What to Do when Life is Good

Allah says in the Qur'an:

"We give to men by turns," (Surah Al-‘Imran, 3: 140)

This Verse confirms what we all learn about life as we get older. That our fortunes in this life are cyclic, i.e., if one day we are doing well for ourselves, the next day we may not be so well off. In this lesson I want to discuss what a Muslim should do if his or her life is going well as we should always fear that Allah might transfer our good fortunes to another if we become ungrateful of the bounties that Allah has blessed us with.

As a Muslim when one is doing well religiously, financially, health wise and in relationships with his family and friends, he can be considered to be having a good time in life. So what does a Muslim in this position do in order to maintain this position in life and to maximize the use of this position in order to benefit him in the Hereafter?

Well for a starter, he has got to realize that this success in life is because of Allah's guidance and His blessings on him, he must also understand that he has been blessed either because his deeds have been righteous or because Allah is taking a trial of him. Allah says in the Qur'an:

"To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, He enlarges provision for whom He wills, and straitens it for whom He wills, Verily He is the AII-Knower of everything," (Surah Ash-Shurah, 42:12)

What this means is that instead of letting your worldly success get to your head and singing praises about your business abilities, what you really have to do is to see this worldly success in light of an additional responsibility, which is to make the most of this worldly success for your salvation in the Hereafter. This Verse also tells us something that a lot of us refuse to pay heed to much to our own detriment and that is that your wealth and provision is something that is in the Hands of Allah and Allah alone, and so it is much more beneficial to us if we, for example, ask Allah sincerely and passionately for an increase in our wealth rather than spend endless hours networking and entertaining people in power in order to get potential favors that may or may not increase our wealth. The important point here being that we should depend solely on Allah for our provisions and not on our 'contacts' or friends, for who can be a better friend to have in times of need than the Lord of the Worlds Himself? Furthermore, if we remember Allah when our fortunes in life are good then it is more likely that Allah will remember us when our fortunes aren't that good and we ask Him for help.

Once a Muslim realizes that all his success is due to Allah's guidance and blessings, he has got to thank Allah for His guidance and blessings. The best way to thank Allah is by praising and by worshipping Him, especially by prostrating to Him. By thanking Him in this manner you are also benefiting yourself as now Allah will increase His blessings on you as Allah says in the Qur'an:

"And He listens to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness and gives them increase of His Bounty: but for the disbelievers there is a terrible penalty," (Surah Ash-Shurah, 42:26)

It is also very important not to get corrupted or get used to this success in life, for Allah will test us by taking some of it away and since this life is only temporary, we should not regret that. Instead we should use this success as a motivating factor to increase our worship so that we can live with this much ease in the Hereafter which is in fact our permanent abode. And no matter how successful we get in this life, we must remember what is making us this successful and not lose track of our religion, as Allah says in the Qur'an:

“If Allah were to enlarge the provision for His servants they would indeed transgress beyond all bounds through the earth..." (Surah Ash-Shurah, 42:27)