Signs of weak Iman and how to increase it

 

A very nice article contributed by brother AbuBanan.

 

Signs of weak Faith: 

• Committing sins and not feeling any guilt.

• Having a hard heart and no desire to read the
  Quran.

• Feeling too lazy to do good deeds, e.g. being late for salat

• Neglecting the
  Sunnah. 

• Having mood swings, for instance being upset about petty things and
  bothered and irritated most of the time.

• Not feeling anything when hearing verses from the Quran, for example when
  Allah warns us of punishments and His promise of glad tidings.

• Finding difficulty in remembering Allah and making
  dhikr. 

• Not feeling bad when things are done against the
  Shariah.

• Desiring status and wealth.

• Being mean and miserly, i.e. not wanting to part with wealth.

• Ordering others to do good deeds when not practising them ourselves.

• Feeling pleased when things are not progressing for others.

• Being concerned with whether something is haram or halal only; and not
  avoiding makroo (not recommended) things.

• Making fun of people who do simple good deeds, like
  cleaning the mosque.

• Not feeling concerned about the situation of Muslims.

• Not feeling the responsibility to do something to promote Islam.

• Liking to argue just for the sake of arguing without any proof.

• Becoming engrossed and very involved with dunya, worldly things, i.e.
  feeling bad only when losing something in terms of material wealth.

• Becoming engrossed and obsessive about ourselves. 

Okay, how to increase our
faith then ? 

• Recite and ponder on the meanings of the Quran. Tranquility then descends
  and our hearts become soft. To get optimum benefit, remind yourself that Allah is speaking to you. People are described in different
  categories in the Quran; think of which one you find yourself in. 

 

• Realize the greatness of Allah. Everything is under His control. There
  are signs in everything we see that points us to His greatness. Everything happens according to His permission. Allah keeps track and looks after
  everything, even a black ant on a black rock on a black moonless night. 

 

• Make an effort to gain knowledge, for at least the basic things in daily
  life e.g. how to make wudu properly. Know the meanings behind Allah's names and attributes. People who have taqwa are those who have knowledge. 

 

• Attend gatherings where Allah is remembered. In such gatherings we are
  surrounded by angels.

 

• We have to increase our good deeds. One good deed leads to another good
  deed. Allah will make the way easy for someone who gives charity and also make it easy for him or her to do good deeds. Good deeds must be done
  continuously, not in spurts. 

 

• We must fear the miserable end to our lives; the remembrance of death is
  the destroyer of pleasures. 

 

• Remember the different levels of akhirah, for instance when we are put in
  our graves, when we are judged, whether we will be in paradise or hell. 

 

• Make dua, realize that we need Allah. Be humble. Don't covet material
  things in this life. 

 

• Our love for Subhana Wa Ta'Ala must be shown in actions. We must hope
  Allah will accept our prayers, and be in constant fear that we do wrong. At night before going to sleep, we must think about what good we did
  during that day. 

 

• Realize the effects of sins and disobedience- one's
  faith is increased with good deeds and our faith is decreased by bad deeds. Everything that
  happens is because Allah wanted it. When calamity befalls us- it is also from
  Allah. It is a direct result of our disobedience to Allah. 

Contributed by: Abu Banan