Goal Setting for Muslims
by Ahmed Adam
Part 1 - Introduction, The Journey, The Importance of setting goals, Leading a balanced life, Focus is the Key, What goals should we pursue?

Introduction

S2, V156: “To God we belong, and to Him is our return”

The above verse beautifully encapsulates the simple yet voluminous answer to the question “what is the meaning of life?” that has plagued non-Muslim philosophers for centuries. The verse gives meaning to our day-to-day existence in this world and thus simultaneously gives us direction, comfort, solace, anticipation, hope, courage and fear.

We usually utter the above verse during times of difficulty or when we are informed that someone has died. However, life is such that we usually get into our daily routines fairly quickly and it is seldom that we take the time to ponder about our existence or about our life in this world. We take life as it comes.  Furthermore, studies have shown that the majority of people fail to set any type of goals in their life and hence drift through the oceans of life like a raft on an uncharted stormy sea.

However, all of us, at some stage of our life, have set mini goals for ourselves called ‘New Year” resolutions. The reason for setting these goals is mainly because of the media coverage and because it is ‘fashionable’ to set ‘new year’ resolutions. Furthermore, we write down ‘new year’ resolutions because we have a feeling that we are lacking in some area of our life that we know that we should change, for example, we set a goal to lose weight or earn more money   or stop smoking. However, we find that soon after making these ‘promises‘ to ourselves, we either forget about these goals, or we find that we simply do not have the time to carry them out, or sometimes we simply forget. Another year passes, and history repeats itself at the beginning of another year, and we once again set out to make a list of ‘new year’ resolutions or goals that we would like to accomplish in the coming year. But how many of us really accomplish our goals? How many of us really take the time to plan our goals? How many of us really know which goals are important?

The Journey

When we plan a long awaited overseas holiday or even a weekend trip, we usually go through much planning regarding every stage of the trip (e.g. tickets, itinerary, baggage etc). However, even though we plan a holiday in such detail, it is ironic that we sometimes don’t take the time to plan our life or even our journey to the Hereafter. We all know that someday we will all die. We all know that there is no escaping death. We all know that our life in this world is only a few seconds compared to the life in the grave and in the Hereafter. Yet, we do not take the time to plan for that journey. We live day in and day out, getting into a rut or a routine, where one day is no different from the next.  Our journeys in this world are full of detailed planning and answers, yet our main journey, the most important journey of our life, is left to chance. The following table illustrates that we have more answers when it comes to planning a holiday then we do in planning our life.

The Importance of setting goals

A life without a plan is a plan for failure. People who do not set goals, drift aimlessly in life, from one day to the next, not really knowing where they are going and not knowing if they have arrived. Setting goals is important since it gives direction, meaning and purpose to our life. Goals can be long term, medium term and short term. Ultimately, the short term and medium term goals must link up to the long-term goals so that there is harmony and direction in our daily activities. The majority of people do not set goals for their life. This is a real pity since it is only by setting goals that we can unlock the tremendous potential that lies lurking within each of us. We will never know what we are capable of achieving if we do not set high enough goals for ourselves.

Leading a balanced life

If we agree that goal setting is important, the next obstacle to overcome is which goals are important. The majority of people only set financial goals. This type of thinking is ingrained in us from the time that we are in school. The only thing that matters is what career path we will choose and how much money we will earn so that we can buy all the luxuries of life and we can then be ‘independent.” Some people only set religious goals, others set only sporting goals, while other people do not set any goals at all. In our quest to find answers to a meaningful existence in life we obtain guidance from the Quran and from the Sunnah of prophet Mohammed . Islam is a way of life. This means that we should follow the “golden middle path” in everything that we do and we should not become extremists. If we set ourselves a goal that we want to do as much good as possible and pray as much as possible so that we can prepare for the Hereafter, then this is allowed provided that we do not harm either ourselves or anyone else in the process, as instructed by prophet Mohammed :

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.155 narrated by Abdullah bin Amr (RA)

God’s Apostle (SAW) said: “ Have I not been informed that you offer prayer all the night and fast the whole day? I said,”yes.” He (SAW) said, “ Do not do so; offer prayer at night and also sleep; fast for a few days and give up fasting for a few days because your body has a right on you, and your eye has a right on you, and your guest has a right on you, and your wife has a right on you…”

That is, our life must be in balance. There is no reward in activities that are pursued so excessively to the detriment of another part of our life. This example of prophet Mohammed gives us clear guidelines on leading our life: i.e. a balanced life is a harmonious life. A balanced life is the way of Islam. Islam teaches us not to be extremists: i.e. neither does too little nor does too much, but follow the Golden Balance. Furthermore, our life comprises many dimensions and we should strive to seek a balance between all these various facets of our life. When setting goals for ourselves, we should not only focus on financial goals even though these goals may seem like a high priority to us, especially when the economy is down and the outlook looks gloomy. We should not pursue this goal to the detriment of other goals in our life. On the other hand, we should not become so obsessed about another goal, for example, spending an excessive amount of time on developing the physical goal to the detriment of financial goals. There should be harmony and balance between all of the following goals:

(a) Financial Goals

(b) Religious Goals

(c) Intellectual Goals

(d) Social Goals

(e) Family Goals

(f) Personal Goals

(g) Philanthropic Goals

(h) Physical goals

[Editor's note: We will look at each of the above types of goals in detail over the coming weeks.]

Each person is a unique individual, and as such, each person decides ultimately what is important for him or her.

Focus is the Key

The successful achievement of any endeavor, any goal or any objective is solely dependent on one word: Focus. Without clarity of focus, you have a vague outcome. To achieve any goal, you must have a very clear mental picture of your goal (visualization). If you need to take a photo of someone, and if the camera is not focused, you obtain a blurred picture, which you discard. Similarly, in life, if the goal is not crystal clear and focused, one’s whole life becomes wishy-washy. If you pursue too many goals simultaneously, once again you lose focus, becoming the proverbial ‘Jack of all trades, master of none.” Islam has given us the key to our success in this world and in the Hereafter, namely Focus. Five times a day, the call to prayer is announced and the faithful face the Kiblah. The Kiblah gives direction. The Kiblah gives focus. The Kiblah serves as a daily reminder for our Final Goal. Furthermore, when we die, we are buried facing the Kiblah. The Kiblah serves as our focus in this world and during our thousands (or millions) of years in the Barzakh (grave) before our Day of Accountability. All thanks are due to God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, for giving us the wonderful gift of the Kiblah, to serve as a laser point, precise focus of direction for all Muslims throughout the world, so that we do not forget why we are here and we do not forget our Final Destination.

What goals should we pursue?

If humanity were left to their own devices, there would be disharmony and chaos. However, God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, has given us clear Guidance in the Quran and through the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW). Without His Guidance, we would surely be lost in the abyss of darkness. If we decide to set certain goals for ourselves, our natural temptation would be to compete with our neighbours, or what we see on TV or read in the fashion magazines. We would assume that these goals are worthy challenges. However, God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate, gives us the following Clear Guidance:

S6, V164: Your goal in the end is towards God.

S42, V15: God will bring us together, and to Him is (our) final goal.

S40, V3: …There is no god but He: to Him is the Final Goal

S53 V42: to thy Lord is the Final Goal.

The above verses clearly indicate that our final goal is to God. No matter how we live in this world, no matter how many goals we pursue, the final and most important goal is to God. We are guaranteed that there will be Day of Accountability, where the Master of the Day of Judgment will judge all our actions and deeds. It therefore follows logically, that whatever we do, all our goals should be linked to the Final Goal. This means that a Muslim sets goals for himself/herself that are in harmony with our accountability in the Hereafter. A Muslim cannot set goals that will satisfy the latest fashion trends or what is seen on the television.