Faith-Conscious Resilience: Lessons from an IRONMAN Journey
– How sabr, ikhtiar and tawakkul shape endurance in life and leadership
🏊♂️ A TALE OF TWO RACES 🚴♂️ 🏃
The IRONMAN Malaysia in Langkawi is one of the world’s toughest endurance events: a 3.8km swim, a 180km bicycle ride and a full 42.2km marathon, all in tropical heat (or rain!) and humidity.
My son-in-law, Rizal Khalid completed not one, but two full IRONMAN races: first in 2022 and again this month in 2025. Both times, his journey became for me a living lesson in faith-conscious resilience.
Enjoy the video of his recent feat:
(If you can’t view the video above, click here.)
Back in 2022, life had already set its race hurdles. His wife, my daughter, Hana Hasannudin had a severe ankle fracture which needed many months to recover. They had a new baby, Rauf. Between work, caring for family and squeezing in scarce hours to train, he could have easily said, “Not this year.” But he didn’t.
The 2022 race was wet, very wet, throughout! It poured during the cycling. “Pa, I was riding blind.”
In 2022, over 30 family members went to Langkawi as his IRONMATES. That support mattered most when his legs were yelling in pain and his feet blistered during the marathon run.
On the dark and lonely road at the edge of the airstrip of Padang Matsirat where no one was to be found to cheer him on, he pushed through the agony, knowing what it means to his supporters waiting in rain on the street of Cenang Beach.
In 2025, his race began differently. His training had been disrupted by repeated sickness. He wasn’t in his best physical shape compared to 2022.
The weather was beautiful. But through the swim, he was stung by jellyfish. When the medics sprayed vinegar on his throbbing neck for a full minute, he screamed. The burning sensation lasted for the rest of the race.
His legs cramped, his pace slowed and yet, at the finish line, he jumped up high with hand punching! The “not-so-fit” dude actually finished with nearly the same time as three years before.
Two races. Two very different preparations. Both with the same spirit: sabr, ikhtiar and tawakkul.
🌙 FAITH LENS: SABR, IKHTIAR, TAWAKKUL
When I reflect on Rizal’s journey, I see the combination of athletic determination and spiritual discipline.
We are reminded:
“Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” — Qur’an 2:153
And the Prophet ﷺ taught:
“Tie your camel and trust in Allah.” — Hadith
The IRONMAN, and indeed, life demands this triad of faith:
⓵ SABR – Patience, Steadfastness, Perseverance
Patience isn’t passive waiting; it’s active endurance. Rizal’s 2022 race showed what patient commitment looks like — balancing family duties and limited sleep, yet showing up consistently to train.
True sabr isn’t the absence of pain. It’s the refusal to quit when pain arrives.
⓶ IKHTIAR – Effort, Discipline
Effort is how faith manifests in action. Even when he felt undertrained in 2025, Rizal didn’t surrender to fear or self-doubt. His discipline to keep moving — swim, cycle, run — embodied the essence of effort.
For leaders, ikhtiar means performing with integrity (to promise to self, to the people who matter), even when outcomes are uncertain.
⓷ TAWAKKUL – Trust, Surrender
Tawakkul is acceptance of come what may; it’s calm after full effort. Rizal trusted that finishing wasn’t his doing alone. It was Allah’s decree that he reach the finish line, despite stings, cramps and exhaustion.
That trust transformed struggle into serenity.
💪 LESSONS FOR LEADERS: THE TRIATHLON OF LIFE
Like the IRONMAN, leadership is an endurance sport of the soul. Success has milestones within it, sprinkled with moments of perseverance, grace and faith.
⓵ Endure with Meaning, Not Ego
Pain becomes bearable when purpose is clear. For Rizal, the cheering family reminded him why he began. For leaders, clarity of niyyah (intention) transforms long hours into worship.
Before every tough project, ask: For whose sake am I striving?
⓶ Train the Soul as You Train the Body
Muscles strengthen through repetition. So does faith.
Our spiritual “training plan” includes salah (prayer), dhikr (remembrance), tafakkur (reflection) and muhasabah (self-examination).
My own HEART Framework’s “E” (Emotional Readiness) and “R” (Rhythm of Development) align perfectly here, in that renewal must be rhythmic, not random.
⓷ Seek Barakah, Not Burnout
Many high achievers chase performance; few cultivate barakah.
Barakah is divine multiplication of time, strength, clarity and peace. Rizal’s race was full of obstacles, yet his energy held. In leadership too, when the purpose is pure, effort stretches further.
⓸ Build a Support System of Sabr
In both years, family members lined the course to cheer him on. Their presence was his unseen strength.
Resilience cannot always be solitary; it grows in the soil of community.
As leaders, when we nurture takaful (mutual support), we build organizations that endure storms together.
⓹ Accept What You Cannot Control
Despite training setbacks and race-day challenges, Rizal finished with almost identical time. That’s tawakkul, the peace that comes when one stops obsessing over results and focuses on effort.
The same applies in leadership: plan thoroughly, act decisively, then release outcomes to Allah.
🧠 EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE: THE HEART LEARNS TO BREATHE 💖
Resilience means we need to keep the heart soft under strain.
In emotional endurance, we often confuse suppression with strength. The Prophet ﷺ showed otherwise; he grieved, wept and yet remained centered in faith.
To be emotionally resilient is to feel deeply, yet act wisely. It is to breathe when overwhelmed, to pause before reacting and to forgive before resentment hardens.
Rizal’s quiet patience across both races, not lashing at pain, not cursing bad luck and simply persevering, mirrors that spiritual breathing.
Every leader needs that pause, the ability to inhale sabr (patience and steadfastness) and exhale shukr (gratitude). Alhamdulillah.
🌅 STEEL AND IRON, GRIT AND SPIRIT
I see the IRONMAN as a metaphor for life’s endurance of faith.
Each of us runs our own course: projects that fatigue us, relationships that test us, circumstances that sting unexpectedly like jellyfish in calm water.
Beyond adrenaline, what can sustain us is alignment, between heart and purpose, between striving and surrender.
Rizal’s journey reminds us:
- Sabr gives strength to stay the course.
- Ikhtiar gives structure to effort.
- Tawakkul gives serenity when outcomes are uncertain.
As Allah promises:
“So verily, with the hardship, there is ease.” — Quran 94:6
Ease during challenge means being open to divine aid within it.
Find renewal from resilience. Don’t avoid pain. In fact, expect that intense pain is part of the journey. In the midst of it all, find purpose for it and from it.
