The Secrets of Success

I want you to succeed in marrying the one that you're in love with. Or to marry the one that you would not the one that you want to live with. I want you to be married to the one that you cannot live without.

Which is even higher level. I want you to be a successful da'ia. I want you to be a successful da'ia who called to Allah.

I want you to be a chief success in your da'ia, in your organization. I want this to be a very successful masjid, alhamdulillah. And this is good proof that at 2 a.m. we have this large number of people.

Mashallah. I want you to be a successful businessman and a businesswoman. I want to talk about the concept of success in this dunya.

And the principle that I will give tonight can apply to anything. I want you to successfully be able to memorize the Quran. Successfully to be able to achieve any goal that you have in life.

So these are very unique generic rules and principles. That I hope it will help us all to achieve success in this dunya and the akhira as well.

First Principle: Challenges Are Not the Enemy of Success

First point I would like to say. That don't ever think. Don't ever think.

The challenges that Allah makes you go through. The difficulties that you face in your life. If you're going now through certain difficulties or hardship or a challenge in your life.

I want you to know for sure 100%. That it's not ever, this is not the opposite of success. That's not the enemy of success.

Mistakes, failures, hardship. A lot of people think that they are the enemy of success. But it isn't at all.

You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it. You know I always say that. We call good things happen to our life.

Panties and any bad things happen to me in my life. I call it experience. I just build an experience in life.

Part of what we believe as mu'min, as a believer, as ahlul sunnah al jama'ah. That everything Allah decrees upon us, it is for our best interest. For our best interest.

The Hadith About Contentment and Anger

That's why Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, Whatever happen to you, you have two options. Either ar-rida to be content and to know and to seek the wisdom behind it:

If you're content and you're satisfied, and you show your patience and acceptance of Allah's decree upon you, Allah will make you satisfied, content with your heart.

And anybody who will basically act, discourage, and will act with anger against Allah, Allah will make him angry and he will never achieve success.

Allah tells us in the Quran:

Don't think ever it is something bad. Yes, it looks bad, but indeed it is good for you.

You might think it is bad, but Allah brings so much good out of it. Out of it. There's so many people went through hardship and calamities, and they end up very successful in their life.

The Story of Mr. Honda

They end up very successful in their life. I just parked my car in the parking lot, and I come across this, when I see this car, I always remember this story. I saw a Honda.

I always remember this man, Mr. Honda. His life is an amazing life. This guy has no degree in Mechanical Engineering.

He never studies car or going to schools or anything like that. He used to work in a tow company. They tow cars.

You know like so many here, I saw a couple of them outside. I hope they are not towing people's car. But anyway, he used to work in a company like that.

And one day he decide to come up with an idea. What he invent? He invent something very interesting. He invented a bicycle, and he put in it a motor.

Motorbike. It's something new. And this is because of the world at that time, there is no much gas and oil in Japan.

So he invented this as a means of transportation. The idea became very popular. He starts a small factory.

But soon after the business starts picking up, the factory was burned. And to ashes. Yes, it starts from scratch.

And he builds a big factory. He went to the business. It's a long story.

But the point he was able to get in a hotel business. And after that, went to another to build a factory. Became big.

And when the business starts like going better and better and better, the war destroyed his factory. Just a bomb. Made him start from scratch again.

For the third time. But the third time when he builds a factory, he did not only focus in building motorbike. He thought about cars.

And it became one of the leading company in the world today. That so many people enjoy. Don't ever think that it's a bad thing for you to start with that challenge that Allah puts it for his life.

He never thought that's the end of it. He learned from it. You ride this wave to carry you higher.

Sometimes a stumble may prevent a fall. It prevents a fall. So sometimes Allah puts you in that hardship just to make you ready for the next one.

The Parable of the Codfish

He wants best for you. I don't know if you heard me saying this before. But I was using this example since I'm from Texas.

And it's a true story about people living in the south. You know, they used to love to bring codfish. You know where is codfish grow? Anybody have an idea? Where codfish will be? In the Gulf of Mexico? No.

Codfish live in a cold water. So they catch from up north in Canada, Maine. They bring it to Louisiana and Texas.

They love it. But by the time they bring it, it's frozen. It's not fresh.

Nobody like it. So they bring one guy from the southern, get a container and put all this fish in it. And bring it.

But by the time it arrived, it was so smushy. And it's not tasty at all. Because it doesn't move the whole trip.

So you know what this guy did? He put in that tanker, big tanker. He dropped the natural predator of the codfish, which is catfish. He dropped 3-4 in the tank.

In the whole entire trip. The catfish kept every single codfish in that tanker alive. Moving, alert.

And by the time they arrived to the southern, they were so fresh because they are moving all the time. I always say sometimes Allah drops in your way a couple of catfish. Just to keep you alert, to keep you fresh, to keep you strong.

Not ever to make you down, not to put you down. Allah, when He puts you through that test, it's to make you grow stronger, not to grow weaker.

The Hadith About Testing According to Faith

That's why Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

You will be tested according to your faith.

Allah knows how much you can bear. Allah knows how much you can take. But the more your iman is stronger, why He put more pressure on you?

Because the more you resist the pressure, the more valuable person you are.

The Parable of Black Diamond and Charcoal

The only reason the black diamond is so expensive, so valuable, because it has the ability to resist pressure. Otherwise black diamond and charcoal are from the same root, the same exactly element. The only difference between the charcoal which is so cheap and the black diamond is very expensive, the black diamond has the ability to resist pressure.

But the charcoal you can crush it with your hand. The moment you have that ability to resist pressure, you are a very valuable person in Allah's eyes.

Second Principle: Using Your Talents

Number two, success can be achieved by those who use the talents that Allah has given them.

Without using and utilizing the talents, every one of us is unique like everybody else. Does that one make sense? Every one of us is gifted. Listen to what Allah said:

Allah brought you all from your mother womb, knowing nothing.

And Allah blessed you with hearing, the ability to hear, the ability to see, and He gives you mind, sound mind. What that means? These are the talents, these are the tools. If you use it, you will not stay in the status of ignorant.

You got out of your mother, know nothing. But Allah gives you these tools so you can acquire the knowledge. What do you think if Imam Al-Bukhari came from his mother womb saying (حَدَّثَنَا)? He was crying and screaming like you.

Do you think if Abu Hanifa came out of his mother saying (مسألة)? No. He came a child like you. But the difference that they utilize the talents that Allah giving them.

You know these talents are Allah's gift to you. But unfortunately so many of us have never opened their packages yet. What you do with this gift is your gift back to Allah.

Wallahi it is sad that so many of us have so much potential, so much talent, but it never was utilized, it never was taught. And people live and die with it. They don't try.

I always believe that the difference between successful person and others is not the lack of the strength and not the lack of knowledge. No. Rather in the lack of will.

That people don't have the determination, the will, the power of will to achieve and to utilize what Allah giving them. Because we can have more than what we have got. Because we always can be more than what we are today.

Allah's Knowledge About Adam

That's why when Allah told the angels, remember this. About Adam he said:

I know about Adam what you don't know. I know that he's capable him and his children of so many things.

Of so many things. So I want you to believe in yourself and to believe in the talents and look for it. And that's why one of the most beautiful thing that I would like to see it in the masajid, in the active brothers and sisters who work with the youth, work with the community.

To explore the talents of the community. I want you as a parent to explore the talents of your kids. And support it and make it grow.

Discover the talent of your wife, the talent of your husband. You're never too old to find out. It is so wrong to die and these talents have never been used and utilized.

Third Principle: Al-Ihsan - Doing Things with Excellence

Success, the third principle, is based on a very important concept in Islam. It's called Al-Ihsan. Al-Ihsan it means to do things perfect.

Absolutely correct. You should ask yourself, is it good or great? You should ask yourself, do I just want to be good or do I want to be great? Do I want to do things, I just did it, or do I want to do it right? I want to do it correctly. Because the difference between failure and success, failure is doing things nearly right.

But success, doing it exactly right. That's right? I mean, if there is a race and you nearly made it towards the final line, but you stopped 100 feet before that. Nearly right, nearly there.

But you didn't succeed. That's why one of the most important concepts here is the concept of Al-Ihsan. Your ability to do more than good enough.

Good is enough. Your ability to do more than just good. You always aim for higher level.

You shoot high. Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr's Excellence

You shoot high. Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, he was not, he never settled to be just a normal individual.

Abu Bakr's Excellence

Even in Jannah, when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said Jannah has 8 gates, what Abu Bakr said, he said, Would I be among those who will be invited from the 8 gates of paradise? That's right? That's right? And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said yes. From how many gates Abu Bakr will enter? From how many gates? One. You think Abu Bakr's one leg from one gate and the head from another gate, and he will be cut in 8 pieces? Or go this gate and get out and try the other one? No.

The rules, you walk into Jannah, you never walk out. That's how it works. So he can enter from one gate.

So why in the world he asking about being called from the 8 gates? Because he doesn't want to be just good. He wants to be great. He wants to have the privilege of making the choice.

I want to choose which gate I want to enter from. Our level today, our brothers and sisters today, our son, you ask us, you say, let me enter Jannah from anywhere, man. From the window, underneath the gate, you know, just throw me in.

I don't care. I want to just be in. That's the difference.

He wants to do things to the most perfect level. Not favor of being perfectionist. Because those people don't accomplish much in their life.

The Hadith About Perfection in Work

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But I want what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: Allah loves it. Allah loves it. When someone of you make something that they will do it perfectly right.

Perfectly correct. Wallahi, I'm so sick of half job, sloppy job. Even you see sometimes, mashallah, they build very good beautiful building.

And in the end, they just cut corner and make it look so bad. Mashallah, everything looks great and I do. But you know what, I'm cheap.

I don't want to go all the way. I need to make it all the way. One of the meanings of itqan, being to do things right and perfect, is the ability to focus.

That's part of ihsan. Because if you are all over the place, you will get nothing. But to focus.

The Importance of Focus

What's wrong with you focusing on this group and other people focus on that group, this issue and other people focus on that issue. You know, some organization focus on civil rights issues. Some organization work on and focus on building community government relations.

Other group in the community focus on education. Other group focus on adult education, children education, Quranic education. And everybody focus.

But you have one group, they are super organization. They want to cover 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, that's unacceptable. You know what, you end up with nothing.

Because you have no ability to focus. You didn't have the infrastructure, the manpower to do that. That's why we don't do things with ihsan.

We just gonna put our name here and there and that's it. In my lesson, sometimes when people come and say, Sheikh, we want to have Islamic schools, we want to have... I said, I can't do that. If I do that, I will miss out whatever I'm good at.

I can't provide everybody's need. I focus on one thing and I'm not gonna let anything distract me. And that's the ability to succeed.

The Verse About Successful Believers

Subhanallah, when Allah talks about the Quran and about the Salat, He doesn't just say, As-Salat. He said:

The highest level of the Salat. They have khushu' in the Salat.

They are the real successful one.

Fourth Principle: Patience

Number four. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) laid out very clearly.

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He said:

He stated clearly. He said, you achieve success and victory if you are patient. Those who have no patience, they cannot concentrate, they cannot spend time, they cannot achieve success.

You don't have patience, you cannot focus. You don't have patience, you cannot have a continuous basically work, you drop the ball down on the road.

Surah Al-Asr

That's why Allah (جل جلاله) said:

Khusr is the opposite of success.

All man in khusr, which is the opposite of success, fail in losing business. Except those who have belief, they do good deeds, and they remind each other to be stay patient. And they have certainty, yaqeen and knowledge.

Patience is the key of success:

Allah with the sabireen, those who are sabr. And if Allah with you, I guarantee you success in your business, in your life, in your... in any area, because again, I'm talking about the success in every aspect of your life.

Benefits of Patience

Being patient will allow you to have self-control over your emotions, over your reactions. Sometimes you lose a lot if you cannot do that. You know self-control, without it is like riding a car, it's like riding a Toyota car with no brakes.

I guess they fixed it now. Okay, so, like driving a car without a brake, you cannot succeed. You need to know that's self-control.

Without patience, you will never be able to have that self-control. Patience will allow you to have always the time to think and to analyze things in the right way. To think before you act.

If you don't have patience, you will haste to act. You'll rush to act, you don't think properly. People who have patience, they have the ability to have a long-term goals.

Those who don't have patience in life, they don't have a long-term goals. And see it yourself. If you're not a patient person, always you're looking for quick, quick, quick things.

You don't have a long-term goals. One of the beautiful meanings that Imam al-Qayyim rahimahullah said, one of the meanings of being patient, being patient that you have the ability to adjust to the new situation. Those who are not patient people, they cannot adjust to the new situation.

That's why I always say to people, sabr is not a passive action. A lot of people think sabr, it means I do nothing. Okay, I'm sabr, I'm having sabr.

I have sabr, that's passive. Actually sabr is to do something. Ibn al-Qayyim said, is to adjust yourself to the new situation that you're in.

You became poor, you became broke, you became in debt, you need sabr to adjust yourself to this new style of life. You became rich, that's a new lifestyle.

You need sabr to adjust yourself to the new style that you have.

It's a beautiful, it's a positive thing. It's not just a passive meaning.

Fifth Principle: Your Attitude Towards Life

Number five, your attitude towards life will determine, will basically determine how life will treat you.

So remember this, it's your attitude. What's your attitude towards life? Is it positive, is it negative? The big thing is not what happens to us in life, but what we do about what happens to us in life. That's the big question.

It's not what happens to us in life, it's what we do about what happens to us in life. Do you live your life like a victim or like a victor? What is your attitude? I see, and I'm sorry to say that, I see sometimes Muslim communities, some individuals, some organizations, they always like to live that victim mentality.

They always like to cry.

We've been discriminated against, we are treated bad, we are this, we are that. You live like, just want to live like a victim mentality. And I think that's a crime against our community.

You know, we need to raise our children, we raise our generation, we live like victors. Allah told the mu'mineen in the battle of Uhud, after so many of them were killed, and technically they lost the battle,

Allah what He said:

Don't ever give up. Don't feel humiliated and defeated.

Your enemy can knock you down from outside, but they cannot defeat you from inside, unless you allow them to do so. Unless you allow them to do so.

There is nobody ever can ride your back unless you bend your back, as Martin Luther King said once.

So it's about what is your attitude towards life. Sayyida Safiyyah came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, Ya Rasulallah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) an amazing teacher. They are making fun of me because I used to be a Jew.

I'm from a Jewish family. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wanted to give her the positive attitude. He said, What's wrong? They're so jealous of you.

What jealous of me? They are from Quraysh, tribe, Arabs. He's sharing with you the same heritage. What I will be, I mean, jealous of? She said, You are married to a prophet, and your uncle is a prophet, and your great-grandfather is a prophet.

Your great-uncle is a prophet, and your great-grandfather is a prophet. Musa and Harun. And you married to a prophet.

Who's among these ladies, their forefathers were prophets? None. See, it's the attitude. It's just to change the way you look at life.

You look at yourself. Some people when they go to job, I said, Hey, Mashallah, you got a good job. He said, Yeah, I'm doing an interview for the job.

I said, What will determine if you accept the job or not? He said, What I'm gonna get out of the job. Isn't that what everybody think of? That's what most of people think. What I'm gonna get out of the job.

And on all sides. You know what? I think the most important question to ask yourself when you look for a job. Choose a career.

Go to college. It's not what I'm getting. I think the most important question to ask yourself.

What am I becoming? What I will be. If I accept the job, what's gonna make me? If I accept this career, what I will be. Not what I'm gonna get, what I will be.

How this will impact my life. That's a different attitude. Your attitude towards life will determine how successful you will be in life.

Positive mental attitude is something very important. If you want to be successful. When you always think, How can I do things? Rather than saying, I cannot do things.

Ask yourself, How can I do it? Don't say, I cannot do it. It's a different attitude. It's a different attitude.

You know, when a man came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),Drunk. Several times. Not one, not two, not three.

And even in some narration, he wasn't drunk at all. Some people cursed him. Look at the positive attitude the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) brings up

He said, Don't. I know that he loves Allah and His Messenger. He wants them to think in the positive way.

Not the negative way. Yes, this is bad, this is negative. But also there is so much positive in the person.

You can focus on it. And make through that the change that you want to achieve. What is your attitude towards your family? Towards your children?

Towards your spouse? Towards your job? And that will determine how successful you will be in these areas.

Sixth Principle: Success Requires Action, Not Just Dreams

Number six. So I don't want to keep you for long. I want you to know.

Success cannot be based on your dreams. Success cannot be just based on dreams motivate you. But dreams are not enough to make a successful person.