Our Iman (faith) increases in Ramadan
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
The topic of tonight’s reflection is: “Our iman increases in Ramadan.” Some of the descriptions of true believers are mentioned in the Qur’an:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْتَابُوا
“True believers are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then entertain no doubt.” (al-Hujurat, 49:15)
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ
“True believers are those whose hearts tremble with awe, whenever Allah is mentioned to them.” (al-Anfal, 8:2)
وَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّه
“Those who have iman love Allah most.” (AI-Baqarah, 2:165).
We learn through another hadith that says,
ذَاقَ طَعْمَ الإِيمَانِ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولاً
“Indeed he who is pleased with Allah as his Rabb, Islam as his Deen, and Muhammad (S) as his Messenger has tasted the sweetness of iman.”
It is important that we keep assessing our level of iman in the light of these and other such Qur’anic verses and prophetic traditions.
We should know that iman or faith increases and decreases according to one’s deeds. It increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience. Allah says:
وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآَتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْ
“As for those who are rightly guided, He increases them in guidance and blesses them with taqwa (God-consciouness).” (Muhammad, 47:17)
When iman reaches a state of certainty in our heart, then our actions will necessarily be changed because the actions of a man are based on what he believes in firmly. If a person believes with utmost certainty that Allah exists and that He is All-seeing, All-hearing, and All-knowing; that every movement of this person, every word which he utters, and every intention of his heart is known to Allah; that after death, he shall have to present himself before Allah, and shall have to give full account of his entire life, with no chance of escaping from Allah’s punishment, then that person, believing all these things firmly, would never dare to intentionally lead a sinful life.
In Ramadan, iman increases, because of the closeness of the servant to his Lord. Fasting is one of the most righteous deeds and it brings about closeness to Allah. Offering prayer (salah) with reverence, humility and attentiveness is another thing that increases one’s iman. It dispels hypocrisy and cultivates piety. It also prevents indecency and wrong doing. The Qur’an says:
إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ
“Prayer restrains indecency and wrongdoing…” (al-‘Ankabut, 29:45)
The reading of the Qur’an, reflection upon its verses, and following its guidance all serve to increase iman. The constant remembrance of Allah with the heart, tongue and limbs, all help to increase iman. A person who is correctly observing the fasting in Ramadan will be blessed with the increase in his or her iman. Another way to increase iman is to seek useful knowledge. It promotes understanding of our deen. A dua in the Qur’an teaches us to say:
وَقُلْ رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
“And say, “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” (Ta Ha, 20:114)
Charity is yet another factor that increases faith. It is important to recognize that giving and sacrificing raises the station of the servant and purifies him.
Reflecting upon the signs of Allah also increases faith. The Qur’an affirms by saying:
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار
“They are those who remember Allah while standing and sitting and lying on their sides, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying “Our Lord, you have not created this aimlessly. May You be exalted in your glory! So protect us from the punishment of Hell.” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:191)
Iman also decreases. It decreases when people leave the Qur’an and Sunnah and seek satisfaction in man-made laws and philosophies coming out of human minds. Association with the people of falsehood causes a decrease of faith. This is usually the fate of those who reject the divine laws and instead choose to indulge in their own whims and desires. Allah says:
“And patiently stay with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His approval. And let not your eyes turn away from them, desiring worldly attractions. Do not obey anyone whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follows his own whims and desires, and who abandons all that is good.” (al-Kahf, 18:28)
Other acts that decrease faith include using the limbs in acts of disobedience. This means that the eye gazes at the unlawful, the ear listens to obscenity, the hand oppresses, the private parts engage in perversion, and the stomach is filled with haram food or haram earnings.
It is crucial for all of us to keep a regular check on our iman and if we feel it is diminishing in any way, then we should take measures to restore it. It is our responsibility to know those things that decrease our iman and how to avoid them and those that increase our iman and how to embrace them. May Allah (SWT) make us among the people of true iman. Iman necessarily leads to two results: The first is that a man’s internal anxiety must disappear and he must achieve inner peace and tranquility, and this is called amn in Arabic. Iman and amn are derived from the same root letters hamza-meem-noon (ء م ن).
The second result is a reform of one’s actions and life-style. A true righteous believer should be adorned with high morals and virtuous deeds, and should be free from degrading actions. We learn from a hadith which says, “Iman wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the iman in your hearts.” The Prophet (SAW) taught us a dua which says,
اللَّهُمَ حَبَّبْ إِلَيْنَا الْإِيمَانَ وَزَيِّنْهُ فِي قُلُوبِنَا، وَكَرِّهْ إِلَيْنَا الْكُفْرَ وَالْفُسُوقَ وَالْعِصْيَانَ، وَاجْعَلْنَا مِنَ الرَّاشِدِينَ
“O Allah! Make iman beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts, and make disbelief, sinfulness and disobedience hateful to us, and make us from amongst the rightly-guided ones.”
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
وَصَلَّ اللهُ عَلَى خيرِ خَلقِهِ مُحمَّدٍ وعَلَى آلِه وأصْحَابِه أجْمَعِين- بِرَحْمَتِكَ يا أرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين
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Some passages have been excerpted and paraphrased from the book “Thirty Lessons for Those Who Fast” by Aa’id Abdullah al-Qarni.
