Weaknesses of Faith

8/11/2019 Weaknesses of Faith

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an+s heart changes constantly, as the Prophet /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 described2 %#he heart of the son of Adam changes more

uickly than a pan of rapidly boiling water.& /Ibid., no. 88:. Its isnaad issaheeh2 ?ilaal al4>annah, "4"581, According to another report2 %It changes

more than a pot of rapidly boiling water.& /)eported by Ahmad, :437 2aheeh

al4>aami6, no. ?"3=1.

Allaah is the @ne Who turns hearts around and controls them. ;Abd>Allaah ibn

;Amr ibn al>;Aas reported that he heard the essenger of Allaah /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 say2 %#he hearts of the children of Adam are

as one between the 'ngers of the ost erciful, and He turns them in

whatever way He wills.& #hen he said2 %@ Allaah, ontroller of the hearts,

direct our hearts to obey Bou.& /)eported by uslim, no. 8:?31.

Allaah tells us that2

B Allaah comes in between a person and his heart (i"e", He prevents

an evil person from decidin anythinB# $al4Anfaal C'*7 0

interpretation of the meanin-

no one will be saved on the Cay of )esurrection except him who

brins to Allaah a clean heart $free from shir. and hypocrisy-"# $al4

2hu6ara6 *D'CE + interpretation of the meanin-

those whose hearts are hardened# $al4Ha **'& + interpretation of

the meanin-are doomed

and the promise of Paradise is for those who feared the ost

/ene9cent (Allaah in the Gnseen, (i"e", in the worldly life, before

seein and meetin Him, and brouht a heart turned in repentance

(to Him"# $aaf )'&& + interpretation of the meanin-"

$o the believer must check his heart, 'nd out the nature and cause of the

problem, and start treating it straight away, before it overwhelms him and

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destroys him. #he matter is of the utmost seriousness, for Allaah has warned

us against the heart that is hardened, closed, sick, blind and sealed.

#here follows a discussion of the symptoms of weak faith, what causes it andhow it may be treated. I ask Allaah to bene't me and my uslim brothers

through this work, and to richly reward all those who have played a part in

producing this book, for He is the @ne Whom we ask to soften our hearts and

guide us. He is our Protector, He is suDcient for us and He is the Eest

Cisposer of aairs.

Sym#toms of $eak faith

#here are a number of symptoms of the sickness of weak faith, including the

following2

Falling into sin and committing haraam deeds 2 #here 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 hadeeth2 %All of my ummah will

be 'ne 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>and>so, I did such and such

yesterday.+ His Gord had covered his sin all night, but he has uncovered

what Allaah had concealed.& /)eported by al>Eukhaari, Fath"5436:1.

Feeling that one+s heart is hard and rough 2 A man may feel that his

heart has turned to stone which nothing can penetrate or reach. Allaah

says /interpretation of the meaning12 @hen, after that, your hearts

were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardnessB#

$al4/a=arah *'


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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.

#irmidhi, no. 93=7 al42ilsilah al4

2aheehah, ?31.

Gainess and carelessness in performing acts of worship 2 If he does

them at all, they are (ust empty movements, devoid of any real feeling.

Allaah has described the hypocrites thus /interpretation of themeaning12 B and when they stand up for prayer, they stand up with

la;inessB# $al45isa6 7'7*-. #his also includes neglecting to make the

most of special occasions and times for worship. #his indicates that a

person has no interest in earning reward, so he may delay going for

Ha(( although he is able to do so, or fail to go for (ihaad when he has

the strength to do so, or fail to attend prayers in congregation, or even

$alat al>Jumu+ah. #he essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 said2 %People will keep holding back from being in

the 'rst row /of congregational prayers1, until Allaah throws them into

the Fire.& /)eported by Abu Cawood, no. :=7 2aheeh al4@arheeb, no.

?"51. #his 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 wirdKregular du+aa+ and dhikrL. He does not

want to make it up later, and he deliberately omits doing anything that

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is sunnah or fard .ifaayah/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

accountable1. $o he may not attend Mid prayers /although some

scholars say that they are obligatory1, or oer the prayers to be said atthe 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 *ur+aan /interpretation of the meaning12 B they used to

hasten on to do ood deeds, and they used to call on Gs with hope and

fear, and used to humble themselves before Gs"# $al4Anbiya6 *'E)-

Another example of lainess in performing acts of worship is theneglect of sunnah actions which the Prophet /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 performed regularly, and praying at night /=iyaam

al4layl1, setting out early to go to the mosue, and other naa'l prayers,

such as duhaa, never even occur to him, let alone the two>rak+ahs of

tawbah /repentance1 and istikhaarah.

#ightness in the chest, mood swings and depression, which weigh aman down and make him uick to complain about the slightest thing.

He easily gets upset with the people around him, and no longer has

any tolerance. #he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him1 described faith when he said, %Memaan is patience and tolerance&

/Al42ilsilah al42aheehah, no. ??3, 846:1, and he described the believer

as being %one who makes friends and with whom others feel

comfortable. #here is no goodness in one who does not make friends

and with whom others do not feel comfortable.& /Al42ilsilah al4

2aheehah, no. 38=1.


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faith gets bored when he hears the *ur+aan being recited, and cannot

continue reading it. Whenever he opens the mus4haf, he soon closes it

again.

aami6, :61. #his approval, which is an

action of the heart, makes him like one who witnessed the sin.

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power. #he head of a gathering is the %slaughterhouse& about

which the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1

warned us when he said, %Eeware of these slaughterhouses.&

/)eported by al>Eayhai, 84397 2aheeh al4>aami6, "851.

Goving to have people stand up when one comes into the room,

because this makes the one whose heart is diseased feel great.

#he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2

%Whoever feels happy to have the slaves of Allaah stand up for

him, let him occupy his house in Hell're.& /)eported by al>

Eukhaari in al4Adab al4ufrad, ==7 see also 2ilsilah al42aheeh,9?=1. @nce when u+aawiyah went out to see Ibn al>Oubayr and

Ibn ;Aamir, Ibn ;Aamir stood up whilst Ibn al>Oubayr remained

sitting /according to one report2 and he KIbn al>OubayrL was wiser

and more stable in character1. u+aawiyah said to Ibn ;Aamir,

%$it down, for I heard the essenger of Allaah /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 say, ;Whoever likes to have men

stand up for him, let him take his place in Hell're.+& /)eported by

Abu Cawood, no. ?88, and by al>Eukhaari in al4Adab al4ufrad,

==7 al42ilsilah al42aheehah, 9?=1. #his 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.17 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 him1 forbade this

when he said, %Eukhaari, al4Fath,

""4:81.

$tinginess and miserliness. Allaah praised the Ansaar in His Eook by

saying /interpretation of the meaning12 B and $they- ave them $the

muhaairoon- preference over themselves, even thouh they were in

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need of thatB# $al4Hashr E'E-. #he Prophet /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 explained that the successful are those who avoid

miserliness, and that weakness of faith generates stinginess2

%$tinginess and faith never exist together in the heart of the believer.&/)eported by al>


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Hell're will soon discover the reality of the one who en(oins good but

does not do it, and forbids evil, but does it himself.

alicious en(oyment of the failures, losses or disasters suered by

one+s brothers in Islam, when the blessings that they had en(oyed are

taken away, or when the thing that made another person appear more

distinguished than him is gone.

Gooking at matters in black>or>white terms of whether they are sinful or

not, and taking the matter of makrooh lightly. $ome 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& #his 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. #he person who thinks like this has nothing to

stop him from committing makrooh or doubtful deeds so long as they

are not actually haraam. #his is exactly what the Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 was talking about what he said ,%Whoever falls into doubtful matters falls into haraam, like a shepherd

who graes his Nock around a place where he is not allowed 0 he will

soon enter itQ& /)eported by al>Eukhaari and uslim7 this version

narrated by uslim, no. "?1. 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 deeds7 indeed, they are prepared to commit

the 'rst 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 essenger /peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %I will certainly recognie

people who will come on the Cay of )esurrection bringing good deeds

as great as the white mountain of #uhaamah, and Allaah, may He be

glori'ed, will make it like dust in the air.& #hawbaan said, %@

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essenger of Allaah, describe them to us and explain this so that we

will not unwittingly be among them.& He said, %#hey are your brothers

and they look like you. #hey pray at night as you do, but if they had

the opportunity to violate the limits set by Allaah, they would do so.&/)eported by Ibn aa(ah, no. 383?. He said in al4?awaa6id2 its isnaad is

saheeh and its men are thiaat. $ee also 2aheeh al4>aami6, ?5861.

$o you will 'nd 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. Eoth are in danger, but the

former is worse than the latter. #his kind of person takes sins lightly asa result of his weakness of faith, and does not think that he has done

anything wrong. For this reason, Ibn as+ood /may Allaah be pleased

with him1 described the attitude of the believer and of the hypocrite as

follows2 %#he 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 Ny passing his nose and he says such>and>such to it& 0

i.e., he shoos it away with his hand. /)eported by al>Eukhaari, al4Fath,

""4"587 $ee also @ahlee= al4@a6lee=, ?4"9:, publ. by al>aktab al>

Islami1.

#hinking little of good deeds, and having no interest in doing small

hasanaat. #he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1

taught us to pay attention to small acts of goodness. Imaam Ahmad

/may Allaah have mercy on him1 reported from Abu Juray al>Hu(aymi

who said, %I came to the essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 and said, ;@ essenger of Allaah, we are a desert

people. #each us something by which Allaah, may He be blessed and

exalted, will bene't us.+ He said, ;Co not look down on any act of

goodness, even if it is (ust emptying your bucket into the vessel of one

who wants to drink, or speaking to your brother with a cheerful

expression.+& /usnad Ahmad, ?4:97 al42ilsilat al42aheehah, "9?81. If

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someone comes wanting to drink from the well, and you lift up your

bucket and empty it for him, this is a good deed7 even though it

appears insigni'cant, you should not think little of it. #he same applies

to greeting your brother with a cheerful expression, and cleaning dirtand garbage from the mosue, even if it is as small as a straw. #his

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. #he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %A

man passed a branch of a tree lying in the road and said, ;Ey Allaah, I

want to remove this out of the way of the uslims so that it will not

hurt them,+ and he was admitted to Paradise.& /)eported by uslim,

no. ""31.

#here is something wrong with the person who thinks little of simple

acts of goodness. It is suDcient punishment for this attitude that he is

denied the great advantage described by the Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him12 %Whoever removes something

harmful from the path of the uslims, one hasanah will be recorded for

him, and whoever has a hasanah accepted, will enter Paradise.&

/)eported by al>Eukhaari in al4Adab al4ufrad, no. ?97 see also al4

2ilsilat al42aheehah, ?496=1. u+aadh was walking with another man,

and he picked up a stone from the road. #he man asked him, %What is

this& He said, %I heard the essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him1 say, ;Whoever removes a stone from the road,

one hasanah will be recorded for him, and whoever has a hasanah, will

enter Paradise.+& /al4u6am al48abeer by al>#abaraani, 854"5"7 al42ilsilat al42aheeh, ?496=1.

Gack of concern about the uslims+ aairs and lack of any involvement

whether it be by making du+aa+, giving charity or helping them. $uch a

person has a cool attitude towards the oppression, suppression and

disasters suered by his uslim brothers in other parts of the world,

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and is content merely with his own safety. #his is the result of weak

faith, because the believer is the opposite of that. #he Prophet /peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %#he believer+s position in

relation to his fellow believers is like that of the head to the body7 thebeliever feels the pain of his fellow believers as the body reacts to the

pain suered by the head.& /usnad Ahmad, ?49357 al42ilsilat al4

2aheehah, ""9=1.

Ereaking the ties of brotherhood between two who used to be close.

#he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %

Eukhaari, al4Adab al4ufrad, no. 35"7 Ahmad, al4usnad, 84:67 see also

al42ilsilat al42aheehah, :9=1. #his indicates the bad eects which may

impact upon and even destroy the bonds of brotherhood. #his

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.

#ufayl ibn

;Amr /may Allaah be pleased with him1, who became uslim and went

to call his people to Islam straight away. He was only a new uslim 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

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argumentative.& /)eported by Ahmad in al4usnad, ?48?87 2aheeh al4

>aami6, ?:991. Arguing with no proof and for no good reason leads one

far away from the $traight Path, and most of people+s futile arguments

nowadays are conducted without knowledge or guidance or /referenceto1 a Eook giving light /i.e., the *ur+aan1. We have suDcient motive to

avoid futile arguments in the words of the Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him12 %I guarantee a house in the outskirts

of Paradise to the one who forsakes argument even when he is in the

right.& /)eported by Abu Cawood, ?4"?57 2aheeh al4>aami6, "3:31.

Attachment to this world and re(oicing in it. A person may be soattached 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 /hasad1 and wishes that

he will lose that blessing. #his goes against eemaan, as the Prophet

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %Meman and hasad

do not exist together in the heart of the true slave.& /)eported by Abu

Cawood, ?4"?57 2aheeh al4>aami6, "3:31.

He talks and thinks in a purely rational manner, devoid of the

characteristics of faith. #here is hardly any trace of a reference to the

*ur+aan and $unnah, or the words of the salaf /the early generations of

Islam 0 may Allaah have mercy on them1, in the way such a person

speaks.

Soing to extremes in the way one cares for oneself, in food, drink,

clothing, housing and means of transportation. $o you see these

people showing excessive interest in luxuries, trying to be

sophisticated, buying only the 'nest clothes, spending extravagant

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Al>Hasan al>Easri /may Allaah have mercy on him1 said2 %@ur 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 eventuallychanges into disdain for that faith>'lled atmosphere, which in turn

hardens the heart and 'lls it with darkness, extinguishing the light of

eemaan. #his 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.

Teeping away from the good example of righteous leaders. #he personwho learns from a righteous man gains bene'cial knowledge, does a

righteous deed and strengthens his eemaan at the same time7 /that

leader1 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 him1 died

and was buried, his $ahaabah said, %We looked at our hearts and felt

that there had been a deep change.& #hey felt alienated and lost

because their teacher and example /peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him1 had died. According to some reports, they were described as

being %like sheep on a rainy winter+s night.& Eut the Prophet /peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 left behind great leaders, giants

among men, all of whom were uali'ed to take up the reins of

leadership, and some of them became examples to the others. Eut

nowadays the uslims are in desperate need of examples close athand to them.

Failing to seek knowledge and to be acuainted with the books of the

salaf /early generation1 and religious books which will uplift and revive

the heart. #here are many kinds of books which the reader will feel stir

up faith in his heart and motivate him to ful'l his spiritual potential,

foremost among which is the Eook of Allaah, may He be exalted, and

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the books of hadeeth, followed by the books of scholars who are good

at writing about issues that soften the heart and who explain ;aeedah

/correct belief1 in a manner that moves the soul and uplifts the heart,

such as Ibn al>*ayyim and Ibn )a(ab and others. Ey ignoring thesebooks and reading only intellectual works, or books of 'h rulings

which do not uote their daleel /evidence1, or books of grammar rules

and usool/bases of ;aeedah1, is something that may have the eect

of hardening the heart. #his is not a criticism of those books per se, it

is only a warning to the person who keeps away from books of #afseer

and hadeeth and hardly ever reads them, even though they are the

books that bring one closer to Allaah. For example, when one reads al4

2aheehayn/al>Eukhaari and uslim1, you feel the atmosphere of the

age of the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 and

the $ahaabah, and you feel the breee of eemaan by sharing the

events that happened in their time.

#he people of hadeeth are the people of the essenger7 even if they

did not have the chance to be with him, they are with his words.

#his problem 0 keeping away from religious books 0 clearly has an

eect 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. #he same

applies to those who love to read 'ction and love stories, or who follow

worthless news stories in newspapers, magaines and so on.

Giving in an environment that is 'lled 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 magaine, a

'fth cursing and swearing, and so on. As for talk about who said what

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to whom, gossip, backbiting and discussion about the latest football

match, there is no end to it.

$ome environments remind one only of this world, as is the case in

most gatherings and work>places nowadays. Ciscussions 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 0 there is a lot we can say about the

disasters and evil deeds that cause the uslim shame and hurt him

deeply. uslim homes are 'lled with shameless songs, vile movies,

forbidden mixing of the sexes and so on. Eukhaari, no. 8=951, and, %All that is suDcient for any

one of you in this world is the supply of the traveller& /reported by al>

#abaraani in al48abeer, 34=67 2aheeh al4>aami6, 89631 0 meaning a little

of something that will help him to reach his destination. #his

phenomenon /preoccupation with this world1 is very apparent in our

own times, when material greed and the desire to acuire more

worthless worldly goods have become widespread, and people are nowrunning after trade, manufacturing and shares. #his con'rms what the

Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %Allaah, may

He be glori'ed, says2 ;We have sent down wealth for the establishment

of prayer and the payment of akaat, 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. #he stomach of the son of Adam will be

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become orphans, lost and alone,& so he stays home and does not go

out for (ihaad. When he said that children are the cause of ignorance,

he meant that they distract a father from seeking knowledge and

trying to acuire 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 grief7 if the child asks for something

that the father cannot provide, this grieves the father7 and if the child

grows up and rebels against his father, this is a cause of ongoing grief

and distress.

#his is not to say that one should forego marrying and having children7what is meant is that one should beware of becoming preoccupied with

them and letting that lead one to commit haraam deeds.

oncerning the temptation of wealth, the Prophet /peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %Mvery nation has its 'tnah /trial or

temptation1, and the 'tnah of my ummah is wealth.& /)eported by al>

#irmidhi, 899:7 2aheeh al4>aami6, 8"361. Magerness to acuire wealth ismore damaging to a person+s religion than the wolf who attacks the

sheepfold. #his is what the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him1 meant when he said2 %#wo 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.& /)eported by al>#irmidhi, no.

89=:7 2aheeh al4>aami6, ?:851. For this reason the Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 urged uslims to take (ust what is

suDcient, without hoping for more, which could distract him from

remembering Allaah. #he essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 said2 %All that you need of wealth is a servant and

a means of transportation to go out for the sake of Allaah.& /)eported

by Ahmad, ?4857 2aheeh al4>aami6, 896:1. #he Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 issued a warning to those who want to

accumulate wealth, except for those who give in charity2 %Woe to those

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who want to accumulate wealth, except for the one who says with his

wealth, ;HereU HereU HereU+ /i.e., giving it away1 to one on his right, one

on his left, one in front of him and one behind him,& /reported by Ibn

aa(ah, no. 3"87 2aheeh al4>aami6, ="9=1 0 meaning all forms ofcharity.

Hoping for a long life. Allaah says /interpretation of the meaning12

0eave them to eat and enoy, and let them be preoccupied with (false

hope" @hey will come to .now!# $al4Hir '&-. ;Ali /may Allaah be

pleased with him1 said2 %What I fear for you is following your desires

and hoping for a long life, for following one+s desires makes a manignore the truth, and hoping for a long life makes him forget the

Hereafter. /Fath al4/aari, ""489:1. Another report says2 %Four things are

causes of doom2 dry eyes /i.e., never weeping1, a hard heart, hope for

a long life and eagerness for this world.& Hoping for a long life

generates lainess 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 Cay of Judgement, as Allaah says /interpretation of the

meaning12 B and the term was proloned for them and their hearts

were hardenedB# $al4Hadeed heartedness is eating too much,

sleeping too much, staying up too late, talking too much and mixing

with people too much. Mating too much makes the brain slow and the

body heavy, which prevents a person from worshipping Allaah and

makes it easy for $haytaan to tempt him, as it was said2 %Whoever eats

too much, drinks too much and sleeps too much, loses a great reward.&

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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 'nds himself lost indarkness, 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.

@ne 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. #his is one of the basic principles of the ;aeedah of Ahl

al>$unnah 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. #here is

evidence for this in the *ur+aan and $unnah, for example, Allaah says

/interpretation of the meanings12 B that they may row more in Faith alon

with their (present FaithB# $al4Fath 7C'7-and B 1hich of you has had his

faith increased by itL B# $al4@awbah E'*7-. #he Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %Whoever among you sees an evilaction, let him change it by his hand /by action1, and if he cannot, then by

his tongue /by speaking out1, and if he cannot, then by his heart /by feeling

that it is wrong1, and that is the weakest of faith.& /Al>Eukhaari, Fath, "4?"1.

#he eects 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 dierence between the two environments and how uickly his heart

changes.

Another factor in this discussion is the words of one of the salaf2 %@ne 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

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decreases, and recognies the temptation of $haytaan when he comes to

him.& /2harh 5ooniyah Ibn al4ayyim byIbn %3esa, 84"351.

It is important to know that if a decrease in faith leads to one neglectingone+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 (ust makes a

person fall short in doing mustahabb /recommended1 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. #his is

what we learn from the words of the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him1, %Mvery 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 $unnah he will be 'ne, and who+s slackening is to other

than that Ki.e., doing unlawful or forebidden deedsL he will be doomed.&

/)eported by Ahmad, 848"57 2aheeh al4@arheeb, no. ??1.

Eefore we discuss how to treat the problem of weak faith, there is something

we should note2 many of those who feel that their hearts are hard look for anexternal solution, hoping that they can rely on others, even though it is

within their reach 0 if they want 0 to take care of themselves by themselves.

#his is how it should be done, because eemaan is the relationship between

the slave and his Gord. Eelow, we will discuss a number of ways prescribed

by Islam by means of which the uslim 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 goal2

Pondering the meanings of the *ur+aan, which Allaah has revealed to

explain everything and as a Gight by which He guides whomever He

wills of His slaves. #here is no doubt that it contains a powerful and

eective cure. Allaah says /interpretation of the meaning12 And 1e

send down from the ur6aan that which is a healin and a mercy to

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those who believeB# $al4Isra6 Albaani, p. "581.

He /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 used to ponder the

meaning of the *ur+aan, to the greatest extent. Ibn Hibbaan reported

in his 2aheehwith a (ayyid isnaad from ;Ataarah, who said2 %;Rbayd>

Allaah ibn ;Rmayr and I entered upon ;Aa+ishah /may Allaah be pleasedwith her1 and ;Rbayd>Allaah ibn ;Rmayr said2 ;#ell us of the most

wonderful thing you saw on the part of the essenger of Allaah /peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him1.+ $he wept and said, ;He got up

one night /to pray1 and said, %@ ;Aa+ishah, leave me to worship my

Gord.& I said, %Ey Allaah, I love to be near you, and I love what makes

you happy.& He got up, puri'ed 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. Eilaal came to call the adhaan for him, and

when he saw him weeping, he said, %@ essenger of Allaah, are you

weeping when Allaah has forgiven all of your sins, past and future& He

said, %$hould I not be a thankful slave #his night some aayaat have

been revealed to me, woe to the one who reads them and does not

think /about their meaning1. Among them is /interpretation of the

meaning12 Nerily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in

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the alternation of niht and day, there are indeed sins for men of

understandin, those who remember Allaah (always, and in prayers

standin, sittin, and lyin down on their sides, and thin. deeply about

the creation of the heavens and the earthB# $Aal %Imraan &'E)4E-.&+& /Al42ilsilat al42aheehah, "4"5:1. #his indicates that it is

obligatory to ponder the meaning of these aayaat.

#he *ur+aan speaks of #awheed, and contains promises of reward,

threats of punishment, rules and regulations, reports, stories, etiuette

and good morals, and its eects on the heart are various. $ome

soorahs 'll the heart with fear more than others, as is indicated by thehadeeth of the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1,

%/$oorat1 Hood and its sisters made me grey before my time.& /al4

2ilsilat al42aheehah, 84:=1. According to another report2 %Hood and al>

Waai+ah and al>ursalaat and %amma yatasaa6aloon and Idha6l4

shamsu .uwwirat& /)eported by al>#irmidhi, 98=7 al42ilsilat al4

2aheehah, no. ??1. #he Prophet+s hair turned grey because of what

these soorahs contain of the realities of faith and great responsibilities,

which 'lled his heart and had a visible eect on his hair and body. 2o

stand (as. Allaah to ma.e you 9rm and straiht (on the reliion of

Islamic onotheism as you are commanded and those (your

companions who turn in repentance (unto Allaah with youB# $Hood

'* + interpretation of the meanin-"

#he ompanions of the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him1 recited the *ur+aan and pondered its meaning and were moved

by it. Abu Eakr /may Allaah be pleased with him1 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. ;Rmar

became ill after reciting the words of Allaah /interpretation of the

meaning12 Nerily, the @orment of your 0ord will surely come to pass, 4

there is none that can avert it# $al4@oor *'


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and urges us to ponder and think about. He tells us /interpretation of

the meanings12 B Allaah sets forth parables for man.ind in order that

they may remember# $Ibraaheem 7'*-and B 2uch are the parables

which 1e put forward to man.ind that they may rePect"# $al4HashrE'*-.

@ne 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 said2 %Allaah says /interpretation of the

meaning12 %And these similitudes 1e put forward for man.ind, but

none will understand them except those who have .nowlede (ofAllaah and His 2ins, etc"6 $al4%An.aboot *E'7&-, 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 *ur+aan, such as the

following /interpretation of the meanings12 the one who kindled a 're

Kal>Eaarah 82"=L, the one who shouts to the /Nock of sheep1 thathears nothing Kal>Eaarah 82"="L, the likeness of a grain /of corn1 that

grows seven ears Kal>Eaarah 828:"L, the dog who lolls his tongue out

Kal>A+raaf =2"=:L, the donkey who carries huge burdens of books /but

learns nothing from them1 Kal>Jumu+ah :82?L, the Ny /which none but

Allaah can create, even if they (oin together for that purpose1 Kal>Ha((

882=9L, the spider /which builds a house for itself, but it is the frailest

of houses1 Kal>;Ankaboot 823"L, the blind and the deaf and the seer

and the hearer KHood ""283L, the ashes on which the wind blows

furiously on a stormy day KIbraaheem "32"6L, the goodly tree

KIbraaheem "3283L, the evil tree KIbraaheem "328:L, the water which is

sent down from the sky Kal>An+aam :2L, the niche within which is a

lamp Kal>


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should refer to these aayat and pay special attention to them,

pondering their meanings.

Ibn al>*ayyim /may Allaah have mercy on him1 summed up what the

uslim has to do to remedy the hardness of his heart with the *ur+aan.

He said2 %#here are two main things you have to do. #he 'rst 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 *ur+aan and

ponder its meanings and why it was revealed. #ry to understand

something from every aayah and apply it to the disease of your heart.

#hese aayaat were revealed /to treat1 the disease of the heart, so youwill be healed, by the permission of Allaah.&

#rying 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

eect on one+s actions. #he heart is the controller of the faculties,

which are like soldiers and followers7 if it is sound, they will be sound,and if it is corrupt, they will be corrupt.

#he texts of the *ur+aan and $unnah which speak of the greatness and

might of Allaah are many. When the uslim reads them, he is shaken

and becomes humble before the ost High, the ost Sreat, the All>

Hearing, the All>$eeing, and his fear and submission to the Gord of the

'rst and the last increases. any of His names and attributes arementioned in the *ur+aan. He is the ost Sreat /al4%A;eem1, the

Watcher over His creatures /al4uhaymin1, the ompeller /al4>abbaar1,

the a(estic /al4uta.abbir1, the ost $trong /al4awi1, the $ubduer

/al4ahhaar1, the Sreat /al48abeer1, the ost Mxalted /al4uta6aal1. He

is the Giving Who does not die, although (inn and men die. He is the

@ne Who has irresistable power over His slaves. #he thunder glori'es

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and praises Him, and so do the angels because of His awe. He is All>

ighty, All>Able of retribution. He is the $elf>$ustaining 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 vastknowledge in the following terms /interpretation of the meaning12 And

with Him are the .eys of the hayb (all that is hidden, none .nows

them but He" And He .nows whatever there is in (or on the earth and

in the seaQ not a leaf falls, but He .nows it" @here is not a rain in the

dar.ness of the earth nor anythin fresh or dry but is written in a Jlear

Kecord"# $al4An6aam D'E-. @ne of the aspects of His greatness about

which He has told us is /interpretation of the meaning12 B And on the

ay of Kesurrection the whole of the earth will be rasped by His Hand

and the heavens will be rolled up in His Kiht HandB# $al4?umar

&E'DEukhaari,

:3=1. #he heart trembles when one reads the story of oosa and how

he said /interpretation of the meaning12 %O my 0ord! 2how me(ourself, that I may loo. upon ou"6 Allaah said, %ou cannot see e,

but loo. upon the mountain, if it stands still in its place, then you shall

see e"6 2o when his 0ord appeared to the mountain, He made it

collapse to dust, and oosa fell down unconsciousB# $al4A6raaf #irmidhi, no. 95=37

Ahmad, 94"8?, 85. Ibn Tatheer uoted its isnaads in his @afseer,

943::. Ibn al>*ayyim said2 Its isnaad is saheeh according to the

conditions of uslim. Al>Albaani uoted it and classed it as saheeh in

@a.hree al42unnahby Ibn Abi ;Aasim, hadeeth 3651. Allaah, may He be

glori'ed 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.&

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/)eported by uslim, no. "=1. Another aspect of Allaah+s might was

described by His essenger /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him12 %When Allaah settles a matter in heaven, the angels beat their

wings in humility and submission to His words, /with a sound1 like achain /beating1 on a rock. When they settle down, they say, ;What did

your Gord say+ #hey say, ;What He says is the #ruth, and He is the

ost High, the ost Sreat.+& /)eported by al>Eukhaari, =5391. #here

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>*ayyim

/may Allaah have mercy on him1 described the greatness of Allaah in

the most beautiful way2 %He is controlling the aairs 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 good1 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 thenumber of all things. He hears all voices, and does not mistake one for

another7 He hears them all, in all the dierent languages and with all

their varied reuests and pleas.


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calms fears. He raises the status of some and lowers the status of

othersQ Mven if all the inhabitants of heaven and earth, the 'rst and

the last of them, mankind and (inn alike, were to be as pious as the

most pious among them, this would not increase His sovereignty in theslightest7 if they all, the 'rst and the last of them, mankind and (inn

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 'rst and the last of them, mankind and (inn,

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 weightQ

He is the First, before Whom there is nothing, and the Gast, after Whom

there is nothing, may He be blessed and exalted. He is the ost

deserving of being remembered, the ost deserving of being

worshipped, the ost deserving of being thanked. He is the ost

ompassionate of kings, the ost Senerous of those who are askedQ

He is the Ting Who has no partner or associate, the @ne who has no

rival, the $elf>$uDcient aster, Who has no son, the ost High, and

there is none like unto Him. 3verythin will perish save His face# $al4asas *C'CC + interpretation of the meanin-, and everything will

vanish except His sovereigntyQ 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. Mvery punishment on His part is (ustice, and every blessing

from Him is a favour. He is the closest of witnesses and the nearest of

protectors. He seies 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 word2 %Nerily, His Jommand, when He intends a thin,

is only that He says to it, /e!# + and it is"6 $aa42een &D'C* +

interpretation of the meanin-"& /Adapted from al41aabil al42ayib, p.

"8?1

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$eeking Islamic knowledge, which is knowledge that leads one to fear

Allaah and which increases one+s faith in Him, may He be glori'ed.

Allaah says /interpretation of the meaning12 B It is only those who

have .nowlede amon His slaves that fear AllaahB# $Faatir &'*C-"#hose who have knowledge and those who do not are not eual in

faith. How can one who knows the details of sharee+ah, the meaning

and implications of the $hahaadatayn, the things that will happen after

death 0 such as the torment of the grave, the horrors of the 'nal

gathering, the stages of the Cay of )esurrection, 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 knowledgeQ How can one who knows all this be eual in

faith with one who is ignorant of the religion and its rulings and what

Islam says about matters of the Rnseen. All the latter knows about his

religion is mere imitation, and the little knowledge he has is of poor

uality. B2ay' Are those who .now e=ual to those who do not .nowL

B# $al4?umar &E'E + interpretation of the meanin-"

)egular attendance at gatherings of dhikr /remembrance of Allaah1.

#his leads to an increase in faith for a number of reasons, such as the

mentioning of Allaah, the descent of mercy and tranuillity, the angels

surrounding the people present, and Allaah mentioning them to the

chiefs /angels1 on high, showing His pride in them to the angels and

forgiving their sins. #his was mentioned in saheeh ahaadeeth, for

example, when the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him1 said2 %Hanaliyyah /may Allaah be

pleased with him1 said2 %#he essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him1 said2 ;


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forgiven.&+& /2aheeh al4>aami6, ??5=1. Ibn Ha(ar /may Allaah have

mercy on him1 said2 %When he spoke of remembering Allaah /dhikr1, he

meant doing it regularly and persistently, by doing acts that are

obligatory or encouraged, such as reciting *ur+aan, reading hadeeth,and studying with other people.& /Fath al4/aari, ""4851. Another

indication that gatherings of dhikr increase one+s eemaan is the report

narrated by Imaam uslim in his 2aheehfrom Hanalah al>Rsaydi, who

said2 %I met Abu Eakr, and he asked me, ;How are you, @ Hanalah+ I

said, ;Hanalah has become a munaa' /hypocrite1.+ He said,

;$ubhaan>AllaahU What are you saying+ I said, ;We sit with the

essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 and

he tells us about Hell and Paradise until it is as if we can see them,

then when we leave the essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1, we get involved with our wives and children and

earning a living, and we forget a lot.+ Abu Eakr said, ;I feel the same

way.+ $o Abu Eakr and I went to the essenger of Allaah /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1, and I said, ;Hanalah has become a

hypocrite, @ essenger of Allaah.+ #he essenger of Allaah /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 ;Why is that+ I said, ;@essenger 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.+ #he essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him said, ;Ey the @ne 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. Eut, @

Hanalah, there is a time for this and a time for that+ 0 and he said this

three times.& /2aheeh uslim, no. 8=?51.

#he $ahaabah, may Allaah be pleased with them, were keen to sit

toegther for the purpose of dhikr, which they used to call eemaan

/faith or belief1. u+aadh /may Allaah be pleased with him1 said to a

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man2 %Get us sit and believe for a while.& /Its isnaad is saheeh7Arba6

asaa6il 96l43emaan, revised by al>Albaani, p. =81.

Coing a lot of righteous deeds and 'lling one+s time with them. #his is

one of the best ways of dealing with weak faith, and is clearly very

eective in strengthening faith. Abu Eakr al>$iddee /may Allaah be

pleased with him1 set the best example of this, when the essenger

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 asked his $ahaabah2 %Who

among you got up fasting this morning& Abu Eakr said, %I did.& He

asked, %Who among you has attended a funeral today& Abu Eakr said,

%I have.& He asked, %Who among you has fed a needy person today&Abu Eakr said, %I have.& He asked, %Who among you has visited a sick

person today& Abu Eakr said, %I have.& #he essenger of Allaah

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said, %$iddee /may Allaah bepleased with him1 was keen to make the most of every opportunity and

to do a variety of acts of worship. Eecause this was an unexpected

uestion on the part of the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him1, this indicates that Abu Eakr+s days were 'lled with acts of

obedience and worship. #he salaf /may Allaah have mercy on them1

reached the highest levels in their eorts to do righteous deeds and 'll

their time in this manner. An example of this is what was said about a

group of the salaf among whom was Hammaad ibn $alamah. Imaam

;Abd al>)ahmaan ibn ahdi said2 %If it were said to Hammaad ibn

$alamah, ;Bou will die tomorrow,+ he would not be able to do more

good deeds /than he was already doing1.& /2iyar A6laam al45ubala6,

=433=1.

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#he uslim should pay attention to the following when doing good

deeds2

He should hasten to do good deeds, because Allaah says

/interpretation of the meanings12 And march forth in the way (which

leads to foriveness from your 0ord, and for :aradise as wide as are

the heavens and the earthB# $Aal %Imraan &'&&-and Kace one with

another in hastenin towards Foriveness from your 0ord (Allaah, and

towards :aradise, the width whereof is as the width of heaven and

earthB# $al4Hadeed


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the Hereafter Ki.e., good deedsL.& /)eported by Abu Cawood in his

2unan, ?4"=?7 2aheeh al4>aami6, 9551.

ontinuing to do good deeds, because the Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said, transmitting the words of his

Gord in a hadeeth udsi2 %Q ;y slave keeps drawing nearer to me with

naa'l /supererogatory1 deeds until I love him.+& /2aheeh al4/u.haari,

:"9=1. #he phrase maa ya;aalu /%keeps Kdrawing nearL&1 gives the

impression of continuity. #he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him1 said2 %ontinue doing Ha(( and ;Rmrah.& /)eported by al>

#irmidhi, no. 6"57 al42ilsilat al42aheehah, "8551. #his is an importantprinciple 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.

ontinuity in righteous deeds strengthens eemaan. #he Prophet /peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 was asked2 %Which deed is most

beloved to Allaah& He said, %#he one that is continuous, even if it is

little.& /)eported by al>Eukhaari, Fath, ""4"31. When the Prophet

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 did something, he kept it

up.& /)eported by uslim, 8itaab 2alaat al4usaa9r, /aab"6, Hadeeth

"3"1.

$triving one+s utmost to do good deeds. Cealing with a hard heart

should not be the matter of a temporary solution, where eemaan

strengthens for a period of time then becomes weak again7 rather, it

should be an ongoing eort, which can only be achieved by striving

one+s utmost in worship. Allaah has mentioned the eorts of His slaves

in their worship in several places in the *ur+aan, such as

/interpretation of the meanings12 Only those believe in Our aayaat

(sins, etc" who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate,

and lorify the :raises of their 0ord, and they are not proud" @heir

sides forsa.e their beds, to invo.e their 0ord in fear and hope, and

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is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be

able to continue in that way. $o you should not be extremists, but try

to be near to perfectionQ& /2aheeh al4/u.haari, 91. According to

another report, he said2 %Ee moderate, and you will reach what youwant.& /2aheeh al4/u.haari, :5. Al>Eukhaari /may Allaah have mercy

on him1 entitled the chapter /aab ma yu.rah min al4@ashdeed

96l4%Ibaadah /hapter on what is disliked of extremism in worship11.

Anas /may Allaah be pleased with him1 said2 %#he Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 entered /the mosue1 and saw a rope

strung between two pillars. He said, ;What is this rope for+ #hey said,

;#his rope belongs to Oaynab, when she feels tired, she holds on to it.+

#he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said, ;


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of Allaah be upon him1, 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.& /)eported by Ahmad, :4?1.

When Rmm $alamah /may Allaah be pleased with her1 saw himpraying two rak+ahs after ;Asr and asked him why, he /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 told her2 %@ daughter of Abu

Rmayyah, you asked about the two rak+ahs /I prayed1 after ;Asr. $ome

people came to me from ;Abd al>*ays, and distracted me from praying

the two rak+ahs after Ouhr, so these two rak+ahs are what I prayed (ust

now.& /)eported by al>Eukhaari, Fath, 94"5?1. If he /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 did not pray four rak+ahs before Ouhr,

he would pray them afterwards. /)eported by al>#irmidhi, no 38:7

2aheeh 2unan al4@irmidhi, no. =8=1. If he missed the four rak+ahs

before Ouhr, he would pray them after Ouhr. /2aheeh al4>aami6, 3=?1.

#hese ahaadeeth indicate that one should make up sunan rawaatib

/$unnah acts that are done regularly1 when one misses them. Ibn al>

*ayyim /may Allaah have mercy on him1 made more than three points

about the Prophet+s fasting in $ha+baan, the 'rst of which was that he

used to fast three days in every month, but maybe he had beendistracted 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., )amadaan1 came. /@ahdheeb 2unan Abi awood, 949"61. He

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 used to remain in retreat

/I+tikaaf1 during the last ten days of )amadaan, but when he missed it

one year because of travelling, the following year he spent twenty days

in I+tikaaf. /Fathal4/aari, 3486?1.

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 re(ected. ;Aa+ishah /may Allaah be

pleased with her1 said2 %I asked the essenger of Allaah /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 about this aayah /interpretation of the

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meaning12 %And those who ive that (their charity which they ive with

their hearts full of fear (whether it has been accepted or notB6 $al4

u6minoon *&'D)-0 were they those who drink alcohol and steal He

said, ;$iddee. #hey are those who fast and prayand give charity whilst fearing that these deeds will not be accepted

from them. It is these who race for the ood deeds# $al4u6minoon

*&'D + interpretation of the meanin-.+& /)eported by al>#irmidhi,

9"=?7 al42ilsilat al42aheehah, "4":81. Abu+l>Carda+ /may Allaah be

pleased with him1 said2 %#o be certain that Allaah would accept (ust one

prayer from me would be dearer to me than the world and everything

in it, for Allaah says /interpretation of the meaning12 %Nerily, Allaah

accepts only from those who are al4mutta=oon (the pious"6 $al4

aa6idah '*


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'nd uniue types of worship which will have a beautiful eect on his

soul, an eect which can be found nowhere else. #wo examples of this

are as follows2

Abu Charr /may Allaah be pleased with him1 reported that the Prophet

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %#here are three

whom Allaah loves and three whom Allaah hates. As for the three

whom Allaah loves, /they are1 a man who meets a group of the enemy,

so he keeps 'ghting them until he is killed or he penetrates /the

enemy lines1 for his companions to follow7 people whose (ourney 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 (ourney7 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. /usnad Ahmad,

?4"?"7 2aheeh al4>aami6, 95=31.

A man came to the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him1 complaining that his heart was hard. #he Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said to him, %Would you like your

heart to become soft and to get what you want $how 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>

#abaraani7 there are also corroborating reports. $ee al42ilsilat al4

2aheehah, 84?991. #his has direct relevance to the topic of dealing with

weak faith.

Fearing a bad end, because this will motivate the uslim to worship

Allaah and will renew the faith in his heart. #here are many causes of a

bad end, including weakness of faith and indulging in sin. #he Prophet

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 mentioned examples of

this, such as2 %#he one who kills himself with a piece of iron will have

the piece of iron in his hand, stabbing himself with it in the 're of Hell,

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for ever and ever, without end. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself

will be sipping it 0 drinking it and swallowing it slowly 0 in the 're 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're of Hell, for ever and ever, without end.& /2aheeh uslim, no. "51.

$ome such events happened during the life of the Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1, such as the man who was with the

uslim army, 'ghting in a manner unlike anyone else /i.e., recklessly1.

#he Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said, %He is

one of the people of Hell.& @ne of the uslim men followed him to see

why. #he 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. /#he story is in 2aheeh al4/u.haari, al4Fath, =43="1. #he stories

of how people met with a bad end are many, and the scholars have

explained a number of them. For example, Ibn al>*ayyim /may Allaah

have mercy on him1 said in his book al4a6 wa6l4awa6 that one of

them was told, when he was dying, to say %0a ilaaha ill4Allaah,& and he

said, %I cannot say it.& Another was told to say 0a ilaaha ill4Allaah, and

he started humming a song. A businessman whose trade had madehim forget the remembrance of Allaah was told, when death was

imminent, to say 0a ilaaha ill4Allaah, and he started to say, %#his is a

good piece, this 'ts you, this is a bargain& and so on, until he died.

/@aree= al4Hiratayn, p. 9561. It was reported that when one of the

soldiers of the king al>and>such a house,

repair this and that in it7 such>and>such a garden, do this and that in

it.& @ne of those who deal in interest was told to say 0a ilaaha ill4Allaah

when he was dying, but he started to say, %#en for eleven,& repeating it

until he died. /Al4a6wa6l4awa6, pp. "=5, 861. $ome of them turned

black, or turned away from the *iblah. Ibn al>Jawi /may Allaah have

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mercy on him1 said2 %I heard one of those in whom I thought there was

a lot of good saying on the night of his death, ;y Gord is treating me

un(ustly+ 0 exalted be Allaah above what he saidU He accused Allaah of

being un(ust on his deathbed.& #hen Ibn al>Jawi /may Allaah havemercy on him1 said2 %I remained depressed and in despair of 'nding

something that would help me when I face that day /my own death1.&

/2ayd al48hawaatir, "9=1. $ubhaan>Allaah, how often have people seen

this, but they do not know about what really happened to those who

were about to die7 they do not know the half of it.& /al4a6 wal4awa6,

"="1

)emember death often. #he essenger /peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him1 said2 %)emember often the destroyer of pleasure,

meaning death.& /)eported by al>#irmidhi, no. 895=7 2aheeh al4>aami6,

"8"51. )emembering death deters one from sin and softens the hard

heart. Haakim, "49=:7 2aheeh

al4>aami6, 3?631. #he uslim is even permitted to visit the graves of

kuaar in order to derive a lesson from this. #he evidence for this is the

report in al42aheehwhich says that he visited his mother+s grave andwept, making those around him weep too. He said, %I asked my Gord 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.&

/)eported by uslim, 94:?1. Visiting graves is one of the best means of

softening the heart. #he visitor bene'ts from remembering death, and

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the dead bene't from the du+aa+s oered for them. An example of this

reported in the $unnah is when the Prophet /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 said2 %Peace be upon you, @ dwellers of this place,

believers and uslims. ay Allaah have mercy upon those of us whohave gone on before and those who will follow later. In sha Allaah we

will (oin you soon.& /)eported by uslim, no. =31. #he one who wants

to visit graves should observe the correct etiuette and have the

proper presence of mind when approaching them. #he 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 o 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 o

from all of that and their wealth is no longer of any avail to them. #he

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. Get 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.Get him think of the state of the deceased, how his legs are destroyed,

his eyes have become liuid, the worms have eaten his tongue, and

the earth has consumed his teeth. /Adapted from [email protected] al>

*urtubi, p. ":1.

KPoetry omittedL

Whoever remembers death freuently will bene't in three ways2 he will

hasten to repent, he will become content, and he will be active in

worship. Whoever forgets death will be punished in three ways2 he will

delay repentance, he will no longer be content with what is suDcient,

and he will be lay in worship. @ne of the eective 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

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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>Easri once went to visit a sick person and found

him in the throes of death, so he saw the distress and anguish that hadbefallen him. He went back to his family with a dierent colour from

when he had left them /i.e., he was visibly shaken by what he had

seen1. #hey said to him, %ome and eat, may Allaah have mercy on

you.& He said, %@ my family, go ahead, eat and drink. I have seen

death, and I shall never stop working hard until I meet it.& /Al4

@adh.irah, "=1.

@ne 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. #his

reminds one of the Hereafter, as the Prophet /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 said2 %Visit the sick and attend funerals7 this will

remind you of the Hereafter.& /)eported by Ahmad, 94367 2aheeh al4

>aami6, 3"51. In addition to that, attending funerals brings a great

reward, as was stated by the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him12 %Whoever attends a funeral from the house Kof the

deceasedL according to one report2 whoever attends the funeral of a

uslim out of faith and in hope of rewardX until he prays for the

deceased, will have one eeraat, and whoever attends until the person

is buried will have two eeraats of reward.& It was said, %@ essenger

of Allaah, what are the two eeraats& He said, %Gike two great

mountains.& According to another report2 %Mach eeraat is likeKountL Rhud.&X. /)eported by the two shaykhs and others. #he above

is compiled from a number of reports.Ah.aam al4>anaa6i;by al>Albaani,

p. :=1.

#he salaf /may Allaah have mercy on them1 used to think of death

when they advised a person who was committing a sin. @ne of the

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salaf /may Allaah have mercy on him1, when there was a man in his

presence gossiping about another, warned him by saying, %)emember

the cotton which they will put on your eyes,& i.e., when shrouding him

for burial.

)emembering the dierent levels of status in the Hereafter. Ibn al>

*ayyim /may Allaah have mercy on him1 said2 %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 #ruth7 the angels coming down from

heaven and surrounding them, and Allaah coming to His #hrone which

is set up for (udgement7 the earth 'lled with His light and the Eook

being set forth7 the Prophets and martyrs being brought7 the scale

being set up and the records Nying into their owner+s hands7 the

disputants being brought together7 every creditor hanging on to his

opponent7 the appearance of the hawd /cistern1 and the bringing near

of its cups7 intense thirst, but only a few being allowed to drink7 the

setting up of the bridge and the (ostling of the people to cross over it7

the sharing out of lights because the bridge to be crossed is very dark7

the Fire of Hell, parts of it consuming other parts beneath the bridge7

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 asthis world is (ust a transient, passing thing. /adaari al42aali.een,

"4"891. #he *ur+aan freuently describes scenes of the Gast Cay, in

$oorahs such as aaf, al41aa=i6ah, al4iyaamah, al4ursalaat, al4

5aba6, al4utaRfeen and [email protected]. #he books of hadeeth also

mention this, in chapters such as those on al4=iyaamah /resurrection1,

al4ri=aa=/reports that soften the heart1, al4>annah/Paradise1, and al4

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5aar/Hell1. It is also important to read the books of scholars on this

sub(ect, such as Haadi al4Arwaah by Ibn al>*ayyim, al45ihaayah 96l4

Fitan wa6l4alaahimby Ibn Tatheer, [email protected] 9 Ahwaal al4awtaa

wa Gmoor al4Aa.hirah by al>*urtubi, al4iyaamah al48ubraa and al4>annah wa6l45aarby ;Rmar al>Ashar, and others. #he point here is that

one of the things that increase faith is knowledge about the events of

the Cay 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 Hell1, and

the place of eternal abode, Paradise or Hell.

Interacting with the signs of Allaah that exist in the Rniverse. Al>

Eukhaari, uslim and others report that when the essenger of Allaah

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 saw a cloud or noticed a

wind, this would be visible in his face. ;Aa+ishah said, %@ essenger 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, %@ ;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,

%@his is a cloud brinin us rain!6 $al4Ah=aaf 7D'*7 + interpretation of

the meanin-.& /)eported by uslim, 61. #he Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 used to be alarmed when he saw an

eclipse, as is reported in 2aheeh al4/u.haari from Abu oosa /may

Allaah be pleased with him12 %#he sun was eclipsed, and the Prophet

/peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 stood up in alarm, fearingthat it was the Hour.& /Fath al4/aari, 84?3?1. #he Prophet /peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him1 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. #here

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

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punishment, wrath, might and power. ;Aa+ishah said2 %#he essenger

of Allaah /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 took my hand

then pointed to the moon and said, ;@ ;Aa+ishah, seek refuge with

Allaah from the evil of this, for this is the dar.enin (niht as itcomes with its dar.ness# $al4Fala= &'& + interpretation of the

meanin-"#+& /)eported by Ahmad, :489=7 al42ilsilat al42aheehah1.

Another example is being aected and moved when passing by places

which were struck by the punishment of Allaah, or passing the graves

of wrongdoers. Ibn ;Rmar /may Allaah be pleased with him1 reported

that the essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him1 said to his ompanions, when they reached al>Hi(r KL, %Co 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.& /)eported by al>Eukhaari, no. 3891. Bet

people nowadays go to such places as tourists and take pictures there.

So 'gureU

Chikr /remembrance of Allaah1 is a very important method of dealing

with weak faith. It brings cleansing and healing to the heart that is

suering disease, and it is the very spirit of righteous deeds. Allaah

says /interpretation of the meaning12 O you who believe! Kemember

Allaah with much remembrance# $al4Ah;aab &&'7-" Allaah promises

success to those who remember Him much /interpretation of the

meaning12 B and remember the 5ame of Allaah much, so that you

may be successful"# $al4Anfaal C'7-. #he remembrance of Allaah is

greater than everything else, as He says /interpretation of themeaning12 B (and the rememberin (praisin, etc" of (you by Allaah

(in front of the anels is reater indeed $than your rememberin

Allaah in prayers etc"-B# $al4%An.aboot *E'7-"#his was the advice of

the Prophet /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 to the man

who thought that the duties of Islam were too much7 he told him2

%Teep your tongue wet with the remembrance of Allaah.& /)eported by

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al>#irmidhi, 99=?7 he said, this is a hasan ghareeb hadeeth, $ee also

2aheeh al48alim, 91. Chikr pleases al>)ahmaan /the ost erciful1 and

keeps away the $haytaan. It dispels worry and distress, and brings

provision and opens the door to knowledge. It plants the seedlings ofParadise and helps one to avoid the evils of the tongue. It oers

consolation to the poor who do not have the means to give charity7

Allaah has compensated them with dhikr, which takes the place of

physical and 'nancial acts of worship. *ayyim /may Allaah

have mercy on him1 said, concerning the remedy of dhikr2 %In the heart

there is hardness which can only be softened by remembrance of

Allaah, may He be exalted. $o 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>Easri /may Allaah have mercy on him1, ;@ Abu $a+eed, I

am complaining to you of the hardness of my heart.+ He said, ;$often it

with dhikr.+ #he more forgetful the heart is, the harder it becomes, but

if a person remembers Allaah, that hardness softens as copper melts in

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hears the cock crow or the donkey bray or the dog bark, when a

gathering comes to an end, when seeing someone who is a-icted with

suering, and so on. Islam Ibn #aymiyah wrote a veryuseful book on the topic of adhkaar, entitledAl48alim al4@ayyib, which

has been abridged by al>Albaani under the title 2aheeh al48alim al4

@ayyib1.

on'ding in Allaah and humbling oneself before Him. #he more the

slave humbles himself before Allaah, the closer he becomes to Him.

#hus the essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of Allaah be uponhim1 said2 %#he closest the slave can be to Allaah is when he is

prostrating to Him, so make lots of du+aa+ then.& /)eported by uslim,

3681. Prostration is the position of humility, uite unlike any other

posture or position. When the slave puts his forehead 0 the highest

part of his body 0 on the ground, he becomes as close as he can be to

his Gord. Ibn al>*ayyim /may Allaah have mercy on him1 spoke in the

most elouent terms expressing humility before Allaah and the

contrition of the one who repents to Him2 %@h how sweet are the words

of the one who speaks thus2 ;I ask Bou by Bour power and my humility

to show mercy to me. I ask Bou by Bour strength and my weakness, by

Bour independence of me and my dependence upon Bou. Here is my

lying, sinful forelock in Bour hands. Bour slaves other than me are so

many, and I have no refuge or sanctuary from Bou except with Bou. I

ask Bou in the manner of the poor and wretched, I pray to Bou in the

manner of one who humbly submits, I call on Bou in the manner of onewho is fearful and blind, one whose neck is totally bowed to Bou, whose

eyes shed tears for you, whose heart is humbled before Bou.+ When the

slave comes whispering words such as these, his faith multiplies

exponentially in his heart.&

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$howing 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 meaning12 O man.ind! It is you who stand in need of Allaah, but

Allaah is Kich (Free of all wants and needs, 1orthy of all praise"#$Faatir &'-

*ayyim /may Allaah have mercy on him1 said2 %#he

greatest thing we learn from these aayaat /interpretation of the

meanings1 0 %@ell e, if 1e do let them enoy for years, and afterwards

comes to them that (punishment which they had been promised! Allthat with which they used to enoy shall not avail them6 $al42hu6ara6

*D'*)4*)#abaraani in al48abeer, "4"67 al42ilsilat al42aheehah, no. 9681.

Abu Hurayrah /may Allaah be please with him1 said2 %I heard the

essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 say,

;#his world is cursed and what is in it is cursed, except the

remembrance of Allaah and what is connected to it, and knowledge,

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and teaching.& /)eported by Ibn aa(ah, no. 3""87 2aheeh al4@arheeb

wa6l4@arheeb, no. ="1

)especting the limits set by Allaah. Allaah says /interpretation of the

meaning12 @hus it is" And whosoever honours the 2ymbols of Allaah,

then it is truly from the piety of the heart"# $al4Ha **'&*-"#he limits

set by Allaah are the rights that Allaah has over us. #hey may be with

regard to people, places or times. With regard to people, for example,

there is paying proper respect to the essenger /peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him17 with regard to places, for example, there is

respect for the Haram Kin akkahL7 with respect to times, for example,there is the month of )amadaan. B And whoever honours the sacred

thins of Allaah, that is better for him with his 0ordB# $al4Ha **'&) +

interpretation of the meanin-. Another way in which one may respect

the limits set by Allaah is not to think of minor sins /sahaa6ir1 as

insigni'cant. ;Abd>Allaah ibn as+ood reported that the essenger of

Allaah /peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %Eeware of

sins that are seen as insigni'cant, for they will keep accumulating until

they destroy a man.& #he essenger of Allaah /peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him1 explained this by comparing them to people who

stop to camp in the wilderness and decide to build a 're, 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 're and cook whatever

they throw onto it. /)eported by Ahmad, "43587 al42ilsilat al42aheehah,

961.

KPoetry omittedL

Ibn al>Jawi said in 2ayd al48haatir2 %any 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.& @ne of the salaf

said2 %I took the matter of a small morsel too lightly and I ate it7 now

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forty years later I am still slipping backwards.& He said this because of

his modesty, may Allaah have mercy on him.

Al4wala6 wa6l4bara6 /friendship4loyalty versus enmity4disavowal1, 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.

odesty 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. #he Prophet /peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him1 said2 %odesty /in appearance1 is

a part of eemaan.& /)eported by Ibn aa(ah 3""67 al42ilsilat al4

2aheehah, no. 93". What is meant is modesty in appearance and

dress7 see al45ihaayahby Ibn al>Atheer, "4""51. He also said2 %Whoeverrefrains from dressing /in fancy, expensive clothes1 out of humility

towards Allaah, even though he is able to do so, Allaah will call him on

the Cay of )esurrection at the head of His creation and will give him

the choice of whatever garment of faith he wishes to wear.& /)eported

by al>#irmidhi, no. 836"7 al42ilsilat al42aheehah, ="61. ;Abd al>)ahmaan

ibn ;Awf /may Allaah be pleased with him1 could not be distinguished

from his slave.

#here 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

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and having certain faith in Him, trusting in Him, repenting to Him, and

other deeds of the heart.

#here are certain stages which the slave must follow in order to

complete the treatment /of weak faith1, such as being righteous,

returning to Allaah, remembering Allaah, adhering to the *ur+aan and

$unnah, being humble, living simply /uhd1, fearing Allaah, feeling that

Allaah is always watching. Ibn al>*ayyim /may Allaah have mercy on

him1 has discussed all these stages in detail in his book adaari al4

2aali.een.

$elf>evaluation also plays an important role in renewing faith. Allaah

says /interpretation of the meaning12 O you who believe! Fear Allaah

and .eep your duty to Him" And

Documents

Weaknesses of Faith