How to Achieve Success?

Most commonly used sentence in the Muslim Ummah:

 “If you have faith in Allah SWT, you will be successful”

We often misinterpret the word “Success” in the worldly context. Success mentioned here is not only the worldly possessions i.e. social status, fame, luxury and money etc. However, it also means our inner peace/serenity and satisfaction within our mind,  our heart and our soul. (which I believe is the most hidden treasure that we actually strive to achieve from Allah SWT.)

Once we attain inner tranquility and contentment of heart, our way of thinking changes, we start to develop humility and patience within ourselves, we start to widen our lens of perception, and we start seeing other dimensions of success around us and within us.

When our yard stick of measuring worldly success changes, we eventually develop a new perspective in our mind and we gradually start realizing that our soul is at peace with all the blessings that we have from our creator i.e., worldly accomplishments as well as spiritual growth (which leads to the highest level of ‘Khushu’). ‘Khushu’ is an Arabic word which means a mental state of peace or tranquility, God-consciousness in our thoughts, speech and actions, as well as obedience, thankfulness and submission to Allah SWT. Hence, we start adopting an attitude of gratitude and patience.

Allah says in the Quran:
“If you are grateful, I would certainly give you more; and if you are ungrateful, My chastisement is truly severe.” (Chapter 14: Verse 07)

The verse mentioned above is one of my favorite verses, it is important to understand the concept of this verse where Allah SWT says if we are grateful with what we have at the moment, He will certainly give us more. By ‘more’, it doesn’t only mean the tangible success of this world i.e. our materialistic wishes, our possessions, our bank balance, rather it also means the spiritual success, peace of mind, as well as the eternal accomplishment in the world hereafter. On the other hand, if we are unsatisfied and ungrateful for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us, we will never be able to attain success, neither worldly, nor spiritually.

I believe the main reason we face anxiety disorders is not being able to understand the concept of how to achieve success? We start comparing the accomplishments of others with our’s. We keep measuring their finish line, instead of focusing on our own race track, at the end we lose track of our own objective. However, when we balance our success/failure parameters, we can tackle our hurdles and roadblocks in a much more relaxed way.

Furthermore, when we reach that specific state of contentment with a clear approach, we should understand the key role of sincere Dua (supplication), how important it is to make Dua for all our minor and major concerns, no matter what day or time it is, Allah SWT will certainly give us everything that we want, sooner or later, in any shape or form. (At times when we make Dua, even if it is not immediately fulfilled, Allah SWT removes an unforeseen hurdle from our path which we were not aware of)

Friendly Pro Tip:

Based on personal experience, if you are at a point in life, where you are stuck in a situation which you believe is a dead end and you won’t be able to come out of it, either it’s a wish that you want to be fulfilled soon, or it’s any problem that you’re facing. 

Try to wake up 30 minutes before Fajar Salah and offer 2 units of “Haajat Salah” (prayer of need). Make a sincere intention (keeping your Dua in mind) for whatever reason you’re performing your salah, without any slight doubt in your heart. 

Allah SWT is All-Powerful, there is nothing that’s impossible for Him.