Iman Check

A while back I was talking with my best friend about improving my iman (faith) and mash’Allah she gave me a really good suggestion. She told me about a question and answer session she had watched on the Islam Channel with a scholar called Abu Hanifah. The caller-in asked about what she could do to improve her iman and what he suggested was that our iman fluctuates during our lifetime, so what we should do is to look back to the time when we were strongest in our iman and take note of what we were doing at the time. This might have been praying extra nawafil prayers, taking tajweed (Quran pronunciation) classes, attending lectures or surrounding yourself with pious people.

The scholar suggested making a checklist of all of the things you were doing and then adding some new things to it. Then you just start working on them.

I did pick up on some things – I went to tajweed classes when I was on maternity leave with Little Man. I attended study circles once a week in the past, I had some very good Muslimah’s around me that were strong in their faith, fearless in the hijab and who were working very hard to make sure Islam was central to their children’s lives. I managed to learn a few prayers at their encouragement and I rememeber at the time, nothing was more important in everything I did than Islam. My faith is still central to who I am and everything I do, but I can see that I have allowed myself to become distracted by so many other things. Alhamdulillah, I feel like I am slowly journeying back towards making faith the centre point of my life again in a way I can feel happy with. Insh’Allah I hope to ask myself with each thing I do: “Is this what would please Allah SWT.”

I recently asked my sisters out there for advice and for ideas regarding what works for them and some of what they said really helped me. I hope my sisters out there can help and encourage me in this journey insh’Allah.

“It is He Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the Believers (mu’minoon), that they may add faith (iman) to their faith; for to Allah belong the Forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Full of Knowledge and Wisdom (Quran 48:4).