that it is a great fortune that اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه we are Muslims. However, alongside this, it is also a matter of great concern that none of us have the surety whether we will stay Muslim until our last breath. The way numerous non-Muslims fortunately embrace Islam, similarly, it is مَعاذَ الـلّٰـه proven for many unfortunate Muslims to have left the folds of Islam.

The groups of the children of Adam

In a long Hadith, the Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم also stated the following:

‘The children of Adam have been created in different groups. Among them,

1.   Some were born as believers, lived as believers and passed away as believers,

2.   Some were born as non-Muslims, lived as non-Muslims and also passed away as non-Muslims,

3.   Some were born as believers, lived as believers but passed away on disbelief, and

4.   Some were born as non-Muslims, lived as non-Muslims and passed away as believers.’ (Tirmizi, vol. 4, p. 81, Hadith 2198)

What is true success?

We come to know that true success does not imply that one only be a believer and Muslim in this world, rather, in addition to this, true success lies in keeping one’s faith intact at the time of death. This has been explicitly highlighted in the following Hadith:

The Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has said: ‘یُبْعَثُ کُلُّ عَبْدٍ عَلٰی مَا مَاتَ عَلَیْہِ’ i.e. every person will be resurrected in the state that he passes away in. (Muslim, p. 1178, Hadith 7232)