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The one who is successful is the one who sells himself to Allah or buys his freedom from Allah. Allah has said in the Quran, g p p :૜/ i""1' ''.I /;i f ૝, / /·t// • ' / '··ć1 / .1/ (1 / , // ૞ ... 1 ,,-;,..-1 1 Ǯ ୯ -....:..>'-! 'yJ ഈ ഉY"'"' . ... ...:_s_;:....z. A1l u ,,. ,,,.. . ......_,;,.. A / / !. • ,;૟/ .•i"... 11' •/ / . . '1::' ૠ'./ / '1' :u. ;:;,..-1 l .. ----: . · / . . 'I-•഍'. \...A>- ୳ J...>.) -...:_)ഌ_) u)--o_. o ୬ ୲ -....:..>୫ iJϯ· ǂ/-'>vLl :ti F ...4 • i:_ J ૡI '·čĎ1\ /, ୪· ·// / r--Ə "Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their wealth for [the price] that theirs will be Paradise. They fight in Allah's cause, so they kill and are killed. It is a promise in truth which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. This is the supreme success" (al-Tauba 1 1 1). They have given their lives and wealth in this world for the sake of Allah. Actually, their lives and wealth were given to them by Allah. But, in His mercy, Allah will "take them back" in exchange for Paradise. In another verse, Allah says, ,/I_ -J •J:J .... J..\_.IJ... /""'1 \ /.'=' p ,,. "'\""ഢ :.,"'1 J / Ț.... ๡ .... ,,.. :ii ,., / ,,.. ..... ್ '1JJ o ୱ rs:. :. 4 Q t L>૘૙૚L.:JI ഋ) D\ щ:jС "And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the pleasure of Allah. And Allah is full of kindness to [His] slaves" (al-Baqara 207). These are the people who "sell themselves" for the sake of Allah. However, the disbelievers sell themselves to Satan, to this world or to their desires. Such a trade can never bring about anything beneficial because, in reality, these trading partners have nothing to offer. All that they can offer are delusions and promises that end up to be punishment in the Hereafter. People sell themselves for money, power, lusts and so forth. Many times, they are willing to give up their dignity for these things. In reality, they are simply selling themselves in exchange for the Hell-fire. Their trade is an evil one indeed. This is why Allah describes some of the unbelievers in the following way, .... .... (. ,,.. ... 0 1;0 ;_i Фi ୭ ljp  :; \1) "And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own souls, if they but knew" (al-Baqara 102). Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Al-Qari explains this hadith by saying, "Everyone who abandons this world and gives preference to the Hereafter has purchased himself from his Lord for this world. Therefore, he sets himself free. Whoever abandons the Hereafter and gives preference to this world, then he is selling the Hereafter and is destroying himself."1 Ibn Uthaimin gives a comparison between the believer and unbeliever in the light of this passage. He states that a believer gets up in the early morning and the first thing he does is make ablution and purify himself. And, "Purification is half of the faith." Then he goes and prays. Hence, he is beginning his morning with tauheed and belief in Allah. Indeed, as soon as he awakes, before he even gets to making ablution, he should recite certain words of dhikr. He is indeed setting himself free from the Hell-fire. On the other hand, an unbeliever gets up in disobedience to Allah. He does not remember Allah and does not begin his day with specific worship of Allah. In fact, the food and drink he gets in the morning will be a source of punishment in the Hereafter. The clothing he wears will be a source of punishment for him in the Hereafter. This is because they are all bounties from Allah, yet he refused to give gratitude to Allah for those bounties. Hence, everyday he is selling his soul and leading himself to his own destruction.2 Finally, the word that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used, Ɛ4, implies one who exchanges something for something else. In that case, it applies equally well to a seller or a buyer. This is a type of speech in Arabic where the Prophet (peace be upon him) could have meant both aspects: buying and selling. In other words, every morning the person goes out and either buys himself from Allah or he sells himself to Satan. Other Points Related to this Hadith • This hadith demonstrates the great mercy and blessing of Allah. Allah has prescribed certain deeds that are very easy to perform. They do not require sacrifice of life or wealth; but their effects can be great on a person, while their reward in Allah's sight is very great. These acts are the statements of dhikr: al-hamdulillah and subhaanallaah.