EVERY individual, male or female, born in this material world has to have their share of toil. According to the Holy Quran, man is created in toil (90:4). Toiling (the Quranic term being ‘al-kabad’) refers to the fact that a man in this world has not been created to enjoy and live a life of ease and comfort. Rather, the world for him is a place of enduring and undergoing toil, labour and hardship, and no one is immune from this.

We should not forget that our daily meal is the result of toil. People work day and night to get two square meals a day. Toiling is even necessary to remain fit, healthy, enjoying a sound sleep and gaining success. Success is not something that will come without toil, as it is a prerequisite.

Along with toiling, one needs to be seeking continuous grace and guidance from Allah, be consistent in one’s efforts, while not letting go of patience and ethics on the road to success, so that the fruits may be durable and long-lasting. Though the desire for immediate and instant success is quite strong in many people, to gain durable success, quick-fix prescriptions may not work.

There are many examples where people have achieved massive success by........

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