Istiqamah: Steadfastness And Firmness In Our Deen

Istiqāmah: Steadfastness and Firmness in the Deen

As we know, the new year, the Gregorian calendar, the year 2023 has arrived and already come to pass. With that, as the custom is, many people reflect over the actions of the previous year and realize that they need to make changes, and they make firm resolutions to bring huge lifestyle changes that will improve the quality of their life, that will make them into better people, make them into a better functioning member of society. And the goal of this khutbah is not to talk about the legal status of that or whether that's permissible or not, or if Muslims should be doing that or not.

In fact, Islam has a similar concept where we should reflect daily over the actions that we've done. Any sins that we've made, we seek forgiveness from Allah. Any good deeds that Allah gave us the tawfīq to do, we make shukr, we praise and we thank Allah and ask Allah for the ability to do more deeds. In fact, Islam teaches us to have beautiful intentions and to strive high and to make firm resolutions.

But, it being five or six days with the passing of the new year, statistically, the data shows, the studies show that 25% of people that made these resolutions, that made these firm intentions — whatever they may be, whether it may be working out, eating more healthy, maybe joining a diet that's more conducive, whatever it may be — they've already given up on that. According to the statistics and the data, 25% have already given up, and in the coming weeks, that number will just increase. And if we get into the reason why, many people can say, okay, maybe a person wasn't sincere in that resolution, sincere in that intention, maybe the goal that they had was unrealistic, or people will give you different reasons for why they failed.

But one thing that I might argue is that we don't have to see whether or not they were sincere in their intention or not — Allah knows that. But one thing that might have been the problem is the concept that they didn't have istiqāmah. And this is a concept in the deen that I feel many people — and inshallah we'll focus on in the short time that we have — many people may not really truly understand what this is.

What is Istiqāmah?

In our deen, istiqāmah is a very beautiful concept, because not only is it an objective to reach — it's something that we all should strive and aspire for — but rather it's also a journey, a path that we take. So it's two in one: it's not only the end goal, the end destination, but rather it's a day-to-day effort, a journey that we traverse. And it comes from the Arabic root letters which mean something standing, something to be firm, something resolute.

And this is very beautiful because this is the quality that as Muslims we should all strive to have. That as Muslims we want to be firm, we want to be resolute. When we have belief and yaqīn in Allah, we want that yaqīn and īmān to be firm and resolute.

The opposite is unawareness, ghaflah — that isn't the quality of a Muslim, that is something that is despised. When Allah compares the mu'min in the Qur'an, Allah talks about a shajaratun ṭayyibah, a pure strong tree — aṣluhā thābit, that its roots are firm. And so that is this notion that we have in front of us: istiqāmah.

And so as Muslims we should also strive to make resolutions, and these resolutions should be for our deen. I'll leave the other stuff to the experts on the field — about the exercise, diet, whatever. But our focus here, coming to the masjid, is that we want to make beautiful firm resolutions to become better Muslims, to become firm on our deen.

The Prophet's ﷺ Definition of Istiqāmah

So the Prophet ﷺ beautifully described to us what exactly istiqāmah is. In a hadith, it comes that a ṣaḥābī came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, say to me something — a statement about Islam — that I will not have to ask anyone besides you."

So what did the Prophet ﷺ say in response to him?

"Say: I believe in Allah, then remain steadfast."
(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 62)

This is from the jawāmi' al-kalim — the short, concise speech that has beautiful, deep, impactful meaning. The Prophet ﷺ is trying to show us something here: that istiqāmah will not come except with the correct belief. And what is that belief?

قُلْ آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ ثُمَّ اسْتَقِمْ — Say: I firmly believe in Allah, then remain firm. When we have the correct belief and conviction in Allah, it is only through Allah that we can be given and granted istiqāmah. In whatever avenue it may be, in whatever pursuit that we desire — if we want consistency and steadfastness in that, as istiqāmah is loosely translated into consistency or steadfastness — if we want that, we have to get it only from the assistance of Allah. It will only be possible from Allah.

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ says:

"Remain steadfast, even though you are not capable of doing so fully."
(Sunan Ibn Mājah, Book 1, Hadith 277)

Once again, the Prophet ﷺ is drawing our attention to the fact that there is a force greater than us — and that force being Allah — that will grant us this istiqāmah, that will help us in our path towards istiqāmah.

And that is why every single day we ask in all our prayers — 15 times a day, 17 times a day:

"O Allah, guide us to the straight path." Mustaqīm, istiqāmah — they come from the same roots. That we have this straight path, and no matter what other paths are in front of us, no matter what challenges are in front of us, Ya Allah, You guide us and You keep us on the straight path.

In today's day and age, you have all these different options in front of you — whether it be materialism, atheism, scientism. Nowadays, science has become a religion. Whether or not these scientists want to admit that, what has been a method — a test, experiments — to understand the world around us and the way it works, this has become absolute truth and a religion to the people. They will not admit that, but this is all the different challenges that we're facing.

And what advice did the Prophet ﷺ give us that is timeless? قُلْ آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ ثُمَّ اسْتَقِمْ — Even though we may not have the answer, someone may be more articulate than us, someone may know more fancy jargon and have better arguments than us, but we know that this Qur'an is from Allah, that the Prophet ﷺ — we've read his sīrah, we understand this is the best human to have walked the earth — we're happy with our deen. We believe in Allah and we remain steadfast.

The Types of Istiqāmah

Imam al-Ghazālī also speaks about the different types of istiqāmah — there are different types that we can choose to work on and aspire to have.

1. Istiqāmat al-Lisān — Steadfastness of the Tongue

He mentions this is like the first station where a person works: he corrects his speech, he speaks only that which is good. And it comes in the hadith that the whole body seeks refuge from the evil of the tongue. And if the tongue speaks what is correct and what is good, then the matters and affairs of that person will be straight. But if he speaks what is evil and what is crooked, then the rest of the limbs will be evil and crooked, and the matters will not be straight. So you have istiqāmat al-lisān — that is the first station a person can work on.

2. Istiqāmat al-Qalb — Steadfastness of the Heart

The second station is istiqāmat al-qalb — what we just spoke about: having the right belief in Allah, the right yaqīn in Allah, protecting oneself from all these wasāwis and evil thoughts, and these wrong beliefs and all these different propagandas out there. The Prophet ﷺ mentions:

"Verily, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

3. Istiqāmah fil-'Ibādah — Steadfastness in Worship

Another station of istiqāmah that we can all work on — and that is all very much relevant to us — is istiqāmah fil-'ibādah. Many times we're given the delusion that in order to please Allah, we have to do great, great acts of worship. We have to do so many hours of tilāwah, so many hours of qiyām, so many days of ṣiyām — all this voluntary extra stuff.

But in the hadīth qudsī, Allah says:

"My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the obligations I have made obligatory upon him."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

So many times we divert our attention away from what Allah has made the bare minimum — the mandatory — upon us, to focus on all these voluntary acts, leaving — even falling short, a'ūdhu billāh, may Allah forgive us — on our obligations. Whereas Allah is informing us, the Prophet ﷺ is informing us: if you want to gain closeness to Allah, if you want to gain the pleasure of Allah, the acceptance of Allah, then be steadfast on the obligations that Allah has made mandatory upon you. And this is the greatest thing that you can do to get closer to Him, the quickest way you can get closer to Allah.

4. Istiqāmah fil-'Ilm — Steadfastness in Seeking Knowledge

And then there's istiqāmah fil-'ilm — in seeking knowledge. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim."
(Sunan Ibn Mājah, Book 1, Hadith 224)

Why is that? Because the person who knows the obligation, and then on top of that knows the one giving that obligation — meaning Allah — he knows and recognizes and has this ma'rifah of Allah, then he will not disobey Allah. The ulamā mention that with the increase of knowledge, there should be an increase of istiqāmah, because if a person recognizes who his Creator is, and the obligation that my Creator has given, then how can I disobey my Rabb? Then no matter how difficult it is to wake up in the morning in the cold, he'll get up.

But rather, if a person has no idea what the obligation is — A, who the one giving the obligation is, who Allah is — then he'll have no care, he'll be lax, he won't care whether he fulfills the obligation or not.

How Do We Gain Istiqāmah?

So how can we gain this istiqāmah? How can we bring this istiqāmah into our lives? By two things.

First, by making an effort for it. This is not a passive quality. Istiqāmah is something that a person has to push for, strive for, work for. It's not something that you'll just get, or you'll get enlightenment one day and it'll come upon you. Rather, it's something that we strive for, we push for, each and every single day.

And secondly, it is only from the tawfīq of Allah — so we beg Allah, we cry to Allah, we make du'ā to Allah, and we seek this from Allah.

The Virtues and Reward of Istiqāmah

And then lastly, I want to speak about the virtues of istiqāmah, of having istiqāmah. In the Qur'anic āyah that was mentioned in the beginning of this bayān:

The one that says, "My Lord, my Rabb, is Allah," then remains steadfast — what will be the outcome, what will be the reward? Allah will send upon him angels. The scholars of tafsīr mention that this may be upon the time of death — when a person lived a life of istiqāmah, lived a life of fulfilling the obligations of deen, lived a life of worshipping Allah, and now he is being tested, right? On his deathbed, he's going through the pains of death, he's going through excruciating pain — how will Allah relieve him? Allah will send upon him the malā'ikah, consoling him:

أَلَّا تَخَافُوا — "Do not have any fear." وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا — "Do not be saddened. Don't worry about the people you're leaving behind in this dunyā." وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ — "And take glad tidings in the jannah that you have been promised."

May Allah give us the reality of this istiqāmah, allow us to work and strive for this, and allow us to make this a reality in our lives. Anything that was good and beneficial that was said, that is from Allah. Any shortcomings and mistakes are from my own shortcomings and from Shayṭān.