**Got it frm Al-Jumuah magazine **
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, “Eman has over seventy branches..? (Muslim)
BY MICHELLE AL-NASR
In each of our lives, our eman can vary to several different levels. It goes from its highest peak, when things seem as if they couldn’t be better, to times when we feel down-in-the-dumps, at an all-time low.
It is an aspect of our deen that we all should anticipate at one point or another, and it is something we should also prepare ourselves for. By understanding and acknowledging the phases of our eman, we will ready ourselves for our own inner struggle when the time comes. It will, insha’Allah, give us strength, endurance and patience to ride out the storm.
It is a fact that at one point or another we will all struggle to fulfill our daily obligations, most hard hit are usually the voluntary elements. Sometimes we may feel it’s not sufficient for someone to simply give us a pep talk, encouraging us to be patient. At times of sorrow, or during trials in our lives, we need true guidance, but not only true guidance. We need hope. We need to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to affirm that there is a way out of our depths of despair. We need to be assured that in time, things will change.
When we feel as if we have hit a low point in our eman, we must understand what has gotten us feeling this way to begin with. If we take a step back, most of us will agree that what usually causes our low points is sin. Big or small, sin will eat away at our eman. But it really doesn’t only stop there. Sin leave us feeling empty, depressed and quite frankly disappointed in ourselves. Those bad feelings will bankrupt our self-confidence and our self-esteem. It is like a snowball effect, but there is a way out of it.
Sin is like a trap. When you realize how to break out of that trap, you will be set free. The way to break out is to begin asking for forgiveness. When you’re feeling really down, you may feel so depressed you may think that you don’t even deserve to be forgiven, considering all of the sin you have committed. Our enemy, Shaytaan, places those types of thoughts in our minds. He is the one who has set the trap for us to become entangled in. Whether or not we deserve forgiveness is not in our hands. Our fate is simply not ours to judge, it is only up to Allah. Allah has given us the tool to break out of the trap of Shaytaan, for Allah is The Protecting Friend and He is The Just. He is the also the Most Forgiving. He gave Himself that those names for a reason, so His followers would know Him. So we would know without a shadow of a doubt that there is hope.
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger, sallallahu alayhe wa sallaw said, “By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He have pardoned them.” (Muslim)
We should not forget that Allah knows the things we do publicly and privately. Even Allah’s Messenger, sallallahu he wa sallam, used to ask for Allah’s forgiveness in the following dua:
“0’ Allah, forgive me my faults, my ignorance, my immoderation in my concerns. And Thou art better aware of my affairs than myself. 0’ Allah, grant me forgiveness of the faults which I committed, seriously or otherwise and which I committed inadvertently and deliberately. All these failings are in me. 0 Allah, grant me forgiveness from the fault which I did in haste or deferred, which I committed in privacy or in public and Thou art better aware of them than myself. Thou art the First and the Last and over all things Thou art Omnipotent.” (Muslim)
This is a beautiful example of how to ask for forgiveness, even for the sin we commit unintentionally. Allah knows that we all will commit sin, and He knows if we are sincere in our repentance. Actions will always speak louder than words. If we are to be truly repentant of our sin, we must do everything in our power to stop committing it. Once we take steps to cease committing sin, our eman will increase, as will our self-confidence and self-esteem. “Allah brings about ease after difficulty.” [65:07]
We must recognize that the only true guidance and real hope will come from Allah and His Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. And we are again given even further reassurance: “So verily, with the hardship, there is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is relief.” [94:5-6]
Finally, we must acknowledge that we will all experience low points in our eman, but understand that it is only a phase. It is like the sun that has been blackened with a dark cloud. Even the most violent storms only last for a short time. Ask for forgiveness, and soon the dark clouds will move on and the sun will shine brightly again.