In the Name of Allah, most Compassionate, most Merciful |
|
|
Contents
Introduction
Symptoms
of weak faith
Causes
of weak faith
Curing
weak faith
Introduction
Praise be to Allaah, we praise Him and seek His
help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of
our own souls and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allaah guides,
none can lead astray, and whomever Allaah leaves astray, none can
guide. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah alone,
with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is
His slave and Messenger. “O you who believe! Fear Allaah as
He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (as
Muslims), with complete submission to Allaah.” [Aal ‘Imraan
3:102 – interpretation of the meaning].
“O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who
created you from a single person (Adam) and from him He created
his wife (Hawwa), and from them both he created many men and
women, and fear Allaah through Whom you demand your mutual
(rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship).
Surely, Allaah is Ever an All-Watcher over you.” [al-Nisa’ 4:1
– interpretation of the meaning]
“O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allaah
and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to
do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And
whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a
great achievement (i.e., he will be saved from the Hell-fire and
made to enter Paradise).” [al-Ahzaab 33:70-71 – interpretation
of the meaning].
The phenomenon of weak faith has become very
widespread among Muslims, and many people complain about the
hardness of their hearts. So often we hear the words, “I feel
hardness in my heart,” “I do not find any joy in worship,”
“I feel that my faith has hit rock bottom,” “Reading
Qur’aan does not move me,” “I fall into sin so easily.”
The effects of this affliction can be seen in many people, and
this problem is the cause of every disaster and adversity.
The issue of people’s hearts is an important
and sensitive issue. The heart is called qalb in Arabic
because it changes so quickly and frequently (taqallub –
alteration, variation, ups and downs). The Prophet 
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The heart (qalb)
takes its name from its constant changes (taqallub). The
likeness of the heart is that of a feather at the root of a tree,
being turned over and over by the wind.” (Reported by
Ahmad, 4/408; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2364).
According to another report: “The likeness of the heart is that
of a feather in an empty plot of land, being blown over and over
by the wind.” (Reported by Ibn Abi
‘Aasim in Kitaab al-Sunnah. No. 227. Its isnaad is
saheeh, see Zilaal al-Jannah fi Takhreej al-Sunnah
by al-Albaani, 1/102).
Man’s heart changes constantly, as the
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) described: “The heart of the son of Adam
changes more quickly than a pan of rapidly boiling water.” (Ibid.,
no. 226. Its isnaad is saheeh: Zilaal al-Jannah, 1/102),
According to another report: “It changes more than a pot of
rapidly boiling water.” (Reported by Ahmad, 6/4; Saheeh
al-Jaami’, no. 5147).
Allaah is the One Who turns hearts around and
controls them. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas reported
that he heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The hearts of
the children of Adam are as one between the fingers of the Most
Merciful, and He turns them in whatever way He wills.” Then he
said: “O Allaah, Controller of the hearts, direct our hearts to
obey You.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 2654).
Allaah tells us that:
“… Allaah comes in between a person and
his heart (i.e., He prevents an evil person from deciding
anything)…” [al-Anfaal 8:24 –
interpretation of the
meaning]
no one will be saved on the Day of
Resurrection “except him who brings to Allaah a clean heart
[free from shirk and hypocrisy].” [al-Shu’ara’ 26:89 –
interpretation of the meaning]
“those whose hearts are hardened”
[al-Hajj 22:53 – interpretation of the meaning] are doomed
and the promise of Paradise is for those
“who
feared the Most Beneficent (Allaah) in the Unseen, (i.e., in the
worldly life, before seeing and meeting Him), and brought a
heart turned in repentance (to Him).” [Qaaf 50:33 –
interpretation of the meaning].
So the believer must check his heart, find out
the nature and cause of the problem, and start treating it
straight away, before it overwhelms him and destroys him. The
matter is of the utmost seriousness, for Allaah has warned us
against the heart that is hardened, closed, sick, blind and
sealed.
There follows a discussion of the symptoms of
weak faith, what causes it and how it may be treated. I ask Allaah
to benefit me and my Muslim brothers through this work, and to
richly reward all those who have played a part in producing this
book, for He is the One Whom we ask to soften our hearts and guide
us. He is our Protector, He is sufficient for us and He is the
Best Disposer of affairs.
Symptoms of
weak faith
There are a number of symptoms of the sickness
of weak faith, including the following:
Falling into sin and committing haraam deeds:
there are some sinners who commit a sin and persist in it, and
some who commit many kinds of sin. When a person commits many
sins, sin becomes a habit which he gets used to, and then he no
longer feels that it is abhorrent. He gradually reaches a stage
where he commits the sin openly, and thus becomes one of those
referred to in the hadeeth: “All of my ummah will be fine
except for those who commit sin openly, an example of which is a
man who does something at night, and when morning comes and
Allaah has concealed his sin, he says, ‘O So-and-so, I did
such and such yesterday.’ His Lord had covered his sin all
night, but he has uncovered what Allaah had concealed.” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari, Fath 10/486).
Feeling that one’s heart is hard and rough. A
man may feel that his heart has turned to stone which nothing can
penetrate or reach. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Then,
after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even
worse in hardness…” [al-Baqarah 2:74]. The person whose
heart is hard will not be moved by reminders of death or by seeing
deceased persons or funerals. He may even carry a dead person to
his grave and throw earth into the grave, but when he walks
between the graves it is as if he is merely walking between rocks.
Not doing acts of worship properly. His mind
wanders and he fails to concentrate properly when praying, reading
Qur’aan, making du’aa’, etc. He does not think about what he
is saying, and he recites the words as the matter of boring habit,
if he does these regularly at all. If he has the habit of praying
a certain du’aa’ at certain times, according to the sunnah, he
does not think about the meaning of what he is saying, and Allaah
“does not accept the du’aa’ of one whose heart is heedless
of Him.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 3479; al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, 594).
Laziness and carelessness in performing acts of
worship. If he does them at all, they are just empty movements,
devoid of any real feeling. Allaah has described the hypocrites
thus (interpretation of the meaning): “… and when they
stand up for prayer, they stand up with laziness…” [al-Nisa’
4:142]. This also includes neglecting to make the most of
special occasions and times for worship. This indicates that a
person has no interest in earning reward, so he may delay going
for Hajj although he is able to do so, or fail to go for jihaad
when he has the strength to do so, or fail to attend prayers in
congregation, or even Salat al-Jumu’ah. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “People will
keep holding back from being in the first row (of congregational
prayers), until Allaah throws them into the Fire.” (Reported
by Abu Dawood, no. 679; Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 510).
This kind of person does not feel any remorse or guilt if he
sleeps and misses one of the obligatory prayers, or a sunnah
prayer that is strongly encouraged, or a wird [regular
du’aa’ and dhikr]. He does not want to make it up later, and
he deliberately omits doing anything that is sunnah or fard
kifaayah (a duty which, if carried out by some of the people,
is no longer obligatory on all, but if no-one does it, all are
held accountable). So he may not attend Eid prayers (although some
scholars say that they are obligatory), or offer the prayers to be
said at the time of lunar and solar eclipses, or attend funerals.
He does not care about reward at all, which is the opposite of the
ideal described by Allaah in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the
meaning): “… they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and
they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble
themselves before Us.” [al-Anbiya’ 21:90]
Another example of laziness in performing acts
of worship is the neglect of sunnah actions which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) performed regularly,
and praying at night (qiyaam al-layl), setting out early to
go to the mosque, and other naafil prayers, such as duhaa, never
even occur to him, let alone the two-rak’ahs of tawbah
(repentance) and istikhaarah.
Tightness in the chest, mood swings and
depression, which weigh a man down and make him quick to complain
about the slightest thing. He easily gets upset with the people
around him, and no longer has any tolerance. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described faith when
he said, “Eemaan is patience and tolerance” (Al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, no. 554, 2/86), and he described
the believer as being “one who makes friends and with whom
others feel comfortable. There is no goodness in one who does not
make friends and with whom others do not feel comfortable.” (Al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, no. 427).
Not being moved by the aayaat of the Qur’aan,
by its promises of Paradise or its warnings of Hell, by its
commands and prohibitions, or by its descriptions of the Day of
Resurrection. The one who is weak in faith gets bored when he
hears the Qur’aan being recited, and cannot continue reading it.
Whenever he opens the mus-haf, he soon closes it again.
Not focusing on Allaah when remembering Him (dhikr)
or making du’aa’, so dhikr becomes difficult for him, and when
he raises his hands to make du’aa’, he quickly lowers them
again. Allaah has described the hypocrites (interpretation of the
meaning): “… and they do not remember Allaah but little.”
[al-Nisa’ 4:142]
Not feeling angry when the limits set by Allaah
are violated, because the flame of zeal has been extinguished in
his heart, so he no longer takes action to stop evil, or enjoins
evildoers to do good, or denounces wrongdoing. He never gets angry
for the sake of Allaah. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described this heart
ravaged by weakness in the saheeh hadeeth: “The heart will be
subjected to trial after trial, and there will appear a black
stain on any heart that is affected, which will spread until the
heart is completely black and sealed, as it were, so that it will
not recognize any good deed or denounce any evil, except whatever
suits its own desires.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 144).
Love of good and hatred of evil have disappeared from a heart like
this; all things are equal to such a person, and he has no motive
to enjoin good or forbid evil. He may hear of some evil that is
being done on earth, and may accept it; in this case he carries
the same burden of sin as one who witnesses evil and approves of
it, as the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in the saheeh hadeeth:
“If sin is committed on earth, the one who witnesses it and
hates it [one time he said, ‘denounces it’] will be like one
who knew nothing of it. Whoever does not witness it but approves
of it will be like one who witnesses it.” (Reported by
Abu Dawood, no. 4345; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 689).
This approval, which is an action of the heart, makes him like one
who witnessed the sin.
Love of fame and prominence, which may take
many forms, including the following:
Desire for leadership without understanding
the serious responsibility involved. This is what the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us against when he said,
“You will be very keen to be leaders, but you will regret it
on the Day of Resurrection, for although it seems easy in the
beginning, it becomes a hardship later on [literally: the
breastfeeding is a luxury but weaning is miserable].” (The
meaning is that at the beginning, leadership brings wealth,
power and enjoyment, but later it brings the risk of being
assassinated or deposed, and one will be brought to account on
the Day of Resurrection). (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no.
6729). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: “If you
wish, I could tell you about leadership and what it is. Firstly,
it is blame; secondly, it is regret; and thirdly, it is
punishment on the Day of Resurrection – except for one who is
just.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer,
18/72; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1420). If it
were the case that a man wanted to carry out duties and
responsibilities, where there is no one better for the job than
him, with the intention of doing his best and being sincere and
just, as Yusuf (peace be upon him) did, then we could say that
this is fair enough. But in most cases it is the matter of a
strong desire to lead and put oneself forward although there is
a better person, denying the opportunity of leadership to those
who are qualified and wanting to be the only one to issue
instructions and prohibitions.
Loving to sit at the head of gatherings, to
monopolize the discussion, to make others listen to one’s
words, and to have power. The head of a gathering is the
“slaughterhouse” about which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us when he
said, “Beware of these slaughterhouses.” (Reported by
al-Bayhaqi, 2/439; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 120).
Loving to have people stand up when one comes
into the room, because this makes the one whose heart is diseased
feel great. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever feels
happy to have the slaves of Allaah stand up for him, let him
occupy his house in Hellfire.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari
in al-Adab al-Mufrad, 977; see also Silsilah al-Saheeh,
357). Once when Mu’aawiyah went out to see Ibn
al-Zubayr and Ibn ‘Aamir, Ibn ‘Aamir stood up whilst Ibn al-Zubayr
remained sitting (according to one report: and he [Ibn al-Zubayr]
was wiser and more stable in character). Mu’aawiyah said to Ibn
‘Aamir, “Sit down, for I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Whoever likes
to have men stand up for him, let him take his place in
Hellfire.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 5229, and by
al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, 977; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah,
357). This kind of person will get angry if the
sunnah is followed and people start from the right (and not with
him, when passing out refreshments, etc.); when such a person
enters a gathering, he will not be happy until someone gets up and
gives him his seat, even though the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade this when he
said, “No man should make another get up from his place so that
he can sit in it.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath,
11/62).
Stinginess and miserliness. Allaah praised the
Ansaar in His Book by saying (interpretation of the meaning): “…
and [they] gave them [the muhaajiroon] preference over themselves,
even though they were in need of that…” [al-Hashr 59:9].
The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained that the successful are
those who avoid miserliness, and that weakness of faith generates
stinginess: “Stinginess and faith never exist together in the
heart of the believer.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, al-Mujtaba,
6/13; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2678). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) also described the serious nature of
stinginess and its consequences: “Beware of stinginess, for
those who came before you were destroyed because of stinginess. It
commanded them to be miserly, so they were miserly; it commanded
them to cut family ties, so they cut them; and it commanded them
to be immoral, so they were immoral.” (Reported by Abu
Dawood, 2/324; Saheeh al-Jaami, no. 2678).
When it comes to miserliness, the person whose faith is weak can
hardly give anything for the sake of Allaah, even when there is an
honest appeal and it is quite obvious that his brothers in Islam
are suffering the impact of poverty and are stricken by disaster.
There is no more eloquent statement on the matter of miserliness
than the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “Behold!
You are those who are called to spend in the Cause of Allaah, yet
among you are some who are niggardly. And whoever is niggardly, it
is only at the expense of his own self. But Allaah is Rich (Free
of all wants), and you (mankind) are poor. And if you turn away
(from Islam and the obedience of Allaah), He will exchange for you
some other people, and they will not be your likes.” [Muhammad
47:38].
Not practising what one preaches. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Why do
you say that which you do not do? Most hateful is it with Allaah
that you say that which you do not do.” [al-Saff 61:2-3]. No
doubt this is a kind of hypocrisy, and the person whose deeds do
not match his words is blameworthy before Allaah and despicable in
the eyes of his fellow man. The people of Hellfire will soon
discover the reality of the one who enjoins good but does not do
it, and forbids evil, but does it himself.
Malicious enjoyment of the failures, losses or
disasters suffered by one’s brothers in Islam, when the
blessings that they had enjoyed are taken away, or when the thing
that made another person appear more distinguished than him is
gone.
Looking at matters in black-or-white terms of
whether they are sinful or not, and taking the matter of makrooh
lightly. Some people, when they want to do something, do not ask
about what good deeds they could do, instead they ask, “Will
this be counted as a sin, or is it ‘only’ makrooh?” This way
of thinking leads them into the trap of issues that are not
clear-cut and deeds that are makrooh, and eventually ensnares them
in haraam deeds. The person who thinks like this has nothing to
stop him from committing makrooh or doubtful deeds so long as they
are not actually haraam. This is exactly what the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was talking about what
he said , “Whoever falls into doubtful matters falls into
haraam, like a shepherd who grazes his flock around a place where
he is not allowed – he will soon enter it…” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari and Muslim; this version narrated by Muslim, no.
1599). When some people ask for a fatwa about
something and are told that it is haraam, they ask, “Is it very
haraam or not? How much sin is involved?” People like this have
no interest in avoiding bad deeds; indeed, they are prepared to
commit the first level of haraam and they take small sins lightly,
with the results that they they have the guts to transgress even
further and violate the limits set by Allaah. For this reason the
Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I will certainly
recognize people who will come on the Day of Resurrection bringing
good deeds as great as the white mountain of Tuhaamah, and Allaah,
may He be glorified, will make it like dust in the air.”
Thawbaan said, “O Messenger of Allaah, describe them to us and
explain this so that we will not unwittingly be among them.” He
said, “They are your brothers and they look like you. They pray
at night as you do, but if they had the opportunity to violate the
limits set by Allaah, they would do so.” (Reported by Ibn
Maajah, no. 4245. He said in al-Zawaa’id: its isnaad is
saheeh and its men are thiqaat. See also Saheeh al-Jaami’,
5028).
So you will find such a person committing
haraam deeds without any hesitation or reservation, which makes
him worse than the one who does so after pausing and hesitating.
Both are in danger, but the former is worse than the latter. This
kind of person takes sins lightly as a result of his weakness of
faith, and does not think that he has done anything wrong. For
this reason, Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him)
described the attitude of the believer and of the hypocrite as
follows: “The believer sees his sins as if he were sitting
beneath a mountain which he fears will fall on him, whilst the
sinner sees his sins as if it were a fly passing his nose and he
says such-and-such to it” – i.e., he shoos it away with his
hand. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 11/102; See
also Taghleeq al-Ta’leeq, 5/136, publ. by al-Maktab al-Islami).
Thinking little of good deeds, and having no
interest in doing small hasanaat. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us to pay
attention to small acts of goodness. Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have
mercy on him) reported from Abu Juray al-Hujaymi who said, “I
came to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O
Messenger of Allaah, we are a desert people. Teach us something by
which Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, will benefit us.’
He said, ‘Do not look down on any act of goodness, even if it is
just emptying your bucket into the vessel of one who wants to
drink, or speaking to your brother with a cheerful
expression.’” (Musnad Ahmad, 5/63; al-Silsilat
al-Saheehah, 1352). If someone comes wanting to
drink from the well, and you lift up your bucket and empty it for
him, this is a good deed; even though it appears insignificant,
you should not think little of it. The same applies to greeting
your brother with a cheerful expression, and cleaning dirt and
garbage from the mosque, even if it is as small as a straw. This
deed may be the cause of your sins being forgiven, for Allaah will
appreciate good deeds of this nature and will forgive sins because
of them. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A man passed a
branch of a tree lying in the road and said, ‘By Allaah, I want
to remove this out of the way of the Muslims so that it will not
hurt them,’ and he was admitted to Paradise.” (Reported
by Muslim, no. 1914).
There is something wrong with the person who
thinks little of simple acts of goodness. It is sufficient
punishment for this attitude that he is denied the great advantage
described by the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever removes
something harmful from the path of the Muslims, one hasanah will
be recorded for him, and whoever has a hasanah accepted, will
enter Paradise.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab
al-Mufrad, no. 593; see also al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
5/387). Mu’aadh was walking with another man, and
he picked up a stone from the road. The man asked him, “What is
this?” He said, “I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Whoever
removes a stone from the road, one hasanah will be recorded for
him, and whoever has a hasanah, will enter Paradise.’” (al-Mu’jam
al-Kabeer by al-Tabaraani, 20/101; al-Silsilat al-Saheeh,
5/387).
Lack of concern about the Muslims’ affairs
and lack of any involvement whether it be by making du’aa’,
giving charity or helping them. Such a person has a cool attitude
towards the oppression, suppression and disasters suffered by his
Muslim brothers in other parts of the world, and is content merely
with his own safety. This is the result of weak faith, because the
believer is the opposite of that. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The
believer’s position in relation to his fellow believers is like
that of the head to the body; the believer feels the pain of his
fellow believers as the body reacts to the pain suffered by the
head.” (Musnad Ahmad, 5/340; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
1137).
Breaking the ties of brotherhood between two
who used to be close. The Prophet 
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No two people
are friends for the sake of Allaah or in Islam, but they will be
split apart by the first sin (according to another report: they
will only be split apart by the first sin) committed by either of
them.” (al-Bukhaari, al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 401;
Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/68; see also al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
637). This indicates the bad effects which may
impact upon and even destroy the bonds of brotherhood. This
alienation which a man may feel between himself and his brother is
a result of the lowering of faith caused by committing a sin,
because Allaah causes him to lose his standing in the eyes of His
slaves, and so he is in the miserable position of having no
respect and misses out on the fellowship of the believers and the
protection of Allaah, for Allaah protects those who believe.
Not feeling any responsibility to work for
Islam and spread this religion, which is unlike the attitude of
the Companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who as soon as they
entered this religion felt this responsibility straight away, for
example, al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with him),
who became Muslim and went to call his people to Islam straight
away. He was only a new Muslim but he felt that he had to go back
and call his people to Islam, and he went and did this, yet
nowadays many people wait for a long time after they become
committed to Islam before they reach the stage of calling others
to Allaah, may He be glorified.
The Companions of Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as a result of
entering Islam, used to feel enmity towards the kuffaar, and they
would disavow themselves of them and draw a clear line. When
Thamaamah ibn Athaal (may Allaah be pleased with him), the chief
of the people of al-Yamaamah, was taken prisoner, he was held in
the mosque, and the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told him about Islam.
Then Allaah caused the light of Islam to shine in his heart, and
he became Muslim. He went for ‘Umrah, and when he reached
Makkah, he told the kuffaar of Quraysh, “Not one grain of wheat
will reach you from al-Yamaamah except with the permission of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, Fath, 8/78). This declaration
of opposition to the kuffaar, imposition of economic sanctions and
offer of all resources at his disposal to serve the cause of
da’wah all took place immediately, because strong faith demands
action.
Fear and panic when disaster strikes or
problems arise. So you will see such a person shaking and losing
his equilibrium, with no focus, staring wild-eyed and having no
idea what to do when faced with calamity. He is ruled by his fears
and can see no way out; he cannot face reality with a strong and
steady heart. All of this is the result of weak faith, for if his
faith was strong he would be steadfast and he would face the worst
disasters with calmness and strength.
Excessive arguing and disputing. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in a saheeh
hadeeth: “No people will go astray after having being guided
except that they become argumentative.” (Reported by
Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/252; Saheeh al-Jaami’,
5633). Arguing with no proof and for no good reason
leads one far away from the Straight Path, and most of people’s
futile arguments nowadays are conducted without knowledge or
guidance or (reference to) a Book giving light (i.e., the
Qur’aan). We have sufficient motive to avoid futile arguments in
the words of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “I guarantee a
house in the outskirts of Paradise to the one who forsakes
argument even when he is in the right.” (Reported by Abu
Dawood, 5/150; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1464).
Attachment to this world and rejoicing in it. A
person may be so attached to this world that he feels pain if he
misses out on some share of it, such as money, power, authority,
or housing. He feels that he is unfairly treated because he has
not got what others have. He feels more stress when he sees a
brother in Islam who has something of this world that he does not
have, so he envies him (hasad) and wishes that he will lose
that blessing. This goes against eemaan, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Eeman and
hasad do not exist together in the heart of the true slave.” (Reported
by Abu Dawood, 5/150; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1464).
He talks and thinks in a purely rational
manner, devoid of the characteristics of faith. There is hardly
any trace of a reference to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, or the words
of the salaf (the early generations of Islam – may Allaah have
mercy on them), in the way such a person speaks.
Going to extremes in the way one cares for
oneself, in food, drink, clothing, housing and means of
transportation. So you see these people showing excessive interest
in luxuries, trying to be sophisticated, buying only the finest
clothes, spending extravagant amounts on their choice of housing
and spending too much time and money on such unnecessary
adornments whilst their Muslim brothers are in the greatest need
of that money. This carries on until they sink into the soft life
of luxury which is forbidden, as is reported in the hadeeth of
Mu’aadh ibn Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him): when the
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) sent him to Yemen, he advised him:
“Beware of luxury, for the slaves of Allaah do not live a life
of luxury.” (Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah,
5/155; Silsilat al-Saheehah, 353. A similar version was
also reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/243).
Causes
of weak faith
There are many causes of weak faith, some of
which are the same as the symptoms, such as committing sin or
being preoccupied with this world. There follows a list of some
additional causes:
Keeping away from a faith-filled environment
for too long. This causes weak faith in a person. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Has not the time come for
the hearts of those who believe to be affected by Allaah’s
Reminder (this Qur’aan), and that which has been revealed of
the truth, lest they become as those who received the Scripture
before (i.e., Jews and Christians), and the term was prolonged
for them and so their hearts were hardened? And many of them
were faasiqoon (rebellious, disobedient to Allaah).” [al-Hadeed
57:16]. This aayah indicates that spending too much time
away from a faith-filled environment leads to weakness of faith
in the heart. For example, a person who stays away from his
brothers in Islam for a long period, because of travel or work,
etc., is going to miss the atmosphere of faith in which he was
living and from which his heart gained its strength. The
believer is weak on his own but strong with his brothers.
Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Our
brothers are dearer to us than our families, for our families
remind us of this world, but our brothers remind us of the
Hereafter.” If this absence goes on for too long, it creates
alienation in the heart, which eventually changes into disdain
for that faith-filled atmosphere, which in turn hardens the
heart and fills it with darkness, extinguishing the light of
eemaan. This explains the complete change of heart on the part
of some who travel to other lands on vacation or who relocate
for purposes of work or study.
Keeping away from the good example of
righteous leaders. The person who learns from a righteous man
gains beneficial knowledge, does a righteous deed and
strengthens his eemaan at the same time; (that leader) takes
care of him and passes on to him the knowledge, good morals and
virtues that he has. If he keeps away from that teacher for some
time, he begins to feel hardness in his heart. For this reason
when the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died and was buried, his
Sahaabah said, “We looked at our hearts and felt that there
had been a deep change.” They felt alienated and lost because
their teacher and example
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had died. According
to some reports, they were described as being “like sheep on a
rainy winter’s night.” But the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) left behind great
leaders, giants among men, all of whom were qualified to take up
the reins of leadership, and some of them became examples to the
others. But nowadays the Muslims are in desperate need of
examples close at hand to them.
Failing to seek knowledge and to be
acquainted with the books of the salaf (early generation) and
religious books which will uplift and revive the heart. There
are many kinds of books which the reader will feel stir up faith
in his heart and motivate him to fulfil his spiritual potential,
foremost among which is the Book of Allaah, may He be exalted,
and the books of hadeeth, followed by the books of scholars who
are good at writing about issues that soften the heart and who
explain ‘aqeedah (correct belief) in a manner that moves the
soul and uplifts the heart, such as Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Rajab
and others. By ignoring these books and reading only
intellectual works, or books of fiqh rulings which do not quote
their daleel (evidence), or books of grammar rules and usool
(bases of ‘aqeedah), is something that may have the effect of
hardening the heart. This is not a criticism of those books per
se, it is only a warning to the person who keeps away from books
of Tafseer and hadeeth and hardly ever reads them, even though
they are the books that bring one closer to Allaah. For example,
when one reads al-Saheehayn (al-Bukhaari and Muslim), you
feel the atmosphere of the age of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Sahaabah,
and you feel the breeze of eemaan by sharing the events that
happened in their time.
The people of hadeeth are the people of the
Messenger; even if they did not have the chance to be with him,
they are with his words.
This problem – keeping away from religious
books – clearly has an effect on those who study disciplines
which have no connection with Islam, such as philosophy,
psychology, social science, etc., disciplines which have been
developed far away from Islamic teachings. The same applies to
those who love to read fiction and love stories, or who follow
worthless news stories in newspapers, magazines and so on.
Living in an environment that is filled with
sin, so you see one boasting about his latest misdemeanour,
another humming popular songs to himself, a third smoking, a
fourth reading a pornographic magazine, a fifth cursing and
swearing, and so on. As for talk about who said what to whom,
gossip, backbiting and discussion about the latest football
match, there is no end to it.
Some environments remind one only of this
world, as is the case in most gatherings and work-places
nowadays. Discussions about business, work, money, investments,
work-related problems, raises, promotions, assignments and so on
take precedence in the minds and speech of most people nowadays.
As for what goes on in the home – there is
a lot we can say about the disasters and evil deeds that cause
the Muslim shame and hurt him deeply. Muslim homes are filled
with shameless songs, vile movies, forbidden mixing of the sexes
and so on. No doubt in such an environment hearts are stricken
with the disease of hardness.
Preoccupation with this world, so that the
heart is enslaved by it. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “He is
doomed, the slave of the dinar and the slave of the dirham” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari, no. 2730), and, “All that is
sufficient for any one of you in this world is the supply of the
traveller” (reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer,
4/78; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2384) –
meaning a little of something that will help him to reach his
destination. This phenomenon (preoccupation with this world) is
very apparent in our own times, when material greed and the
desire to acquire more worthless worldly goods have become
widespread, and people are now running after trade,
manufacturing and shares. This confirms what the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah, may
He be glorified, says: ‘We have sent down wealth for the
establishment of prayer and the payment of zakaat, but if the
son of Adam has one valley, he will wish that he had a second,
and if he had two valleys, he would wish that he had a third.
The stomach of the son of Adam will be filled only with dust
(i.e., he is never satisfied) then Allaah will accept the
repentance of the one who repents.” (Reported by Ahmad,
5/219; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1781).
Being preoccupied with one’s wealth, wife and
children. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): “And
know that your possessions and children are but a trial and that
surely with Allaah is a mighty reward.” [al-Anfaal 8:28]
and, “Beautified for men is the love of things they covet:
women, children, much of gold and silver (wealth), branded
beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the
pleasure of the present world’s life, but Allaah has the
excellent return (Paradise).” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:14]. The
meaning of these aayat is that if the love of these things,
especially women and children, is given precedence over obedience
to Allaah and His Messenger, then it is regarded as being bad, but
if the love of these things is within the bounds of sharee’ah,
it helps a man to obey Allaah and in this case it is praiseworthy.
The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “In this world, women and
good scents have been made dear to me, but dearest of all to me is
prayer.” (Reported by Ahmad, 3/128; Saheeh al-Jaami’,
3124). Many men follow their wives in doing haraam
deeds, and allow their children to distract them from worshipping
Allaah. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Children are the
cause of grief, cowardice, ignorance and miserliness.” (Reported
by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 24/241; Saheeh al-Jaami’,
1990). When he said that they are the cause of
miserliness, he meant that if a man wants to spend for the sake of
Allaah, the Shaytaan reminds him of his children, so he thinks,
“My children deserve the money, I will leave it for them when I
die, so he is miserly in the sense that he refrains from spending
it for the sake of Allaah. When he said that children are the
cause of cowardliness, he meant that when a man wants to fight in
jihaad for the sake of Allaah, the Shaytaan comes to him and says,
“You will be killed and will die, and your children will become
orphans, lost and alone,” so he stays home and does not go out
for jihaad. When he said that children are the cause of ignorance,
he meant that they distract a father from seeking knowledge and
trying to acquire learning by attending gatherings and reading
books. When he said that children are the cause of grief, he meant
that when a child gets sick, the parent feels grief; if the child
asks for something that the father cannot provide, this grieves
the father; and if the child grows up and rebels against his
father, this is a cause of ongoing grief and distress.
This is not to say that one should forego
marrying and having children; what is meant is that one should
beware of becoming preoccupied with them and letting that lead one
to commit haraam deeds.
Concerning the temptation of wealth, the
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every nation has its fitnah (trial
or temptation), and the fitnah of my ummah is wealth.” (Reported
by al-Tirmidhi, 2336; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2148).
Eagerness to acquire wealth is more damaging to a person’s
religion than the wolf who attacks the sheepfold. This is what the
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) meant when he said: “Two hungry wolves
sent against the sheep do not do more damage to them than a
man’s eagerness for wealth and standing does to his religion.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2376; Saheeh al-Jaami’,
5620). For this reason the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) urged Muslims to take
just what is sufficient, without hoping for more, which could
distract him from remembering Allaah. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “All that you
need of wealth is a servant and a means of transportation to go
out for the sake of Allaah.” (Reported by Ahmad, 5/290; Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 2386). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) issued a warning to
those who want to accumulate wealth, except for those who give in
charity: “Woe to those who want to accumulate wealth, except for
the one who says with his wealth, ‘Here! Here! Here!’ (i.e.,
giving it away) to one on his right, one on his left, one in front
of him and one behind him,” (reported by Ibn Maajah, no.
4129; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7137) – meaning
all forms of charity.
Hoping for a long life. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Leave them to eat and
enjoy, and let them be preoccupied with (false) hope. They will
come to know!” [al-Hijr 15:3]. ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said: “What I fear for you is following your desires
and hoping for a long life, for following one’s desires makes a
man ignore the truth, and hoping for a long life makes him forget
the Hereafter. (Fath al-Baari, 11/236).
Another report says: “Four things are causes of doom: dry eyes
(i.e., never weeping), a hard heart, hope for a long life and
eagerness for this world.” Hoping for a long life generates
laziness in worship, procrastination, desire for the things of
this world, neglect of the Hereafter and hardness of heart,
because softness of heart and clarity of vision can only be
achieved by remembering death, the grave, reward and punishment,
and the horrors of the Day of Judgement, as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “… and the term was
prolonged for them and their hearts were hardened…” [al-Hadeed
57:16]. It was said: “Whoever does not hope for a long life
will have less worries and his heart will be filled with light,
because he calls death to mind and strives to obey Allaah…” (Fath
al-Baari, 11/237)
Another cause of weak faith and
hard-heartedness is eating too much, sleeping too much, staying up
too late, talking too much and mixing with people too much. Eating
too much makes the brain slow and the body heavy, which prevents a
person from worshipping Allaah and makes it easy for Shaytaan to
tempt him, as it was said: “Whoever eats too much, drinks too
much and sleeps too much, loses a great reward.” Talking too
much hardens the heart, and mixing too much with people stops a
person from having time to be alone and reflect on his own state.
Laughing too much drains life from the heart. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in a saheeh
hadeeth: “Do not laugh too much, for excessive laughter deadens
the heart.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 4193; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami’). Time that is not filled with
worship of Allaah also leads to hard-heartedness, as a person pays
heed to neither the rebukes of the Qur’aan nor the advice of
faith.
The causes of weak faith are many indeed, and
it is impossible to list them all, but what we have listed above
will give the reader an impression of others which we have not
mentioned here. The wise person understands this innately. We ask
Allaah to purify our hearts and protect us from the evil of our
own selves.
Curing weak faith
Al-Haakim reported in al-Mustadrak,
and al-Tabaraani reported in al-Mu’jam, that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Faith wears
out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so
ask Allaah to renew the faith in your hearts.” (Reported
by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak, 1/4; see also al-Silsilat
al-Saheehah, 1585. Al-Haythami said in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id,
1/52, “It was reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer and
its isnaad is saheeh.”) What he meant is that
faith wears out in the heart just as clothes wear out and become
old. The heart of the believer is sometimes overwhelmed by clouds
of sin, and so it goes dark. This is the picture drawn for us by
the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the saheeh hadeeth:
“There is no heart that is not covered by a cloud like the cloud
covering the moon when it is shining, and so it suddenly goes
dark, but when it (the cloud) goes away, it shines again.” (Reported
by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 2/196; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
2268). Sometimes the moon is covered by clouds,
which conceal its light, but after a little while they go away,
and the light of the moon comes back to light up the sky. In the
same way, the heart of the believer is sometimes covered with dark
clouds of sin, so its light is veiled, and the person finds
himself lost in darkness, but when he strives to increase his
eemaan and seeks the help of Allaah, that cloud goes away, and the
light comes back to shine in his heart as before.
One of the most important principles which must
be understood in order to treat the problem of weak faith is that
faith increases and decreases, or waxes and wanes. This is one of
the basic principles of the ‘aqeedah of Ahl al-Sunnah
wa’l-Jamaa’ah, who say that faith is something to be spoken in
words, to be believed in in the heart, and to be put into action.
Faith increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience.
There is evidence for this in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, for
example, Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): “…
that they may grow more in Faith along with their (present)
Faith…” [al-Fath 48:4] and “… Which of you has had
his faith increased by it? …” [al-Tawbah 9:124]. The
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever among you sees an evil
action, let him change it by his hand (by action), and if he
cannot, then by his tongue (by speaking out), and if he cannot,
then by his heart (by feeling that it is wrong), and that is the
weakest of faith.” (Al-Bukhaari, Fath, 1/51).
The effects of obedience and sin, which
increase and decrease faith respectively, are well known from
observation and experience. If a person goes out walking in the
market-place, where he looks at uncovered women wearing make-up,
and hears the shouting and idle talk of the people, then he goes
to the graveyard and stops to think and let his heart soften, he
will see the difference between the two environments and how
quickly his heart changes.
Another factor in this discussion is the words
of one of the salaf: “One of the signs of proper understanding
is when a slave takes care of his eemaan, and pays attention to
what decreases it, and knows when it increases and when it
decreases, and recognizes the temptation of Shaytaan when he comes
to him.” (Sharh Nooniyah Ibn al-Qayyim by Ibn
‘Eesa, 2/140).
It is important to know that if a decrease in
faith leads to one neglecting one’s duties or doing haraam
deeds, this slackening is very serious and one must repent to
Allaah and start to do something about it at once. If it does not
lead to neglect of duties and doing haraam deeds, but just makes a
person fall short in doing mustahabb (recommended) deeds, for
example, then a person still needs to know how to sort himself out
and correct himself until he returns to the proper level of energy
and strength in worship. This is what we learn from the words of
the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Every deed has energy and
strength, and then this energy and strength is followed by a
slackening, so who’s slackening is in accordance to my Sunnah he
will be fine, and who’s slackening is to other than that [i.e.,
doing unlawful or forebidden deeds] he will be doomed.” (Reported
by Ahmad, 2/210; Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 55).
Before we discuss how to treat the problem of
weak faith, there is something we should note: many of those who
feel that their hearts are hard look for an external solution,
hoping that they can rely on others, even though it is within
their reach – if they want – to take care of themselves by
themselves. This is how it should be done, because eemaan is the
relationship between the slave and his Lord. Below, we will
discuss a number of ways prescribed by Islam by means of which the
Muslim can deal with his weakness of faith and hardness of heart,
after he puts his trust in Allaah and resigns himself to the fact
that he faces a struggle to achieve his goal:
Pondering the meanings of the Qur’aan,
which Allaah has revealed to explain everything and as a Light
by which He guides whomever He wills of His slaves. There is no
doubt that it contains a powerful and effective cure. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We send down
from the Qur’aan that which is a healing and a mercy to those
who believe…” [al-Isra’ 17:82]. The method of
treatment is to think and ponder its meanings.
The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to ponder the
meanings of the Book of Allaah and recite it when he stood in
prayer at night (qiyaam al-layl). On one occasion, he
stood in prayer at night and recited one single aayah from the
Book of Allaah whilst he was praying, and he did not go any
further than that (one aayah) until morning. The aayah in
question was (interpretation of the meaning): “If You
punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them,
verily You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”
[al-Maa’idah 5:118]. (Reported by Ahmad, 4/149; see
also Sifat al-Salaah by al-Albaani, p. 102).
He (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to ponder the meaning of
the Qur’aan, to the greatest extent. Ibn Hibbaan reported in his
Saheeh with a jayyid isnaad from ‘Ataarah, who said:
“‘Ubayd-Allaah ibn ‘Umayr and I entered upon ‘Aa’ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) and ‘Ubayd-Allaah ibn ‘Umayr
said: ‘Tell us of the most wonderful thing you saw on the part
of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ She wept and said,
‘He got up one night (to pray) and said, “O ‘Aa’ishah,
leave me to worship my Lord.” I said, “By Allaah, I love to be
near you, and I love what makes you happy.” He got up, purified
himself and stood up to pray, and he kept weeping until his lap
got wet, then he wept and kept weeping until the ground got wet.
Bilaal came to call the adhaan for him, and when he saw him
weeping, he said, “O Messenger of Allaah, are you weeping when
Allaah has forgiven all of your sins, past and future?” He said,
“Should I not be a thankful slave? This night some aayaat have
been revealed to me, woe to the one who reads them and does not
think (about their meaning). Among them is (interpretation of the
meaning): Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth,
and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs
for men of understanding, those who remember Allaah (always, and
in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and
think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth…”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:190-191].”’” (Al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
1/106). This indicates that it is obligatory to
ponder the meaning of these aayaat.
The Qur’aan speaks of Tawheed, and contains
promises of reward, threats of punishment, rules and regulations,
reports, stories, etiquette and good morals, and its effects on
the heart are various. Some soorahs fill the heart with fear more
than others, as is indicated by the hadeeth of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “(Soorat) Hood and
its sisters made me grey before my time.” (al-Silsilat
al-Saheehah, 2/679). According to another
report: “Hood and al-Waaqi’ah and al-Mursalaat and ‘amma
yatasaa’aloon and Idha’l-shamsu kuwwirat” (Reported
by al-Tirmidhi, 3297; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 955). The
Prophet’s hair turned grey because of what these soorahs contain
of the realities of faith and great responsibilities, which filled
his heart and had a visible effect on his hair and body. “So
stand (ask Allaah to make) you firm and straight (on the religion
of Islamic Monotheism) as you are commanded and those (your
companions) who turn in repentance (unto Allaah) with you…”
[Hood 11:112 – interpretation of the meaning].
The Companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited the Qur’aan
and pondered its meaning and were moved by it. Abu Bakr (may
Allaah be pleased with him) was a gentle, soft-hearted man, and
when he led the people in prayer and recited the words of Allaah,
he could not stop himself from weeping. ‘Umar became ill after
reciting the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily,
the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass, - there is none
that can avert it” [al-Toor 52:7-8]. (This report and
its isnaad are in Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 7/406).
His sobs could be heard from the back of the congregation when he
recited Allaah’s words about Ya’qoob (peace be upon him)
(interpretation of the meaning): “He said, ‘I only complain
of my grief and my sorrow to Allaah…’” [Yoosuf 12:86]. (Manaaqib
‘Umar by Ibn al-Jawzi, 167). ‘Uthmaan (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: “If our hearts were pure and
clean, we would never have enough of the Word of Allaah.” He was
killed unjustly as a martyr and his blood fell on his mus-haf –
the reports from the Sahaabah concerning this are many. Ayyoob
said: “I heard Sa’eed (ibn Jubayr) reciting this aayah
twenty-odd times: “And be afraid of the Day when you shall be
brought back to Allaah…” [al-Baqarah 2:281 – interpretation
of the meaning]. (Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’,
4/324). This was the last aayah to be revealed of
the Qur’aan, and the ending of it is (interpretation of the
meaning): “… Then every person shall be paid what he
earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” [al-Baqarah
2:281]. Ibraaheem ibn Bashshaar said: “The aayah which
‘Ali ibn Fudayl was reading when he died was (interpretation of
the meaning): ‘If you could but see when they will be held
over the (Hell) Fire! They will say: “Would that we were but
sent back (to the world)!…”’ [al-An’aam 6:27]. When he
reached that point, he died, and I was one of those who prayed for
him [at his funeral], may Allaah have mercy on him.” (Siyar
A’laam al-Nubala’, 4/446). Even when they
prostrated as required when reading Qur’aan (sajadaat al-tilaawah
– prostrations required when reciting certain aayaat of the
Qur’aan), they reacted in different ways. One of them was the
man – may Allaah have mercy on him – who, when he read the
aayah (interpretation of the meaning), “And they fall down on
their faces weeping and it adds to their humility” [al-Isra’
17:109], prostrated as required, then he rebuked himself by
saying: “This is the prostration, but where is the weeping?”
Among the features of the Qur’aan which are
most deserving of contemplation are the examples and parables
which Allaah sets forth and urges us to ponder and think about. He
tells us (interpretation of the meanings): “ … Allaah sets
forth parables for mankind in order that they may remember” [Ibraaheem
14:25] and “… Such are the parables which We put
forward to mankind that they may reflect.” [al-Hashr 59:21].
One of the salaf once read one of these
parables of Allaah and could not grasp the meaning, so he began to
weep. He was asked, “What makes you weep?” He said: “Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And these similitudes
We put forward for mankind, but none will understand them except
those who have knowledge (of Allaah and His Signs, etc.)’
[al-‘Ankaboot 29:43], and I do not understand the parable. I
am not one who has knowledge, and I am weeping for all the time I
have wasted and not gained knowledge.”
Allaah sets forth many parables for us in the
Qur’aan, such as the following (interpretation of the meanings):
the one who kindled a fire [al-Baqarah 2:17], the one who shouts
to the (flock of sheep) that hears nothing [al-Baqarah 2:171], the
likeness of a grain (of corn) that grows seven ears [al-Baqarah
2:261], the dog who lolls his tongue out [al-A’raaf 7:176], the
donkey who carries huge burdens of books (but learns nothing from
them) [al-Jumu’ah 62:5], the fly (which none but Allaah can
create, even if they join together for that purpose) [al-Hajj
22:73], the spider (which builds a house for itself, but it is the
frailest of houses) [al-‘Ankaboot 29:41], the blind and the deaf
and the seer and the hearer [Hood 11:24], the ashes on which the
wind blows furiously on a stormy day [Ibraaheem 14:18], the goodly
tree [Ibraaheem 14:24], the evil tree [Ibraaheem 14:26], the water
which is sent down from the sky [al-An’aam 6:99], the niche
within which is a lamp [al-Noor 24:35], the slave under the
possession of another who has no power of any sort [al-Nahl
16:75], the (slave) man belonging to many partners [al-Zumar
39:29], and others. The point here is that we should refer to
these aayat and pay special attention to them, pondering their
meanings.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him)
summed up what the Muslim has to do to remedy the hardness of his
heart with the Qur’aan. He said: “There are two main things
you have to do. The first is to move your heart from dwelling on
the things of this world and move it to dwell on the Hereafter,
then focus all your heart on the Qur’aan and ponder its meanings
and why it was revealed. Try to understand something from every
aayah and apply it to the disease of your heart. These aayaat were
revealed (to treat) the disease of the heart, so you will be
healed, by the permission of Allaah.”
Trying to feel an awareness of the might of
Allaah, learning His names and attributes, pondering their
meanings, trying to understand them and to establish these
feelings in the heart so that they may have an effect on one’s
actions. The heart is the controller of the faculties, which are
like soldiers and followers; if it is sound, they will be sound,
and if it is corrupt, they will be corrupt.
The texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah which
speak of the greatness and might of Allaah are many. When the
Muslim reads them, he is shaken and becomes humble before the Most
High, the Most Great, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and his
fear and submission to the Lord of the first and the last
increases. Many of His names and attributes are mentioned in the
Qur’aan. He is the Most Great (al-‘Azeem), the Watcher
over His creatures (al-Muhaymin), the Compeller (al-Jabbaar),
the Majestic (al-Mutakabbir), the Most Strong (al-Qawi),
the Subduer (al-Qahhaar), the Great (al-Kabeer), the
Most Exalted (al-Muta’aal). He is the Living Who does not
die, although jinn and men die. He is the One Who has irresistable
power over His slaves. The thunder glorifies and praises Him, and
so do the angels because of His awe. He is All-Mighty, All-Able of
retribution. He is the Self-Sustaining who does not sleep. He has
full knowledge of all things. He knows the fraud of the eyes, and
all that the breasts conceal. He has described His vast knowledge
in the following terms (interpretation of the meaning): “And
with Him are the keys of the ghayb (all that is hidden), none
knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in (or on) the
earth and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is
not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry
but is written in a Clear Record.” [al-An’aam 6:59]. One
of the aspects of His greatness about which He has told us is
(interpretation of the meaning): “… And on the Day of
Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand
and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand…” [al-Zumar
39:67]. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah will
seize the earth on the Day of Resurrection and will roll up the
heavens in His right hand, then He will say, ‘I am the King,
where are the kings of the earth?” (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, 6947). The heart trembles when one
reads the story of Moosa and how he said (interpretation of the
meaning): “ ‘O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look
upon You.’ Allaah said, ‘You cannot see Me, but look upon the
mountain, if it stands still in its place, then you shall see
Me.’ So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it
collapse to dust, and Moosa fell down unconscious…” [al-A’raaf
7:143]. When the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained this aayah,
he said, “Like this,” and gestured with his thumb on the
highest knuckle of his little finger, then he said, “and the
mountain trembled and collapsed.” (Reported by
al-Tirmidhi, no. 3074; Ahmad, 3/125, 209. Ibn Katheer quoted its
isnaads in his Tafseer, 3/466. Ibn al-Qayyim said: Its
isnaad is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim. Al-Albaani
quoted it and classed it as saheeh in Takhreej al-Sunnah by
Ibn Abi ‘Aasim, hadeeth 480). Allaah, may He be
glorified and exalted, has “a veil of light, and if He lifted
it, the glory of His countenance would burn all of His creation as
far as he could see.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 197).
Another aspect of Allaah’s might was described by His Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “When Allaah
settles a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in
humility and submission to His words, (with a sound) like a chain
(beating) on a rock. When they settle down, they say, ‘What did
your Lord say?’ They say, ‘What He says is the Truth, and He
is the Most High, the Most Great.’” (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, 7043). There are many such texts,
which indicate that feeling the greatness of Allaah by pondering
the meaning of these texts and others is one of the best ways of
dealing with the problem of weak faith. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah
have mercy on him) described the greatness of Allaah in the most
beautiful way: “He is controlling the affairs of all the
kingdoms. He commands and prohibits, creates and gives provision,
and gives death and gives life. He raises and lowers people’s
status, alternates night and day, gives days (good and not so
good) to men by turns, and causes nations to rise and fall, so
that one nation vanishes and another emerges. His command and
decree are carried out throughout the heavens and on earth, above
it and below it, in the oceans and in the air. He has knowledge of
all things and knows the number of all things. He hears all
voices, and does not mistake one for another; He hears them all,
in all the different languages and with all their varied requests
and pleas. No voice distracts Him from hearing another, He does
not confuse their requests, and He never tires of hearing the
pleas of those in need. He sees all that is visible, even the walk
of a black ant across a solid rock in the darkest night. The
unseen is visible to Him, and secrets are known to Him… ‘Whosoever
is in the heavens and on earth begs of Him (its needs from Him).
Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to
some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)!’
[al-Rahmaan 55:29 – interpretation of the meaning]. He
forgives sins, eases worries, relieves distress, helps the
defeated person back on his feet, makes the poor rich, guides the
one who is astray and confused, fulfils the needs of the
desperate, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, conceals faults,
and calms fears. He raises the status of some and lowers the
status of others… Even if all the inhabitants of heaven and
earth, the first and the last of them, mankind and jinn alike,
were to be as pious as the most pious among them, this would not
increase His sovereignty in the slightest; if they all, the first
and the last of them, mankind and jinn alike, were to be as
rebellious as the most rebellious among them, this would not
decrease His sovereignty in the slightest. If everything in heaven
and on earth, the first and the last of them, mankind and jinn,
living and dead, animate and inanimate, were to stand in one place
and ask of Him, and He were to give them everything that they
asked for, this would not decrease what He has by even an atom’s
weight… He is the First, before Whom there is nothing, and the
Last, after Whom there is nothing, may He be blessed and exalted.
He is the Most deserving of being remembered, the Most deserving
of being worshipped, the Most deserving of being thanked. He is
the Most Compassionate of kings, the Most Generous of those who
are asked… He is the King Who has no partner or associate, the
One who has no rival, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who has no son,
the Most High, and there is none like unto Him. “Everything
will perish save His face” [al-Qasas 28:88 – interpretation of
the meaning], and everything will vanish except His
sovereignty… He will not be obeyed except by His permission, and
He will not be disobeyed except with His knowledge. He is obeyed,
so He shows His appreciation, and He is disobeyed, so he forgives.
Every punishment on His part is justice, and every blessing from
Him is a favour. He is the closest of witnesses and the nearest of
protectors. He seizes people by their forelocks, records their
deeds and decrees the appointed time for all things. Hearts
conceal nothing from Him, for secrets are known to Him. His gift
is a word and His punishment is a word: ‘Verily, His Command,
when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be!” –
and it is.’ [Yaa-Seen 36:82 – interpretation of the meaning].”
(Adapted from al-Waabil al-Sayib, p. 125)
Seeking Islamic knowledge, which is knowledge
that leads one to fear Allaah and which increases one’s faith in
Him, may He be glorified. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “… It is only those who have knowledge among His
slaves that fear Allaah…” [Faatir 35:28]. Those who have
knowledge and those who do not are not equal in faith. How can one
who knows the details of sharee’ah, the meaning and implications
of the Shahaadatayn, the things that will happen after death –
such as the torment of the grave, the horrors of the final
gathering, the stages of the Day of Resurrection, the delights of
Paradise and the punishments of Hell, the wisdom of sharee’ah in
prescribing halaal and haraam, the details of the Prophet’s
seerah, and other kinds of knowledge… How can one who knows all
this be equal in faith with one who is ignorant of the religion
and its rulings and what Islam says about matters of the Unseen.
All the latter knows about his religion is mere imitation, and the
little knowledge he has is of poor quality. “…Say: Are
those who know equal to those who do not know? …” [al-Zumar
39:9 – interpretation of the meaning].
Regular attendance at gatherings of dhikr
(remembrance of Allaah). This leads to an increase in faith for a
number of reasons, such as the mentioning of Allaah, the descent
of mercy and tranquillity, the angels surrounding the people
present, and Allaah mentioning them to the chiefs (angels) on
high, showing His pride in them to the angels and forgiving their
sins. This was mentioned in saheeh ahaadeeth, for example, when
the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No people sit together
remembering Allaah, but the angels surround them, mercy envelops
them, tranquillity descends upon them, and Allaah mentions them to
those who are in His presence.” (Saheeh Muslim,
no. 2700). Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyyah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘No people
gather together to remember (Allaah) and then disperse, but it
will be said to them: “Get up, you are forgiven.”’” (Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 5507). Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: “When he spoke of remembering Allaah (dhikr),
he meant doing it regularly and persistently, by doing acts that
are obligatory or encouraged, such as reciting Qur’aan, reading
hadeeth, and studying with other people.” (Fath
al-Baari, 11/209). Another indication that
gatherings of dhikr increase one’s eemaan is the report narrated
by Imaam Muslim in his Saheeh from Hanzalah al-Usaydi, who
said: “I met Abu Bakr, and he asked me, ‘How are you, O
Hanzalah?’ I said, ‘Hanzalah has become a munaafiq
(hypocrite).’ He said, ‘Subhaan-Allaah! What are you
saying?’ I said, ‘We sit with the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he tells us about
Hell and Paradise until it is as if we can see them, then when we
leave the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we get involved with
our wives and children and earning a living, and we forget a
lot.’ Abu Bakr said, ‘I feel the same way.’ So Abu Bakr and
I went to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and I said,
‘Hanzalah has become a hypocrite, O Messenger of Allaah.’ The
Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Why is that?’ I
said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, we sit with you and you tell us
about Hell and Paradise until it is as if we can see them, then
when we leave you, we get involved with our wives and children and
earning a living, and we forget a lot.’ The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him said, ‘By the One in
Whose hand is my soul, if you continued to be as you are when you
are with me, and to make dhikr, the angels would shake your hands
in your beds and on the road. But, O Hanzalah, there is a time for
this and a time for that’ – and he said this three times.” (Saheeh
Muslim, no. 2750).
The Sahaabah, may Allaah be pleased with them,
were keen to sit toegther for the purpose of dhikr, which they
used to call eemaan (faith or belief). Mu’aadh (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said to a man: “Let us sit and believe for a
while.” (Its isnaad is saheeh; Arba’ Masaa’il
fi’l-Eemaan, revised by al-Albaani, p. 72).
Doing a lot of righteous deeds and filling
one’s time with them. This is one of the best ways of dealing
with weak faith, and is clearly very effective in strengthening
faith. Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him) set
the best example of this, when the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked his Sahaabah:
“Who among you got up fasting this morning?” Abu Bakr said,
“I did.” He asked, “Who among you has attended a funeral
today?” Abu Bakr said, “I have.” He asked, “Who among you
has fed a needy person today?” Abu Bakr said, “I have.” He
asked, “Who among you has visited a sick person today?” Abu
Bakr said, “I have.” The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “No man does
all of that but he will enter Paradise.” (Reported by
Muslim, Kitaab Fadaa’il al-Sahaabah, Baab 1, Hadeeth 12).
This story demonstrates that Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq
(may Allaah be pleased with him) was keen to make the most of
every opportunity and to do a variety of acts of worship. Because
this was an unexpected question on the part of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), this indicates that
Abu Bakr’s days were filled with acts of obedience and worship.
The salaf (may Allaah have mercy on them) reached the highest
levels in their efforts to do righteous deeds and fill their time
in this manner. An example of this is what was said about a group
of the salaf among whom was Hammaad ibn Salamah. Imaam ‘Abd al-Rahmaan
ibn Mahdi said: “If it were said to Hammaad ibn Salamah, ‘You
will die tomorrow,’ he would not be able to do more good deeds
(than he was already doing).” (Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’,
7/447).
The Muslim should pay attention to the
following when doing good deeds:
He should hasten to do good deeds, because
Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): “And march
forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and
for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth…” [Aal
‘Imraan 3:133] and “Race one with another in hastening
towards Forgiveness from your Lord (Allaah), and towards Paradise,
the width whereof is as the width of heaven and earth…” [al-Hadeed
57:21]. The meaning of these aayaat motived the Companions of
the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and stirred them to action. Imaam
Muslim (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported in his Saheeh
from Anas ibn Maalik that at the Battle of Badr, when the
mushrikeen approached, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Get up to
Paradise the width of the heavens and the earth!” ‘Umayr ibn
al-Himaam al-Ansaari said, “O Messenger of Allaah, Paradise the
width of the heavens and the earth?” He said, “Yes.” He
said, “That’s great!” The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “What makes
you say, ‘That’s great!’?” He said, “Nothing, by Allaah,
O Messenger of Allaah, except that I hope I will be one of its
people.” He said, “You will be one of its people.” He took
some dates out of his pocket and started to eat them, then he
said, “If I live to finish eating these dates it will be too
long.” He threw aside the dates then fought them until he was
killed. (Saheeh Muslim, 1901). Long
before that, Moosa had hastened to meet his Lord, and said, “…I
hastened to You, O my Lord, that You might be pleased.” [Ta-Ha
20:84 – interpretation of the meaning]. Allaah praised
Zakariyah and his wife by saying (interpretation of the meaning): “…Verily,
they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on
Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us.”
[al-Anbiya’ 21:90]. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Deliberation
in all things,” but according to another report, he added,
“except in deeds that pertain to the Hereafter [i.e., good
deeds].” (Reported by Abu Dawood in his Sunan,
5/175; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3009).
Continuing to do good deeds, because the
Prophet < (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, transmitting the words of his Lord in
a hadeeth qudsi: “… ‘My slave keeps drawing nearer to me
with naafil (supererogatory) deeds until I love him.’” (Saheeh
al-Bukhaari, 6137). The phrase maa yazaalu
(“keeps [drawing near]”) gives the impression of continuity.
The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Continue doing Hajj and
‘Umrah.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 810; al-Silsilat
al-Saheehah, 1200). This is an important
principle when it comes to strengthening one’s eemaan and not
neglecting oneself to the point of stagnation. A small deed that
is continuous is better than a big deed that is not done
regularly. Continuity in righteous deeds strengthens eemaan. The
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) was asked: “Which deed is most beloved to
Allaah?” He said, “The one that is continuous, even if it is
little.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 11/194).
When the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did something, he kept it up.” (Reported
by Muslim, Kitaab Salaat al-Musaafir, Baab 18, Hadeeth
141).
Striving one’s utmost to do good deeds.
Dealing with a hard heart should not be the matter of a temporary
solution, where eemaan strengthens for a period of time then
becomes weak again; rather, it should be an ongoing effort, which
can only be achieved by striving one’s utmost in worship. Allaah
has mentioned the efforts of His slaves in their worship in
several places in the Qur’aan, such as (interpretation of the
meanings): “Only those believe in Our aayaat (signs, etc.)
who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate, and
glorify the Praises of their Lord, and they are not proud. Their
sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope,
and they spend (charity, in Allaah’s Cause) out of what We have
bestowed on them.” [al-Sajdah 32:15-16] and: “They used
to sleep but little by night [invoking their Lord and praying,
with fear and hope]. And in the hours before dawn, they were
(found) asking (Allaah) for forgiveness, and in their properties
there was the right of the beggar and the mahroom (the poor who
does not ask from others).” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:17-19].
Reading about how the salaf achieved the qualities of true
worshippers is something that fills one with admiration and makes
one try to follow their example. For example, they used to
complete the recitation of one-seventh of the Qur’aan every day;
they used to pray at night (qiyaam al-layl) even when they were
fighting on military campaigns; they used to remember Allaah and
pray tahajjud even in prison, standing on their feet with tears
streaming down their cheeks, thinking about the creation of heaven
and earth. One of them would lie down next to his wife until she
slept, just as a mother lies down next to her child to get him to
sleep, then he would slip away from the bed to pray qiyaam al-layl.
They divided their nights between themselves and their wives, and
their days between fasting, studying, teaching, attending
funerals, visiting the sick and attending to people’s needs. In
some cases, years passed and they never missed the takbeerat
al-ihraam (beginning of the prayer) with the imaam; they would
wait for prayer after prayer. One of them would check on his
brother’s children after his brother died, spending on them for
years. In this way their faith would increase.
Not exhausting oneself (avoiding
“burnout”). Doing acts of worship continually or striving
one’s utmost does not mean that we have to fall into the trap of
becoming bored and fed up. The idea is that we should not give up
striving in worship when we have the energy and inclination, and
when we feel tired, we should just do as much as we can. All of
these ideas are indicated in the ahaadeeth, such as when the
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Religion is very easy and whoever
overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue
in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near
to perfection…” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 39). According to another report, he said: “Be
moderate, and you will reach what you want.” (Saheeh
al-Bukhaari, 6099. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him)
entitled the chapter Baab ma yukrah min al-Tashdeed
fi’l-‘Ibaadah (Chapter on what is disliked of extremism in
worship)). Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: “The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered (the mosque) and saw
a rope strung between two pillars. He said, ‘What is this rope
for?’ They said, ‘This rope belongs to Zaynab, when she feels
tired, she holds on to it.’ The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘No, untie it.
Let one of you pray so long as he has the energy, and when he
feels tired, let him sit down.’” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari,
1099). When the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) learnt that
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas was staying up to pray (qiyaam
al-layl) the whole night, and fasting for days on end, he told him
not to do that, and explained why: “If you do that, your eyes
will become weak (because of staying up late too often), and you
will feel exhausted.” The Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do what you
can of (good) deeds, for Allaah will never get tired although you
get tired. The most beloved deed to Allaah is the one that is
continuous, even if it is little.” (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, Fath, 3/38).
Making up for what one has missed. ‘Umar ibn
al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the
Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a person sleeps and misses the
part of the Qur’aan that he was supposed to read at night, or a
part of it, and then reads it between Salaat al-Fajr and Salaat
al-Zuhr, it will be recorded for him as if he read it at night.”
(Reported by al-Nisaa’i and others, al-Mujtaba,
2/68; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1228).
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The
Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), if he prayed a prayer, he
would always do it. If he missed praying at night because sleep or
pain overwhelmed him, he would pray twelve rak’ahs during the
day.” (Reported by Ahmad, 6/95). When Umm
Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) saw him praying two
rak’ahs after ‘Asr and asked him why, he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told her: “O
daughter of Abu Umayyah, you asked about the two rak’ahs (I
prayed) after ‘Asr. Some people came to me from ‘Abd al-Qays,
and distracted me from praying the two rak’ahs after Zuhr, so
these two rak’ahs are what I prayed just now.” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 3/105). If he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not pray four
rak’ahs before Zuhr, he would pray them afterwards. (Reported
by al-Tirmidhi, no 426; Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. 727).
If he missed the four rak’ahs before Zuhr, he would pray them
after Zuhr. (Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4759).
These ahaadeeth indicate that one should make up sunan rawaatib
(Sunnah acts that are done regularly) when one misses them. Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) made more than three
points about the Prophet’s fasting in Sha’baan, the first of
which was that he used to fast three days in every month, but
maybe he had been distracted from this fasting for several months,
so he put them together to make up for what he had missed before
the obligatory fast (i.e., Ramadaan) came. (Tahdheeb
Sunan Abi Dawood, 3/318). He
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to remain in
retreat (I’tikaaf) during the last ten days of Ramadaan, but
when he missed it one year because of travelling, the following
year he spent twenty days in I’tikaaf. (Fath al-Baari,
4/285).
Hoping that one’s deeds will be accepted
whilst fearing that they may not. After striving one’s utmost in
deeds of worship and obedience, one should fear that they may be
rejected. ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:
“I asked the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about this aayah
(interpretation of the meaning): ‘And those who give that
(their charity) which they give with their hearts full of fear
(whether it has been accepted or not)…’ [al-Mu’minoon 23:60]
– were they those who drink alcohol and steal? He said, ‘No, O
daughter of al-Siddeeq. They are those who fast and pray and give
charity whilst fearing that these deeds will not be accepted from
them. “It is these who race for the good deeds” [al-Mu’minoon
23:61 – interpretation of the meaning].’” (Reported
by al-Tirmidhi, 3175; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1/162).
Abu’l-Darda’ (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “To be
certain that Allaah would accept just one prayer from me would be
dearer to me than the world and everything in it, for Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): ‘Verily, Allaah accepts only
from those who are al-muttaqoon (the pious).’ [al-Maa’idah
5:27].” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/67). Among
the attributes of the believer is looking down on one’s own self
when it comes to fulfilling one’s duties towards Allaah (i.e.,
always thinking that one has not done enough or done them
properly). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a man were
to be dragged on his face from the day he was born until the day
he died of old age in order to earn the pleasure of Allaah, he
would think that was too little on the Day of Resurrection. (Reported
by Imaam Ahmad, al-Musnad, 4/184; Saheeh al-Jaami’,
5249). Whoever knows Allaah and knows himself will
see clearly that whatever good deeds he may accomplish will not be
enough, even if he brought the good deeds of all of the two races
(men and jinn), but Allaah, may He be glorified, accepts them by
His grace and mercy, and rewards for them by His grace and mercy.
Doing a variety of acts of worship. It is a
part of the mercy and wisdom of Allaah that He has given us a
variety of acts of worship to do, some of which are physical, such
as salaah, some financial, such as zakaah, and some combine both
physical and financial aspects, such as Hajj. Some of them are
spoken, such as dhikr and du’aa’. One type of worship may be
divided into fard (obligatory) and sunnah mustahabbah
(encouraged), both of which also vary. For example ,the (sunnah)
prayers number 12 rak’ahs, some of which are lower in status,
such as the four rak’ahs before ‘Asr and Salaat al-Duhaa, and
some are higher in status, such as Salaat al-Layl (praying at
night). There are also different ways of doing these prayers, such
as praying them two by two (as a series of two-rak’ah prayers),
or four by four. Witr could be five or seven or nine rak’ahs,
ending with one tashahhud. Whoever tries to do acts of worship
will find a great variety in numbers, times, ways, types and
rulings. Perhaps the wisdom behind this is so that no one will get
bored; instead his interest will constantly be renewed. People are
not all the same, and they do not have the same motivation all the
time or the same abilities. Some people may enjoy some kinds of
worship more than others. Glory be to the One Who has made gates
of Paradise according to different types of worship, as is stated
in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah. According to this
hadeeth, the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
spends on a pair for the sake of Allaah will be called from the
gates of Paradise, ‘O slave of Allaah, this is good.’ Whoever
is one of the people of prayer will be called from the gate of
prayer. Whoever is one of the people of jihaad will be called from
the gate of jihaad. Whoever is one of the people of fasting will
be called from the gate of al-Rayyaan. Whoever is one of the
people of charity will be called from the gate of charity.” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari, no. 1798). What is meant here is
those who do a lot of different types of naafil (supererogatory)
deeds. As far as fard deeds are concerned, there is no option –
they must be done by all. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The father is
the middle gate of Paradise” (reported by al-Tirmidhi,
no. 1900; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7145), meaning
honouring and respecting one’s parents. This variety is of
benefit in dealing with weakness of faith by doing more of the
acts of worship to which one has an inclination, as well as
continuing to do obligatory acts which Allaah has commanded us to
do. Thus when the Muslim refers to the texts which speak about
acts of worship, he will find unique types of worship which will
have a beautiful effect on his soul, an effect which can be found
nowhere else. Two examples of this are as follows:
Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him)
reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are
three whom Allaah loves and three whom Allaah hates. As for the
three whom Allaah loves, (they are) a man who meets a group of the
enemy, so he keeps fighting them until he is killed or he
penetrates (the enemy lines) for his companions to follow; people
whose journey at night becomes so long that they long to touch the
ground, so they make camp, but one of them stays aside and prays
until he wakes them up to resume their journey; and a man who has
a neighbour who disturbs him but he bears the annoyance with
patience until they are separated by the death or departure of one
of them. (Musnad Ahmad, 5/151; Saheeh al-Jaami’,
3074).
A man came to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) complaining that his
heart was hard. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “Would
you like your heart to become soft and to get what you want? Show
mercy to the orphan, pat his head, feed him from your own food,
and your heart will become soft and you will get what you want.”
(Hadeeth reported by al-Tabaraani; there are also
corroborating reports. See al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 2/533).
This has direct relevance to the topic of dealing with weak faith.
Fearing a bad end, because this will motivate
the Muslim to worship Allaah and will renew the faith in his
heart. There are many causes of a bad end, including weakness of
faith and indulging in sin. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentioned examples of
this, such as: “The one who kills himself with a piece of iron
will have the piece of iron in his hand, stabbing himself with it
in the fire of Hell, for ever and ever, without end. Whoever
drinks poison and kills himself will be sipping it – drinking it
and swallowing it slowly – in the fire of Hell, for ever and
ever, without end. Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and
kills himself, will be throwing himself down in the fire of Hell,
for ever and ever, without end.” (Saheeh Muslim,
no. 109). Some such events happened during the life
of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), such as the man who was with the
Muslim army, fighting in a manner unlike anyone else (i.e.,
recklessly). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “He is one of
the people of Hell.” One of the Muslim men followed him to see
why. The man was wounded severely and he wanted to hasten his
death, so he put his sword against his chest and leaned on it,
killing himself. (The story is in Saheeh al-Bukhaari,
al-Fath, 7/471). The stories of how people
met with a bad end are many, and the scholars have explained a
number of them. For example, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said in his book al-Da’ wa’l-Dawa’
that one of them was told, when he was dying, to say “La
ilaaha ill-Allaah,” and he said, “I cannot say it.”
Another was told to say La ilaaha ill-Allaah, and he
started humming a song. A businessman whose trade had made him
forget the remembrance of Allaah was told, when death was
imminent, to say La ilaaha ill-Allaah, and he started to
say, “This is a good piece, this fits you, this is a bargain”
and so on, until he died. (Tareeq al-Hijratayn, p.
308). It was reported that when one of the soldiers
of the king al-Naasir was dying, his son started telling him to
say La ilaaha ill-Allaah, but he said, “Al-Naasir is my
master.” His son kept saying the same thing, and his father kept
repeating “Al-Naasir is my master, al-Naasir is my master,”
then he died. Another was told to say La ilaaha ill-Allaah,
but instead he said, “Such-and-such a house, repair this and
that in it; such-and-such a garden, do this and that in it.” One
of those who deal in interest was told to say La ilaaha
ill-Allaah when he was dying, but he started to say, “Ten
for eleven,” repeating it until he died. (Al-Da’
wa’l-Dawa’, pp. 170, 289). Some of them
turned black, or turned away from the Qiblah. Ibn al-Jawzi (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: “I heard one of those in whom I
thought there was a lot of good saying on the night of his death,
‘My Lord is treating me unjustly’ – exalted be Allaah above
what he said! He accused Allaah of being unjust on his
deathbed.” Then Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: “I remained depressed and in despair of finding something
that would help me when I face that day (my own death).” (Sayd
al-Khawaatir, 137). Subhaan-Allaah, how often
have people seen this, but they do not know about what really
happened to those who were about to die; they do not know the half
of it.” (al-Da’ wal-Dawa’, 171)
Remember death often. The Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Remember
often the destroyer of pleasure, meaning death.” (Reported
by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2307; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1210).
Remembering death deters one from sin and softens the hard heart.
No one remembers death at the time of hardship but he will feel
ease, and no one remembers death at the time of ease but he will
feel constricted. One of the things that remind a person of death
most is visiting graveyards, so the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to visit
them. He said, “I used to forbid you to visit graves, but now
(go and) visit them, for this softens the heart, makes the eyes
weep and reminds one of the Hereafter, and do not speak in an
obscene manner.” (Reported by al-Haakim, 1/376; Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 4584). The Muslim is even
permitted to visit the graves of kuffaar in order to derive a
lesson from this. The evidence for this is the report in al-Saheeh
which says that he visited his mother’s grave and wept, making
those around him weep too. He said, “I asked my Lord for
permission to ask for forgiveness for her, and He did not allow me
to do so, then I asked Him for permission to visit her grave, and
He granted me permission, so visit graves, for they remind one of
death.” (Reported by Muslim, 3/65).
Visiting graves is one of the best means of softening the heart.
The visitor benefits from remembering death, and the dead benefit
from the du’aa’s offered for them. An example of this reported
in the Sunnah is when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Peace be upon
you, O dwellers of this place, believers and Muslims. May Allaah
have mercy upon those of us who have gone on before and those who
will follow later. In sha Allaah we will join you soon.” (Reported
by Muslim, no. 974). The one who wants to visit
graves should observe the correct etiquette and have the proper
presence of mind when approaching them. The purpose of his visit
should be to earn the pleasure of Allaah and to reform his corrupt
heart, and also to learn a lesson from those who are under the
ground, cut off from their families and loved ones. He should
think about the condition of his brothers who have passed away,
how they achieved their worldly ambitions and gathered wealth, but
then were cut off from all of that and their wealth is no longer
of any avail to them. The earth has wiped out the beauty of their
faces, their bodies have disintegrated in the grave, their wives
have become widows and their children have become orphans. Let him
remember the error of being deceived by material means and of
relying on good health, youth and the inclination towards leisure,
for he will inevitably share their fate. Let him think of the
state of the deceased, how his legs are destroyed, his eyes have
become liquid, the worms have eaten his tongue, and the earth has
consumed his teeth. (Adapted from al-Tadhkirah by
al-Qurtubi, p. 16ff).
[Poetry omitted]
Whoever remembers death frequently will benefit
in three ways: he will hasten to repent, he will become content,
and he will be active in worship. Whoever forgets death will be
punished in three ways: he will delay repentance, he will no
longer be content with what is sufficient, and he will be lazy in
worship. One of the effective ways of reminding oneself about
death is to see those who are about to die, for seeing the dead,
witnessing the death throes and thinking about how a person looks
after he has died will put an end to empty pleasure and keep one
awake at night, and will motivate one to do good works and to
strive harder. Al-Hasan al-Basri once went to visit a sick person
and found him in the throes of death, so he saw the distress and
anguish that had befallen him. He went back to his family with a
different colour from when he had left them (i.e., he was visibly
shaken by what he had seen). They said to him, “Come and eat,
may Allaah have mercy on you.” He said, “O my family, go
ahead, eat and drink. I have seen death, and I shall never stop
working hard until I meet it.” (Al-Tadhkirah, 17).
One way of increasing awareness of death is to
attend funerals, carrying the deceased on one’s shoulders, going
to the graveyard, participating in the burial and throwing earth
into the grave. This reminds one of the Hereafter, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Visit the
sick and attend funerals; this will remind you of the
Hereafter.” (Reported by Ahmad, 3/48; Saheeh al-Jaami’,
4109). In addition to that, attending funerals
brings a great reward, as was stated by the Prophet <
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever attends a
funeral from the house [of the deceased] {according to one report:
whoever attends the funeral of a Muslim out of faith and in hope
of reward} until he prays for the deceased, will have one qeeraat,
and whoever attends until the person is buried will have two
qeeraats of reward.” It was said, “O Messenger of Allaah, what
are the two qeeraats?” He said, “Like two great mountains.”
{According to another report: “Each qeeraat is like [Mount] Uhud.”}.
(Reported by the two shaykhs and others. The above is
compiled from a number of reports. Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz by
al-Albaani, p. 67).
The salaf (may Allaah have mercy on them) used
to think of death when they advised a person who was committing a
sin. One of the salaf (may Allaah have mercy on him), when there
was a man in his presence gossiping about another, warned him by
saying, “Remember the cotton which they will put on your
eyes,” i.e., when shrouding him for burial.
Remembering the different levels of status in
the Hereafter. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“If his mind is clear, he will have insight, which is a light in
the heart, with which he will see the promise and the threat,
Paradise and Hell, and what Allaah has prepared in each for His
friends and His enemies, respectively. He will see, in his
mind’s eye, the people coming forth from their graves, hastening
towards the call of Truth; the angels coming down from heaven and
surrounding them, and Allaah coming to His Throne which is set up
for judgement; the earth filled with His light and the Book being
set forth; the Prophets and martyrs being brought; the scale being
set up and the records flying into their owner’s hands; the
disputants being brought together; every creditor hanging on to
his opponent; the appearance of the hawd (cistern) and the
bringing near of its cups; intense thirst, but only a few being
allowed to drink; the setting up of the bridge and the jostling of
the people to cross over it; the sharing out of lights because the
bridge to be crossed is very dark; the Fire of Hell, parts of it
consuming other parts beneath the bridge; the huge numbers of
those who fall into the Fire, many times more than the numbers of
those who are saved. When his mind’s eye is opened to all of
this, one of the stages of the Hereafter will dwell in his heart,
so he will see that the Hereafter will abide forever whereas as
this world is just a transient, passing thing. (Madaarij
al-Saalikeen, 1/123). The Qur’aan frequently
describes scenes of the Last Day, in Soorahs such as Qaaf, al-Waaqi’ah,
al-Qiyaamah, al-Mursalaat, al-Naba’, al-Mutaffifeen
and al-Takweer. The books of hadeeth also mention this, in
chapters such as those on al-qiyaamah (resurrection), al-riqaaq
(reports that soften the heart), al-Jannah (Paradise), and al-Naar
(Hell). It is also important to read the books of scholars on this
subject, such as Haadi al-Arwaah by Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Nihaayah
fi’l-Fitan wa’l-Malaahim by Ibn Katheer, al-Tadhkirah
fi Ahwaal al-Mawtaa wa Umoor al-Aakhirah by al-Qurtubi, al-Qiyaamah
al-Kubraa and al-Jannah wa’l-Naar by ‘Umar al-Ashqar,
and others. The point here is that one of the things that increase
faith is knowledge about the events of the Day of Judgement, such
as the resurrection and bringing forth from the graves, the
gathering, intercession, the reckoning, reward and punishment, the
scales, the cistern, the siraat (bridge over Hell), and the place
of eternal abode, Paradise or Hell.
Interacting with the signs of Allaah that exist
in the Universe. Al-Bukhaari, Muslim and others report that when
the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw a cloud or noticed
a wind, this would be visible in his face. ‘Aa’ishah said,
“O Messenger of Allaah, I see that when the people see a cloud
they are happy, because they hope it will bring rain, but I see
that when you see a cloud, it is clear from your face that you do
not like it.” He said, “O ‘Aa’ishah, how can I be sure
that there is no punishment in it, for some people were punished
by the wind, and some people saw their punishment but said, ‘This
is a cloud bringing us rain!’ [al-Ahqaaf 46:24 –
interpretation of the meaning].” (Reported by Muslim,
899). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to be alarmed
when he saw an eclipse, as is reported in Saheeh al-Bukhaari
from Abu Moosa (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The sun was
eclipsed, and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up in alarm,
fearing that it was the Hour.” (Fath al-Baari,
2/545). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us, in the
event of an eclipse, to hasten to pray. He told us that both solar
and lunar eclipses are among the signs with which Allaah instills
fear in His slaves. There is no doubt that the heart’s
interaction with these phenomena and its alarmed reaction renew
faith in the heart, and remind one of Allaah’s punishment,
wrath, might and power. ‘Aa’ishah said: “The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) took my hand then pointed to the moon and
said, ‘O ‘Aa’ishah, seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of
this, for this is “the darkening (night) as it comes with its
darkness” [al-Falaq 113:3 – interpretation of the meaning].”’”
(Reported by Ahmad, 6/237; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah).
Another example is being affected and moved when passing by places
which were struck by the punishment of Allaah, or passing the
graves of wrongdoers. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him)
reported that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his
Companions, when they reached al-Hijr [??], “Do not enter upon
these places which were punished by Allaah, unless you do so
weeping. If you do not weep, then do not enter them, lest what
befell them befall you also.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
no. 423). Yet people nowadays go to such places as
tourists and take pictures there. Go figure!
Dhikr (remembrance of Allaah) is a very
important method of dealing with weak faith. It brings cleansing
and healing to the heart that is suffering disease, and it is the
very spirit of righteous deeds. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “O you who believe! Remember Allaah with much
remembrance” [al-Ahzaab 33:41]. Allaah promises success to
those who remember Him much (interpretation of the meaning): “…
and remember the Name of Allaah much, so that you may be
successful.” [al-Anfaal 8:45]. The remembrance of Allaah is
greater than everything else, as He says (interpretation of the
meaning): “… (and the remembering (praising, etc.) of (you
by) Allaah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your
remembering Allaah in prayers etc.]…” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:45].
This was the advice of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the man who thought
that the duties of Islam were too much; he told him: “Keep your
tongue wet with the remembrance of Allaah.” (Reported by
al-Tirmidhi, 3375; he said, this is a hasan ghareeb hadeeth, See
also Saheeh al-Kalim, 3). Dhikr pleases al-Rahmaan
(the Most Merciful) and keeps away the Shaytaan. It dispels worry
and distress, and brings provision and opens the door to
knowledge. It plants the seedlings of Paradise and helps one to
avoid the evils of the tongue. It offers consolation to the poor
who do not have the means to give charity; Allaah has compensated
them with dhikr, which takes the place of physical and financial
acts of worship. Neglecting dhikr and not remembering Allaah cause
hardness in the heart.
[poetry omitted]
So the person who wishes to remedy his weakness
of faith must increase his remembrance of Allaah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “… And remember your Lord
when you forget…” [al-Kahf 18:24]. Allaah explains the
effect that dhikr has on the heart (interpretation of the
meaning): “…Verily, in the remembrance of Allaah do hearts
find rest.” [al-Ra’d 13:28]. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said, concerning the remedy of dhikr: “In the
heart there is hardness which can only be softened by remembrance
of Allaah, may He be exalted. So the slave must treat the hardness
of his heart with the remembrance of Allaah, may He be exalted. A
man said to al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allaah have mercy on him), ‘O
Abu Sa’eed, I am complaining to you of the hardness of my
heart.’ He said, ‘Soften it with dhikr.’ The more forgetful
the heart is, the harder it becomes, but if a person remembers
Allaah, that hardness softens as copper melts in the fire. Nothing
can soften the hardness of the heart like the remembrance of
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted. Dhikr is healing and
medicine for the heart. Forgetfulness is a disease, the cure for
which is remembrance of Allaah. Makhool said: ‘Remembrance of
Allaah is a cure and remembrance of people is a disease.’” (Al-Waabil
al-Sayib wa Raafi’ al-Kalim al-Tayyib, 142).
By means of dhikr, the slave can overcome the
Shaytaan, just as the Shaytaan overcomes those who are neglectful
and forgetful. One of the salaf said: “When dhikr becomes
well-established in the heart, if the Shaytaan gets too close, a
person can defeat him. Then the shayateen gather around him (the
shaytaan who tried to get close to the heart of the believer) and
say, ‘What is wrong with this one?’ and it is said, ‘He was
harmed by a human!’ (Madaarij al-Saalikeen,
2/424). Most of the people who are harmed by the
shayaateen are neglectful people who do not protect themselves
with awraad and adhkaar (du’aa’s and prayers), so it is easy
for the shayaateen to overwhelm them.
For some of those who complain of weakness of
faith, it is difficult for them to do some of the things that can
cure it, such as praying qiyaam al-layl or observing naafil acts
of worship. It is appropriate for them to begin with this kind of
treatment (i.e., dhikr) and be eager to do it. They should learn
some general adhkar which they can recite continually, such as “Laa
ilaaha ill-Allaah la shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd,
wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer (There is no god but
Allaah, He has no partner; to Him be the sovereignty and the
praise, and He is Able to do all things),” and “Subhaan
Allaahi wa bi-hamdih, wa subhaan Allaah il-‘Azeem (Praise
and glory be to Allaah, and glory be to Allaah the Almighty),”
and “La hawla wa la quwwata illa billaah (There is no
strength and no power except in Allaah),” and so on. They should
also memorize the du’aa’s which according to the Sunnah should
be recited at certain times or in certain places, such as in the
morning and evening, when going to sleep, when waking up, when
seeing visions and dreams, when eating, when going to the
bathroom, when travelling, when rain falls, when hearing the
adhaan, when going to the mosque, when making a decision (istikhaarah),
when stricken with calamity, when visiting graveyards, when there
is wind, when seeing the new moon, when getting into or onto a
means of transportation, when greeting someone, when sneezing,
when one hears the cock crow or the donkey bray or the dog bark,
when a gathering comes to an end, when seeing someone who is
afflicted with suffering, and so on. No doubt whoever perseveres
with this will see a direct effect on his heart. (Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah wrote a very useful book on the topic of
adhkaar, entitled Al-Kalim al-Tayyib, which has been
abridged by al-Albaani under the title Saheeh al-Kalim al-Tayyib).
Confiding in Allaah and humbling oneself before
Him. The more the slave humbles himself before Allaah, the closer
he becomes to Him. Thus the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The closest
the slave can be to Allaah is when he is prostrating to Him, so
make lots of du’aa’ then.” (Reported by
Muslim, 482). Prostration is the position of
humility, quite unlike any other posture or position. When the
slave puts his forehead – the highest part of his body – on
the ground, he becomes as close as he can be to his Lord. Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allaah have mercy on him) spoke in the most eloquent terms
expressing humility before Allaah and the contrition of the one
who repents to Him: “Oh how sweet are the words of the one who
speaks thus: ‘I ask You by Your power and my humility to show
mercy to me. I ask You by Your strength and my weakness, by Your
independence of me and my dependence upon You. Here is my lying,
sinful forelock in Your hands. Your slaves other than me are so
many, and I have no refuge or sanctuary from You except with You.
I ask You in the manner of the poor and wretched, I pray to You in
the manner of one who humbly submits, I call on You in the manner
of one who is fearful and blind, one whose neck is totally bowed
to You, whose eyes shed tears for you, whose heart is humbled
before You.’ When the slave comes whispering words such as
these, his faith multiplies exponentially in his heart.”
Showing one’s need for Allaah also
strengthens faith. Allaah has told us how much we need and depend
on Him. He tells us (interpretation of the meaning): “O
mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allaah, but Allaah is Rich
(Free of all wants and needs), Worthy of all praise.” [Faatir
35:15]
Not hoping for a long life. This is a very
important facet of renewing faith. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: “The greatest thing we learn from these
aayaat (interpretation of the meanings) – ‘Tell Me, if We
do let them enjoy for years, and afterwards comes to them that
(punishment) which they had been promised! All that with which
they used to enjoy shall not avail them’ [al-Shu’ara’
26:205-207] and ‘… (it will be) as if they had not
stayed (in the life of this world) but an hour of a day…’ [Yoonus
10:45] – is that the whole length of this world should not
make a man hope for a long life or say, ‘I will live, I will
live…’ One of the salaf said to a man, ‘Lead us in Zuhr
(prayer).’ The man said, ‘I will lead you in Zuhr prayer but I
cannot lead you in ‘Asr prayer.’ He said, ‘It is as if you
hope to live until the time of ‘Asr; we seek refuge with Allaah
from hoping for a long life.’”
Thinking of the insignificance of this world
until the heart is detached from it. Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning): “… The life of this world is only the
enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).” [Aal ‘Imraan
3:185]. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The food of
the son of Adam is set forth as a metaphor of this life; see what
comes out of the son of Adam even though salt and spices were
added to it, he knows how it is going to end up.” (Reported
by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 1/198; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
no. 382). Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be please with
him) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘This world is
cursed and what is in it is cursed, except the remembrance of
Allaah and what is connected to it, and knowledge, and
teaching.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, no. 4112; Saheeh
al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, no. 71)
Respecting the limits set by Allaah. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): “Thus it is. And
whosoever honours the Symbols of Allaah, then it is truly from the
piety of the heart.” [al-Hajj 22:32]. The limits set by
Allaah are the rights that Allaah has over us. They may be with
regard to people, places or times. With regard to people, for
example, there is paying proper respect to the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); with regard to
places, for example, there is respect for the Haram [in Makkah];
with respect to times, for example, there is the month of Ramadaan.
“… And whoever honours the sacred things of Allaah, that is
better for him with his Lord…” [al-Hajj 22:30 –
interpretation of the meaning]. Another way in which one may
respect the limits set by Allaah is not to think of minor sins (saghaa’ir)
as insignificant. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood reported that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Beware of sins that
are seen as insignificant, for they will keep accumulating until
they destroy a man.” The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained this by
comparing them to people who stop to camp in the wilderness and
decide to build a fire, so one man goes out and brings back a
stick, and another man brings a stick, until they have gathered
enough, then they light a fire and cook whatever they throw onto
it. (Reported by Ahmad, 1/402; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
389).
[Poetry omitted]
Ibn al-Jawzi said in Sayd al-Khaatir:
“Many people are too easy-going in matters which they think are
not serious but which in fact destroy the bases of faith, such as
looking at haraam things, or, as some students do, borrowing
text-books and not returning them.” One of the salaf said: “I
took the matter of a small morsel too lightly and I ate it; now
forty years later I am still slipping backwards.” He said this
because of his modesty, may Allaah have mercy on him.
Al-wala’ wa’l-bara’
(friendship/loyalty versus enmity/disavowal), i.e., friendship and
loyalty towards the believers, enmity towards and disavowal of the
disbelievers. When the heart is attached to the enemies of Allaah,
faith grows very weak and the principles of faith recede, but if
one devotes one’s loyalty towards Allaah, then one will befriend
and support the believing slaves of Allaah and hate and oppose His
enemies, and then faith will be revived.
Modesty also has an active role to play in
renewing faith and cleansing the heart of arrogance, because
modesty in speech and appearance is indicative of modesty in the
heart towards Allaah. The Prophe
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Modesty (in
appearance) is a part of eemaan.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah
4118; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 341. What is meant is
modesty in appearance and dress; see al-Nihaayah by Ibn al-Atheer,
1/110). He also said: “Whoever refrains from
dressing (in fancy, expensive clothes) out of humility towards
Allaah, even though he is able to do so, Allaah will call him on
the Day of Resurrection at the head of His creation and will give
him the choice of whatever garment of faith he wishes to wear.” (Reported
by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2481; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 718).
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf (may Allaah be pleased with him)
could not be distinguished from his slave.
There are deeds of the heart which are
important for renewing eemaan, such as loving Allaah, fearing Him,
putting one’s hope in Him, thinking of Him in positive terms and
putting one’s trust in Him, accepting His decree, giving thanks
to Him, being sincere towards Him and having certain faith in Him,
trusting in Him, repenting to Him, and other deeds of the heart.
There are certain stages which the slave must
follow in order to complete the treatment (of weak faith), such as
being righteous, returning to Allaah, remembering Allaah, adhering
to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, being humble, living simply (zuhd),
fearing Allaah, feeling that Allaah is always watching. Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allaah have mercy on him) has discussed all these stages in
detail in his book Madaarij al-Saalikeen.
Self-evaluation also plays an important role in
renewing faith. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O
you who believe! Fear Allaah and keep your duty to Him. And let
every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and
fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is All-Aware of what you do.”
[al-Hashr 59:18]. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: “Take account of yourselves before you
are called to account.” Al-Hasan said: “You will not meet a
believer except he is evaluating himself.” Maymoon ibn Mahraan
[?] said: “The pious person is harder on himself than a stingy
partner.”
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: “Doom comes about because of neglecting to evaluate
one’s self and because of just following one’s whims.”
So the Muslim must take the time to be alone
and evaluate himself and check how he is doing, and what he has
sent forward for the Day of Judgement.
Finally, du’aa’, calling on Allaah, is one
of the most efficient means which the slave must employ, as the
Prophet ) peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Faith wears out in the
heart of any one of you as clothes wear out, so ask Allaah to
renew the faith in your hearts.”
O Allaah, we ask You by Your beautiful Names
and sublime Attributes to renew the faith in our hearts. O Allaah,
make faith appear beautiful to us and adorn our hearts with it,
and make kufr, sin and disobedience abhorrent to us. Make us of
those who are rightly guided. Glorified be the Lord of Might above
what they ascribe to Him. Peace be upon the Messengers and praise
be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.
(coutesy of www.islam-qa.com)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
