High ranks are attained through the perfection of faith

O devotees of the Prophet! Whoever has recited the Kalimah, recited it with a true heart, then he remains steadfast upon it until his dying breath, and descends into the grave in the state of faith, he is entitled to Paradise, but the excellence lies in the servant fulfilling the requirements of this Kalimah as well. Paradise is attained through faith, but the elevation of ranks is achieved through the perfection of faith and acting upon its requirements.

Strive to become a perfect believer!

If we reflect, most of us are Muslims only because we were born in the homes of Muslims. This too is a great bounty of Allah Almighty that He caused us to be born in a Muslim household, and we were blessed with the Kalimah from childhood. Had we been born in a non-Muslim household, who knows where we would have been humiliated and disgraced. This is His grace.

But it is a matter to ponder; for example, there is a man who received ten million rupees from his father's inheritance. What do you think? Will he keep those ten million rupees in a safe and sit comfortably? No...!! He will do business with it, he will try to turn those ten million into twenty, thirty, or forty million. Now reflect! We have received faith in inheritance, we recited the Kalimah in our mother's lap, and this faith is not ten million, but a treasure greater than all the wealth of the world. Yet look at our condition! We received this wealth in inheritance, and we are just content with it; there is no concern for progressing in it, we do not worry at all about making it stronger, or advancing further in the levels of faith.

May Allah Almighty have mercy on our condition; this is also our responsibility, just as the Merciful Lord has stated:

یٰۤاَیُّهَا الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اٰمِنُوْا

O you who believe! Believe^[1]