A'uudhu Billahi minash-shaytaanir rajeem
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
As salaamu'alaikum waRahmatullah waBarakaatuhu
Do you sometimes feel your Imaan (faith) is getting weaker?
Do you feel when you pray you cannot concentrate, and lack in khushu?
You don't feel like praying or reading Qur'an?
Or that when you do read Qur'an, you do so without concentration?
Does this feeling really bother you and you're not sure what to do about it or how to snap out of it?
And at times you find your Imaan stronger, you pray with khushu and you enjoy reading the Qur'an with focus and understanding.
You do dhikr and you are so motivated and happy when you do any form of worship, but struggle to keep the ibadah consistent?
Well believe you me you're not alone!
We all go through these ups and down phases. There are many reasons to that and once we know them we can help ourselves stay in the higher phase of Imaan most of the time. When you feel your Imaan is getting weaker make sure you do the following:
1. Go back and recall what you've been doing in the past few days or weeks? May be you've gossiped, watched too much T.V, delayed your prayers or did not wake up to pray fajr or you are not giving sadaqah when you have the means to do so...etc.
Every time you do something which Allah doesn't approve of, your heart gets covered with a layer which thickens with time until it weakens your Imaan. Allah says in the Quran:
"Nay!! But on their hearts is the Ran (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn"
Find those reasons and start working on them.
2. Sit down peacefully and recall Allah's blessings on you.....your health, your children, your education, your rizq(provision), you being a Muslim, you being in a better situation than millions, you being in a safe home instead of the street, you being warm instead of cold, you being able to pay sadaqah, you not needing to beg others for rizq and many many blessings which Allah granted you and is granting you every single day. Imagine life without your loved ones, life without your sight, life with a serious disease, and life without guidance and Islam. This should help you appreciate and say "Alhamdulillah"! and see the ni'mah of Allah on you which will help you focus more and worship with appreciation.
3. Sit down and picture your death, lay down on the floor and close your eyes and imagine them preparing you for your Janazah, undressing you, moving you from one side to the other washing you and there is nothing you can do, you can't even cover yourself and your awrah(private parts), they have to do that instead, Completely helpless, the body you strived to cover all your life is being exposed. The clothes you are wearing which was once yours is not yours anymore and those shoes that used to be yours is no longer yours anymore..Nothing belongs to you anymore!! You left all your belongings at home, your family are still with you but as soon as they place you in the grave you are alone... alone with just your deeds, just your sadaqah, just your prayer, just your Dhikr. You moved from the phase of A'mal (work) and no hissab (Judgment) to the phase of hissab and no A'mal.
4. Wake up at night before fajr, it is the time when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala comes to Sama'a Dunya (the first heavens) and calls as related in the following hadith and an ayah in the Qur'aan:
Abu Hurairah(R.A) reports that the Messenger of Allah(S.A.W) said: "Our Lord Descends to the lowest heaven during the last third of the night, inquiring:"Who will call on Me so that I may respond to him? Who is asking something of Me so I may give it to him? Who is asking for My forgiveness so I may forgive him?"[ Bukhari and Muslim.]
"And during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud beyond what is incumbent on you; maybe your Lord will raise you to a position of great glory." [(Al-Isra' 17:79]
SubhanAllah, so wake up and pray and talk to him, tell him how you feel...tell him"Ya Allah my heart is becoming so hard, my Imaan is going down". Do Isthighfaar at that time so Allah can lift those layers which are weakening your Imaan, and you will be registered In Shaa Allah from those who do Qiyyamul Layl. Just few minutes earlier than the time you always wake up and you get tons of 'ajr and maghfirah. SubhanAllah!! how can we let such a golden opportunity go to waste, how can we waste that time in sleeping?
5. Search for beautiful and soul uplifting lectures from upright Sheikhs or better find a book and read about Islam, Imaan, and Ihsaan, or anything that will help you scrap those hard layers from your heart. Don't just sit and feel bad about it, strive to better yourself and Allah will always open a door for you. Imaan is like a mizan (scale). It increases and decreases based on our daily deeds. It's a constant battle but if you follow these techniques you will always be the winner In Shaa Allah. Don't listen to the Shaitaan when he comes to you and tells you: "you have been bad, how can you dare ask Allah for anything, you have no right to do so....!!!" That is his way to keep you away from Du'a and from Allah. He plays with you the game of guilt so you stop talking to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'Ala and you stay away under the reason of guilt. Don't give him a chance. Go back to Allah and ask him for whatever your heart desires.
May Allah guide us and keep us on the path of Imaan until we breath our last.
Ameeeen ya Rabbal 'Alamin.
