Cures for the Weakness of Faith and Heart

7/28/2019 Cures for the Weakness of Faith and Heart

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Cures for the Weakness of Faith and Heart An article published earlier focused on the symptoms of the weakness of faith . Becoming aware of theweakness in one s faith can then help one take the next step to cure such weaknesses. This articlehighlights some of the methods that one can follow to strengthen the Eeman and faith in one s heart. Let us remind ourselves that weak faith overshadows the brightness of a heart as we learn from ahadith of the prophet (s):There is no heart that is not covered by a cloud like the cloud covering the moon when it issh in ing , and so i t sudden ly g oes da rk , bu t when i t ( the c loud) goes aw ay, it shines again. (Reported by Abu Na eem in al-Hilyah , 2/196; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 2268)

A sincere effort on our part can help us repel such darkness, which manifests itself as dissatisfaction inlife, depression, and misery. More importantly, a heart clouded by sins is also deprived of Allah sblessings. Curing the weakness in our hearts, thus, can help us regain the light of faith and can help usmake sense of life s complexities tha t may be eroding our faith levels.Developing sincerity toward AllahOne of the key prerequisites for strengthening ones faith is to first develop sincerity toward our Lord,

Allah. Without instilling this sincerity and His fear in our hearts, other actions become moot. We canachieve this level of sincerity toward Allah by becoming sincere to Him the way Allah wants us to besincere. This includes sincerity in faith, sincerity in intention, and sincerity in our fearing Allah, TheExalted. Let us remind ourselves and others that not every act of obedience is sincere unless it is done,both outwardly and inwardly, in a manner which Allah likes. Furthermore, more than just having

intentions, our sincerity should reflect in our actions. Allah has described the ones who are sincere inthe following verse:

It is no virtue that you turn your faces towards the east or the west, but virtue is that oneshou ld s ince re ly be l i eve in Al lah and the Las t Day and th e Ange l s and the Book and the Prophets and, out of His love, spend of one s choice wealth for relatives and o rph ans , fo r the needy and th e wayfarer, for b eggars and for th e ransom o f s laves , and es tabl ish th e Sala t (prayers) and p ay the Zakat (obl ig atory ch ar i ty) . And the v i r tuo us are those wh o keep their p ledges when they make them and sho w fo r t i tude in ha rdsh ips and adve rs i ty and in the struggle between the Truth and falsehood; such are the truthful people and such are the pious. [Surah al-Baqarah:177]. Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This verse includes a number of great meanings,importa nt principles and sound beliefs. Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/485. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day,the re are indeed s igns fo r m en o f und e rs tand ing . Those who remember Al lah ( always , and in p raye r s ) s t and ing , s i t t ing , and ly ing down on the i r sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth (saying): Our Lord! You have no t crea ted (al l ) th is w i thou t purp ose , g lory to Yo u! (Exal ted are You abov e a ll tha t they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire! [Quran: Surah

Aal Imraan 3:190 -191]. The Quran had a similar effect on the companions of the prophet (SAWS) when they recited it andpondered upon its meaning. Abu Bakr (RAA) a gentle, soft-hearted man, would weep when he led thepeople in prayer and recited verses from the Quran. Umar (RAA) became ill after reciting the verse(which means): Verily, the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass, there is non e that can avert it [Surah al-Toor 52:7-8] . (Tafseer Ibn Katheer , 7/406). His sobs could be heard from theback of the congregati on when he recited Allah s words about Prophet Yaqoob (as) in Surah Yousuf (which mean): He said, I only complain of my grief and my sorrow to Allah [Surah Yousuf:86]. What has a deep effect on one when pondering on the Quran is the Greatness and Might of Allah(SWT). It humbles us before the Most High, the Most Great, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. Allah is theMost Great ( al- Azeem ), the Watcher over His creatures ( al-Muhaymin ), the Compeller ( al-Jabbaar ), theMajestic ( al-Mutakabbir ), the Most Strong ( al-Qawi ), the Subduer ( al-Qahhaar ), the Great ( al-Kabeer ),the Most Exalted ( al-Mutaaal ). He is the Living Who does not die. He is All-Mighty, the Self-Sustainingwho does not sleep. He knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal. He has describedHis vast knowledge in the following verse:
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And with Him are the keys of the ghayb (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. And Hekno ws w hatever there is in (or on) the ear th and in the sea ; not a leaf fa lls , but He know s i t .The re is no t a g ra in in the d a rkness o f the ea rth no r any th ing f r e sh o r d ry b u t i s wr i t t en in a Clear Record. [Surah al- Anaam:59] . Thus, understanding the words of the Quran and paying due heed to them will enhance one s faith inthe All Mighty and remove the weakness from our hearts.Freeing the heart from the obsessions of this lifePreoccupation with this world is quite apparent around us, with increasing material greed and the desireto acquire more and more. The Prophet (SAWS) said: Allah, may He be glorified, says: We havesen t dow n w eal th fo r the e s tab l i shmen t o f p raye r and the paymen t o f zakat , bu t i f the son o f

Adam has one va l l ey, he wi l l wish tha t he had a second , and i f he h ad two va l l eys , he wou ld wis h that he had a th i rd . The s tom ach of the so n of A dam w il l be f i l led only w i th dus t (i .e. , he is never satisfied) then Allah will accept the repentance of the one who repents. (Reported by

Ahmad, 5/219; Saheeh al- Jaami , 1781).The world and one s preoccupation with it, is to be seen in the right pers pective a means to lead lifeand maintain relationships as per the guidance provided in the Quran. Allah says:


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And know that your possessions and children are but a trial and that surely with Allah is amighty reward. [Surah al-Anfaal 8:28] Such verses are meant to set our priorities. Due love and care of one s family within the bounds of what Islam teaches us is a man s duty, but it should not make him selfish and miserly ignoring theneeds of other deserving servants of Allah and also at the expense of remembrance of Allah.

About wealth, the Prophet (SAWS) said: Every nation has its fitnah (trial or temptation), and thefitnah of my ummah is wealth. (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 2336; Saheeh al- Jaami , 2148). The Prophet(SAWS) thus urged Muslims to be content with just what is sufficient. He (SAWS) warned those whowant to accumulate wealth, with no intention of giving in charity: Woe to those who want toaccum ulate wealth , except for the on e who says with his wealth, Here! Here! Here! (i.e., givingit away) to one on his right, one on his left, one in front of him and one behind him, (reported byIbn Maajah, no. 4129; Saheeh al- Jaami , 7137)The Prophet (SAWS) also said: All that is suff i c i en t fo r any on e o f you in th i s wo r ld i s the supp ly of the traveller. (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer , 4/78; Saheeh al- Jaami , 2384)Avoiding excess in eating, sleeping, staying up late, talking and mixing with peopleTo cure the weakness of our faith we should also avoid excesses in eating, sleeping, staying up lateand socializing. All these activities prevent one from worshipping Allah, making it easy for Satan to layhis trap. Talking too much hardens the heart, and mixing too much with people leaves no time to reflecton one s own state in solitude. Laughing too much drains life from the heart. The Prophet (SAWS) saidin a sahih hadith: Do not laugh too much, for excessive laughter deadens the heart. (Reportedby Ibn Maajah, 4193; see also Saheeh al- Jaami ).Regular attendance at gatherings of dhikr Remembrance of Allah, dhikr, is another means of curing weak faith. Allah says:

O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance [Surah al-Ahzaab 33:41]. Allah bestows His Mercy on those who remember Him. The Prophet (SAWS) said: No people sit toge the r r emember ing Al lah , bu t the ange l s su r roun d them, mercy enve lops them, t r anqu i l i ty

descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are in His presence. (SaheehMuslim , no. 2700).Ibn a-Qayyim said,When the heart is nourished with dhikr, its thirst quenched with contemplation and cleansed f rom cor rup t ion , i t sha l l wi tness r emarkab le and wond rous m a t ter s and be in sp i red wi th wisdom. (The Hardness of The Heart) Striving to do righteous deeds continuously

Allah says in the Quran:
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Race one with another in hastening towards Forgiveness from your Lord (Allah) [Surah al-Hadeed 57:21] Good deeds draw us closer to Allah, as He (SWT) says: My slave keeps drawing nearer to me with nawafi l (supererog atory) deeds unt i l I love h im . (Saheeh al-Bukhaari , 6137). The Prophet (SAWS)was asked: Which deed is most beloved by Allah? He said, The one that is continuous, even if it is little. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath , 11/194).Hoping that ones deeds will be accepted while fearing that they may not Even when we perform good deeds we shouldn t become self assured that these will certainlyguarantee our entry into Paradise. Once A ishah (RAA) aske d the Prophet (SAWS) if the reference inthe following aayah was to sinners. The verse is:

And those who give that (their charity) which they give with their hearts full of fear (whether it has been accepted o r not) , because they are sure to re turn t o t heir Lord [Surah al- Muminoon23:60] The Prophet (SAWS) said, No, O daughter of al -Siddeeq. They are those who fast and pray and givecharity while fearing that these deeds will not be accepted from them. (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3175; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah , 1/162).


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That is the state of Allah s muttaqoon (pious) servants. They are far from pride, or self conceit, never allowing complacency to set in . And it is about such of His servants that Allah says (which means):Verily, Allah accepts only from thos e who are a l- muttaqoon (the pious). [al-Maaidah 5:27]. Doing a variety of acts of worshipTo soften our hearts to fear Allah and to see the light of faith, we should strive to do more acts of worship. A man came to the Prophet (SAWS) complaining that his heart was hard. The Prophet(SAWS) said to him, Would you like your heart to become soft and to get what you want? Show mercy to the o rph an , pa t h i s head , f eed h im f rom yo ur own food , and your h ear t wi l l become soft and you will get what you want. (Reported by al-Tabaraani; there are also corroboratingreports. A l-Silsilat al-Saheehah , 2/533).Remembering death often and fearing a bad endThe Prophet (SAWS) has cautioned us against losing ourselves so completely in this life that we fail toremember the inescapable truth of death. He (SAWS) said: Remember often the destroyer of

pleasure, meaning death. (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2307; Saheeh al- Jaami , 1210).Remembering death can put a check on sins and soften the hard heart. Visiting graveyards often canremind a person of death. Remembrance of death puts our whole life in a proper perspective. We knowit has to end, but we have no knowledge how soon, and what our fate will be in the life that s going tobegin the life in the hereafter. This realization should remind us of what our Creator Allah (SWT)Himself has said about life:

Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wagesin fu l l . And w hoever is remo ved away f rom the Fire and adm it ted to Paradis e , he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing). [Surah

Aal Imran:185] After realizing the insignificance of this life, it would be foolish to give undue importance to itsmaterialistic aspects which appeal to the heart. Faith should replace love of this world in our hearts.

ConclusionWe need to engage ourselves in regular self-evaluation to renew and strengthen our faith. It enables usto keep a check on our own actions each day, showing where we might be going wrong and enablingus to improve ourselves. And eventually the greatest remedy of all is Dua calling on Allah;supplicating to Him; humbling ourselves before Him; showing our need for His Mercy and Guidance;confiding in Him our weakness and lapses; and looking up to Him to strengthen our faith.
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Cures for the Weakness of Faith and Heart

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