Remedying Weakness Of Iman (Faith)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Why are you on this earth? Having a a good job and taking care of your family is not bad but if that's what your life amounts to, then you have to rethink. Are we living to work or are we working to serve Allah? There are people who live to work and when they lost their jobs, they lost their lives.

As Muslims, we believe in Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam. It's the conclusion that we have reached and we have declared it openly and accepted it internally. This is one level of iman (Faith). Another dimension of iman is the one that goes up and goes down. You will be in prayer one day and you feel the iman and it will take over your soul and you don't want it to stop, but you can't find this feeling another day. There is a quantitative iman and there is a qualitative iman.

Surah Al-Hadid deals with the weakness of iman. The first remedy Allah offers us is to recognize the closeness of Allah and the grandeur of Allah, that He is close to you and He is watching everything you are doing. The second major remedy that is being offered in the Surah is spending--being motivated to serve Allah and spending for Him, not just your money but your time. Time is probably the most important thing you can give to Allah. The most valuable asset you have is time. You and I have very little time on this earth. If you spend that for Allah, you have spent what He left you with. Allah promised a great reward for those who spent for Him.

مِنُوا بِاللَّـهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَأَنفِقُوا مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ ۖ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَأَنفَقُوا لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ ﴿٧﴾ وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّـهِ ۙ وَالرَّسُولُ يَدْعُوكُمْ لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمْ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ مِيثَاقَكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٨

Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successors. For those who have believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward. (7) And why do you not believe in Allah while the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord and He has taken your covenant, if you should [truly] be believers? (8) [Quran, Al-Hadid 57:7-8]

Allah tells us people who were spending for Islam when there is no hope in sight, those people will not be ranked the same as those people who spend at their convenience. When we look at the state of our ummah, we are at a very low place right now especially as far our iman is concerned. If we are in this state, we are sitting on a golden opportunity. If now we put ourselves to work to fix and pick ourselves up we will be ranked in a higher place than those who will come later and spend when victory and the challenges have been met.

وَمَا لَكُمْ أَلَّا تُنفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ وَلِلَّـهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ لَا يَسْتَوِي مِنكُم مَّنْ أَنفَقَ مِن قَبْلِ الْفَتْحِ وَقَاتَلَ ۚ أُولَـٰئِكَ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أَنفَقُوا مِن بَعْدُ وَقَاتَلُوا ۚ وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ ﴿١٠

And why do you not spend in the cause of Allah while to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth? Not equal among you are those who spent before the conquest [of Makkah] and fought [and those who did so after it]. Those are greater in degree than they who spent afterwards and fought. But to all Allah has promised the best [reward]. And Allah, with what you do, is Acquainted. (10) [Quran, Al-Hadid 57:10]

May Allah grant us tawfiq and make us of those who worked and spent for Him and Islam. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.

Wassalaam