How Do Achieve Such Faith That No Doubts Can Ever Shake It?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I have a problem which I hope you could understand and help me with. Almost 3 years back, I was a very religious person. After a few months, shirk thoughts started to come. At that time, it was very difficult for me to handle those thoughts. I thought the only way to get rid of these was to ask forgiveness from them. 

Slowly, I stopped socialising with people and used to sit in a room alone thinking and trying to get rid of these thoughts. At that time I was in 10th grade and I couldn’t study for exams and all. 

Last year, my parents saw this as a problem and we went to a psychologist. That’s when I realised many things and he said that it was only some misunderstandings that I had. 

But after all this, I feel something is missing. I feel like the belief of Allah in my heart isn’t strong enough. It’s like the belief in Allah is something which is naturally accepted or something like that. 

But I don’t want to feel like this. I want to feel Him and worship and obey Him alone. I want to live a life that seeks His pleasure. I want to have strong belief in Him in such a manner no matter what doubt comes. 

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I am very happy to see this question of yours and although it may not seem so, the answer to the question is in the question itself.

Allah Most High says, “and when My slave asks concerning Me, indeed I am near. I answer the call of the caller when they call. So let them respond to My call and let them believe in Me that perhaps they may be guided.” [Quran; 02: 186]

Strengthening Faith and Attaining Certitude (Yaqin)

Allah Most High says, “O you who believe! Answer the call of Allah and His Messenger when He calls you toward that which will give you life…” [Quran; 08:24]

The foundation of coming nearer to Allah Most High and cultivating certitude in Him is obedience to Him. 

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said that Allah Most High says, “Whoever shows enmity toward My elite slave I declare war on them. My slave cannot come near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than (fulfilling) that which I have made obligatory upon them. My slave then continues to draw nearer to Me by voluntary works until I love them. Therefore when I love them, I become the hearing by which they hear, the sight by which they see, the hand by which they grasp, and the feet by which they walk. If they ask of Me I give them and if they seek refuge in Me I protect them…” [Bukhari]

The first step to attaining the love of Allah Most High, which comes about in the presence of certitude is fulfilling the obligations. [Haddad, Book of Assistance]

Obligations: Outward and Inward

It is by fulfilling the commands of Allah Most High and by abstaining from that which He has prohibited, both outwardly (i.e. by the limbs) and inwardly (i.e. by the heart) one draws nearer to Allah Most High. 

Note that it is not possible to obey Allah’s commandments without knowledge of religion. The obligations and prohibitions regarding the limbs can be found in the books of jurisprudence (fiqh). 

Purification of the Heart

The obligations and prohibitions relating to the heart are found in the books of spirituality and purification.

Pursuing Divine Love

After one has sincerely devoted and accustomed themselves to obedience regarding the above discussions one should apply the following with deep seeded aspiration and yearning for Allah’s love.

(1) Deep Reflection: One should reflect on the greatness of Allah Most High and the eternality of the Hereafter as oppose to the fleeting nature of this short life [Haddad, Book of Assistance]

(2) Constant Remembrance: One should strive to keep their tongue and heart constantly engaged in the remembrance of Allah, supplications, and recitation of the Qur’an.

[Ghazali, Ihya ‘Uloom al-Din]

Final Advices

Note that one cannot begin to pursue anything of what was mentioned without knowledge. 

For this the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Seeking knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim.” [Ibn Majah, Tabarani]

You should seek out a reliable scholar who has studied with authorized scholars and learn from them the basics regarding Islamic beliefs, rulings related to worship, and purification of the heart. 

Consider looking into classes at Seekersguidance.org. There are a wide range of classes spanning multiple subjects easily accessible. The classes are all taught by authorized and well qualified teachers.

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.