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want_tobe_musli View Drop Down
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    Posted: 20 February 2009 at 6:14am

Hi,

I figured that in the process of asking help for myself others could also benefit from thsi thread, so I started a new one. Here's my question: I am 21 years old. At one point of my life long ago I used to pray with a lot of devotion. Once when I was ill and I could not get up from bed I still didn't want to miss my prayer so I got up and tried to pray but could not. I feel really abd thinking about that and I feel as if I can be a devoted worshipper.

I feel Eman has left my heart and mind. I have stopped praying for a long time now and it bothers me very much. I want to be a worthy worshipper. I do not want to be worthy as in receiving rewards (which I dont mind as well), but I want to be worthy because I was created for a purpose and that purpose was to pray and follow the five pillars. I want to be able to stand up and say I have fullfilled my duty. My heart is clouded my grief and depression. I dont want to indulge on self-pity here. I feel my heart is blackened by sins and hopelessness.

I want to become a Muslim again. I donot think theres anything called a practicing Mulsim. You either practice or you are not a Muslim at all. I want to start believing in Islam again. My wishes are these:

1. I want to start praying not because I am scared that I will go to hell. I dont mind being punished, I mean I am not saying that I dont believe I will be punished or that the punishment isn't great or wouldn't be able to do anything to me.

2. I want to believe just for the sake of believing and for the sake of praying and worshipping.

3. I want to stop feeling upset. I want a lot of Eman, which stops me from indulging myself in hatred and feeling pain.

4. I want to feel as if there are other lessons that we are supposed to learn from being here in this world. Lessons to treat others equally with love etc.

5. I want to be able to treat othres with respect and space and not feel psychotic or like a psycho. I want to be able to accept others decisions and wants and respect these.

If anyone can help me with these or have any suggestions, references to any books or anything at all that might lead me to the right path please help me.

Thank you.

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the_truth View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote the_truth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 February 2009 at 3:59pm
Originally posted by want_tobe_musli want_tobe_musli wrote:

Hi,

I figured that in the process of asking help for myself others could also benefit from thsi thread, so I started a new one. Here's my question: I am 21 years old. At one point of my life long ago I used to pray with a lot of devotion. Once when I was ill and I could not get up from bed I still didn't want to miss my prayer so I got up and tried to pray but could not. I feel really abd thinking about that and I feel as if I can be a devoted worshipper.

I feel Eman has left my heart and mind. I have stopped praying for a long time now and it bothers me very much. I want to be a worthy worshipper. I do not want to be worthy as in receiving rewards (which I dont mind as well), but I want to be worthy because I was created for a purpose and that purpose was to pray and follow the five pillars. I want to be able to stand up and say I have fullfilled my duty. My heart is clouded my grief and depression. I dont want to indulge on self-pity here. I feel my heart is blackened by sins and hopelessness.

I want to become a Muslim again. I donot think theres anything called a practicing Mulsim. You either practice or you are not a Muslim at all. I want to start believing in Islam again. My wishes are these:

1. I want to start praying not because I am scared that I will go to hell. I dont mind being punished, I mean I am not saying that I dont believe I will be punished or that the punishment isn't great or wouldn't be able to do anything to me.

2. I want to believe just for the sake of believing and for the sake of praying and worshipping.

3. I want to stop feeling upset. I want a lot of Eman, which stops me from indulging myself in hatred and feeling pain.

4. I want to feel as if there are other lessons that we are supposed to learn from being here in this world. Lessons to treat others equally with love etc.

5. I want to be able to treat othres with respect and space and not feel psychotic or like a psycho. I want to be able to accept others decisions and wants and respect these.

If anyone can help me with these or have any suggestions, references to any books or anything at all that might lead me to the right path please help me.

Thank you.

 
Asalaam wr wb, how are you my brother! I was inclined to join this forum out of Allah's will and yours is the first thread which i am viewing and replying to out of the will of Allah!
My brother this world is an illusion! Theres a beautiful example of a horse that eats green grass! Once the grass was not a healthy colour due to the lack of rain and the owner knows its horse does not like eating the grass that does not look healthy and green! So once the owner put sun glasses on the horses eyes so that it cannot see that the grass is not a healthy colour and the horse gets decieved into thinking that the grass is a healthy green colour! Same way this world is an illusion for our eyes and it is the evil Satan that tries to fool our eyes into seeing and believing what is not there and having love for this world!
This world is just a test ground for us and Allah is examining us in EVERY aspect of our lives to see how we will conduct ourselves in our daily lives!
My brother Allah is SO great that we can NEVER imagine! He created us and gave us our bodys as a loan for us for they are not truly ours! What did we do to earn our bodys? NOTHING!
He gives us the ability to move our muscles, to think, to speak, to listen, to feel, to touch. I can go on and on explaining how dependant we are on Allah for EVERY SINGLE THING!
We have countless amounts of nerves in our bodys and if ONE was to fail then we would be paralysed for life! We have a VERY minute amount of water in our eyes and if that was to dry up we would go blind! There are trillions of examples like this of how much we are dependant on Allah's mercy and how thankful to him we should be for what he has given us and how compassionate and merciful he is to us and all his creations!Does he not provide for every animal and insect? He nourishes and provides for all of his creations!
He gave us good health which a lot of people do not have at all! Some don't have limbs, some are blind and some are deaf and dumb and some are paralysed from the waist down and even neck down!
We have wealth, go to some poor countries and you will see the state of some people for some live in their own excrement and some do not have homes at all! We have food on our plates everyday and some people have a few crumbs every few days and are dying of starvation and thirst! We have families and some people grow up orphans not having mothers or fathers or any family!
Some people are brought up in war torn countries! Just ponder and contemplate about people who have less than us and only then will we be truly thankful for how much Allah has given us!
Just think and ponder over how much Allah has given us because for ONE eye that Allah has given us we will NEVER be able to repay him for he has done SO much for us that we can NEVER imagine or comprehend! He is SO merciful that EVERYDAY we transgress ourselves and commit sin and yet he still provides for us and feeds and nourishes us and quenches our thirst! He still protects us and waits for us to repent for our sins!
Everyday we forget him and are to hypnotised by this world and its desires and pleasures! We forget the extent to what our most merciful lord has given us and how much he is forgiving us EVERYDAY for the terrible sins we are commiting!He awaits everyday for us to return to him giving us chance after chance! How merciful is Allah the compassionate one! 
Once there was an oldman and all his life he never practiced Islam for he was just muslim by name and he was on his death bed and he started saying "oh Allah forgive me". The angels came to him and started cursing him saying "look at you! now that your on your death bed now you turn to Allah and start asking for forgiveness when all your life you wasted on this world"! Allah told the angels "Be quite! Even if my slave was to sin for another 100 years i would forgive him EVERYTIME if he asked me to forgive him!
Allah mercy is SO great that we can NEVER imagine! Hes given us SO much and on top of that he still forgives us EVERYTIME we ask of him with sincerity! He ALWAYS listens to the call of his slave and even if we think that he has not answered our prayer then he has soemthing better for us!
On the day of judgement there will be a man standing in front of Allah and he will see mountains of good deeds around him and he will ask Allah "Oh Allah i don't remember doing this many good deeds in my life", Allah will say "Do you remember all those times you did dua and you thought i never accepted them! Well these are your rewards for all the duas i did not accept in this world"! The man will reply, "Oh Allah i wish you did'nt accept a single dua of mine and gave me ALL the reward in the hereafter"!Subhanallah so let us not be down if we think our duas are not accepted because we will ALWAYS have something better in return!
What is Allah asking of us in return for creating us and giving us more than we can EVER imagine? That his slaves just give him 25 minutes a day! Thats right if we calculate all of the Salah in a day then they add upto around 25 minutes! Thats just 25 minutes in 24 hours for Allah! Is that a lot he is asking for? Our most merciful lord asks SO little from us for the GREAT amount of blessings that he has given us that we can NEVER count or quantify and we still can't even do a little amount for him! That is SO sad of us!
He loves us 70 times more than a mother loves its baby! He just wants us to be the closest to him so he can shower us with his compassion,mercy,forgiveness and blessings! So that he can put peace,happiness and tranquility into our hearts! We will NEVER find happiness,peace and tranquility in ANYTHING but with Allah! Allah says in the Qur'an that by us remembering him and doing his zikr(rememberance) shall we find peace,tranquility,true happiness and contentment in our hearts!
Look at the lives of the rich and famous for example! They are the most unhappiest people alive yet they have every materialistic thing imaginable! That proves without doubt that materialism just brings unhappiness, pain and anguish into ones life for there is NOTHING good in it!
Brother If we walk towards him he will run towards us! He is WAITING to forgive us for all he wants is for us to turn to him and ask of him and cry to him and beg him for forgiveness and he will give us EVERYTHING that is best for us in this world! Allah wants us to be close to him and he wants to help us but we have to help ourselves too brother by making effort and perservering!
All of us have blackened our hearts due to the transgression and sins that we have committed and the ONLY way to rid our hearts of these transgressions and blackness from the heart is by the Zikr of Allah (rememberance of Allah)! The more we remember him the more we will purify our hearts and rid it of the blackness from the sin!
Once our hearts are purified and we remember Allah all the time then we will start to see improvements in EVERY aspect of our lives! We will recieve peace,tranquility,happiness and contentment in our hearts and become more humble as people and be the best towards others and more patient in every aspect of our lives for Allah is WITH the one who is patient!Subhanallah!
We should do EVERYTHING that will ONLY please Allah and we should try our best to avoid anything that displeases him! We have to follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah as much as we can because EVERYTHING the Prophet(saw) did and said it was from Allah and thats what Allah wanted and we should try to implement the Sunnah as much as possible into every aspect of our lives and become the way the Prophet(saw) was, because he was so humble and patient and the best towards people in his conduct and manners and he was the perfect example for mankind!
Brother lets get the closest to Allah who loves us SO much that we can NEVER imagine and has given us SO much that if we were to spend our whole lives thinking of what he has given us we would NEVER be able to becauase of the extent of how much he has given us!
Lets get the closest to him because he wants the best for us and he is the ONLY one that can give us true happiness,peace and tranquility in our hearts and give us the best of this world and the next! If he tests us then it means he wants to see how patient we will be through the tests,trials and tribultaions! Also if he tests us then he wants us to be patient so he can reward us for Allah is with the ones who are patient!He ONLY tests his slaves more the ones that he loves the most!
Brother we all go through a perioud when our imaan goes down! Allah is waiting for you to turn to him and get the closest to him because he LOVES U MORE THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE!
He wants you to be the one that remembers him the most and worships him the most! Me writing this to you is from Allah and from his will because he wants you to be the closest to him and turn to him and he will give your heart what it needs! Because your heart has been deprived of the remembrance of Allah that is why it is filled with hate and negative feelings! That will GO now my brother because you will become the closest to Allah now inshallah!
We need to learn about the Prophet(saw)life and the way he was and the way he acted in every situation and we should mimic him in EVERYWAY POSSIBLE!
He (SAW) showed so much Mercy and love to mankind that we can NEVER imagine because MANY times in his(saw) life mankind showed hatred towards him like the non believers of taif who stoned the Prophet(saw) until he bled to his knees but still the Prophet(saw) who was a mercy to mankind said to Allah "Oh Allah Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing!"
He did not get revenge or show hatred for them but he cried to Allah not because of the physical pain he was going through but because of the reason that these disbelievers were misguided!
We should learn about the life and teachings of our beloved Rasul (saw) and try to be like him in everyway in EVERY aspect of our lives and in that way we shall be successful in this world and the next! Brother please don't hesitate to get back to me if you need anything else or need any help with anything at all because i am here for you inshallah!
I have pasted some weblinks for you at the bottom of information on VERY benificial topics for you especially the one on "10 steps to increase our imaan(faith)"!
May Allah guide us to the straight path and bring us the closest to him! Ameen
 
10 steps to increase our imaan(faith)
 
 
The Death of our Beloved Prophet (Pbuh)
 
 
A party in Paradise, A party in Hellfire
 
 
The Greatest Reward for the people of Paradise!
 
 


Edited by the_truth - 20 February 2009 at 4:30pm
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seekshidayath View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote seekshidayath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 February 2009 at 10:57pm

As Salamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah

I welcome both of our members to the discussions board of Islamicity, Wish you a very happy stay here

Want to be muslim - I appreciate your feelings of yearning to strengthen your faith. May Allah swt help you in your sincere intentions.

I have two points for you to be noted

1. The list you dropped, would be the best answered, when read with sincerity before the almighty. Am sure he shall bestow you with hidayah and more, from it.

2. The only book i recommend you at first is "The holy Qur'an". Kindly ponder over it. Insha Allah, you shall find it very reflecting.

I see good signs of faith in you. A muslim can get weaker in his faith, but that does n't mean he is outcast of Islam. Don't you still believe in Allah swt as the only God and Muhammad {Sallal lahu alayhi wasallam} as His Prophet ? Its the satan who pushes us to that extremes that we state ourselves as been out of folds of Islam. I don' think one who does n't practice is not a muslim at all. No! He is still a muslim. Anyways, don't get despaired by the Mercy of Allah swt. Be quick to restart. Insha Allah, by sincere repentance, Allah swt - The Acceptor of Repentance and The Forgiver , shall erase all those sins, even if mounted like a mountain. Have faith is His attributes as well.

The other important point i would like to remind you is, NEVER EVER LET KNOW YOUR SINS TO OTHERS. Kindly read this

An- Nisa : { 148 & 149}
 
Allah does not like that the evil should be uttered in public except by him who has been wronged. And Allah is Ever All-Hearer, All-Knower

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5721; Muslim, 2990
 

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: �All of my ummah may be forgiven except those who commit sin openly. It is a kind of committing sin openly if a man does something at night, then morning comes and Allaah has concealed his sin, but he says, �O So and so, I did such and such last night,� when his Lord has concealed him (his action) all night but in the morning he reveals that which Allah had concealed for him.�

Offering salah is an obligation, but Allah swt did ease Islam for us. He did not want us to harden it over ourselves. When we are n't in a position to offer salah being sick, we can offer it by sitting, or even being over bed.

Anyways, i wish you to stay around at Islamicity. Share your knowledge, as well, try to gather as much as you can. Pray Allah swt to help you practice it as well. Hope you shall now write to admin/mods to change your username.Smile  Have a nice time.

May Allah swt refresh our eeman. Ameen
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: �All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chrysalis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 February 2009 at 6:14am
Assallamualakim sister/brother in Islam . . .
 
First of all, do not despair at all - the fact that you are struggling to improve Imaan, and want to be better - is a good sign that u do have Imaan, and inshallah are on the straight path.
 
Also, Alhamdulilah, His doors to forgiveness and hidayat are always open, so its never too late.
 
There is one very important prerequisite to having strong Imaan. . . one needs to have the inner will and desire to be better . . . Alhamdulilah, you have that - it is obvious that you have that desire. Inshallah, then nothing should be/would be difficult for you.
 
Seekshidayat gave the best advise . . . turn to Allah's Word - the Qur'an. It is the best way. Infact the Qur'an is what is responsible for building/strengthening Imaan . . . recitation of the Qur'an is supposed to make the heart soft and makes it susceptible for hidayat. I will also urge you to read it with translation.
 
Also, other factors that effect/help Imaan:
 
 
1. Dua: Make dua to Allah, and share your grieviances with Him. Ask Him for hidayat, and better Imaan. A good way, according to sunnah, would me to make Salaat Haajat, and then ask for strong Imaan, Hidayat.
 
2. Friends/Social Circle: The people we surround oursleves with have an effect on our thinking and imaan. So try and distance yourself from ppl who may have a bad influence on you - and make friends with/keep company of people who are practising/good muslims. One way to find such people is the Mosque. If you are a sister, and do not have an active female congregation at your local Mosque, attend Islamic classes/institutions or 'dars'. Otherwise, this forum is mashallah a good way to make friends with some really great people here (they constantly remind me, even it be unconciousley) However dont substitute it for an actual, physical muslim circle.
 
3. Worship: It is good that you want to be a Muslim for Allah's sake only, and not just ibaadat/worship/prayer. But ibaadat is a way/tool to strengthen our Imaan, because it brings us close to Allah and placates the heart. So try and bring ur salaat in order, improve worship. So increasing/improving worship results in good imaan.
 
Also, when you shall Inshallah be reading the Qur'an, Allah will tell you numerous ways to do so.
 
A solution for #5 would be also to read the hadith etc, and follow sunnah i.e. humility in one's actions, behaviours. .  . Islam teaches us to be humble and not think too much of oneself. When one is following humility, it is easier to respect others, and tolerate thier opinions. Otherwise, silence is best  Smile - even if one is unable to 'respect' the other sincerely, we can keep it to ourselves and remain silent and not answer back. Make tasbeeh, or recite  a surah to distract ur mind - when u feel the need to utter a disrespctul comment. Or just say Astaghfirullah or Aazubillah (to ward away satan, who is arrogance himself)
 
Induldging in hatred: there is a hadith, in which Allah says that He loves the muslim who loves other's for Allah's sake. So if u ever feel dislike/hatred for another - just remind urself (in ur heart) that u love so-and-so for Allah's sake.
 
May Allah ease your troubles, give u hidayat and strengthen ur Imaan. Ameen.
 
 
"O Lord, forgive me, my parents and Muslims in the Hereafter. O Lord, show mercy on them as they showed mercy to me when I was young."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Akhe Abdullah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 February 2009 at 7:46am
As Salamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters.Marhaban! new members.Wtbm May Allah help us to help you help yourself.Ameen)I noticed while reading your post you have Iman though you think it may be small,You are concious of Allah also I see.You cant go wrong with advise from these two Seek and Chrysalis they are trully good Muslims they always make Dua for others May Allah Bless them both and there families.Ameen

Edited by Akhe Abdullah - 24 February 2009 at 9:56am
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Thank you everyone for your kind replies. I am very grateful for all the posts that you took time to make.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote seekshidayath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 February 2009 at 3:19am
 
Infact thanks for reading us Smile. Stay active here at IC. Hope and pray that insha Allah, you shall also practice and thus, refresh you faith. Ameen
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: �All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote the_truth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 February 2009 at 1:55pm
Originally posted by want_tobe_musli want_tobe_musli wrote:

Thank you everyone for your kind replies. I am very grateful for all the posts that you took time to make.
 
Asalaam wr wb Brother hope you found the posts benificial! Everything happens for a reason brother and this is a way of Allah guiding you because he wants you to be the closest and the most devoted to him!
We all experience a lack of imaan now and again but these posts tell you how to keep your imaan levels topped up so that they don't go down and if they do then you know what to do now in order to keep your imaan levels up!
I will remember you in my dua's Brother and please remember me in yours! If theres anything else you need or any help with anything at all then please don't hesitate to ask! Allah Hafiz
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