Hard work means to concentrate and strive at something until you achieve it.

You must have all heard the English saying,

"If at first you don't succeed, then try, try again"

Islam believes in working hard. If you work hard at something, than you will almost always succeed. Another common English saying is

"It is better to have tried and failed, than not to have tried at all."

A believer has to work harder than most people. This is because most people work only for this life, i.e. food, house, money, family etc...

However, the believer has to work for BOTH this life and the next life.

The way to work for the next life is to be fair in this life, to pray on time and to help those in need.

One of our Imams was once working on a field. It was hot and sunny, and Imam was digging the ground. He was working very hard.

A person passed by and saw Imam sweating and working away at the ground. He said to Imam, "Oh son of the Prophet, have you no shame!"

Imam looked up from his work and asked, "Why, what have I done?"

The man answered, "You are working so hard for this world, and are forgetting your God."

Imam replied, "Doing hard work which is Halaal is one of the best forms of worship."

This shows that Islam is a religion which helps us lead a well-balanced life. Its rules are not just on recitation and Salaat, but also work and livelihood.