SACRIFICE LEADS TO SUCCESS

Ladies and gentlemen,

My speech for today is Sacrifice Leads to Success.

An American author, Napoleon Hill said; Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and
is never the result of selfishness.

But do you know the meaning of sacrifice?

According to Oxford Dictionaries, sacrifice is an act of giving up something valued for the sake of
something else regarded as more important or worthy.

Thus, in order to achieve goals and dreams successfully, one needs to willingly sacrifice many
things in ones life no matter if they are big or small. There will be many hardships and trials along
the journey to success, hence, the urge to give up things we valued would definitely worth every
penny. A successful man is prepared to sacrifice his time, money, power, ones life, energy, selfinterest and personal belongings, for the ultimate purpose of achievement. But a real successful
Muslim will sacrifice these means wholeheartedly to uphold the commandments of Allah.

Dear fellow friends,

In Islam, the deed of sacrificing is the symbol of a Muslims good will to bet his life, and sacrifice his
devotions and importances.

In surah As-Safat ayah 102 to 107, the story of Ibrahim alaihissalam who was instructed by Allah to
sacrifice his own son, Ismail alaihissalam, is an example of sacrifice. The willingness of Ismail
alaihissalam to be slaughtered by his father was truly noble and dignified. The courage and
sincerity showed by Ibrahim alaihissalam and Ismail alaihissalam are the good examples of
sacrificing for the sake of Allah. As a result, Allah has substituted Ismail alaihissalam with an
animal, showing His Mercy and Graciousness towards them He love. This event then led to the
yearly ritual of completing hajj for the Muslims where edible animals such as camels, cows, sheep
and goats are slaughtered. It is mentioned in surah Al-Baqarah ayah 196 which says;

And complete the Hajj and umrah for Allah . But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be
obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal
has reached its place of slaughter. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head
[making shaving necessary must offer] a ransom of fasting [three days] or charity or sacrifice. And
when you are secure, then whoever performs umrah [during the Hajj months] followed by Hajj
[offers] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And whoever cannot find [or afford
such an animal] then a fast of three days during Hajj and of seven when you have returned [home].
Those are ten complete [days]. This is for those whose family is not in the area of al-Masjid alHaram. And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty.

One of the many Muslims in the world who faced hardships throughout their lives but never fear to
willingly to sacrifice for the sake of Allah is none other than our Prophet Muhammad
sallallahualaihiwassalam. During his mission to spread Islam to the ummah, he was humiliated with
vulgar words, being scorned at, physically abused and tortured, but these have never put him
down. The Prophet sallallahualaihiwassalam was very patient with all the trials till he successfully
spread dawah to all the people in the world. This shows how a great leader should react so a
prosperous country and an outstanding nation can be developed.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I believe that an act of sacrifice is the way to show love. Look at our parents on how they raise us
with many difficulties along the way but successfully managed to cope with it. They have made
abundant sacrifices including their time and money so that we are able to grow up and be better
persons. Thus, as children, we should never raise up our voices and scold them, not even the word
uff to them. This is written in surah Al-Isra ayah 23:

And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment.
Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff,"
and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.

Their sacrifices are too immense, we could never ever repay them. May Allah bless our parents
with mercy and good health.

Members of the floor,

We must know that in order to gain success in whatever we want to do, sacrificing should be one
of the keys to victory. Lose weight without giving up our fattening favourite food or even get rich
without working hard - these are lame approaches as success is not cheap, there is price to pay!
Yes, we need to sacrifice. Give up those fattening foods; work hard and full of determination;
inshaAllah the accomplishment you get is promising.

Before I end my speech, I would like to remain my stance to continuously promote the act of
sacrifice which can lead to our success, here in this world and the hereafter. We should educate
our children in learning the hard way to accomplish success. Theres no short cut to Everest, one
needs to give up their indulgences, climbing up the rocky mountain.

May Allah give us the courage to sacrifice for the sake of Him and ease our journeys to become
successful till Jannah. Jazakumullahu khayran.