by Lola Of Arabia
A major issue that many Muslims face is when their Imaan (faith) dips. Recently I had a few days when my Imaan and even my self confidence was low, and I really liked how my husband explained the phenomena: Our Imaan is like a battery, sometimes it’s fully charged while other times its low and needs to be recharged
So what are some issues that cause our “Imaan batteries” to lose its charge?
A major issue that many Muslims face is when their Imaan (faith) dips. Recently I had a few days when my Imaan and even my self confidence was low, and I really liked how my husband explained the phenomena: Our Imaan is like a battery, sometimes it’s fully charged while other times its low and needs to be recharged
So what are some issues that cause our “Imaan batteries” to lose its charge?
In this life we, not only as Muslims but as humans, face much stress. Stress can be from school, work, family or everyday activities. Sometimes we become doubtful or fatigue and stop wanting to do anything for anyone, even ourselves. It’s normal for people to have short spouts of “depression” that can last 2-3 days (Please note: If you have depression that lasts for more than 2 weeks please seek professional medical help). Personally ,when I feel stressed instead of turning towards Allah, I turn away from Allah and even from my friends and family. I become short tempered and ill with everyone I hold dear and love and begin to shut people out from my life. A big problem that causes us to lose charge to our Imaan Battery is Shaytaan (Satan or the devil) is strong; he knows all our weaknesses and uses such knowledge to push us away from Allah. Also sometimes, especially for reverts or recently practicing Muslims, their try to do too much at one time, which causes more stress than needed.
What are some techniques we can use to “charge” our Imaan’s batteries?
“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves...” (13:11)
When the feeling of “I don’t want to make salat (Islamic prayer) or making salat wont’ change anything” first we must realize such thoughts are coming from Shaytaan. Shaytaan is an enemy that knows us too well. The front line for fighting Shaytaan is our salats and Sunnah salats (prayers in which Mohammed sal Allahu aleyhi wasallam would prayer after each of the obligatory prayer).I think of it like this: Salat is like a shield that protects against Shaytaan while Sunnah is like a sword used to battle him. Remember that in stressful times in our lives, we MUST turn to Allah, because in those stressful times we are weaker and start following wrong actions from Shaytaan.
“…God does not grace with His guidance people who [deliberately] do wrong“ (9:109)
Though Salat is protection from Allah, reverts and recently practicing Muslims must remember, “don’t bite-off more than you can chew”. I think it’s great to change for Islam, in most cases it’s a must, but trying to do too much at once can be very difficult and can put so much pressure on issues that, at the present time, might not be as important as others; like wanting to do the night and morning salats before getting settled and strong in doing the obligatory and sunnah prayers.
An example from my life:
I talked with my husband one night when I was just feeling my “Imaan battery” so drained, and my husband could sense my energy and he said “don’t do too much, take your time, don’t stress yourself, you must take everything step by step” and I realized that I was trying to do so much at once, I wanted to do extra salats and wanted to learn Arabic so quickly and wanted to memorize all the Quran, but in reality I had to take things one step at a time. I remembered that I must concentrate on the obligatory Salats and Sunnah Salats and make sure I am stable before moving to the next step. We must build a strong foundation before building the rest of the building, or it will crumble at the first problem or storm that come along.
Also it’s a good idea to find an Imaan Buddy, so when the Imaan battery needs to be charged again, there is someone who will give their help and support like a friend, sibling or spouse. It’s very helpful, because when times get stressful and frustrating there is someone who can not only offer their support on the issues which are causing stress but also give reminders that it’s a must to pray and not to forget Allah.
Most importantly, remember that it’s a must to have patience. The best way to seek patience is through Allah, “And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah ]” (2:45) and “And be patient, for indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good.” (11:115) The scholar Ibn Qayyin Al Jawziyyah also said “It’s is impossible to have patience for the sake of Allah without patience by the help of Allah” Allah never gives us too much that we cannot handle “Say, "O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good, and the earth of Allah is spacious. Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account."(39:10)
