Factors that weaken faith and methods to strengthen it ( Abdullah Cheng)
Dear brothers and sisters,
Allah reminds us in the Qur’an that this life is a test for us:
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا
Allah is the One Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. [67:2]
And Allah also tells us about the different trials that we will face in this life:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ
Allah will test us with fear, hunger, loss of property, life, and crops. [2:155]
Everybody will face different trials at different stages in their lives, and during these moments, our Iman to Allah will be tested, which means that our Iman can fluctuate. There may be some ups and downs, but we want to make sure that it’s always growing and as steady and stable as possible.
A test may cause a person’s Iman to go down, and it may also cause a person’s Iman to go stronger. So if we don’t have a good foundation from the start, if we haven’t prepared ourselves before we face those tests, then we would be in a very dangerous situation during the moments of trials. Therefore, we need to strengthen our Iman while life is stable, and find out the causes that could affect our Iman to become weaker.
We can summarize the factors that cause our Iman to become weaker into 2 broad categories: there are internal factors, which are related to ourselves, and external factors, which are related to things around us, and each of them contains 3 types.
Among the internal factors, the first factor that can cause our Iman to be weaker is ignorance. Ignorance of the Deen, ignorance of the Qur’an, ignorance about Allah, ignorance of beneficial knowledge. When you are not constantly seeking knowledge, you would have the feeling or illusion that you already know everything you need to know, you already know more than the bare minimum, and that attitude will limit you from becoming better and doing more good deeds.
The second internal factor that causes our Iman to be weaker is to be heedless (ghafla), to not feel concerned, to not be bothered, to not even care about what’s going on, and taking everything for granted. When you think you’re in control of everything, you start to exclude Allah out of your life, then Allah will also keep you away from Him, and make you forget about who you are.
وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ نَسُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَأَنسَىٰهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ
And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. It is they who are rebellious. [59:19]
And the third internal factor that we do that weakens our Iman is the sins that we commit. If we commit the sins without feeling remorse, without feeling guilty, without realizing that we have done something wrong, then our Fitrah becomes corrupted, we no longer feel sensitive to commit actions that would cause the displeasure of Allah, and that would only make it easier for us to commit worse and worse sins in the future. That is why no matter what the circumstance is, if we commit a sin, we should make Tawbah and sincerely repent to Allah as soon as we realize it, do not procrastinate, do not think that you are a hypocrite for doing so, because that is exactly what the Shaytaan wants you to think of.
And this leads to the external factors that can cause our Iman to be weak, the first among them is the Shaytaan. The plots of Shaytaan are not always straightforward, which means that we need to be aware of Shaytaan, we need to constantly be in a state of consciousness that he is trying to drag us down at any time. And most importantly, seek refuge in Allah to protect us from the plots and evil thoughts from the Shaytaan.
The second external factor is the temptations, the Fitnah of this Dunya. This can include almost anything we have in our life, from our own families, our money, our properties, our health, they could be a blessing for us, but if we are not aware of how to deal with them, then they can be a distraction for us and make us forget our purposes.
The last external factor that can cause our Iman to be weak is to put ourselves among evil companionship. To put ourselves among people who do not remind us of Allah. To surround ourselves with people who are constantly doing Haram. The Prophet ﷺ told us:
الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَحَدُكُمْ مَنْ يُخَالِلُ
A person is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he makes friends with. [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2378]
This is not to say that we shouldn’t be in contact with non-Muslims at all, but what is our purpose of being close to them. Is it beneficial for me to stick myself to these people? What do I achieve by staying close to them? Are they influencing me or am I influencing them? That’s the reason why we should be careful and cautious to the friends we take, because we are the ones making this choice, nobody can force us to be friends with another person.
These are the things that can weaken our Iman, and to strengthen our Iman, we would have to do things the opposite way. There are 3 things that we can follow to help strengthening our Iman.
The first is to seek knowledge. To learn about our own religion, and to learn about Allah. To learn about the names and attributes of Allah, so that we can have a better connection to every single thing around us in our life back to Allah. Seeking knowledge also includes the Qur’an, to reflect on the wisdom of the Qur’an, to recite the Qur’an, and even listening to the Qur’an. If we really want to have a stronger Iman, then there is no way we can put the Qur’an out of the picture.
The second way to maintain our Iman is to reflect and think. To observe our surroundings, to look for signs of Allah around us, then to realize how many miracles we have in front of us that we took for granted.
إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍۢ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people of reason. [3:190]
ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًۭا وَقُعُودًۭا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَـٰذَا بَـٰطِلًۭا
These are the people who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, and they would pray to Allah: “Our Lord! There is no way you have created all of this without any purpose.” [3:191]
Rather than always focusing on the details of the job or studies, take a step back and think out of the box, then that would help us better understand our purpose of life.
And lastly, in order to strengthen our Iman, we need to have a stable routine, good deeds that are consistent, and the most important deed among them is the prayer, to pray the 5 daily prayers consistently on time. The prayers are like pillars of our day, they force us to always remember Allah throughout the day and not lose focus by what’s in front of us. It doesn’t matter whether there are some doubts or weaknesses in our minds, the prayer is not something we can afford to miss. And if we want to reach to higher levels, then we need to set up more routines, such as reading the Qur’an after every Fajr, reading the Qur’an after every prayer, and turn them into habits.
And apart from committing ourselves to making the effort, we also have to constantly make Du’a to Allah, say it from the bottom of our hearts when we say:
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ
To ask Allah to guide us to the Straight Path. Because whomever Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whomever Allah misguides, no one can guide.
May Allah grant us strength and stability in our Iman, may Allah continue to guide us until the end of our lives, and may Allah protect us from all evils and temptations of this life.
Allah reminds us in the Qur’an that this life is a test for us:
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا
Allah is the One Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. [67:2]
And Allah also tells us about the different trials that we will face in this life:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ
Allah will test us with fear, hunger, loss of property, life, and crops. [2:155]
Everybody will face different trials at different stages in their lives, and during these moments, our Iman to Allah will be tested, which means that our Iman can fluctuate. There may be some ups and downs, but we want to make sure that it’s always growing and as steady and stable as possible.
A test may cause a person’s Iman to go down, and it may also cause a person’s Iman to go stronger. So if we don’t have a good foundation from the start, if we haven’t prepared ourselves before we face those tests, then we would be in a very dangerous situation during the moments of trials. Therefore, we need to strengthen our Iman while life is stable, and find out the causes that could affect our Iman to become weaker.
We can summarize the factors that cause our Iman to become weaker into 2 broad categories: there are internal factors, which are related to ourselves, and external factors, which are related to things around us, and each of them contains 3 types.
Among the internal factors, the first factor that can cause our Iman to be weaker is ignorance. Ignorance of the Deen, ignorance of the Qur’an, ignorance about Allah, ignorance of beneficial knowledge. When you are not constantly seeking knowledge, you would have the feeling or illusion that you already know everything you need to know, you already know more than the bare minimum, and that attitude will limit you from becoming better and doing more good deeds.
The second internal factor that causes our Iman to be weaker is to be heedless (ghafla), to not feel concerned, to not be bothered, to not even care about what’s going on, and taking everything for granted. When you think you’re in control of everything, you start to exclude Allah out of your life, then Allah will also keep you away from Him, and make you forget about who you are.
وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ نَسُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَأَنسَىٰهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ
And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. It is they who are rebellious. [59:19]
And the third internal factor that we do that weakens our Iman is the sins that we commit. If we commit the sins without feeling remorse, without feeling guilty, without realizing that we have done something wrong, then our Fitrah becomes corrupted, we no longer feel sensitive to commit actions that would cause the displeasure of Allah, and that would only make it easier for us to commit worse and worse sins in the future. That is why no matter what the circumstance is, if we commit a sin, we should make Tawbah and sincerely repent to Allah as soon as we realize it, do not procrastinate, do not think that you are a hypocrite for doing so, because that is exactly what the Shaytaan wants you to think of.
And this leads to the external factors that can cause our Iman to be weak, the first among them is the Shaytaan. The plots of Shaytaan are not always straightforward, which means that we need to be aware of Shaytaan, we need to constantly be in a state of consciousness that he is trying to drag us down at any time. And most importantly, seek refuge in Allah to protect us from the plots and evil thoughts from the Shaytaan.
The second external factor is the temptations, the Fitnah of this Dunya. This can include almost anything we have in our life, from our own families, our money, our properties, our health, they could be a blessing for us, but if we are not aware of how to deal with them, then they can be a distraction for us and make us forget our purposes.
The last external factor that can cause our Iman to be weak is to put ourselves among evil companionship. To put ourselves among people who do not remind us of Allah. To surround ourselves with people who are constantly doing Haram. The Prophet ﷺ told us:
الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَحَدُكُمْ مَنْ يُخَالِلُ
A person is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he makes friends with. [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2378]
This is not to say that we shouldn’t be in contact with non-Muslims at all, but what is our purpose of being close to them. Is it beneficial for me to stick myself to these people? What do I achieve by staying close to them? Are they influencing me or am I influencing them? That’s the reason why we should be careful and cautious to the friends we take, because we are the ones making this choice, nobody can force us to be friends with another person.
These are the things that can weaken our Iman, and to strengthen our Iman, we would have to do things the opposite way. There are 3 things that we can follow to help strengthening our Iman.
The first is to seek knowledge. To learn about our own religion, and to learn about Allah. To learn about the names and attributes of Allah, so that we can have a better connection to every single thing around us in our life back to Allah. Seeking knowledge also includes the Qur’an, to reflect on the wisdom of the Qur’an, to recite the Qur’an, and even listening to the Qur’an. If we really want to have a stronger Iman, then there is no way we can put the Qur’an out of the picture.
The second way to maintain our Iman is to reflect and think. To observe our surroundings, to look for signs of Allah around us, then to realize how many miracles we have in front of us that we took for granted.
إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍۢ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people of reason. [3:190]
ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًۭا وَقُعُودًۭا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَـٰذَا بَـٰطِلًۭا
These are the people who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, and they would pray to Allah: “Our Lord! There is no way you have created all of this without any purpose.” [3:191]
Rather than always focusing on the details of the job or studies, take a step back and think out of the box, then that would help us better understand our purpose of life.
And lastly, in order to strengthen our Iman, we need to have a stable routine, good deeds that are consistent, and the most important deed among them is the prayer, to pray the 5 daily prayers consistently on time. The prayers are like pillars of our day, they force us to always remember Allah throughout the day and not lose focus by what’s in front of us. It doesn’t matter whether there are some doubts or weaknesses in our minds, the prayer is not something we can afford to miss. And if we want to reach to higher levels, then we need to set up more routines, such as reading the Qur’an after every Fajr, reading the Qur’an after every prayer, and turn them into habits.
And apart from committing ourselves to making the effort, we also have to constantly make Du’a to Allah, say it from the bottom of our hearts when we say:
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ
To ask Allah to guide us to the Straight Path. Because whomever Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whomever Allah misguides, no one can guide.
May Allah grant us strength and stability in our Iman, may Allah continue to guide us until the end of our lives, and may Allah protect us from all evils and temptations of this life.