Rejoice In the Success of Others

Islam
Typography
successWhen someone speaks to me about an old friend of theirs and boasts about their achievements and good qualities, I do not feel jealous. I realise that there is room in life for many good achievers, and indeed the world needs more of them.

You benefit the most when your heart is conditioned to rejoice in the success of others. Feel free to praise people's achievements in moderation and pray to Allah to bless them. Even if you do not know them personally, the least you can do is to be pleased with the attention they receive. Say: "This is what Allah has willed. It is His grace that He gives to whom He pleases. May Allah accept their good works and may He bless their efforts."

You should never feel that their achievements impede your success, but rather that they complement and support it. No one on ever receives the sustenance Allah intends for someone else. There are as many opportunities as there are people on Earth. It would not be an exaggeration to say that there are opportunities for every breath that we take, if we had the initiative.

Nothing makes life exciting like competing in achieving good things. The Qur'an calls us to this. Allah says: "So for this let the competitors compete." [Srah al-Mutaffifn: 26]

The competition referred to in this verse refers to the wholesome resolve in the heart that takes place before the actions people can see. It relates to the strength of our connection with Allah, the sincerity of our intentions, and our goodwill towards others. These are hidden matters of the heart that few of us strive to excel our fellow people in attaining, though this is the real competition.

These qualities of the heart are the difference between competition and rivalry. Bakr b. `Abd Allah al-Muzan said about the first Caliph: "Ab Bakr did not give preference to people because of how much they prayed or fasted, but he did so on account of something in their hearts."

The best competition is to excel others in the purity of your heart. People rarely compete in this way because it is not visible to the public.

All those who receive praise in this world eventually pass away. All that remains is their account with their Lord. Usually, their renown fades from memory until they are all but forgotten in this world. Indeed, many people will never even have heard of them to begin with.

The dead do not defend their reputations and they do not argue for their beliefs. They do not counter the objections that people raise against them. Yet, it may be that their silence is more eloquent than the words of their living detractors.

When a person with whom I had a passing acquaintance passed on into the next life, people began hinting at his shortcomings. Now, no one on Earth is without faults. Only the prophets are protected from gross error. Nevertheless, people insisted on alluding to this person's mistakes. Upon hearing all of this, I looked into my heart and found that I felt a small degree of contentment! I wanted to know more! How could I get them to tell me what they were hinting at without asking them outright? What is that person's big mistake?

Then I told myself that the shortcomings they are referring to are just like my own. This is why I feel such contentment. I donít feel so alone. Others suffer from the same shortcomings that I do. There is nothing strange about me.

At this point, I sought Allah's refuge from Satan's whisperings and asked Allah to bless and forgive the deceased. I blamed myself for two things in this experience: First, I blamed myself for letting people hint at that person's mistakes without voicing my objection, simply because I did not know that person very well. I should have done so, because Allah says: "And those who strive for Our sake, We will surely guide them to Our ways, and indeed, Allah is with the doers of good." [Srah al-`Ankabt: 69] I also blamed myself for feeling any satisfaction in people hinting at someoneís shortcomings, and moreover s person who did a lot of good in his life, simply because it made me feel better about my own deficiencies.

I began asking myself: Though I do feel happy when the virtues of good people are mentioned, why do I not equally feel sorrow when their shortcomings are mentioned? I admit that I am better off than I would be if I felt joy at their shortcomings, which I think is a most despicable trait. I am also better off than I would be if I felt sorrow at hearing about their good qualities or hoped for their failure, which would be worst of all.

Allah says: "Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them from His grace?" [Surah al-Nisa: 54]

That is the fate of those who fall into error and then are content with their state. They repeat their mistakes over and over again and feel satisfaction knowing that other people are just like them.

 

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