High ambition

There are reasons for high ambition: the most important of which is keeping company with people who have high ambitions and lofty goals. A person is influenced by those around him. Whoever keeps company with scholars becomes a scholar, whoever keeps company with worshippers becomes a worshipper, and whoever keeps company with immoral people becomes an immoral person.

O Muslims, it was reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that Umm Ar-Rabi’ bint Al-Bara’, the mother of Haritha ibn Suraqa, came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, will you not tell me about Haritha? He had been killed on the day of Badr . If he is in Paradise, I will be patient, but if not, I will weep for him. He said: O Umm Haritha, there are gardens in Paradise , and your son has attained the highest Paradise .   In Sahih Muslim , on the authority of Rabi’ah ibn Ka’b al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I used to spend the night with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so I brought him his ablution water and what he needed. He said to me, “ Ask .” I said, “I ask you to be my companion in Paradise.” He said, “ Or something else? ” I said, “That is it.” He said, “Then help me with yourself by prostrating frequently.”   These two hadiths point to an important matter: that the believer’s goal in life must be very lofty.   And that his ambition be high, and that he not be satisfied with little, or anything less than little. In the first hadith, the mother was satisfied that her son’s status would be in the highest paradise; that is, in the best place in it.   In the second hadith: The companion asked to be with the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in Paradise, meaning to be close to him and close to his status there.   This high ambition is a requirement that may be required by the prophets and the righteous after them.   The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as stated in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “When you hear the muezzin, say what he says, then send blessings upon me, for whoever sends blessings upon me, Allah will send blessings upon him ten times. Then ask Allah to grant me wasilah, for it is a station in Paradise that is only fitting for one of Allah’s servants, and I hope that I am that one. Whoever asks Allah to grant me wasilah, my intercession will be permitted for him .”   He, may God bless him and grant him peace, seeks that high status, and this is guidance for believers to seek and strive for the high status in the Hereafter.   As for the prophets, peace be upon them, this is the Prophet of God and His interlocutor, Moses, son of Imran, peace be upon him, after he spoke to God Almighty and heard the voice of the Lord Almighty, then he said to God Almighty: { My Lord, show me [Yourself] so that I may look at You } [Al-A’raf: 143]. So Moses’ soul longed to see the Lord Almighty after hearing His words, glory be to Him, the Most High.   This is the Prophet of God, Solomon, son of David, peace be upon them, saying to God Almighty: { He said, “My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower. ”} [Sad: 35].   God Almighty subjected to him what you know of the great kingdom; the subjection of the winds, the jinn, mankind and birds, something that has not happened to any human being until this day, or even until the Day of Resurrection .   As for the righteous: It was mentioned in the biography of the noble companion Abdullah ibn Umar, may God be pleased with them both, that Mus’ab ibn al-Zubayr, Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Ibn Umar, and Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan gathered in the Hijr – the Kaaba’s stone – and they said: Make a wish.   Abdullah said: As for me, I hope for the caliphate; meaning: The speaker is: Abdullah bin Al-Zubayr Urwa said: To take knowledge from me .   Musab said: As for me, I hope to rule Iraq, and to unite Aisha bint Talha and Sakina bint Al-Hussein.   As for Abdul-Malik bin Marwan, he said: As for me, I wish for the caliphate, and he obtained the caliphate.   As for Ibn Omar, he said: I wish for forgiveness, and they got what they wished for, and perhaps Ibn Omar was forgiven.   Look, may God have mercy on you, at how Ibn Omar’s demand was distinguished from their demands. His ambition was higher than all of their ambitions.   It was reported that the Rightly-Guided Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz said about himself to his wife Fatima bint Abdul Malik: O Fatima, I have a yearning soul. It has never attained anything without longing for something better than it. I longed for the emirate [meaning the emirate of Medina], and when I attained it, I longed for the caliphate, and when I attained it, I longed for something better than it, which is Paradise!   When Al-‘Izz ibn Abd al-Salam left Damascus for Cairo, he passed by the city of Karak on his way. The emir welcomed him and asked him to stay and settle there. Al-‘Izz ibn Abd al-Salam told him, “My knowledge is greater than Karak.” When he settled in Cairo, his status rose and his fame spread. He later became one of the leading imams of the Muslims.   O Muslims, what has afflicted some people today, and they are not a few, is the disease of lack of enthusiasm and the weakness of the soul in achieving its goals, and even the inability to set goals. Life for them is chaos, and no one looks beyond his day and hour, even though the believer is commanded to strive and compete in good deeds, as God Almighty said: { And for this let the competitors compete. } [Al-Mutaffifin: 26]     O Muslims, there are reasons for high ambitions: the most important of which is keeping company with people who have high ambitions and lofty goals, because a person is influenced by those around him. Whoever keeps company with scholars becomes a scholar, whoever keeps company with worshippers becomes a worshipper, and whoever keeps company with immoral people becomes an immoral person.   One of the reasons for high ambition is the desire for good: In the two Sahihs, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may God be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever spends two pairs in the way of God, it will be called out in Paradise: ‘O servant of God, this is good.’ So whoever is among the people of prayer, will be called from the gate of prayer. Whoever is among the people of jihad, will be called from the gate of jihad. Whoever is among the people of charity, will be called from the gate of charity. Whoever is among the people of fasting, will be called from the gate of ar-Rayyan.” Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said: O Messenger of Allah, no one is called from those gates out of distress. Will anyone be called from all of those gates? The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: Yes, and I hope that you will be one of them .   This is Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, who hoped to be called from the gates of Paradise.   Among the reasons for high ambition: Benefiting people and doing good to them. It was reported in the book of Ibn Abi Shaybah on the authority of Sa`d ibn `Ubadah, may God be pleased with him, that he said: O God, grant me praise and grant me glory. There is no glory without deeds, and no deeds without money. O God, little does not benefit me, nor can I benefit from it.   We ask God Almighty to make us and you among those whose ambitions are high and whose souls are elevated to the highest of matters.