Will I be Punished if I Don’t Share My Worldly Secret of Success With Anyone?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I am a practicing Muslim. I have, alhamdulillah, achieved a lot in the worldly aspect. I am working in a top company and doing well.
I was always bullied by my siblings and relatives when I was lower in status than them. Eventually, Allah Most High turned the tables, and now I am at a place where my siblings depend on me for career guidance and seek help from me all the time.
I am always happy to help them with things enough for them to know about to have a good career. However, I hide the secret sauce that might help them surpass me in this world. I need to know if this behavior is correct.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
It is good to know you have achieved worldly success despite being ignored in the past. One has to remember that success is from Allah Most High, and He gave it to you, maybe as a test for you and a lesson for others for looking down on you.
So as long as you are grateful to Allah Most High, I’m sure you are, and you help and support others gradually and as best as you can, with wisdom and love, you will be fulfilling your test, and they will have the opportunity to realize whenever you share your success.
I would like you to study higher Islamic sciences; this is a way of Allah Most High redirecting you unto Him.
Best People Who Benefit Others
Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The believer is friendly and befriended, for there is no goodness in one who is neither friendly nor befriended. The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people.” [Bayhaqi, al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat]
Be Ever Grateful
Allah Most High says, “And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.” [Quran, 14:7]
We should always be grateful. Abu Sulayman al-Darani used to say, “How can a sane man be conceited about his spiritual works when his works are but a gift from Allah and a blessing from Him that he should thank Him for.”
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction, in sha’ Allah.
Related:
- The Place of Knowledge in Islam – SeekersGuidance
- Importance of Intention in Seeking Knowledge – SeekersGuidance
- Reflections on Seeking Knowledge: A Student at Seekers – SeekersGuidance
- Knowledge Archives – SeekersGuidance
- Monday Motivation: Ibn Ata’illah’s Aphorisms on Knowledge, Repentance, and Sincerity
- The Aphorisms of Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
