Article 2:3 of Achieving Success
Here is the second of the three articles that Dr. Omer El-Hamdoon wrote for the CoachAmal website, based on the series of khutbahs that he gave in Sheffield last year.
In this article he gives examples of some of the great Muslims who, throughout our history, held onto their visions and worked persistently to achieve them. (Look out for future articles, as I'll be looking at some examples we have of the great Muslimahs who also achieved amazing successes!)
He shows that it's not enough just to have a vision and a dream; to succeed you have to:
In the examples that he gives, Dr. Omer illustrates all of these points.
Let me know your thoughts on this article below.
By Omer El-Hamdoon
To succeed, you need a vision. However, having a vision alone, will not achieve success, you also need to work on the vision that you have formulated. And this work has to be persistent and continuous.
That is why the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said: “The actions most beloved to Allah are the continuous ones, even if they are small.”
For you to be persistent, you have to have the will and determination to achieve your goals and put your life into the vision that you have created. And we can see clear examples of this in the life of the Companions and the righteous people who came after them.
Abu Bakr was a competitive man, but not for the material gains of this life; for Allah’s Reward. His competitive nature was very clear in his day-to-day practices and life and this even extended to simple tasks.
On one occasion, the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was with Abu Bakr, `Umar, and others and they heard `Abdullah ibn Masood reciting the Qur’an. They listened to his beautiful recitation and then to `Abdullah’s supplication to be one of the Prophet’s companions in Paradise. The Prophet commented, “Ask and you shall be given. Ask and you shall be given.”
They moved away and left each other. `Umar said to himself, “I am going to give `Abdullah the good news from the Prophet.” He went to find `Abdullah to tell him, but found Abu Bakr already there, having already told him. `Umar commented, “Abu Bakr was quick to good deeds.”
`Umar ibn Al-Khattab was a man of justice, and persisted to achieve his goals to the extent that he once remarked: “If a mule stumbled on a stone in Iraq, I would be afraid that Allah would ask me regarding it: ‘Why didn’t you make the road smooth for it, O `Umar?’.”
And `Umar achieved his goals, so much so that he became renowned throughout the world for his judgement; even his enemies acknowledged this! When one of them saw him sleeping under a tree with his sandals as his pillow, he commented, “You ruled. You were just, so you were safe and thus you slept.”
`Abdul-Rahman ibn Awf was a man with a vision. His vision was to use his wealth positively to support himself, his family, and the Muslim community. When he migrated to Madinah he had nothing. His new brotherhood with Sa`ad ibn Ar-Rabi’, led to Sa`ad offering him half of his wealth, but `Abdul-Rahman declined this politely, and said, “Show me where the market is?” And with his positive attitude and determination, he became one of the wealthiest people of Madinah in a matter of months.
`Abdullah ibn `Abbas had a goal to be a learned scholar, using his knowledge to advance Islam. He used to wake up early and go and wait on the doorsteps of some of the older Companions of the Prophet; waiting for them to wake up, so he could follow them and learn from them. He persisted and was driven by his determination to seek Allah’s Reward, and he eventually became known as the Scholar of this Ummah (nation) and the Interpreter of the Qur’an.
An-Nawawi understood this saying of the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be on him): “When a person dies, his actions cease, except three: Charity that is continuous, knowledge that is benefited from, and a righteous child who supplicates for him.”
He took from that the importance of leaving behind knowledge that would benefit others. He had a strong will to do this, and spent every moment he had to realize his vision, to the extent that he didn’t eat fruit; he said that he didn’t have the time to peel and enjoy fruit!
He only lived for 45 years, but he left an enormous amount of literature, which is still referred to today throughout the world by those who are beginners up to students of more advanced levels.
Muhammad Al-Fatih was determined that Constantinople should be conquered. So he worked and worked at it. He devised plans and strategies and was determined to achieve his vision. His enemies saw this determination and tried to bribe him, blackmail him, frighten him, and so on, but he didn’t give in. He continued until he besieged Constantinople and took it from the Byzantines.
These are just a handful of the examples from our history; our heritage is full of examples of people who had visions and were persistent in realizing their visions. Their determination paid off in the end. And, if they fell or tripped along their path, they would shake the dust off their clothes, get up, and keep going. This is why persistence or having a strong will is the second factor in achieving success.
Next month I’ll post article no. 3. Watch this space!
Article 1:3 of Achieving Success: Forming a Vision
Article 3:3 of Achieving Success: Have a Work Ethic
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Reply #3 on : Sat June 12, 2010, 04:53:26