Five Ways to Achieve Your Goal
We began the year with a broad resolution that we will be pure. Pure in words and deeds. Today I want to share with you what must be done to become pure. A pure heart and mind will be healthy and an impure heart and mind will be unhealthy.
We believe that Allah Almighty created us for a specific purpose “I created Jinn and humans solely for my worship, I don’t want them to give me anything, in fact I am the one who feeds and sustains them” (Ad-Dhariyat: 56-57). As faithful Muslims, we regard this as the purpose and goal of our lives. It also contains the meanings of life and our identity. The worshipers, admirers, and adorers of the Creator.
Research suggests that the most successful people are those who set goals, they accomplish much more than those who don’t, even when they have equal education and ability. Here are five ways that will help you to be successful insha-Allah:
- Deciding to get closer to Allah: You have made an amazing decision, to draw near to your Creator, Sustainer, your real Carer, Allah. Now you must dedicate yourself to this goal, it must be a goal that you’re willing to devote your life to. Always keep your eye on this goal. So, turn to Allah!
- Write it down: Development coaches say writing down your goals gives them a sense of permanency. What is written on paper is preserved on the tablet, it energises you. The Quran and Sunnah have laid down a clear path for you to travel on. It begins with learning the five pillars, having strong faith; being regular in your five daily prayers; giving charity and Zakat; fasting in the month of Ramadhan and once in your life performing the Hajj. This is a comprehensive and detailed plan that you just need to keep on track, this is no wishy-washy goal, it will get you where you want to go, to Allah, in His proximity, near Him. You will breathe the Divine pleasure. Organise an audit of your knowledge of these five pillars. A good plan is always better than trying to carry stuff around in your head. If you want to achieve this, read my book ‘The Five Pillars of Islam‘.
- Establish timelines and deadlines: Without a fixed beginning and ending it’s easy to become lazy and get nowhere. So, put dates and times of learning and practising the pillars. Some are already Divinely planned like the five daily prayers, fasting in Ramadhan, paying Zakat only once a year and performing Hajj once in your lifetime. Don’t dither, get on with it!
- Make learning Quran a daily routine: This will move you forward. Build it into your schedule. Read and study The Majestic Quran. You are guaranteed a compelling and enlightening mix of moral, spiritual, and historical stories. It’s a compendium of Divine and sublime advice, life-changing stories about some of the nicest humans and some of the nastiest people. Tales of human rebellion and loyalty crisscross cultures over a millennium. The Quran has been a trusted source of knowledge and enlightenment for, fourteen centuries. Each time you read it you will get super advice for moral and spiritual health that will lead to your physical well-being. This is no ordinary advice it’s from the one who designed the human machine, the one who crafted it and made it perfect. His knowledge about the intricacies and complexities of the molecular world is not derived from microscopes or x-rays, it comes from His divine blueprints. The good news of success and the delights of paradise motivates you to live life fully. The sharp conversations among the angels and the people of hell are effective in knocking sense and stopping us from wretched behaviour. A daily dose of the Majestic Quran will make your day fascinating, your year precious and weighty and your life much more prosperous.
- Be meticulous about the five daily prayers: Prayer is a purifier, the beloved Messenger (peace be upon him) asked the companions, “If a stream passes in front of someone’s house and he takes a bath in it five times a day, will he have any filth left on him?” They replied, “no filth would be left”. He said, “that is the example of the five daily salah’s. Through these prayers, Allah removes all sins” (Bukhari). Once in autumn, the blessed Messenger (peace be upon him) was walking and leaves were falling from the trees, he grasped a branch and more leaves fell. He said, “Abu Dharr,” I replied, “yes Messenger of Allah”, “when a Muslim prays sincerely, his sins fall off him as these leaves fall from the trees” (Ahmad). In summer the trees are green with foliage but in autumn they lose them all and they look naked and not a leaf remains. This is a very apt analogy of the effect of salah on a person. Abu Huzaifa reported, “whenever the Messenger was in difficulty, he would start praying” (Abu Dawud).
