him. God achieves His purpose; God has set a due measure for everything.” — Qur’an 65:3

When taking a chance to do something adventurous and scary – will we regret it? Or will we regret not taking the leap of faith?

If we try something and it doesn’t work out for us, then it wasn’t in our sustenance (rizq) that God had planned for us — but at least we can sincerely say that we tried something that we thought would be good and beneficial. Hopefully Allah still accepts our intention.

عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِيمَا يَرْوِيهِ عَنْ رَبِّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى، قَالَ: “إنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ، ثُمَّ بَيَّنَ ذَلِكَ، فَمَنْ هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حَسَنَةً كَامِلَةً، وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِهَا فَعَمِلَهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ عَشْرَ حَسَنَاتٍ إلَى سَبْعِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ إلَى أَضْعَافٍ كَثِيرَةٍ، وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حَسَنَةً كَامِلَةً، وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِهَا فَعَمِلَهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ سَيِّئَةً وَاحِدَةً”.

“Whosoever intended to perform a good deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended to perform it and then did perform it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds up to seven hundred times, up to many times multiplied. And if he intended to perform an evil deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended it [i.e., the evil deed] and then performed it, then Allah writes it down as one evil deed.” — Prophet Muhammad in a Sahih hadith

If our intention is good, then if He wills Allah will reward us for the good deeds we do, whether we succeed or not.

When we put our mind and our intention towards something, even if it seems highly unlikely, perhaps God will grant us success in an “unlikely scenario”. Anything is within his power. When we doubt Him, why do we limit our understanding of Him?

Anything is possible for Allah, why do we assume something is impossible just because it is improbable? Does something being improbable put it outside of Allah’s control? Of course not! Improbable things happen all the time, little miracles every single day.

أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ فِى كِتَـٰبٍ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرٌۭ ٧٠

“Do you not know that Allah ˹fully˺ knows whatever is in the heavens and the earth? Surely it is all ˹written˺ in a Record. That is certainly easy for Allah.” — Quran 22:70

Even in our own lives, on a daily basis how often does something work out well despite us not believing in ourselves, or despite us thinking it was impossible. If we are true in our intention, our goal is pure and we take the right and pure means to achieve our goal, we’ve done what we can and we pray Allah provides it to us from His mercy. If he chooses not to, then we can be sure that he has provided us with something better.

وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ ۚ وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلْمَـٰكِرِينَ

“They planned, but Allah also planned. And Allah is the best of planners.” — Quran 8:30

Conversely how often do we arrogantly go into something believing it to be easy — a simple task turns pear shaped and becomes quite an ordeal.

Our arrogance and reliance on our selves in the face of failure, belies our meagreness — even in the smallest of actions such as our breathing we are not in control. We are simply relying on God and his mercy to continue to sustain us and to provide with any success in this life or the next.

مَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ خَيْرٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهْوِ وَمِنَ ٱلتِّجَـٰرَةِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلرَّٰزِقِينَ

“God’s gift is better than any entertainment or trade: God is the best provider.” — Qur’an 62:11

Prayers of Reliance

To end here are a few prayers (duas) that we can use when we begin anything or find ourselves in hardship and turning back to Allah:

حَسْبِىَ ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ ۖ وَهُوَ رَبُّ ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ

“Allah is sufficient for me. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. In Him I put my trust. And He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.” — Quran 9:129

Another beautiful prayer we learn from the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ):

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو دَاوُدَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبَانَ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عُثْمَانَ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: مَنْ قَالَ صَبَاحَ كُلِّ يَوْمٍ، وَمَسَاءَ كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ، ثَلاَثًا ثَلاَثًا: بِسْمِ اللهِ الَّذِي لاَ يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ، لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ شَيْءٌ.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “A person will not be harmed by anything if he says every morning and evening 33 times, ‘In the Name of Allah with Whose Name there is protection against every kind of harm in the earth or in heaven, and He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing’

“Bismillahil-lazi la yadhurru ma’asmiHi syai’un fil ardhi wa la fis-sama’i wa Huwas-Sami’ul ‘Aleem”

In the Name of Allah with Whose Name there is protection against every kind of harm in the earth or in heaven, and He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing

Other parts in this series – ”The Value of Success“:

Part 1 – Is Success A Human Value?

Part 2 – The Path to Success