The Four Traits Of Highly Successful Muslims: Teachings From Surah Al-Kahf

Virtues of Surah Al-Kahf

It was reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said “Whoever reads Surah Al-Kahf on the day of Jumu’ah, will have a light that will shine from him from one Friday to the next.” [Mustadrak al-Hakim; Sahih at-Targhib wa at-Tarhib 736]

The Prophet taught us to recite Surah Al-Kahf weekly on Fridays. One wisdom often mentioned is that the four stories found in Surah Al-Kahf deal with four trials and tribulations (fitan) that all of mankind faces: deen, wealth, knowledge, and power. Surah Al-Kahf serves as a weekly reminder that our ultimate goal is the Hereafter and that we should not let these fitan distract us. Another is that the Dajjal will come and test all those alive with these same fitan, and in fact, memorizing the first ten ayat from Surah Al-Kahf will be a protection from the Dajjal.

Abu al-Dardā’ reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said “Whoever memorizes ten ayat from the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjal.” [Sahih Muslim 809]  

Discussing the Dajjal in detail is beyond the scope of this article, but the focus will be on how each story in Surah Al-Kahf highlights a certain characteristic and how each characteristic builds upon the previous one. Just as the surah begins with

“Praise be to God, who sent down the Scripture to His servant and made it unerringly straight” [18:1]

These four characteristics are a road map and a straight shot to success. Moreover, Allah mentions that this success will be “an excellent reward that they will always enjoy” [18:2-3], unlike the temporary success found in this dunya. If we instill these four characteristics in our children and younger generations, then inshaAllah they will have secured both their dunya and akhirah.

Trait #1: Unshakeable Iman

In the first story of the young men of the cave, a group of youth faces the fitan of deen. They are persecuted for believing in only Allah which is at odds with the pagan beliefs of their town. But Allah tells us that when they stood up and declared:

“And We made firm their hearts when they stood up and said, “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never will we invoke besides Him any deity. We would have certainly spoken, then, an excessive transgression.” [18:14]

Lessons from the story of the cave

He strengthened their hearts upon the truth. Notice how their hearts were strengthened after they proclaimed and stood for the truth. This is an important lesson for us as the help of Allah will sometimes come after we have sincerely taken the first step towards goodness – not before.

Due to the threats these young men received, they decided to leave their town in order to protect their imaan. The story goes on and Allah tells us that He protected these young men by having them fall asleep in a cave for 309 years after they left their families, their wealth, their community, and their entire lives behind – just so that they would not lose their imaan. 

In this first story, what characteristics did these young men exhibit? They had unshakeable faith in Allah . Allah always fulfills His promise and has complete power over everything. They understood very well what the Prophet would later teach our ummah:

“Be mindful of God, and He will take care of you. Be mindful of Him, and you shall find Him at your side. If you ask, ask of God. If you need help, seek it from God. Know that if the whole world were to gather together in order to help you, they would not be able to help you except if God had written so. And if the whole world were to gather together in order to harm you, they would not harm you except if God had written so.” [Tirmidhi]

Trait #2: Humility

In the second story, Allah relates to us the story of the man of the two gardens and the fitan of wealth. This man, in a conversation with his righteous neighbor, begins demeaning his neighbor and boasting about how he has more wealth than him. He arrogantly claims his belief that his wealth will never diminish and that he doesn’t believe in the Day of Judgment. His righteous neighbor advises him to be thankful and humble before Allah and as the story continues, Allah relates to us how the arrogant man’s gardens and wealth were destroyed.

In this second story, which characteristic did the neighbor of the man of the two gardens exhibit? He displayed humility and was humble and grateful to Allah . How does humility build upon the first characteristic of unshakeable imaan? True humility before Allah only comes when you have true imaan, know who Allah is, and understand your weak and temporary position in the universe. 

The Prophet also warned us about the opposite of humility: arrogance.

“No one will enter Paradise in whose heart is an atom’s weight of arrogance… arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.” [Tirmidhi]

Arrogance can lead to the destruction of one’s dunya and akhirah. 

Trait #3: Seeking Beneficial Knowledge

In the third story, we learn about the fitan of knowledge through the journey of Musa with Khadr . To fully understand this story, we need to go back to the hadith of the Prophet . 

“Once Moses stood up and addressed Bani Israel. He was asked who was the most learned man among the people. He said, ‘I.’ Allah admonished him as he did not attribute absolute knowledge to Him (Allah).” [Bukhari]

Lessons from surah al-Kahf

In this lengthy hadith in Bukhari, the Prophet gives us more details regarding this story. After Allah admonishes Musa , Musa immediately humbles himself and goes to meet and learn from Khadr , a prophet of Allah sent to another nation. And with him, Musa catches a glimpse of how Allah protects and has mercy on His Servants in ways we cannot possibly imagine and understand.

In this third story, which characteristic did Musa exhibit? He sought knowledge. How does this build on the second characteristic of humility? Only those who have humility are willing to admit their mistakes, admit they have more to learn, and are willing to make the struggle to seek teachers to learn from. 

In my personal experience, being born in Pakistan and growing up in a traditional desi household, there is a huge push to get our secular education and do well in school. Many of us are pushed to pursue careers in medicine, law, engineering, and other respectable and high-paying professions. But as the Prophet taught us,

“When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of Deen.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

Just as we pursue excellence in our secular education, we should also pursue at the very least competence -if not also excellence- in our knowledge of our deen. Most of us will not become scholars of Islam, but we should know the fundamentals of our religion well and the basics of the specialized areas we are regularly engaged in. For example, someone involved in business and finance should at least have a working knowledge of the rulings and fiqh of business transactions, know who to ask when he has questions, and so on and so forth. 

As a final point regarding this story, the legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi said, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” We cannot expect that we will gain an understanding of our deen just by sitting at home and making a half-hearted du’a. If we want to truly gain knowledge, it requires effort, perseverance, and sacrifice. Musa recognized this, which is why he traveled to meet Khadr . And traveling during that age was done either on foot or on the back of an animal while sleeping in the wilderness. There were no five-star, air-conditioned hotels. Yet, Musa still put in the effort to travel to meet Khadr . He then stayed and continued to travel with Khadr and continued to struggle, all for the sake of gaining more knowledge. The Prophet informed us that

“Whoever travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise.” [Muslim]

While the path to knowledge of our deen may not always be easy, the destination it leads to is worth it.

Trait #4: Serving Humanity

In the fourth and final story, Allah tells us about Dhul Qarnayn, the righteous king whom Allah tells us

“We established his power in the land, and gave him the means to achieve everything.” [18:84]

Here we learn about the fitan of power. Allah tells us about Dhul Qarnayn’s travels and how he would help different communities he interacted with. During the final of his travels that are mentioned, we are informed regarding a group of people living near the terrifying tribes of Yajuj and Majuj. Dhul Qarnayn had significant difficulty communicating with this group of people. However, Dhul Qarnayn spent the time and effort to do his best to understand their needs and understood that Yajuj and Majuj were causing significant problems throughout the land. So, with the help of these people, Dhul Qarnayn erected a large barrier between them and Yajuj and Majuj, trapping Yajuj and Majuj behind it. 

The group offered to pay and reward Dhul Qarnayn but Dhul Qarnayn answered,

“The power my Lord has given me is better than any tribute.” [18:95]

After the barrier’s completion, Dhul Qarnayn declared,

“This is a mercy from my Lord. But when my Lord’s promise is fulfilled, He will raze this barrier to the ground: my Lord’s promise always comes true.” [18:98]

Yajuj and Majuj’s release and conquering of the earth near the End of Times are one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment as recorded in the books of hadith including Sahih Muslim.

In this fourth and final story, which characteristic did Dhul Qarnayn exhibit? He served and helped others – he used the knowledge and power he was blessed with and put it to use to fulfill the needs of humanity, directly building upon the third characteristic of seeking knowledge. Francis Bacon once said, “Knowledge is power” and we see that in the story of Dhul Qarnayn. Dhul Qarnayn did not keep the knowledge he had to himself – he used it to benefit others. As the Prophet taught us,

“Allah helps the servant as long as he helps his brother.” [Muslim]

What is True Success?

Now, at the end of the surah, if we are able to incorporate these four characteristics into our lives, Allah reminds us what true success is.

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging,

Wherein they abide eternally. They will not desire from it any transfer.” [18:107-108]

It’s important to note that Allah mentions Jannat-ul Firdaws’ Al-A’ala which the Prophet taught us that,

“Al-Firdaws is the highest part of Paradise, and the center and the best of it.” [Tirmidhi, classified sahih by Shaykh al-Albani]

And unlike this temporary dunya, Paradise is truly forever.

In conclusion, the characteristic of success highlighted in each story builds upon itself in the following story. Only with true imaan will you truly be humble and have humility in front of Allah . And only with humility will you be amongst those who will seek knowledge as the arrogant believe they have nothing left to learn and master. Finally, those with knowledge and expertise are often put into leadership positions and given power, thus opening up opportunities to help and serve others.

This is in contrast with those who do not have iman and humility: knowledge can lead to arrogance or questioning of Allah’s Decree and, if given power, it is as John Acton once said: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” 

Now, every week as we recite Surah Al-Kahf, remember the roadmap to success Allah has given us. If we can nurture, develop, and instill these four characteristics of unshakeable imaan, humility, seeking beneficial knowledge, and serving humanity within ourselves, our families and children, and in our communities, inshaAllah we will enter the highest level of Paradise and remain there forever. 

[Points for this article were drawn from Sh. Yasir Qadhi’s Lessons from Surah al-Kahf and special thanks to Shaykh Ahmad Saleem for his review and constructive feedback!]

Related:

– Overcoming Trials | The Message of Surah al Kahf

– Lesson 1 From Surah Kahf