1st Jumada-I 1447H |
Assalamu'alaikum, |
I was invited to dinner with a scholar at a restaurant next to a massive building stretching into the sky, all glass and steel. It was the kind of building that makes you crane your neck just to see the top. |
I asked him: "Why do humans have such high ambitions that they build tall buildings? Is there something wrong with that? Something... un-Islamic?" |
He said something unforgettable: |
"First, we need to recognize that as human beings, we have an innate ambition. And do you know where it comes from?" |
He explained that before we entered this world, our souls existed in Alam al-Arwah, the realm of souls. There, they witnessed things beyond our current comprehension: beauty, truth, and meanings so profound that our worldly language has no words for them. |
When our souls enter this world, they carry an echo of what they witnessed. That's why we're restless. That's why we're always reaching for more. We're trying to recreate, to fulfill, to experience again what our souls once knew. The Quran hints at this when Allah reminds us: |
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ |
And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware." (The Quran 7:172) |
Before we even had bodies, our souls made a covenant. They witnessed the Divine. They knew something we're spending our whole lives trying to remember. |
But here's the problem. |
We come into this world (this dunya) - this temporary, material world. Then, we try to fulfill that soul-deep ambition with worldly things. The career. The house. The status. The achievements. |
And it's never enough. |
No matter how tall the building, how impressive the title, how substantial the bank account, there's always this nagging feeling of incompleteness. This whisper that says, "There must be more than this." |
Because yes, there is more than this. But it's not in this world, it's with Allah, in the hereafter. |
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The dunya is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever." (Muslim) |
By its very design, this world cannot contain what our souls are truly seeking. |
But what do we do with our ambitions then? |
The Two Types of Ambition |
The conversation made me realize that there are 2 types of ambitions. Ambitions for this dunya and ambitions for our akhira. |
When your ambition is for the dunya: |
No matter what you achieve, you're always dissatisfied. You feel anxious when things don't happen according to your plans. You experience that hollow feeling even at the peak of worldly success. You're anxious about losing what you've gained. Your sense of purpose feels fragile, dependent on others.
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When your ambition is for the Akhirah: |
Even in the struggle, you have a deep sense of satisfaction. You know that every deed is recorded and every intention is counted, so your efforts are never wasted. You trust Allah's timing, so delays don't bother you. You can be content with less of dunya while striving for more of what matters. Your purpose is anchored in fulfilling your role as a Abd (Slave) of Allah and His Khalifah on this earth.
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Does this mean we shouldn't have dunya ambitions? |
Let's be honest, we're all naturally ambitious in this dunya: We have career ambitions, family ambitions, business ambitions, and financial ambitions. We want our kids to succeed, our companies to grow, and our portfolios to appreciate. |
The question for you (and for myself): Can we channel some of our ambition towards the Akhira (hereafter)? |
How many of us wake up thinking, "Today, I want to increase my rank in Jannah"? |
How many of us strategize about Sadaqah Jariyah (ongoing charity) the way we strategize about our retirement accounts? |
How many of us build our properties in Jannah through good deeds the way we dream to build properties in this life? |
If we're honest with ourselves, most of us (myself included) are not ambitious enough for the akhira. |
So let's try to channel some of our ambition to the akhira. |
This week, try this: |
Audit your ambitions: Write down what you're currently ambitious for. Be honest. How many are dunya-focused vs. Akhirah-focused?
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Reframe one dunya ambition: Take one worldly ambition and connect it to the Akhirah. Want career success? Connect it to serving the Ummah better. Want wealth? Connect it to being a better steward of Allah's resources.
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Set one Akhirah-specific ambition: Maybe it's memorizing the Quran, building a sadaqah jariyah portfolio.. Make it something concrete.
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That day, the scholar at that restaurant taught me something: Your ambition isn't the problem. Where you're directing it might be. |
So let's be ambitious together, but let's aim higher than any building made of glass and steel. |
Let's aim for what our souls have been homesick for all along. |
Sincerely, |
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P.S. I wrote an article a long time ago about reconciling between contentment vs. ambition, check it out here. |
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