My Experiences:
Last year someone asked me a question about an anti-Islamic claim.
No-one could answer it, so I looked for answers for it on other sites.
I noticed another brother who was famous for providing answers had
also faced this question, but he himself couldn't find an answer for
it. So he was confused for a while... - after alot of mental confusion
he replied -
'I don't know, it's like now i'm only Muslim by name.''
This really shocked me. I wondered why this person had said this?
What made him so confident in saying this when he could have kept this
thought quietly in his head until he had improved his emaan and
become a stronger Muslim?
Lately, I've seen this trend growing and it's really saddened me. People who I used to look upto have even fallen into this.
This is what I see:
1 - They start off with being really energetic when they newly start
practising, then after around 2 years their emaan energy level drops.*
*NOTE: I have seen this trend because people when
becoming 'newly practising Muslims'; i - first read the meaning of the
Qur'an, ii - then read the Biography of the Messenger of Allah
(sal Allahu alayhi wasalam), iii - then read the lives of the Salaf.
iv - Then they read what happens later on in our history, and
forget to continuously read the meaning of the Quran and Biography of
the Messenger for Guidance in their lives. This abandoning of the
guidance leads the person to go into deeper parts of our history which
involves Sects and Wars amongst Muslims. So this person gets confused
and gets a harsh attitude - causing them to find religion a burden
instead of a source of guidance and right-direction.
2 - Then they cannot reach that high level of emaan (which they had
at the beginning), so they start becoming stressed out. They will try
doing things to strengthen their emaan, so they will get short bursts
of it - but it will go back to the low level again.
3 - They go Absent from the Islamic community (whether it's online
or offline). (This slight distance from the Islamic community gets
them more attached to the non-Islamic world.)
4 -They come back and either start freshly again, but most of the
times they don't. Some even start getting interested into going into
other sects (like Sufism) because they believe it is more spiritual.
Sadly though, I have seen many people leaving Islam after joining a
distorted version of Sufism for some time. (the praiseworthy ascetic
Sufis are those who follow the Salaf (righteous earliest Muslims), the
dispraised are those who oppose the Salaf's way).
- Alot of people who followed the wrong sect and went astray and left Islam altogether.
- Others leave Islam because they themselves couldn't find answers like the first brother mentioned in the article.
- Some expose their disbelief while others keep it quiet within
themselves. But one thing is for sure, they are daring enough to admit
their rebellion against Allah.
So we have to wonder,
why is this?
What is the root problem? And
how can any of us fall into it?
Biggest Disease: I know for sure - the biggest problem for each of these people is that
they do not have a strong relationship with Allah & they do NOT want to strengthen their relationship with Him.
If they were really close to Allah with Islam, they would beg Allah
for help in whatever they were confused in. They would cling onto Allah
because they loved Him. But they didn't hope for Allah.. so Allah let
them go...
Allah tells us that shaytaan said; قَالَ فَبِعِزَّتِكَ
لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ - إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ
[Iblees] said, "By your might, I will surely mislead them all. Except, among them, Your MukhliSeen slaves - (Quran Saad 38: 82-83)
MuKhliS is someone who;
- has IkhlaaS = Sincerety - is KhaaliS = Pure (from sins and shirk.)
So if you have symptoms of low emaan, ask yourself this;
1 - When I do actions, am I doing it for the sake of Allah? If not,
you're lacking IkhlaaS (sincerety) - and therefore you are exposed to
shaytaan.
2 - Do you do sins which are bad? Then you are not being Pure
(KhaaliS) to Allah, therefore you are exposed to shaytaan misguiding
you.
Now when you had emaan, you felt strongly close to Allah and always
in tranquility/calmness. But when it lowered, you probably started
sinning, doing less good actions, or doing your actions less sincerely
for Allah.
That caused you to go astray and lose that happiness, and if you
never stayed persistent in trying to strengthen yourself in emaan
(i.e. By begging Allah), then it would stay low and you would
persistently feel miserable.
Allah tells us;
'O mankind! eat from the earth what is
halaal (permissible) and pure , and do not follow the footsteps of
shaytaan, surely he is for you especially a clear enemy' (Quran al Baqarah 2:68)
Why does Allah tell us to eat the Halaal, and why does He compare it to shaytaan's footsteps?
I have heard stories of knowledgeable Muslims who have left Islam
secretly, and they do sins which have gone past all limits. This is a
Proof that shaytaan exists, because when people leave Islam, they don't
just start living their lives like they did before Islam, but they
follow the footsteps of shaytaan in doing the worst of evils.
When emaan continues to drop, you go past ALL limits. If you have
left the path of guidance, then the only other path is misguidance.
If you are walking the path of misguidance while knowing the right path - how more evil can you get? This is exactly what Iblees (shaytaan) did after abandoning guidance, these are the footsteps of shaytaan.
2 stories: There is a sister who says that she
lowered in emaan and due to that, she went to a bad shop where they sell
bad things. She said she felt no regret about it at all, except one
fear. (which we will discuss soon)
I have also heard of another sister who was an Islamic teacher and
she left her teaching job for another public job as a bad woman -
sharing her sins recorded publicly.
You know what is meant by this, and this is why Allah tells us to
eat the Halaal (permissible) and Pure things, and NOT to follow the
footsteps of shaytaan. Because when people start sinning, they even
forget to do the permissible and pure (like marriage), and they become
fooled into and addicted to the Haraam (forbidden things) and impure
things.
Symptoms:
These are the most common symptoms people get when they have this attitude. They are; - being
Emotionless - falling into
Extreme sin (rebellion) - The path of
Kufr (ungratefulness & disbelief).
So in some ways, they are worse than normal people who do not know the Guidance.
The
Fear Safety Tool:
When people leave Islam after knowing its truthfulness, they follow
their desires. But in its early stages, they feel really bad. One of the
biggest things they feel is
a constant fear and anxiety.
This fear and anxiety of destruction is your last safety tool and a
massive blessing, without it you would have left Islam a long time
ago. Yet Allah has given you abit of respite time to return.
If you lose this fear and continue on the wrong path - you will earn the
wrath of
Allah, and a gradual destruction which will reach you from where you
don't expect. And you will never find safety except if you turn back
to the guidance.
How do I use this Fear Safety Tool to my Advantage?
1 -
You force yourself to beg Allah to help you out of this state.
Whether you want to or not, even if Islam seems like an uphill
struggle. Because you know that Islam is better than all other uphill
struggles of life - it is the truth (even if all things don't make
sense to you.)
You need to beg - otherwise you are in danger. This is your last
means for safety. So ask Allah for safety, and to make His pleasure
easy for you. Especially in sajdah (prostration) - the best position
to recieve calmness in.
2 - *EDITED! Reason: encouraging to listen to nasheeds*
or lectures which uplift your spirit. You know what increased you in emaan (faith) in the beginning, so revive those feelings through experiencing them again.
3 - Do NEW/refreshing Islamic activities which raise your rank in the sight of Allah:
You might be in situation similar to the brother mentioned at the
beginning of this article who gave da'wah but his emaan didn't
increase.
So what you need to do is pause the activity which is distracting
you from Allah. Then do a good deed which freshens your emaan (faith).
I did Da'wah sometimes because i felt I had to benefit others with
some knowledge I had. But non muslims reacted harshly and some time
later I got exhausted and my emaan dropped too. So I wondered why my
eman wasn't increasing if I am doing da'wah (calling to Allah) which
is good?
The answer is: You're supposed to sustain your da'wah with good
acts of worship (like salaah and du'a which connects you strongly and
constantly to Allah.) Allah's Messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wasalam) was
commanded with Tahajjud (night prayer when people sleep).
So pause your da'wah if your emaan is dropping and
focus on yourself and Allah for a few days. Because your main priority is saving your OWN SELF from the fire. You know which things increase you in Emaan, so do them things.
Some common thoughts:
'I don't get the same emotions' - you
know you feel 'alive', 'colorful', happy in a certain way when your
emaan is strong. But when your emaan drops, you feel sad and gloomy, and
depressed.
Then when you try to strengthen it, you feel you're not getting the same good emotions. So you wonder, what am I doing wrong?
Answer: You are doing something partially wrong which is preventing you from tranquility (sukoon). But
you are doing something good to increase yourself in emaan, which is a proof of your sincerety to Allah. Sincerety is the secret to
success with Allah.
If you sustain this good - hoping to make Allah happy, He will make
you happy. So carry on doing the good, even if you feel you are not
getting the same happiness yet, it will come. But to feel the full
happiness - you will have to submit to Islam whole-heartedly just like
you did when you tasted the full sweetness of emaan at the beginning.
My main point is: Don't judge your emaan on your 'inner feeling'
alone, but judge it on how much good you are doing to make Allah
happy. If you keep it up, Allah will unveil this happiness to you
because you showed your desperation and sincerety to Him.
Do New Fresh Good deeds to sustain your Emaan:
Emaan usually drops when you abandon good deeds, and you waste your
time doing wasteful things which will not grow you spiritually. You
have to seek closeness to Allah in everything you do, otherwise you
will get closer to something else and you will gradually forget Allah.
Then you will follow shaytaan and he will distance you even more from
Allah and soon lead you to the hellfire.
What often encourages me to refresh my Emaan are the
Ahadeeth Qudsi. And to turn to Allah in fear, hope, longing and repentance repeatedly.
إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن
رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ
Indeed, no one despairs of relief (RawH)
from Allah except the disbelieving people (kaafiroon)
." - Surah Yusuf 12:87 -
The word RawH comes from the root word RaaHa which means '
Relaxation'.
So no-one gives up of the relief and relaxation from Allah except the
people who choose to be ungrateful/disbelieve (kufr) to Him.
This is why those who lose Emaan and don't care about getting close
to Allah again - they will soon become ungrateful to Allah and soon
become disbelievers (kaafiroon.)
Conclusion: Symptoms of Disease:
1 - Lack of Sincerety. 2 -
Laziness in doing good deeds. 3 - Lack of Purity (physical and spiritual) 4 - Sinful attitudes.
5 - Lack of personal space/time to increase yourself in Emaan.
(maybe you spent too much time in da'wah that you exhausted yourself,
and now you just need time to recover?)
6 - Wasting time in
worthless activities which
distance you from Allah, so they seem more pleasing to you and
gradually you don't care even if you say evil about Allah - because
you don't seek closeness to Him. (see example of this here; Quran al
Maa'idah 5:64 ; Quran Fat-h 48:6)
Cures for the Disease:
1 - the
Final Fear which Allah has put in your
heart before a soon destruction. You HAVE to take advantage of this
fear from Allah, if you ignore it - you will become the worst of
criminals who earn Allah's wrath/anger.
2 -
Begging Allah to save you from His anger and promising Him you will try your best to stay on this good path.
3 -
Learning Qur'an,
Arabic and
seeing the character of Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasalam) to
gain certainty in the Miraculous Divine nature of the Qur'an (this
certain knowledge will encourage you to stay firm on Islam.)
4 - Having
good thoughts about Allah and reviving
your hope in His Mercy, pleasure and reward of Paradise. Hoping from
Allah that you can reach there someday.
5 - Making your
own space and time to relax and reconsider which path is better for you.
6 - Listening to
Heart softener and du'a (prayer) *EDITED! Reason: Encouraging to listen to nasheeds*. They will relax your heart and reconnect you with Allah.
7 - Work gradually in
small good deeds again, and try to earn the pleasure of Allah by showing Him your sincerety.
8 - Try
not to fall into the same mistakes you did when you lost your emaan.
9 -
Make du'a to Allah, remain thankful to Him. So when you want to talk to Allah, you make du'a. When you want Allah to talk to you, make
short term and long term du'as.
Short term duas include small things like asking Allah to give you a
happy day. So when you have a happy day - you feel thankful to Him
and increase in emaan.
When your short term duas work, you know your long term duas/wishes have also been heard by Allah.
10 -
Repeat this process throughout your life and
continuously keep yourself busy with new fields of good deeds to keep
yourself busy with good works until you face the reality (death), so
when you meet your Provider - He will be happy with you and you will
have mountains of good deeds which will hopefully be accepted by Him.
O Allah, turner of the hearts - keep my heart firm on your guidance and obedience, ameen!
Further Reading:
Ibn al Jawzi, Ibn al Qayyim -
they are experts in explaining the sicknesses of the heart and the
cures for it. Here's a good book you should download and read slowly;
Purification of the Soul: www.kalamullah.com/Books/PurificationOfTheSoul.pdf
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