From time to time, the levels of our faith do tend to dwindle. This weakness of faith manifests itself in degraded quality of acts of our worship, negligence in remembering Allah, feeling indifferent to His commands and, in general, us having a doubtful heart. Experiencing any of these symptoms or others akin to them is an indication of a weakness of faith that in turn may be depriving us of peace, tranquility, and closeness to our creator and sustainer.
Weakness of Faith
This weakness or weariness of faith (Eeman), whether due to a weak understanding of truth, or the strength of external negative forces, is to be expected. Consider what the Prophet (SAWS) said in this context:
“Faith wears out in your heart as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts.” (narrated by al-Haakim in his Mustadrak and al-Tabaraani in his Mu’jam with a saheeh isnaad).
How to Renew Ones Faith
Here are a few steps that we can take immediately to renew our faiths.
Seek Allah’s Help
As the prophet mentioned in the aforementioned hadith, we should first and foremost ask Allah to renew and reinforce the faith in our hearts. We should make this call part of our regular Duas. In doing so, we should also be mindful of why we believe in the message of truth in the first place. We believe because we can relate the message of truth revealed in the Quran to the realities of this universe and what we find within ourselves and our hearts. We believe because as humans, a deeper intellectual and spiritual introspection has caused our hearts to resonate with the message of truth. We believe because after having pondered over the messages of Quran, we comprehend them and have internalized them in our psyche. But more importantly, we believe in the truth of the Quran and Islam because of Allah’s unchallengeable, unequivocal and logical assertion as the creator, sustainer, and sole power of this universe. Thus, being convinced of His deity and majesty and the nobility of His Messenger and Prophet, we have consciously chosen to believe and live that message of truth.
Reinforce truth with knowledge
Next, let’s get clear about the meaning of truth as Islam has defined it. The clearer the message of truth in our hearts, the stronger our faith will be. Part of the renewal is therefore to actively engage in understanding the message of truth in our hearts and minds through studying Quran, studying the traditions of the Prophet (SAW) as documented in the books of hadith and poring over the knowledge of known scholars who have helped elaborate on that message. The process of renewing our faith thus requires an active and personal effort to reach out to learn the various truths defined in Islam. The more we strive for it, the more we will increase our levels of awareness and faith.
Remember, the longer you keep your heart locked up from learning more, the less you will be able to reason and comprehend the message of truth, and the more you will rely on blind faith alone to live the message of truth.
As Allah says in the Quran,
“Will they not then ponder over the Qur’an, or is it that they have their locks on (their) hearts (which bar them from reason).” [47:24]
Beware of symptoms of rejection
Finally, be wary of what in your heart could be blurring your view of the message of truth. Imaam ibn Katheer, in his famous Tafseer ibn Katheer, mentions the reasons that prevent people from believing the message of truth. If any of those reasons are seeping into your psyche and have started to blur your vision and impacting your faith as a result, you need to actively step in and cleanse yourself of those symptoms. The reasons that ibn Katheer had mentioned included:
- Kufrul-‘Inaad (Disbelief out of stubbornness)
- Kufrul-Inkaar (Disbelief out of denial)
- Kufrul-Kibr (Disbelief out of arrogance and pride)
- Kufrul-Juhood (Disbelief out of rejection)
- Kufrul-Nifaaq (Disbelief out of hypocrisy)
- Kufrul-Istihaal (Disbelief out of trying to make HARAM (illegal) into HALAL (legal)
- Kufrul-Kurh (Disbelief out of detesting any of Allah’s commands)
- Kufrul-Istihzaha (Disbelief due to mockery and derision)
- Kufrul-I’raadh (Disbelief due to avoidance)
- Kufrul-Istibdaal (Disbelief because of trying to substitute Allah’s Laws)
Click here to download the book: 50 Questions and Answers in Faith
In Summary
Living the message of truth, therefore, requires us to abandon stubbornness (an attitude when we know deep in our hearts that we are wrong), denial (blindly ignoring facts), arrogance (thinking that accepting truth will demean us), hypocrisy (pretending to be someone while concealing the truth), mockery and derision (we mock truth and the righteous to go along with others) and avoidance (for one reason or another we try to avoid the message of truth). Once we eliminate these negatives that may have stained our hearts and open our minds to the message of truth, we will be on our way to renew our faith. In that process, we will also sense Allah in our lives and we will feel the sweetness of faith.
Let’s remember the saying of the Prophet as reported by Anas (May Allah be pleased with him):
“Allah says: ‘ When a slave of Mine draws near to Me a span, I draw near to him a cubit; and if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.” [Al-Bukhari].
…End
JazakAllah Khair. Sharing such thoughts helps strengthen people’s Eeman.True,sweetness of faith can be experienced when we are constantly conscious of Allah being closest to us and He being the most important to us. Then stubbornness, arrogance, derision or avoidance – all sins of the ‘nafs’ will have no place in our heart or life.
May Allah help us all to draw closer to Him – Ameen
A masterpiece; this article Allah’s willing shall go a long way in my heart and I believe will be the same for many muslims. May Allah out of his infinite Mercy strenghten our Iman and grant us demise as sincere and true muslims and also unite muslim ummah all over the world. JazakumUllah Khairan. Massalam
Agreed!! It’s beautiful to be able to feel that sweetness of Faith. It’s just sublime and nothing on earth compares to that. This is indeed felt when we know we ARE close to Him and that nothing else matters as much as Him, Rubb-ul A’alameen and His Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam). However, I was feeling restless about the feeling of weariness of my Faith as it is The most precious thing I will ever have. I actually felt relieved to know that this happens (meaning there is nothing new or abnormal in it) and there is even a Hadith regarding this important issue and the cure for it. Jazak Allahu Khairan. I will definitely strive to get that bliss back. Thank you so much for this article, and I thank Allah Subahanahu Wa Ta’alah for showing me this at the right time.
Thank you. 🙂
Islamic Greetings,
Saima.
This is really cool. More please.
I must confess that this article comes at a time that I really need it.
It is helpful. May Allah reward everyone involve in composing and getting this across. Amin.
a good aticle, may Allah make beneficial to al.
Jazakallah. Very good article.May Allah help us to be steadfast in deen and ask Him to give us Hidaya and bless with others with Hidaya through us. Please make this Dua in Thashahhud ” Allahumma Ya mukhallibal khulube sabbith khalbee ala deenik . Allahumma Ya Muswarrifal khulubi Swarrif khalbee ila thwahatik. Ameen
thank you so much for the reminder,and may Allah bless you always.
Asalamu Alaykum Warahmatullah Wabarakatu,
All praise is due to Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Originator, the Fashioner, the Ever Living, the Just, the Most Wise, the Most Generous, who gives abundantly to His creature, but His kingdom never decreases in size or value, the All-Mighty, who will question us on the Judgment Day, but at the same time no one has the right to question Him. Very helpful article, alhamdulillah and very true. First, we should seek the help of The Keeper of faith, second, we should seek knowledge, and I want to add third, we must act upon the knowledge we acquire because having knowledge without practice is actually useless. May Allah, the Exalted, protect us from the shaitan and keep us on the straight path. Jazz Allah Khair.
JazakALLAH Khair Vili, for pointing out a very important factor. Its strongly supported, as the real spirit of Islam is based on being a practical Muslim. our holy Prophet Muhammad Salallahu Alyhe Wasallam and his Sahaba R.T.A demonstrated the same in their lives and we must follow them as our role models.
Excellent information to keep the faith, And inspiration to keep going. Tashakor 🙂
To build your imaan one must have integrity. be honest in all your endeavours and dealings.the funny thing is that your heart will tell you if you are doing wrong but for some reason you will not listen to it.after every action be it little or major do an introspection and will be pleasantly surprised to learn whether you did good or bad. if bad fix it pronto. it will not reduce your status but rather enhance your character. we are all good people inside but our outward character belies the good in us. arrogance and showing off has brought many a people down. what i own. what i drive. what i wear and eat. how often i travel. how many hajj i performed.there is no sin in doing the above but be humble and show humilty. have respect for the lesser being and see how your esteem rises. it is way above everything you own and did. imaan is not only the belief in Allah. imaan(respect) that people shower on you is what counts at the end of the day. it is what you do for the sake of Allah and not for yourself. get this right and you will see the result. just dont hurt people. be forthright at all times. be simple and honest and truthful. you dont need anybody to teach you these values. you are your own t u t o r . your imaan will now be in place because you have become Allah fearing. imaan is very h o l i s t i c. it encompasses every aspect of your life. trials and tribulations … lift your hands… having a good run of fortune ….. lift your hands. if your hands are full of bad deeds they become very h e a v y to lift. obey Allah and his commandments and follow the sunnah then you are in cruise control and in a comfort zone. constant zikr assist greatly in bringing you closer to Allah. dont be afraid of Allah. he is all forgiving. j u s t d o good. salaams to all. may Allah shower us with all his blessings a m e e n.
without faith in Allah how someone could progress in his life, it means he or she is completely failure in his or her life, no barakaat and no no in everything.it is a good point we should have imaan and faith in Allah and all the prophets also.
MashaAllah very educative and good article may Allah have mercy on us. JazakaAllah.
A VERY GOOD ARTICLE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND. UNDERSTAND THE EEMAN AND THE TRUTH ACCORDING TO THE QURAN AND HADIHT.
I agree with , Sameena
JazakAllah Khair. Sharing such thoughts helps strengthen people’s Eeman.True,sweetness of faith can be experienced when we are constantly conscious of Allah being closest to us and He being the most important to us. Then stubbornness, arrogance, derision or avoidance – all sins of the ‘nafs’ will have no place in our heart or life.
May Allah help us all to draw closer to Him – Ameen
Jazakkallah. A very much needed article for the present times. May allah guide all the muslims of this world & strengthen their imaan
This is indeed a good advice…
Thank you for your inspiring word. They have come at a time where I needed to hear them.
Kind regards
Salaam to all the browers.
Very inspiring mashallah.I make Dua that Allah(SWT)increase all the muslims eeman reward them in abundance.Also to let us as muslims be an example to all others. Insha-Allah Amen
Assalaamu ‘alaikum brothers and sisters.
A very good article indeed.
On comments above, I very much aggree with Vili that having knowledge must be accompanied with action. To find truth is to be truthful to your ownself. So, if you feel that any of the bad attitudes listed above are in your hearts, the first thing you should do is to acknowledge that you have this problem. The moment you know this, seek forgiveness from Allah (swt) by doing any taubat dzikir that you know. At the same time, make it a habit to seek help from Allah(swt) simply by reciting duas always.
This problem is the matter of the heart, so what is more better than to seek the help from the Creator of your heart Himself to rectify this problem.
One of the main reason that our eeman dwindle is because of our own doings. Rasulullah (saw) had pointed out that when a person does a mungkar(bad deed) or maksiat (an act prohibited by Allah (swt)), there will be a black dot installed on the heart. This black dot will prevent nur(light) of guidance from entering your heart. So, the more you do bad things, the more black dots will be installed to your hearts, hence the more difficult for you to receive guidance. The result will be downslide of your eeman.
On the other hand, if you do a good deed that Allah commands and do lots of dzikir, these good deeds will be reason for Allah to erase the black dots from your heart. The result will be a cleaner heart, and the nur(light) of guidance wil easily enter your heart and this is what will bring your eeman upwards.
So, brothers and sisters, it all boils down to taqwa that is: Doing what Allah (swt) commands, and refrain from what He forbids.
Wallahu ‘a’lam.
Daer Iqra Sense team members
Asslamualikum,
May Allah Almighty bless you for this noble endeavour. I found every article of Iqra Sense very useful and this one is an eye opener for all the Muslims. May with the Mercy of Allah we concieve these wisdom-oriented articles. I believe this can help allay our wordly woes and lead us to a beautiful and lasting hearafter. The comments made by Ahmed Sibda are very inspiring, Allah may reward them as well.
Assalamo alaikum Warahmatullah,
Allah has created humen being and jinn just to worship Him alone. Allah has described His orders in the last true completed Book holy Quran. There are two kinds of sins, small and big ones, it must be our utmost effort to avoid all big sins. We must offer five time daily prayers with correct aqeedha of Tauheed, then our small sins get nullified insha Allah but for big sins we have to do true Tauba/repent. Allah is Raheem as well as Just. So we must live within the Hope (of Jannat) and Fear ( from Hell) ..
Jazakallaho Khairan,
Wassalam.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ARTICLE.THE MORE WE TAKE DISTANCE FROM THE MEANING OF HOLY QURAN THE MORE OUR FAITH ,TRANQUILITY AND PEACE OF MIND DWINDLE.
Surely, this is a message from Allah to me directly. I have been really worried about myself and have been praying to Allah to salvage the situation for me. Alhamdulillahi, this article has lifted my spirit again. Baraka llahu fiikum
Assalaamu Alaikkum Warahmattullaahi Wabarakaathuhu… Thanks for the nice article…
Allah Hafiz…
Thanks for the article. A reminder which was very much needed. May Allah swt forgive us for our short comings and strenghten us in faith and obediance to His message.
thanks a lot! jazakallah.. 🙂
Salaam Bro/Sis,
Thanks a lot for this article. It does impact more and refresh my heart and mind..and it is coming at the right time in my life. Jazakkallah
An excellent piece of writing. May Allah keep guiding us on the path of righteousness. May I, however, add a bit more, probably beyond the scope of this article. I feel while continuing the Jihad our inner self, we must also start trying to implement the economic, financial and administrative addicts of the Quran to make this world a much better place to live in. Please advise muslims at large of this aspect of life.
Jaza khalla Khair, very enlightened reminder I must confess I really benefitted and in need of constant reminders due to Shatan revealling to us in many forms this day. May Allah reward you abundantly and protect us from disbelieve. Ameen.
Mashallah!
Seeking knowledge about Din is the way to reinforce Eiman. It is the prioritizing ones’ time and leaving aside some time on daily basis to continue search and understanding of Din-i-Islam.
Allah may bestow mercy on all of us.
Assalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahe ta’la wa barakatuhu..Alhamdulillah. Very nice article. And once again thanks to the author and Iqra Sense. Thanks….
Assalamu Alaikum.
A very good article. Maasha allah. Looking forward to more of these insha allah! I have one question that always run through in my mind. Allah says that at certain periods of time our du’as will be granted rite..like for example during “Thahajat” prayers, during the breaking sat period (before azaan), on fridays, dua’s asked in masjids but when some du’as are not fulfilled what does that mean? Has allah ever said that only some dua’s will be granted? I am really not sure and hope that if someone answers with relibility, with evidence from Quraan or hadiths it would be of great help to me.
Jazakallah Khair.
Brother Tasneem, Salaam.
Man has very very limited knowledge. Allah (swt) knows best and
knows everything. Your du’aa may contain some part which is not in your favour. In stead of benefit you may have other (or say new problems) situations which you may not like. Allah (swt) loves us He (swt) grants us the best. If some du’aa is not granted, the asking person may be granted an alternative or the blessing is held till the day of Judgment when it will needed most.
Jazak Allah Khair.
I resonated with every word you wrote.
Having Iman-Billah is the sweetest experience ever indeed.
Assalaamu ‘alaikum brothers and sisters.
A very good article indeed.
On comments above, I very much aggree with Vili that having knowledge must be accompanied with action. To find truth is to be truthful to your ownself. So, if you feel that any of the bad attitudes listed above are in your hearts, the first thing you should do is to acknowledge that you have this problem. The moment you know this, seek forgiveness from Allah (swt) by doing any taubat dzikir that you know. At the same time, make it a habit to seek help from Allah(swt) simply by reciting duas always.
This problem is the matter of the heart, so what is more better than to seek the help from the Creator of your heart Himself to rectify this problem.
One of the main reason that our eeman dwindle is because of our own doings. Rasulullah (saw) had pointed out that when a person does a mungkar(bad deed) or maksiat (an act prohibited by Allah (swt)), there will be a black dot installed on the heart. This black dot will prevent nur(light) of guidance from entering your heart. So, the more you do bad things, the more black dots will be installed to your hearts, hence the more difficult for you to receive guidance. The result will be downslide of your eeman.
On the other hand, if you do a good deed that Allah commands and do lots of dzikir, these good deeds will be reason for Allah to erase the black dots from your heart. The result will be a cleaner heart, and the nur(light) of guidance wil easily enter your heart and this is what will bring your eeman upwards.
So, brothers and sisters, it all boils down to taqwa that is: Doing what Allah (swt) commands, and refrain from what He forbids.
Wallahu ‘a’lam.
Thank you so much, May Almighty Allah reward you abundantly. The article has really made me rethink the way I view my deen.
A nourishing spiritual diet
Salaam,
It is so strange that the days I am feeling most weak and fragile, this email pops up into my hotmail box. Normally i read them and don’t usually follow the links onto the website, but this time I have and I am glad I have.
I want to say this especially to girls out there like me, do not let “unrealistic relationships” ruin your emaan, ruin the trust you have with Allah or make it weak. It is so hard when we fall into this trap called “love” that we do not realise the path between right and wrong. This is when we ask Allah for his guidance!
The heart Allah has made, is so strong as it is the organ that lets us live however in our mind it is so weak, as we get carried away with feelings. Allah has made his conflication on purpose I believe to test our faith in him.
Keep doing dua and I PROMISE YOU…THAT YOU WILL FIND PEACE!! AMEEN!!
JazakAllah Khair,
This article has helped me gain back the faith that I had lost due to worldly troubles. I am thankful to Almighty Allah and may you be rewarded for this.
Masaha-ALLAH again a gr8 effort. May almighty guide all of us to the straight path.
Aameen!
Salam to u; my brothers/ sisters. By Allah, this article is too clearly coherent to be discarded. Allah affirms it in Qur’an 13v28 that “In the REMEMBRANCE of Allah do hearts find PEACE”. One of the FOUR first points (2nd: negligence in remembring Allah) and second points (1st: Peace) are resolved to match in the above verse. Of course, Imaam Ibn Katheer really explicitly elucidated different forms of Disbelief. May Allah reward the composers, and the readers all over the world. May Allah bestow His mercy on Prophet Muhammad (SAW), His entire households, and those that follow/ ed his path till the J-Day (aamiiin). May Allah give whoever reads it a beleiveing heart to stand firm in Islam.
this article is really helpful for a person to test him or her self to see where he or she stands in the competition of faith…this article precisely describes the stages of eman and the ways to strengthen our eman..to sum up with this article is very helpful and i seek to receive other articles from ur side too
Very Nice topic, Ma’shaAllah.
Assalamu alaikum.
Jazakumullah bil Jannatul Firdausi for this Job AMEEN.
Asalamu’alykum wa rahmatulla wa barakaat,
So hepful to keep our eeman up, Maasha Allah. My opinion is if we make a recaptilation of our journey everynight before going to bed. Regretting all bad we do everyday and replacing it with good deeds will help to keep our eeman tight.
Jazaak Allah
Assalamu alaikum, I am happy that Iqrasense always helps me in being strong, helping me in Allah’s remembrance, that is good, keep it up, may it be your way to Paradise, ameen. Bissalam!
Assalamu alaykum indeed your article is a source of inspiration to me and all the muslim ummah.once again Jazzakallahu khairan.
Wooooww…… Jazakallahu khair.. good article and… I think its right……Thank you for the article and always waiting for the next article..
Truly Eeman is something that fluctuates, sometimes it rises up sharply and sometimes it declines, infact sometimes it is lost completely. We pray to Almighty Allah to continue sustaining our Eeman up to the time we will depart this confusing, complex and difficult world. Ameen
Assalkamualaikum,
I am really inspired and motivated by this article.
may Allah bless you and all which helped or caused to publish that.
inspiring. i sometimes lose hope, but my faith keeps me going
ASSALAMU ALAIKUM
I AM ALWAYS HAPPY WITH YOUR ARTICLES .
REMEMBER OF ALLAH EVERY MOMENT AND TALK TO
HIM ALONE YOU FEEL PEACE IN YOUR MIND AND MORE YOUR FAITH BECOMES STRONG
ASLAAM O ALAIKUM, alL Praise to Allah. Truely, Eeman becomes weak and Higher by doing evil and good deeds. In my opinion, Eeman becomes strong with much contact of Quran , Hadish and Prayers and applying these things at your himself and offer teachings to your family, friends and neighbours, coleages etc. YOURS FAITHFULY
Salaam, thank you for d nice and interesting article.it has indeed reawaken my iman. God bless.
Very good article. I never missed any weekly article after I subscribed.
Jazakallah Haair.
serves as a wake up call to everyone.May Allah reward you abundantly and may He increase you in faith and knowledge
Assalamualaikum:
Allah bless you for this contribution.Yes,faith dwindles and the Qur’aan and the Sunnah as documented and elaborated by renowned Ulema is the source of its renewal and reinforcement.Even the study and understanding of a single verse each day is going to prove tremendously beneficial
This is unbelievable,I was subscribed to this site,but have not been so deep in reading the articles,this my first time.Good bless you.
Mashalla great
Jazak allah khair
There is no need for moderation i found IqraSense gives best information and makes our Eeman strong .
thanks i needed this explanation because of certain people around me
Masha Allah,
Nice message to make easy understanding about believe, after reading this article there is no doubt that Islam is true, just only need to open the mind and unlock the hurts and conclusion of this article is “Remember, the longer you keep your heart locked up from learning more, the less you will be able to reason and comprehend the message of truth, and the more you will rely on blind faith alone to live the message of truth.”
Alsalamu aleykum, wa jazakum ALLAH kheiran for the nice advice.
After reading it, there are things which must be said:
Who ever says “ALLAH says in the Qur’an …” must cite the Words of ALLAH, this means the Arabic text, as any text in another language than Arabic is not the Word of ALLAH and not the Qur’an, but only the translation of the meaning of it, as the translator, a human being, understood it. In the Qur’an there is a big warning from calling something the Words of ALLAH which is not the Words of ALLAH, so we should never do it, as the punishment for this is Al Jahannam, auzu bi ALLAH. For the same reason no number of Surah or Ayah should be mentioned with a non-Arabic text, as this gives the wrong impression, that this text is the Qur’an, which is not the truth. Instead when citing translation of the Qur’an, it should always be pointed out, that this is not the Qur’an, but only the translation of the approximate meaning.
Secondly we should always speak and write the full text of blessings over the Prophet, sallaa ALLAH aleyhi wa sallam, as we were ordered to do, and we should not use abbreviations as “SAW”, as this is kind of non-respect, astaghfir ALLAH, and could also be seen as a kind of bidah, as it is different from what we learned.
And ALLAH knows best.
wa alsalamu aleykum
Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi
It gives me great pleasure to have read a such nice article, on the subject. JAZAAKALLAH FA AHSANAL JAZAA.
Comment by Br/Str Amat reflect his/her love and respect for the Divine Message. Nobody should mind it. The comments were both
fine and overstated (maybe in some cases) but the love shown in the message is greater than anything else.
MAY ALLAH (SWT) BLESS THE AUTHOR AND THE READING BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
jazakallah…..very very beautiful articles…do send me more n more
Jazakallahu Khairan, may Allah SWT bless the author of this article abundantly. I woke up this morning with this feeling that my iman was dwindling and even asked a collegue to pray for me, and then i came across this article. Thanks so much may Allah SWT strengten and protect our iman.Keep up the good work.
the article has awakened my Eaman and actually it is a great job May Allah reward you abundantly.
Very nice and educative topics…may Allah bless you all as a team and may we all read and practice Insha’Allah.
Jazakallah khair, may Allah increase u in Iman and guide ur way of thinking writing this kind of highly spiritual article. I really have learnt a lot from reading d article. Allahu Akbar.
mash’allah jazakumallah it is great advice, and allah will make all of us to do it practically insh’allah!!!!
Gone through the pracious article. It’s absolutely an inspiring and strengthning approach towards imman, belief & faiath. Masha Allah. May Allah bless you with ……….a great zeal & effort.