How many of us dream of having the most righteous and successful family? How many of us envision ourselves making a profound difference in the world? How many of us ultimately dream of the highest level in Jannah, Al-Firdaws?
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was indeed one of the forerunners in teaching us about great ambition and doing all we can with ihsan (excellence).
He (peace be upon him) was the first to encourage us to dream bigger as he says: “If you ask for jannah, then ask for al-firdaws, the highest” (Muslim & Bukhari). He, peace be upon him, also encouraged us to work hard to achieve these great ambitions by stating: “If one of you shall do a task, then he shall do it with ihsan (excellence)”.
Yet, many of us may hold back from great ambitions and may not achieve or experience the true fulfillment we are capable of. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is what we may label as a lack of resources: time, money, knowledge, etc. And yes, we may indeed lack some of those resources at certain points in our lives but the key here is not in the ‘resources’ but in our ‘resourcefulness’. What can we do with what we have because life is not about what we have, it is about what we give and become, with the guidance of Allah (SwT).
And it all starts with a decision. A decision that you will inshaAllah achieve your goals, a decision that you will inshaAllah live a life of success, happiness and fulfillment, both in this world, and in the next as Allah (SwT) promised us in the Quran: “Anyone who works righteousness, male or female, while believing, we will surely grant them a happy life in this world, and we will surely pay them their full recompense (on the Day of Judgment) for their righteous works.” [16:97]
The underlying factor behind that decision and that which will keep you motivated on this path to fulfillment is discovering your passion and identifying your life vision.
Alhamdullilah, we do not have to spend years searching for our ultimate purpose on earth because Allah (SwT) lays the overall framework for everything we do in life by stating: “I have not created mankind and jinn except to worship Me. (51:56)”
And “When your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am placing on the earth a caliph … (2:30)”. So our ultimate purpose is to know, thank, love, and worship Allah (SwT) in everything we do – our prayers and practice of Islam, our studies, work, family, parenting, character, and of course our contribution to the world through fulfilling the role of ‘caliph’ that Allah (SwT) has honoured us with.
So therein lays your opportunity to discover your passion so you can fulfill your unique vision and role as ‘caliph’. So you can make this world a better place, inshaAllah.
And remember, the only person who can limit our dreams is us. We can choose to limit ourselves with things like age, experience, and money. But we can also choose to free ourselves of those limitations and dream big.
Being a mother, which is the most difficult but rewarding job in the world, does not mean that we have to sacrifice discovering this passion and fulfilling our vision – for indeed, our passion and vision could very much be connected to our role as mothers. There will be times in our motherhood journey when we are really struggling to ‘survive’ as opposed to ‘thrive’; however, these should be temporary inshaAllah.
Roosevelt says, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Any reality today was only the dream of someone yesterday. Our dreams for our success, for the success of our families, and for the success of our community can and will inshaAllah be the realities of tomorrow.
Raghad Ebied
Raghad Ebied is first and foremost blessed to be a wife and mother. She’s also a Certified Teacher, Trainer, and Life Coach and the founder and Director of the www.MuslimWomenSuccessCoach.com project providing support, personal development, and inspiration for Muslim women around the world.