Brothers and sisters! The topic of my khutba is: “Who are the Successful Ones?” True success is not confined to transitory worldly and material prosperity but it comprises both success in this life and in the life in the hereafter, and is attained by sincere faith and righteous deeds. This is a fundamental principle which cannot be falsified either by the worldly success of the evil-doers or by the temporary failure of the righteous people.
Where could we find a more accurate explanation or description of an attribute of a successful person other than in the Book of Allah? Describing the successful ones, Allah tells us in the Qur’an at the beginning of Surat al-Mu’minun,
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
“It is the believers who are successful.” (23:1)
The first and most important attribute which is fundamental and basic to everything else is that a person should be a true believer. This assertion is followed by six attributes that these true believers possess.
الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ
“Those who are humble in their prayers.” (23:2)
The word khashi’un (خَاشِعُون) in the text is from khushu, which is a condition of the heart as well as of the body. Khushu of the heart is to stand in fear and awe of someone powerful, and khushu of the body is to bow one’s head and lower one’s gaze and voice in his presence. In salah, one is required to show khushu both of the heart and of the body, and this is the essence of the Prayer. The Shariah has enjoined certain etiquette which, on the one hand, helps produce khushu in the heart, and on the other, helps sustain the physical act of the prayer in spite of the fluctuating condition of the heart.
According to this etiquette, one should neither turn to the right or left, nor raise his head to look up, As far as possible, one must fix the gaze on the place where the forehead would rest in prostration. The injunction is that each article of the prayer should be performed in peace and tranquility, and unless one article has been completely performed, the next should not be begun.
Along with this etiquette of the body, it is also important that one should avoid thinking irrelevant things during the Prayer. If thoughts come to the mind without one’s intention, it is a natural human weakness, but one should try one’s utmost that the mind and heart are wholly turned towards Allah, and the mind is in full harmony and tune with the tongue, and as soon as one becomes conscious of irrelevant thoughts, one should immediately turn the attention to the prayer.
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ
“Those who turn away from useless talk” (23:3)
The believers avoid laghv or whatever is vain and frivolous. Laghv is anything nonsensical, meaningless and vain, which is in no way conducive to achieving one’s goal and purpose in life. The believers pay no heed to such useless things and they show no inclination or interest for them. If by chance they happen to come across such things, they keep away and avoid them, or treat them with utmost indifference. This attitude has been described in verse 72 of Surat al-Furqan, which says,
وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَامًا
“If they have to pass by what is useless, they pass by like dignified people.”(al-Furqan, 25:72)
This is one of the outstanding characteristics of the believer. He is a person who feels the burden of responsibility at all times. He regards the world as a place of test, and the life as the limited time allowed for the test. This feeling makes him behave seriously and responsibly throughout life just like the student who is taking an exam with his whole mind and body and soul absorbed in it.
Just as the student knows and feels that each moment of the limited time at his disposal is important and decisive for his future life, and is not inclined to waste it, so the believer also spends each moment of his life on works which are useful and productive in their ultimate results, so much so that even in matters of recreation and sport, he makes a choice of only those things which prepare him for higher ends in life and do not result in mere wastage of time. For him time is not something to be killed but used profitably and productively.
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ
“And those who pay zakat” (23:4)
The believers pay their zakat. The word zakat literally means purification and development, to help something grow up smoothly and develop without obstruction. As an Islamic term, it implies both the portion of wealth taken out for the purpose of purifying the rest of wealth and the act of purification itself. The words of the original text mean that the believer constantly practices purification. Thus the meaning is not confined to the paying of zakat only but it is extended to self purification which includes purification of morals as well as wealth, property and life in general. This concept of purification has also been stated at other places in the Qur’an, for instance:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ تَزَكَّى () وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى
“Successful is he who purifies himself, and invokes the Name of his Lord and prays.” (al-A’la, 87:14-15)
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا () وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا
“Successful is he who purifies himself and doomed is he who corrupts himself.” (Ash-Shams, 91:9-10)
Other attributes of believers given in Surat al-Mu’minun are:
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ () إِلاَّ عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ () فَمَنِ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ
“Those who guard their private parts, except with their wives, and what their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame, but whoever seeks beyond that are the transgressors” (23:5-7)
The believers also guard their private parts. They are modest in every sense of the word. They are free from sex abuse and sex perversion. Those who do not transgress the divine laws of modesty are free from blame. This exception is meant to remove the common misunderstanding that sex desire is an evil thing in itself and satisfying it even in lawful ways is not desirable, particularly for the righteous and godly people. This misunderstanding would have been strengthened, had it been only said that the believers guard their private parts, because it would have implied that they live unmarried lives, away from the world, like monks and hermits.
Therefore it is made clear that there is nothing wrong in satisfying the sex desire in lawful ways. What is evil is that one should transgress the prescribed limits for satisfying the sex desire.
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ
“Those who honor their trusts and promises” (23:8)
The believers fulfill the terms of the trusts which are placed in their charge. In this connection it should be noted that the Arabic word amanat (أمَانَات) is very comprehensive and includes all those trusts which are placed in their charge by Allah (SWT) or society or individuals. Likewise ‘ahd (عَهْد) includes all those pledges, and promises which are made between Allah (SWT) and man, and man and man. The Prophet (SAW) himself used to impress the importance of the fulfillment of pledges in his addresses: He said, “The one, who does not fulfill the terms of his trust, has no faith, and the one, who does not keep promises and pledges has no Islam.”
According to another hadith, “Four characteristics are such that if a person has all four in him, he is beyond any doubt a hypocrite, and the one who has one of these, is a hypocrite to that extent till he gives it up: (a) When something is placed in his trust, he commits breach of the trust; (b) When he speaks, he tells a lie; (c) When he makes a promise, he breaks it, and (d) When he has a quarrel with somebody, he exceeds all limits of decency and morality.”
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ
“Those who safeguard their prayers” (23:9)
Notice how Allah comes back to salah. Salawat is plural of salah. In an earlier verse, the word salah was used in the singular because the emphasis was on khushu or humbleness, which is the essence of all prayers whether they are fard, wajib, sunnah, or nafil. To safeguard one’s prayers here means to offer them regularly at the appointed time, with due regard for their pre-requisites, conditions and articles, and with clean body and dress and necessary ablutions. They do not recite mechanically but try to understand what they recite and are conscious that they are supplicating to their Lord like humble servants. May Allah (SWT) make us among such believers; ameen.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحَمْدُ لله رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ وَالصَّلاَةُ وَالسَّلاَمُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الخَلْقِ أَجْمَعِينَ وَخَاتَمِ الأَنْبِياءِ وَالمُرْسَلِينَ سَيِّدِنا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ
Brothers and sisters! A careful study of the above attributes would show that they encompass all the duties which man owes to Allah and to fellow human beings. A person who possesses these attributes and adheres to them is a mu’min or true believer and deserving of success (falah) in this world and in the hereafter. It will also be noted that these attributes begin and also end with a reference to prayers which suggests that if prayers are offered in the prescribed manner with all their requirements, the other attributes will appear automatically.
To sum up, let me recapitulate the attributes of the believers about whom Surat al-Mu’minun says that they are successful. They are those (1) who offer their salah with khushu, i.e., with complete focus, concentration and humbleness; (2) who avoid laghv, meaning anything that does not add any value to their lives in this world or the next – such as gossip, back-biting, lewd and indecent conversation etc; (3) who pay their zakah proactively; (4) who protect their private parts and do not commit fornication or adultery or engage in any activity that may lead to these major sins; (5) who keep their promises and trusts, and (6) who safeguard their five obligatory prayers.
The blessed surah goes on to say,
أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِثُونَ () الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
“Those are the heirs who will inherit Paradise, and live in it forever.” (23:10-11).
The good Muslims who possess the attributes described above have been declared in this verse to be the heirs to the garden of Paradise. There is a suggestion here that just as the assets of a deceased person must pass on to his heirs, similarly the possessors of these attributes will, without doubt inherit Paradise.
What a beautiful reward? Alhamdulillah! We must note down the above six qualities and ask ourselves in which areas do we need further improvements. Let’s start working in earnest to improve in those areas for our own success and eternal happiness. May allah bless each one of us, ameen.
