One hadith about why you do things, and where a sincere why can take you.
Islamic Studies · 40 Hadith · about 60 minutes
إنما الأعمال بالنيات، وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوى، فمن كانت هجرته إلى الله ورسوله فهجرته إلى الله ورسوله، ومن كانت هجرته لدنيا يصيبها أو امرأة ينكحها فهجرته إلى ما هاجر إليه
"Actions are but by intentions, and every person will have only what they intended. So whoever's migration was to Allah (SWT) and His (SWT) Messenger (pbuh), his migration is to Allah (SWT) and His (SWT) Messenger (pbuh). And whoever's migration was for worldly gain he could attain, or a woman he could marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated."
The Prophet (pbuh) chose hijrah as his example. It has two meanings for us.
The Companions (RA) physically left Makkah for Madinah. They gave up home, wealth, and safety, purely for Allah (SWT) and His (SWT) Messenger (pbuh).
The migration still open to you. Leaving every sin and everything Allah (SWT) dislikes, and turning toward Him (SWT). You may never change cities, but every single day you can migrate from a bad habit to obedience.
"The true emigrant is the one who abandons what Allah (SWT) has forbidden."
"Just to pass."
versus
"To gain knowledge I can use to serve my family and the Ummah."
"For the mirror."
versus
"To keep the body Allah (SWT) trusted me with strong and healthy."
"Because I was told to."
versus
"To earn the pleasure of Allah (SWT) through my parents."
Your schedule does not have to change, only the reason behind what is on it.
إن الله كتب الحسنات والسيئات، ثم بين ذلك، فمن هم بحسنة فلم يعملها كتبها الله عنده حسنة كاملة، وإن هم بها فعملها كتبها الله عنده عشر حسنات إلى سبعمائة ضعف إلى أضعاف كثيرة، وإن هم بسيئة فلم يعملها كتبها الله عنده حسنة كاملة، وإن هم بها فعملها كتبها الله سيئة واحدة
"Allah (SWT) has written down good deeds and bad deeds, then He (SWT) made that clear: whoever intends a good deed but does not do it, Allah (SWT) writes it with Him as one full good deed. If he intends it and does it, Allah (SWT) writes it with Him as ten good deeds, up to seven hundred times, up to many times more. And whoever intends a bad deed but does not do it, Allah (SWT) writes it with Him as one full good deed. And if he intends it and does it, Allah (SWT) writes it as only one bad deed."
Look at His (SWT) mercy. A good intention is written before you act, and a sin you intended and then left for His sake is written as a good deed. Aim high, because a sincere intention is never wasted.
Intention gives you direction, and planning is how that intention turns into action. The believer does not just hope. The believer intends, plans, does the work, and trusts Allah (SWT) with the outcome.
"The most beloved deeds to Allah (SWT) are the most consistent, even if small."
The same five steps work whether your goal is to tutor one kid or to feed a billion orphans. Only the size changes.
وأن ليس للإنسان إلا ما سعى
"And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives"
You own the effort, not the outcome.
ادعوني أستجب لكم
"...Call upon Me (SWT); I will respond to you..."
Dua is part of the plan, so ask Him (SWT) for everything you need.
ومن يتوكل على الله فهو حسبه
"...And whoever relies upon Allah (SWT) - then He (SWT) is sufficient for him..."
Give your best, then hand Him (SWT) the result.
لو أنكم كنتم توكلون على الله حق توكله لرزقتم كما ترزق الطير تغدو خماصا وتروح بطانا
"If you relied on Allah (SWT) as He (SWT) should be relied upon, He would provide for you as He provides for the birds: they leave hungry in the morning and return full in the evening."
Tie your camel, then trust in Allah (SWT). The Prophet (pbuh) taught this in a hadith we will read in full in the 30 Plan workshop. The birds still fly out to eat. Trust is never an excuse to skip the work.
Only you can set your niyyah and make this goal.
Keep this paper. This goal becomes the bottom rung of a ladder in a few minutes.
Many of us trace back to a parent or grandparent who left everything they knew and started over, and every one of us was given things someone else paid for. They did it so that you could sit in a classroom, learn your deen, and one day walk into opportunities they could only dream of.
"...Allah (SWT) is in the aid of His (SWT) servant as long as the servant is in the aid of his brother. And whoever travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah (SWT) makes easy for him a path to Paradise..."
The opportunity was paid for by someone else's sacrifice, and handed to you by Allah (SWT). To waste it is to break a trust.
"Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your free time before your busyness, your wealth before your poverty, and your life before your death."
"...Indeed, Allah (SWT) will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves..."
Changing the world can be as small as tutoring one struggling kid or as big as feeding a billion orphans, and both begin with you.
"When a person dies, his deeds end except three: an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for him."
Rung 1 is the goal you already wrote. Your life goal is a sadaqah jariyah: it keeps earning after you die. Now stretch yours all the way up.
ليس البر أن تولوا وجوهكم قبل المشرق والمغرب ولكن البر من آمن بالله واليوم الآخر والملائكة والكتاب والنبيين وآتى المال على حبه ذوي القربى واليتامى والمساكين وابن السبيل والسائلين وفي الرقاب
"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah (SWT), the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves;"
The ayah continues on the next slide.
وأقام الصلاة وآتى الزكاة والموفون بعهدهم إذا عاهدوا والصابرين في البأساء والضراء وحين البأس أولئك الذين صدقوا وأولئك هم المتقون
"...[and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous."
Righteousness is not a direction you face. It is belief proven by action, which is exactly what a sincere intention and a real goal are meant to produce.
هل جزاء الإحسان إلا الإحسان
"Is the reward for good [anything] but good?"
The word translated as good here is ihsan, excellence. Ihsan is doing everything as if you can see Allah (SWT), knowing that even if you cannot, He (SWT) sees you. Give your studies, your work, and your worship your very best.
إن الله كتب الإحسان على كل شيء
"...Indeed, Allah (SWT) has prescribed excellence (ihsan) in all things..."
In all things means your studies, your work, and how you treat people, not only your worship.
يا أيتها النفس المطمئنة · ارجعي إلى ربك راضية مرضية · فادخلي في عبادي · وادخلي جنتي
[To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul," "Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him (SWT)]," "And enter among My [righteous] servants" "And enter My Paradise."
Every intention, plan and effort in this lesson is meant to lead here.
The niyyah and the effort are yours, and the result belongs to Allah (SWT). Use what you have been given to do good, whether for one kid or for a billion orphans.