The Way to Salvation - The Criterion of Success and Failure

The Criterion of Success and Failure

The most important truth flowing forth from this surah is Allah’s presentation of the real criterion of man’s success and failure.

Every person keeps in his mind a criterion of success and failure, of gain and loss. All his endeavours and the whole struggle of his life in this world is directed according to this criterion. An intellectually mature person is rarely found who does not have an appointed goal or an ideal before him. Even small children, specially the more intelligent ones, keep before them a standard of achievement. They concentrate their energies on the attainment of their goals.

If we were to look around in our society as well as to search our hearts and minds, we would find that in this age, the real criterion of success or failure is wealth and property, or status, honour, fame and ostentation, or worldly power. All but a few are running after these things. They expend their energies for these purposes. The minds of most of our students are directed towards obtaining degrees in science or technology, so that they may earn a lot of money or achieve status, position or power. The achievement of these things is their criterion of success or failure.

The paramount truth which comes to our minds by studying Surah Al-’Asr is very different from this. In other words, the criterion of man’s success is neither money or wealth, nor status, position, power, or ostentation. Rather its first condition is ‘Faith’, the second is ‘righteous deeds’, the third is ‘exhortation to truth’, and the fourth is ‘exhortation to patience’.

By this criterion, a person who does not possess the above four qualities is unsuccessful and will never achieve his real goal, and in the end he will be a loser, though he might be a millionaire, even a billionaire like Qarun and __ might__  have highest status, position, and power, even kingship like Pharaoh or Herod. Conversely any one who has these four prerequisites is successful and triumphant, even if he has no worldly wealth or property, and may be penniless, homeless, friendless, unknown, unhonoured and starving.

If you reflect deeply over it, you will find that acknowledging this truth is very easy, but its realization in your heart and soul is very difficult. We are living in a world of cause and effect, and we are bound to be influenced by its external features. When we see that comfort, prosperity, honour and reputation is due to wealth and worldly resources, we involuntarily rush to get these things, so much so that we forget to distinguish between right and wrong, legal and illegal, approved and forbidden. In other words, the reformation of our attitudes and the righteousness of our actions depends upon changing our criteria of our success and failure, gain and loss. This is the real lesson of this unique surah.

With a little contemplation it will become clear that if the simple truth stated in this great surah is engraved on our heart and penetrates our soul, it will revolutionize our point of view, change our values, and transform radically our day to day life. What was thought most important before will appear to be most trivial, and what was insignificant before will become significant.

The great transformation which was brought about in the lives of the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the result of this deep-rooted change in their point of view. In their sight this world arid whatever is in it seemed insignificant as compared to the achievement of Allah’s pleasure and that of the Prophet. This is the real lesson of this magnificent surah, and everyone should keep it in mind so that it may be infused in his heart and soul.

Source: The Way to Salvation (Book by Dr Israr Ahmed)