:!: My Faith has reached rock bottom :!:

Society Religion & Philosophy
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**The phenomenon of weak faith has become very widespread among Muslims, and many people complain about the hardness of their hearts. ** So often we hear the words, “I feel hardness in my heart,” “I do not find any joy in worship,” “I feel that my faith has hit rock bottom,” “Reading Quran does not move me,” “I fall into sin so easily.” The effects of this affliction can be seen in many people, and is the cause of every disaster and adversity.

The issue of people’s hearts is an important and sensitive issue. The heart is called al-qalb in Arabic because it changes so quickly and frequently (taqallub – alteration, variation, ups and downs). The Prophet (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: *“The heart (qalb) takes its name from its constant changes (taqallub). The likeness of the heart is that of a feather at the root of a tree, being turned over and over by the wind.” *[Reported by Ahmad 4/408].

Man’s heart changes constantly, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) described: “The heart of the son of Adam changes more quickly than a pan of rapidly boiling water.” [Kitab al-Sunnah, no. 226]. Allah is the One Who turns hearts around and controls them. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: “The hearts of the children of Adam are as one between the fingers of the Most Merciful, and He turns them in whatever way He wills.” Then he said: *“O Allah, Controller of the hearts, direct our hearts to obey You.” * [Reported by Muslim, no. 2654].

Allah tells us:**“Allah comes in between a person and his heart (i.e., He prevents an evil person from deciding anything)” **[al-Anfaal 8:24.] No one will be saved on the Day of Resurrection “except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [free from shirk and hypocrisy].” [al-Shu’ara’ 26:89] So the believer must check his or her heart, find out the nature and cause of the problem, and start treating it right away, before it overwhelms him or her and destroys him or her. The matter is of the utmost seriousness, for Allah has warned us against the heart that is hardened, closed, sick, blind and sealed.

…to be continued…

[from “Weakness of Faith: Causes and Cures” by Shaykh Salih al-Munajjid,
contributed by brother Taha Ghayyur, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Canada]

What, did you think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not be returned to Us? But, high exalted is God, the King; the True! There is no god but He, the Lord of the Noble Throne. [al-Muminun 23: 115-116]

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Assalaamu 'alaikum warahmatullaah sister,

Jazaakillaah khairun. I look forward to the continuation Insha'Allaah.

Wassalaam

"No leaf falls except that He knows of it, and no rain drop forms except that He has willed it."

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Inshallah

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What, did you think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not be returned to Us? But, high exalted is God, the King; the True! There is no god but He, the Lord of the Noble Throne. [al-Muminun 23: 115-116]

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JazakAllah Hinna

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ps.At-Tabarani and Al-Hakim narrated that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, what translated means, "Iman wears out in one’s heart, just as the dress wears out (becomes thin). Therefore, ask Allah to renew iman in your hearts." Iman, therefore, becomes old and wears out just as the case clothes. In addition, sometimes, the believer’s heart becomes cloudy because of committing sins. The Prophet clearly mentioned this later case, when he said, what translated means, "Each heart has its own passing cloud, just as the moon when it is shining and there comes a cloud that replaces its brightness and darkness. Whenever it (the cloud) moves on, it (the moon) will shine yet again." [Abu Nuam & As-Silsilah As-Sahihah].

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22 Symptoms of Weak Faith

Last week we discussed the phenomenon of weak faith that has become widespread amongst Muslims. We saw that the root cause of this weakness of faith, doubt in the mind and inability to remain steadfast in the practice of Islam is a hardness of the person's heart due to forgetfulness of Allah. Now we will begin to look at signs and symptoms that one can use to assess whether he or she suffers from this spiritual disease.

There are a number of symptoms of the sickness of weak faith, including the following:

1) Falling into sin and committing Haram (forbidden) deeds: There 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 hadeeth:

"All of my ummah will be fine except for those who commit sins openly, an example of which is a man who does something at night, and when morning comes and Allah has concealed his sin, he says, 'O So-and-so, I did such and such yesterday.'His Lord had covered his sin all night, but he has uncovered what Allah had concealed!" [Bukhari]

2) Feeling that one’s heart is hard and rough: A person may feel that his heart has turned to stone which nothing can penetrate or reach. Allah says: "Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardness…" [2:74]. The person whose heart is hard will not be moved 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.

...to be continued...

What, did you think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not be returned to Us? But, high exalted is God, the King; the True! There is no god but He, the Lord of the Noble Throne. [al-Muminun 23: 115-116]