The Flame of Emaan that I once had.. is dying out...

Have you ever given up that evil lifestyle that you might have once had, for islam? You
knew it was the truth, and it made sense to you. Even though it took sacrifices, you made
it to your highest point! Alhamdulillaah (all praise is to Allaah!) I know without a doubt
now - i'd rather be thrown into the fire of this world than give up my islaam..

..You probably wished that you were a sahabah (companion) in the battle of Uhud,
protecting the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him.) Or a sahabiyaat who could talk
to the Prophet's wives to complain about how her husband had been treating her lately.

What's the Problem then?

- ..time passed by, but for some reason - that massive flame of emaan (faith) that I
once had.. it started going smaller.

- How come?

- I don't know, it's everyone around me I guess. I just want to be away from
everyone, but they won't leave me alone.

Why don't they understand what I'm going through, they want me to do things that
I don't want to do, which decreases my emaan. But if I tell them, they don't even
care about what I say, or they don't understand.

I want to learn more about islam, but I got all these distractions surrounding me,
and most of them - I don't have any control over.

- Subhan Allaah! Did you know that the sahabah went through similar stages to
what you're experiencing.

Most of them hated it when the enemies attacked the muslims, they used to say that
once the muslim's were safe, it would be better for them because they could worship
Allaah properly.

But the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said otherwise.

- Why's that?

- It's because - the greater the trial - the greater the reward. Just think about it,
who's more respected in islam? The Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
be upon him), or their student's - the taabi'een?

- It's the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (sal Allaahu alayhi waSalam)
obviously?

- Why is that though? Wasn't it the later generations who actually spread islam
around the world, or writ books on islam and compiled hadith etc?

- Yeah, but the sahabah were with Rasulullah (peace be upon him) init.

- Exactly! The sahabah's trials were much greater because they never had to just
fight against someone they didn't know, but against their own disbelieving fathers
and brothers. They were nearly always under threat of being attacked, and were
even persecuted for submitting to Allaah Almighty.

- So what's your point?

- What i'm trying to say is that you will be rewarded for your patience insha'Allaah.
And remember, being patient should be done at both times of hardship and ease.

Some people actually forget Allaah, when He blesses them with good. But just keep
this in mind - if you remember Allaah at times of ease, He will remember you at
times of hardship.

Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.). I will

remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favours on
you) and never be ungrateful to Me. (Qur'aan Surah al Baqarah [2]: 152)

Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. (Surah ar-

Ra'ad [13]: 28)
 The Flame of Emaan that I once had.. is dying out...

So What Can I Do?

- I don't want to say this, but sometimes I feel like nothing's going my way. When I
pray salaah, I feel really heavy, like I'm just doing movements without no soul. Then
I feel really bad, angry with myself.. and emotionless.

I know it's shaytaan playing with my mind and body, but I just feel like giving up
sometimes..

- You might be surprised, but you're actually not the only person who's experienced
this.

- Seriosly!?

- Yeah, one of the reasons you're probably experiencing this is because something's
worrying you too much, or causing you anxiety.

It might be that you want to study islaam - but people are stopping you. Or it might
be that you commit a sin alot, and you want to stop, but shaytaan persuades you to
commit it more. Or it might even be about what is happening to the muslim ummah
(nation) and you feel you have no power over anything.. you feel hopeless.

There are alot of reasons why a person feels helpless, and because of this - they
might feel stressed out.

But there are two types of solutions and both compliment each other.

1) Do all the worldly actions that you have control over.

2) Make lot's of dua' (supplication/prayers) to Allaah.

- thats it?
- That's it.

So if you want to study islaam;

1) Ask your mom or dad and work hard to persuade them. Tell them
to think itover for a while.

2) Make lot's of dua' to Allaah for what you desire, but ask Allaah to
accept it if it's good for you.

Obviously, this only applies to prayers relating to this world - because we don't
know if anything in this world is good for us or not.

.. it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye
love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know
not. (Qur'an 2:216)

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"There is no Muslim on the face of the earth that asks Allah for
anything except that Allah gives it to him, or averts from him a similar
evil, as long as he does not ask for something evil or for breaking the
ties of kinship"
(Al-Tirmidhi).

- Masha'Allaah! So you mean.. dua' can actually change my destiny?

- Yep, but the scholar's say that it's already written in your destiny that you'll make
dua' to change your destiny.

For example:

..the angels see in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz that a person’s lifespan will be sixty years,
unless he upholds the ties of kinship, in which case another forty years will be added
to his life. Allaah knows what will happen to him in that regard. This is the meaning
of the words (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah blots out what He wills and
confirms (what He wills)” [al-Ra’d 13:39].
- That mean's that if I do what I can physically, to my full potential, and then I make
dua' to Allaah Almighty - my parent's might let me study islam, or insha'Allaah i
willstop doing them sins, and Allaah may even bring victory to the muslims sooner
than we expected!

- Insha'Allaah. But always remember, never be impatient in your dua's/prayers.

- What dyu mean by impatient?

- lol you'll understand from this hadith insha'Allaah:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said:

"The supplication of a slave continues to be granted as long as he does

not supplicate for a sinful thing or for something that would cut off
the ties of kinship and he does not grow impatient.'' It was said: "O
Messenger of Allah! What does growing impatient mean?'' He (Peace
be upon him) said, "It is one's saying: `I supplicated again and again
but I do not think that my prayer will be answered.' Then he becomes
frustrated (in such circumstances) and gives up supplication
altogether.'' (Sahih Muslim)

- Ohhh.. i understand lol. I noticed alot of people do that.. astaghfirullah.

- Yeah, that's probably the reason their prayer doesn't get accepted. hm.. I'll
remember to stay patient and constant in my dua's from now on insha'Allaah.

..put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those who put their
trust (in Him). (Qur'an Aal Imraan 3:159)

..and be patient. Surely, Allah is with those who are As-Sabirin (the
patient ones, etc.). (Qur'an Surah Anfaal 8:46)
 The Flame of Emaan that I once had.. is dying out...

What if my dua' doesn't get responded to?

- You have to stay patient, keep praying and do more good deeds, because that way,
Allaah might accept it quicker.

Good deeds are like wings, the more good deeds Allaah accepts of yours, the more
quicker your dua' will rise insha'Allaah. And we know from other hadith that sins
can be a barrier, and the best of sinners are those that repent.

Plus, Allaah may have responded to your dua' and it may be that when the time is
right - then you will see the benefit's of it being delayed insha'Allaah.

So don't feel bad if you havn't got a response - because Allaah may have removed an
evil from you that you never knew of.

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"Caution will be of no benefit against divine decree, but du' a benefits

all things, whether they come down or not. I therefore advise you to
make du'a, O servants of Allah"!

(Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and al-Tabarani)

- Okay, i think i understand now insha'Allaah. So it's:

1) Doing all worldly actions that I have control over.

2a) Praying to Allaah sincerely from my heart.

b) Being constant and patient in my prayers, praying especially at

times when they are more likely to be responded to.

3) Doing lot's of good deeds, asking for forgiveness and remembering

Allaah through the good times and bad.

That's it yeah?
- Yeah, masha'Allaah. you're a quick learner.

- lol not as quick as Imaam Shafi'ie. When he read a book, he would have to cover
up the other page.

- Why's that?

- Allaah blessed him with a strong memory, so if he saw the other page, he would
memorise that too accidentally. So he had to cover it up.

- Masha'Allaah.. anyway, let's get serios. Is your imaan stronga then how it was
before?

- Yeah, how do you know?

- Are you scared that you might lose it again?

- Yeah, kinda. It's just that I don't understand why it might be really high one day,
and then sometimes it just drops, and then i feel useless again.

- Just keep a close eye on your actions from now on.

I've noticed that when a person stops performing a compulsary (fardh/wajib) duty,
their imaan (faith) mainly drop's at that time. The same can be said when a person
sins.

- Why is that?

- It might be because a person fight's against their own fitrah (natural inclination.)
Their conscience tells them that what they are doing is wrong, but they might push
themselves/force themselves into the sin.

This makes the person feel guilty, but if the person keep's doing sin - their heart
get's covered in darkness.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon

him) said,
 When the believer commits a sin, a black dot will be engraved on his
heart. If he repents, refrains and regrets, his heart will be polished
again. If he commits more errors, the dots will increase until they
cover his heart. This is the Ran (stain) that Allah described,

(Nay! But on their hearts is the Ran (stain) which they used to earn)''
(83:14).

At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah recorded this Hadith, and At-
Tirmidhi said that it is Hasan Sahih.

- But a person can go from bad to good right?

- Yeah, the most pious can turn from good to bad, but similarly - the worst can
become the best.

We know this because iblees was the best from among the jinn, but out of his
arrogance and pride, and out of disobeying Allaah - he is the most hated in the sight
of Allaah.

We shouldn't follow his footsteps, or else we might have the same fate.

O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not

the footsteps of the evil one; for he is to you an avowed enemy.
(Qur'an

2:208)

- What about from bad to good?

- A really good example of this is 'Umar bin Khattaab - a famous companion

of the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) and one of the 10 people
promised paradise/jannah in this world.

Did you know that before islaam - he used to drink so much alcohol that a
scholar said he could have died at a young age. He was one of the people who
was the most severe in torturing the muslims, and he was one of the people
who would bury small girls alive.

- You serios?!

- Just look how islam changed his life totally. After the prohibition of alcohol,
he stopped the alcohol, he died at the same age as the Messenger of Allaah
(peace be upon him), Abu Bakr and Aa'isha (may Allaah be pleased with
them) at the age of 63. He was kind and gentle with the believers when he
was khalifah, and he would cry when he remembered the sins that he
commited before islaam.

The Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said that if shaytaan saw
'Umar in a street, shaytan would run the other way.

- lol, what do you think made 'Umar (radhiAllaahu anhu - may Allah be
pleased with him) who we know him as today?

- I think it was his regret, sincerety, a strong desire to be saved from the
hellfire, and the desire to enter paradise/jannah.

We should have that sincerety and commitment too insha'Alaah.

- yeah.. we should. insha'Allaah.

The Flame of Emaan that I once had. . is dying out...

Faith wears out gradually, like clothes wear out..

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Faith
wearsout in your heart as clotheswearout, so ask Allaah to renew the
faith in your hearts.”

The believer’s heart may sometimes feel overwhelmed by clouds of sin.

This was portrayed to us by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) when he said: “There is no heart that does not have clouds
like the clouds that cover the moon. When the cloud covers it, it is
dark, and when the cloud moves away it shines.”Narrated by al-
Tabaraani in al-Awsat, and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

So the believer’s heart is sometimes covered with a cloud and its light is
hidden, and it remains dark and lonely, but if he strives to increase his
store of faith and seeks the help of Allaah, that cloud goes away and the
light in his heart starts to shine again. Hence one of the salaf said: “It is
part of a person’s smartness to check on his faith and be aware of what
affects it.” It is also part of a person’s smartness “that he recognizes how
the Shaytaan whispers to him.”

More – tips on how to be a devoted slave of Allah:

http://www.islam-
qa.com/index.php?ref=34306&ln=eng&txt=faith%20wears%20out
%20clothes

Don’t go extreme in religion.

Abû Hurayrah relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said “This
religion is easy. No one becomes harsh and strict in the religion
without it overwhelming him. So fulfill your duties as best you can
and rejoice. Rely upon the efforts of the morning and the evening and
a little at night and you will reach your goal.”[Sahîh al-Bukharî]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “This religion is easy.” Ease is
moderation. So our religion is moderate and we as a nation of people are
moderate.

Allah says: “Thus We have made you a moderate nation”. [Sûrah al-
Baqarah: 143]
Since working for the religion is a way of fulfilling our duty to Allah and
of obeying His Messenger, we can see the importance of the glad tidings
being referred to in this hadîth.

It means that we keep up our Islamic work while recognizing both the
need for what we are doing and the limitations of our abilities.

More facts we can learn from the hadith above:

http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=31&sub_cat_id=750

If you keep your duty to Allaah, He will give you an easy life.

Like it was mentioned earlier, if any calamity hits you:

1) Just when it hits you, remember Allaah and Say “inna lillaahi wa ina
‘alayhi raji’oon” (to Allaah we belong, and to Him is our return.)

2) Try to do all the things you have control over to control or fix the
situation, in a halaal way.

Narrated Aa’isha (may Allah Almighty be pleased with her)

“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)

was never given a choice between two matters
except that he chose the easier of the two” (Sahih al-
Bukhari, 4.230: 3560).

http://muttaqun.com/extremism.html

3) Put your trust in Allah, Allah is with and loves those who put there trust
in Him, then stay patient.

If you’re sincerely putting your trust in Him, you will find it easy to stay
patient insha’Allaah.

Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah Almighty be pleased with him) reported: "I was
behind the Prophet (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) one day when he said
to me:

"O young lad. I will teach you some words: Safeguard Allaah and you
will find Him before you. If you ask (for something), then ask (it from)
Allaah: and when you ask for assistance, then seek assistance in
Allaah."

And know that if the ummah were to gather to benefit you with
something, they would not be able to benefit you except with
something that Allaah has already written for you. And if they were to
gather together to harm you with something, they would not be able to
harm you except with something that Allaah has already written
against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried."

Saheeh al-Jaami' us-Sagheer (7957) & Saheeh Sunan At-Tirmidhi (2043).

Al Mishkaat (5302)

Also pray:

Allaahumma yaa muqalliba al-quloobi thabbit qalbee `alaa deenika;

Allaahumma yaa muqalliba al-quloobi thabbit qalbee `alaa al-haqii;

Allaahumma yaa muqalliba al-quloobi thabbith qalbee `alaa taa'atika

(O Allah, You are the twister/turner of hearts, make my heart firm and
steadfast on Your religion;

O Allah, You are the twister/turner of hearts, make my heart firm and
steadfast on truth;

O Allah, You are the twister/turner of hearts, make my heart firm and
steadfast on Your obedience).

Also,

Allaahumma innee a'oodhu bika mina al-kufri, wa al-shakki, wa al-nifaqi

wa al-shiqaaqi
(O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief, doubts, hypocrisy and
straying away from the straight path).

Shaytans tricks

Shaytan will try to make you go back to your old ways and you might feel
it was better when you never had these problems and limitations.
But remember that even if you never had islaam, you would still have
problems, because Allaah has created mankind this way.

Verily, We have created man in toil. [Qur’an 90:4]

If you stay patient when the calamity falls, and you put your trust in Allah,
He will be pleased with you. Allah might even remove some of your sins
and raise your position in Jannah/paradise.

Whereas if you be angry at Allah’s decree, He may get angry with you too.
These trials are like medicine, the taste might not be nice – but Allah
knows that in the long term it will benefit you a lot insha’Allaah.

Just think about it, you’re a winner all the time if you’re Muslim
insha’Allah. Allaah will handle all your affairs for you, and all you have to
do is wait a little while.

With time, you’ll realize that you’ve become a more patient person, and
everyone will love your new personality insha’Allaah!

The Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said:

... He who remains patient, Allah will bestow patience upon him, and
he who is satisfied with what he has, Allah will make him self-
sufficient. And there is no gift better and vast (you may be given) than
patience." [Bukhari - Volume 8, Book 76, Number 477]

The outcome of that patience is that you won’t get angry at the decree of
Allaah. Which in return will make you a more happier, patient person –
with a good attitude and good manners.

You’ll get used to the fact that everything comes from Allah, so you won’t
get angry and blame others, but you’ll understand that Allah has only
created this situation to forgive your sins, and to raise your level in
Jannah/paradise insha’Allaah. It’s way better than getting the punishment
of the afterlife.

The patience and good manners will give you ease in this life, and the
hereafter. Your mind and heart will be at ease [in a state of tranquility],
you will be loved by the people in this world, and also be loved in the
hereafter because you did it all to please Allaah.

...Abu Darda' reported that the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, said,
"Nothing is weightier on the Scale of Deeds (on the day of judgment)
than one's good manners."[Bukhari]
The Flame of Emaan that I once had.. is dying out...

Keeping the Emaan [Faith] Constant.

When you start practising islaam, my emaan goes to a really high

level.. after a while it might wear out, and when it does - I feel
soo bad and worn out, as if I don't know what to do..

How can i keep it constant?

Maybe you get that feeling by missing salaah [the 5 daily prayers],
or something like disobeying parents. Wel.. we know that our
faith level usually drops when we've done sins, or if we've given
up on some duty which we had to do, but we never did it.

The main thing to remember is that we need to keep a continous

relationship with Allaah. If we can continue that relationship with
Allaah, then we're likely to have that strong level of faith.

Like we said earlier, the times we usually decrease in our emaan

is because of sins, or if we havn't kept our duty to Allaah. If our
emaan is strong, then we'll look forward to keep our duties to
Allaah, but if its weak then we're likely to be lazy to keep up with
these duties.

So its like a cycle/circle - if we keep our duties to Allaah, our

emaan will remain strong for a long while. Due to this, we will
have strong emaan and love to keep up with our duties to Allaah
and have that feeling of joy, relaxation/contentment in the heart.

However, if we decide that we can't be bothered - like you just

want to sleep that extra hour instead of praying fajr (the early
morning prayer.) Then our emaan is likely to drop, and because of
this - we are more likely to disobey Allaah even more because our
heart gets harder abit, due to the previous sin.

If this continues, the heart desires evil more than good.. however
if we repent and work hard to do good again - then our emaan
may climb back up again insha'Allaah. This is why sincerety is
really important in islaam, because without it we're likely to give
up and turn away. We seek refuge in Allaah from that.

If we sin, we distance ourselves away from Allaah and if the sin

continues - the person might get overwhelmed and feel that their
too sinful to repent. This is a major sin in islaam - to feel that
your sins are too much to be forgiven.

"O My slaves who have transgressed agaisnt themselves!

Despair not for the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all
sins. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." »

[Qur'an, Chapter 39: Verse 53]

At the same time to feel secure from the punishment of Allaah is

a major sin, so we have to be in the middle - to work hard to do
good deeds in order to gain Allaah's Mercy, and if we do bad - we
should repent quickly because we don't know when we're going to
die.

One of the best methods i find to keep my relationship with Allaah

strong is to continously talk to Him, the Almighty whenever i'm in
need of anything. When i feel scared, lost, insecure. Or when i
feel happy, excited etc. we thank Allaah, praise Him and ask Him
for help. Remember Allaah through the easy times and He will
remember you through the hard times when you turn to Him.

The times when my emaan usually drops is when i don't

pray/supplicate as much, but at the same time just when i
remember - i turn back to Allaah again for help. It's like a rust
that builds up on my heart, until i remember Allaah again and
then this rust gets removed gradually. My heart feels lighter, and i
feel that sense of ease/calmness in my heart once again praise be
to Allaah.

So remember - sins are what distance you from Allaah. But just
when you remember what you've done, quickly repent -
repentance brings you closer to Him again.

Good deeds in order to gain Allaah's mercy bring you closer to

Allaah. You like to perform them when your emaan is strong, you
feel lazy to perform them if you've done alot of sin. So again, ask
Allaah to forgive you.

Keep a constant relationship with Allaah, direct contact by

praying to Him. In your heart, by whispering etc. If you forget
about Allaah, your heart will start getting rusted up like iron does
if you leave it alone. But if you start remembering Allaah again,
the rust will gradually be removed - & then you will feel a sense
 of contentment in your heart like you did when you first tasted
the feeling of emaan [faith.]

If you can reflect on the principles above, insha'Allaah you can

figure out where you're going wrong and how to fix it up.

And Allaah is the source of Strength.

The Flame of Emaan that I once had.. is dying out...

It's authentically recorded in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud that;
"Only four years separated our acceptance of Islam and the revelation of this Ayah, in
which Allah subtly admonished us,

Has the time not come for those who have believed that their
hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of
Allah and what has come down of the truth?...

[Qur'an Al Hadeed 57:16]

4 years!!? How long have we been trying to practise Islaam? Maybe around 2 years max?
And our emaan's (faith) already dropping..?

But why did Allaah say that? If He already knows that our emaan is wearing out? 4years
is a long time, especially if you want to remain firm upon Islaam. And your faith has
either dropped quite a few times during this period, or it's increased alot. Yet we know
that the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) has said that faith wears out like
clothes wear out.

So why did Allaah say that we should be submissive to Him? Don't we already know
that? Since we're trying to be practising Muslims? Wait are we really... ok wait, what does
Allaah continue saying within that verse?

..And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture
before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts
hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.

[Qur'an 57: 16]

Ask yourself the following questions;

1) When i first started practising Islaam, i was well excited. True? I wanted to go around
reading the sayings of the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) so i could learn

them, start putting them into practise, and then passing it onto other family members, and
even mates sometimes.

Agreed?

Okay, now ask yourself this - Do i still do this today? Do i have that same level of
excitement, do those famous ahadith still stick in my mind and heart like before? Not as
much, right? Especially if your emaan is feeling low lately.
2) Remember when you read the ahadith on the huge reward for the Sunnah prayers
before and after salaah, do i still perform them today? Or do i pray them less now that i
know they're not compulsary? Remember when i used to strive to pray the
Tahajjud/Qiyaam ul Layl (the Night prayer) to get a good feeling of emaan? I'm more
'knowledgable' now, and i know their not obligatory, so i don't always pray them. True?
Did i pray them today? No? Oh, and my emaan's low today..

3) When i was a kid, i used to read Qur'an and we used to get $10/£5 whenever we
finished all of it from our parents.

"How many times have you read Qur'an?"

"I've finished it 2 times and i'm only 12years old."

"Wow masha Allah! here's £1 for being so good!"

(thought bubble: I should finish it more often to get more money) *grin*

Yet we never knew the meaning of even one word we recited from the whole copy of the
Mus-haf/Qur'an.

But you grew up. So you tried to understand a little bit about Islaam, you never had a
english translation of the Qur'an in your house though, because your parents thought it
might have been a W-a-h... *cough ahem* translation. So you couldn't really do nothing..
which meant you chose the net instead.

Turns out, this intention of theirs actually lead to more evil.. and the lack of Islamic
knowledge from your parents made you even more confused.

But wait.. you can't go on no muslim internet site either! Remember when you got that
chain mail from your mate? In it, it said that the muslim site might have been created by a
jew trying to brainwash muslims?! So you never had an option - you had to hang out in a
site with people you could trust, these people had an even bigger influence on you. They
were probably people about your age, maybe a little older. They sometimes spoke about
dodgy things, and you grew up in that kind of environment, with the online e-community.
This was safer than a W-a-h-a... *ahem* translation of Qur'an, and it was safer than a
muslim site which might have been created by a jew, right?
What ended up happening? You first came with the intention of meeting other muslims,
then gradually trying to defend the attacks against Islaam using the logic which your
parents instilled you with. *flashback*
I.e.

How come we read Qur'an dad/mom?

the Qur'an is the miracle of Allaah

how come mom/dad?

Ask the molvi?

No, noo.. i can't, he'll beat me up(which is against the Prophetic way
anyway.)

Then don't ask stupid questions!

Ahh! The painful memories.. these people were your friends though, and you actually
turned into one of them. If they attacked Islaam, you got immune to their attacks and
soaked them in. You couldn't be bothered defending too much now, because you gave up.
You never had the knowledge, and you couldn't trust anything either because you had no
sources at home, and you couldn't trust any muslim site.

So you felt the only alternative was to blend in, you became one of them. You became
harsh, you swore alot, you didn't care what your parents said, you listened to music.

Now you were officially one of them.

One day, you got a PM (private message) from someone.

[FW: message has been sent sent to 50 people]

Salaam, i've created a new site on Islaam. Can you join up?

You were curious, so you joined up.

You weren't whole-heartedly interested, but after a while - you went through a tough
time. You left the past forum, and by the Great will and Mercy of Allaah you changed,
and started practising Islaam whole heartedly.

You got involved with the people of Al-Qur'an, and you wanted to read it. Someone
linked you, and the person was trustworthy. You read through the translation alot, and
your faith remained strong for a few months.. maybe even longer?

..but then it started to die. And that's probably why you're reading this. You can probably
feel a stain on your heart, something which makes you feel heavy. Something which - if it
goes worse enough - allows you to commit other sins, it allows you to miss the Fajr
prayer because you're too lazy.

..Lest they become as those who received the Scripture before,

and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were
hardened. And many of them were Fasiqun (rebellious,
disobedient to Allah).

The hearts corrupt, we don't obey Allaah as much.. we rarely put anything new we've
learnt into practise?

The famous scholar of Qur'an also mentions this verse (translation of the meaning) next
to it;

So, because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them and

made their hearts grow hard. They changed the words from their
(right) places and have abandoned a good part of the Message
that was sent to them.

[Qur'an 5:13]

- meaning, their hearts became corrupt and they hardened, and they acquired the behavior
of changing Allah's Speech from their appropriate places and meanings. They abandoned
acts of worship that they were commanded to perform and committed what they were
prohibited to do.

This is why Allah forbade the believers from imitating them in any way, be it basic or
detailed matters.

hm...

So then, have you turned away from the Book of Allaah? You don't read it or ponder over
it as deep as you used to like back in them days right? true.

If you don't, then you have to force yourself to. Because sometimes you feel lazy, you
don't like losing the emaan, but at the same time you don't have the same energy like the
beginning. So try some of the following ideas;

1) Recite Qur'an, and try to learn some basics of arabic to get a basic
understanding of what's being recited. You get a cool emaan booster
because you actually know the word meaning instead of just the
 translation. Why not try to recite along with your favourite recitor of
Qur'an aswell?

2) Try to memorise like 2 verses a day, and maybe within a week you can
recite these verses in your Salaah instead of always "Kul huwallahu
ahad.." - then you'll be more excited to pray salaah more aswell insha
Allaah.

3) Try reciting another Surah/Chapter of Qur'an instead of the same one

always? And try to look at the translation, along with the arabic words to
see if you can understand which translated word is which arabic one. If
you're ever unsure, you can always ask someone who knows arabic right?

4) When you're praying salaah, try to do longer prostration/sujood. Trust

me, short ones make your head feel light, and long prostrations make you
feel all relaxed and at ease. That's exactly what you want - to be at ease.

5) Try praying salaah in different places, don't always pray it in the same
spot - because knew locations might make you feel refreshed. It's a
blessing from Allaah that the whole earth is a prayer mat for the believers.
So long as the place isn't impure. Try doing it, even if it's in another room
in the house.

Since Salaah (the prayer) is one of the greatest pillars in Islaam, the
amount of Khushoo' (humility/concentration) you have in Salaah - the
more likely your emaan is higher.

So use the Salaah as a criterion for your daily emaan level.

NEW) You probably havn't experienced all the acts of worship which
Allaah allows us to do, so why not try new experiences? Aswell as doing
the acts of worship which you found interesting right at the beginning? It
might revive that feeling of emaan once again insha Allaah.

Have you ever had the experience of giving in charity? Maybe, maybe not? Try it. New
Experiences liven up your emaan (faith), and go back to the Qur'an and Sunnah again to
see the way of the pious before us, how they raced to good deeds. How some scholars
like Abdullah ibn Al Mubaarak would fight for the sake of Allaah against the enemy for a
year, then teach Knowledge for a year, then perform Hajj another year. Rotating in
different acts of worship during different times of the day like Prophet Dawud, giving
your time to certain acts so you don't get exhausted or bored of continuously doing the
same all the time.
 Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its death! Indeed We
have made clear the Ayat to you, if you but understand.

[Qur'an 57:17]

This Ayah indicates that He brings subtleness to hearts after they have become
hard, guides the confused after they were led astray, and relieves hardships after
they have intensified. And just as Allah brings life back to the dead and dry earth
by sending the needed abundant rain, He also guides the hardened hearts with the
proofs and evidences of the Qur'an.

The light (of faith) would have access to the hearts once again, after they were
closed and, as a consequence, no guidance was able to reach them.

All praise is due to Him Who guides whomever He wills after they were
misguided, Who misguides those who were led aright before. Surely, it is He Who
does what He wills and He is the All-Wise, the Most Just in all that He does, the
Most Subtle, the Most Aware, the Most High, the Proud.

Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Surah Al Hadeed 57

I think i'm losin it...

i wasn't happy..
the hour drew near every sec,
n i felt in a state of fear..
was i doin the right thing, was i in check?

i've lost so many battles.. but the war goes on.

i dno.. but i gota stay strong.
this life, its just a delusion.
but i still, for some reason.. run around in confusion.

i say i want less, but i desire more..

is that cuz i'm overburdin myself, or is it cuz i'm unsure?

its because i'm losing it again.. i'm losin that spark.

its like.. once again, i'm wanderin in the dark.
i need the light, i need to be free.
but constantly, i'm in a state of anxiety.

its' because i'm losin it again.. but what if its cuz i've stopped?
i dno.. its like it just dropped.

i'm praying to Allaah, once again, that i become strong.

i think i lost it.. cuz i did so many wrongs.
i overburdened myself, and i never worked hard to strengthen my self again.

thats cuz emaan dies, if u dnt re-affirm it.

don't you know, that Allaah says "oh ye who believe, BELIEVE in Allaah and His
Messenger? *"

That's because.. He knows that faith dies..

you gota re-strengthen it, open your eyes.

Don't make Islaam a habit.. work hard.

The same way you did, right from the start.

That's just a reminder, if you once forgot.

cuz i did too, then i got lost.
pray to the One, who gave it you first.
And stay sincere, cuz you know it's worth.

---------------

* Qur'an Al Nisa 4: 136

The Flame of Emaan that I once had.. is dying out...

Following Desires pushes away your spirituality, since there is no sin except that it's basis
is desire.

The more sins you do - the more you turn away from that spirituality, and become
exhausted, you crave to fulfill false desires more and more, and the more you carry on
doing it - the more harm you cause to yourself.

This is because every desire causes a certain harm to you, spiritually (by you distancing
away from Allah due to disobedience to Him), physically - you tire yourself and

cause harm to what you used in this disobedience, whether that is something from your
body, your wealth, your time etc. Since using something which Allah give's you for
haraam [the forbidden] causes that blessing to weaken you and be a cause of regret for
you, or if it is used for the sake of Allah - it does nothing except bring good, in this life or
the life of the hereafter.

That feeling of you wanting to bang your head, you know when you're really frustrated?
Isn't that what makes people crazy, that's what happens in psychiatric wards. The sujud
[prostration/sajdah] removes that stress since its the forelock which needs relaxing, and
this is the exact point of the brain which encourages you to sin. I don't know, it might be
that some people from there havn't prostrated or experienced that calmness of emaan
[faith], so they just can't get that relaxing feeling and want to bang their head onto
something?

I heard in the lecture that when a person commits a sin, the front side of
your brain is used. The part where you put your forehead on the ground
for prostration.

Have you ever missed salaah and felt really confused, scared and the part
of your forehead which you place on the ground for sajdah (prostration)
feels tingly, and you feel lightheaded? But when you do the sajdah
(prostration) you feel happy and relaxed again.

Or when you do a sin, your mind is always in a feeling of uneasiness until

you stop that action. You may be afraid that someone is watching you, or
be afraid that you might get in trouble.

This part of the head is known as the forelock - the sinners on the day of
judgment will be dragged by the forelock and into the hellfire.

No! If he does not desist, We will surely drag him by

the forelock - A lying, sinful forelock!
(Qur'an Surah 'Alaq - [96:15-16])

The Mujrimun (polytheists, criminals, sinners, etc.)

will be known by their marks (black faces), and they
will be seized by their forelocks and their feet.
 [Qur'an Surah Rahmaan (55:41)]

Noun1.forelock - a lock of hair growing (or falling) over the forehead.

The area with the blue line is the place where the forelock
is located.

A Cure

If you are exhausted and need emaan [faith] once again, you need to first of all - change
your intention and sincerely ask Allah to guide you back once again, showing your
desperation. Even if it is a simple cry out for help from the heart. This first step is the key
to regaining that emaan. Trust me, i've tried to find many ways to figure out how you can
be guided, and i've never been able to find a clear answer except by asking Allah for this
guidance.

Subhan Allah it becomes clear that Allah guides those who are sincere, we can't choose to
say "i want to be guided today so i'll do some ibaadah", rather Allah guides you while
knowing your sincerety. This is why you are strong in faith while doing an act of worship
at one time, while weak in emaan while doing the exact same act of worship at another
time. So the simple answer is - ask the One who opens the doors for guidance to open
that door for you, and suddenly - you'll feel that doorway open which you never felt was
opened before, you simply couldn't find that door before, even if you had experienced
emaan earlier on in your life. When this door opens, you feel a sigh of relief, that feeling
of comfort again. Like a calm cool wind just refreshed you after that exhaustion of false
and evil desires. Then your true feelings come out once again, you love Allah more and
want to thank Him. Unlike before when you felt like you were dead, you feel like your
emotions are flowing back in you, your heart doesn't feel restricted.

Fight them Craving Desires...

The next thing to remember is that once you've done this sincere call out for help, ask
Allah to forgive you and remove this restricted feeling from your heart - since its there
because of our sins. Have hope in Allah that He will forgive you.

From now on, intend never to do that sin again. Trust me, most of the time a person who's
hooked to sin doesn't really desire it, especially after tasting emaan. They've just formed a
habit, they don't even desire that thing as much. They feel that they're caught up in a
cycle, where they might feel strong in emaan at one moment, then they incline to a sin
and just fall into it - most of the time because they have nothing to do in that spare time.
Just try it, when you have that desire to commit that sin after gaining that emaan feeling,
just don't do it. Even if you just intend not to do it for that one time. You'll feel that
spiritual emaan increase and happiness inside of you that you've actually achieved
something. That you've beaten shaytan and your desires, and you don't feel that emptiness
within you anymore. You feel like you've gone up a level in emaan, and if this is done
continuously - you'll actually rise upto that high level of emaan once again like before in
the past! Insha Allah.

Pakistan?

Just to finish off, i just want to mention something interesting that happened to me once
while i was in Pakistan. Why am i mentioning this? It's because once when i was looking
into Islam, i was proper excited and i wanted really strong emaan [faith], but something
stopped me, i was scared. I used to question whether having more emaan means that you
have more trials in this life? Have you heard of the hadith where the Prophets are tested
the most, then the ones after and after according to your level of faith?

I read that hadith and i used to be scared, i never used to know what would happen if i did
increase in faith. Would i be tested? I was scared because i love emaan, its like something
you fall in love with - especially if you accept it willingly. You feel like you can't ever
lose it, because if you do - it's like you've lost the one who you really care for, its a part of
you. That's why if it you lose it for the first time, you become really scared and don't
know how to react or don't know who to turn to. This is actually one of the reasons why i
was scared, because i never knew whether having it would mean that i would face more
trials, and if i faced more trials - i might lose it, whereas if i don't try to increase on it - i
might lose it that way too?

This put me in a proper strange situation, i never knew what to do. I never knew whether
it was a good thing to ask for more emaan or to be content with what i did have?
How's this linked to Pakistan anyway?

I'm in Pakistan and i be healthy and normal. Then one day, i ate the wrong thing. If
you've been pakistan, you know that there's all sorts of krazy stuff there, sometimes you
can even find a massive needle in a biscuit! lol so anyway, i ate the wrong thing so i
became really ill.

Not to show off, but ever since i went there at that time - i used to hate the arguments
people had there, so i'd just sit separately and read Qur'an. I realised that my emaan
became proper strong, infact - it was one of the best experiences i had with emaan in my
life.
So i ate something wrong, and two days before i get married - i start puking (being sick)
loads, so much that it's draining all the energy out of my body, then i get a fever, and
anyone who knows pakistan knows that the heat is quite alot during the summer time. So
they need to take me to the hospital. I go to the hospital and they start poking needles in
my arm, putting a glucose drip on. I have to stay in the hospital for a few hours and then i
have to go back home. The funny thing is that even my 'in-laws' came over and watching
me with the drip on, lol so it was proper crazy...

Just looking at the story, it's obvious that a few days before the wedding were hectic, yet
the main purpose of telling you the story is - i felt that my emaan [faith] was at its peak,
and that i've never ever felt it feel so high as it did on them days. At a time when all the
families are stressed out, i felt so calm, at ease, almost as if i was relaxed.

The Greater the Emaan... the Calmer you are..

Now remember before when i said that the higher the emaan, the greater the trial? Yeah,
that's true - look at the story above. I noticed that i havn't been as ill as i was that day, the
trial can be anything (whether its through testing your health, your wealth, your respect
etc), yet building up your emaan gradually and by increasing yourself in acts of worship
while remaining constant in that is what will make you strong during the trials that you
do face. Once you face them, Allah will not make them difficult for you.

Instead, you'll simply place your trust in Allah, knowing that He loves you and He has
already pre-destined all that has come and will come. Your acts of worship and
dependency on Allah will build up that emaan, then anything which comes your way after
that - whether it is good or bad will not be break that contact you have with Allah -
unless you follow your desires and turn away from that obedience to disobedience
through false and evil desires, since these are what lead to misguidance, and again - a
decrease in emaan.

He it is Who sent down As-Sakinah (calmness and tranquillity) into the

hearts of the believers, that they may grow more in Faith along with
their (present) Faith.

And to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is
Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.

[Qur'an - Surah Al-Fath (the Victory) 48:4]

And Allah knows best.

http://www.islamicboard.com/advice-support/29091-advice-flame-emaan-i-once-had-
dying-out.html