The True Nature of Iman - Mufti Azeemuddin | Islamic Reminder | Jummah Khutbah

The True Nature of Iman

Brothers who've come in earlier, if you can come front and fill up the rows in order inshAllah, like we do for Salah. It'll be more beneficial for us and easier for those who are coming in later.

Respected elders and brothers, mothers and sisters, السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

The Prophet's Teaching on the Nature of Faith

The Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam mentioned in a narration narrated on the authority of the illustrious companion Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas. The son of Amr ibn al-Aas says the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave an example of faith. He said:

(Narrated by Tabarani in Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir)

He was explaining faith and he said that faith becomes worn out in your heart, in your chest the way clothing or ornaments after some time of continuously wearing become worn out. Similarly, the faith of a person - faith in the unseen, faith in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, faith in paradise and hellfire - all of those things which we feel very strongly about, but whether we realize it or not, he's saying that these things definitely over time and due to the circumstances that we are surrounded with, get weakened and become old.

So what should we do at that time? فَاسْأَلُوا اللَّهَ أَنْ يُجَدِّدَ الْإِيمَانَ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ - He said ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, ask the Lord Almighty to renew your faith in your hearts.

Understanding the Fluctuation of Faith

This hadith is very fundamental in us understanding the concept of faith increasing and decreasing, or rather the quality of it increasing and decreasing. This is something that we notice when we want to - our faith, our iman gets motivated, rejuvenated when we attend good gatherings. And the flip side of that, when we are not in the best of gatherings, when there is a lot of heedlessness and idle talk, then at that time the faith becomes weakened and believing in the hereafter, believing in the unseen becomes even challenging.

We can reflect on our own lives and think there are moments in our life. For example, ten months ago - we are less than two months away from Ramadan right now, subhanAllah, time is flying. So we can remember Ramadan, how those nights were and how those days were. A person was genuinely motivated. You remember maybe the days of the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah during the Hajj days, how motivated we were. You remember your trip for Umrah or you remember your trip when you went and attended a lecture, attended an evening program in a masjid and you had so many emotions.

"I want to do this as soon as I go home. This is how I'm gonna start changing the way I act with my spouse. This is how I'm gonna start changing the way I act with my children. This is how I'm gonna make a regimen on how I'm gonna be punctual on my prayers and my dhikr and my remembrance of Allah at home." All of those things we get motivated, we make intentions.

The Example of Fundraisers

We've noticed, for example, a very good example is the fundraisers. People whether in the masjid or outside, you see a row of hands being raised when people are asked to give for any good cause. What makes them raise their hand if they would not have done so before? It is the faith increased when the verses of the Quran are revealed or mentioned about Paradise and hell and about the virtues of giving. People feel motivated and they give.

Now if at that time a person does not give and he pledged, I'll tell you from Darussalam's perspective on the other end of the fence and as a donor to other projects as well - I'll tell you that if a person doesn't swipe his card or give his check at that time, it becomes super challenging afterwards and you ask yourself, "Why am I thinking this? No one forced me to raise my hand. I'm the one who raised my hand. Now I'm finding it so challenging to fulfill my pledge." People are calling, people are texting like "Yeah, call me tomorrow. Call me next year. Call me so-and-so." What's going on? What's the reason for that?

Simple - because the iman was strong at that time. So priorities have changed and the person says, "I don't really need a new car. My older car payments are sufficient. I don't need to get an upgrade." But I definitely do need an upgrade in paradise. I definitely need to have a share in an orphanage. I definitely need to have a share in some wells being dug up in some of the poorest countries of the world. I need to have a share in an Islamic institution. I need to have a share in a high school.

Those things are there, but afterwards a person goes outside and he starts looking at things and those emotions and feelings that they had are no longer present.

This is Normal - Not Hypocrisy

So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam - the great thing about this hadith is telling us that this is normal. It will happen. You don't have to feel like you're a hypocrite. You don't have to feel like "Was I lying when I raised my hand? Why did I do that? Why did I have this motivation in the masjid and in the house of Allah when I come back home I don't have that?"

Instead we understand from this hadith and many other hadiths that this is standard process and procedure with us human beings. Our faith increases in good environments and our faith decreases in strength in different environments.

The Story of Abu Bakr and Hanzala

We have heard the very famous incident that took place between Abu Bakr Siddiq radiyallahu anhu and Hanzala radiyallahu anhu. Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu saw Hanzala - he was a companion - and he's rushing towards the Prophet's mosque and he asked him, "Where are you rushing?" and he says, "I have to go make a confession."

He said, "What confession do you have to make?" and he said, "I have to go make a confession that I'm a hypocrite. I just have to open up to him and say I'm not even a true believer. I'm a hypocrite." And he's saying this out loud: "Munafiq Hanzala! Munafiq Hanzala! I'm a hypocrite! I'm a hypocrite!"

Abu Bakr Siddiq asked him, "Why are you claiming to be a hypocrite? This is the worst possible thing - to be a hypocrite is horrible. Why are you saying that and what makes you say that?"

He says, "Well, the reason is when I'm with the Prophet in his gathering, I'm motivated. My faith is strong and I want to do great things. When I go back home in the company of my wife and children, we're laughing, we're joking, we're having a great time. All of a sudden I find my motivation becoming weaker and getting decreased in my relationship with Allah. The realization, the presence of Allah becomes weak. Why is that? That means I must be a hypocrite. I have got one face in front of the Prophet and one face at home."

So when Abu Bakr Siddiq - we know the most noble person after the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam - heard this, he said, "If that's the case that you are going through, guess what? I'm going through the same thing. I'm going through the same thing. And that means probably if you're a hypocrite, I'm a hypocrite."

So if Abu Bakr Siddiq radiyallahu anhu is thinking that he's a hypocrite, where do I stand? Where do any of us stand? And he said, "I'm gonna come with you."

The Prophet's Reassurance

So they both went to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and they shared their personal stories that when we are in your company, we're motivated and when we're at home, we're not. Does that mean we are faking it even when we are in your presence?

And so he said no, that's not the case. Instead, this is standard. Iman has this fluctuation. And to the extent he said, "If your faith were to remain consistent, you would no longer be human-like. This is more angelic." Then he said it like this: "If your faith were to be consistent all the time, angels would come and descend in your homes and shake hands with you."

Because angels obviously meet one another like humans meet one another, so you would no longer be an average human. You'd be an angel. Angels would come and shake hands with you. Angels don't come shake hands with us - they do it amongst themselves - but this is not a human characteristic that you are steady all the time. It comes up and goes down.

The Diabetes Analogy

But that gives us a realization that it's standard, it happens. Now, the thing is, it is not that we say it happens so let me not be worried about it. Like when we say, brothers and sisters who have diabetes unfortunately or high blood pressure, etc. - what are they doing multiple times a day? They're checking, they're checking the sugar levels.

That doesn't mean that life ends. That doesn't mean that they don't have a functional life. They have everything, but they just have to continue to keep checking. As long as it doesn't fall too low or doesn't fall too high, they're okay. If any of those things happen, then they need to take proper procedures.

And what happens usually if they ate something too sugary, too sweet, or they messed up something with their diet or some exercise? There's a very big decrease or increase in their normal blood sugar levels - environmental effects, environmental effects on a person's blood sugar.

By measuring it, there's hope. By measuring it, you can take the proper medication, take the proper steps to keep yourself healthy.

The issue is the person who says, "I'm not going to measure myself." The doctors say you're a diabetic and he says, "Great, good news for you or for me - I don't care, but I'm not going to measure my blood sugar levels and nor will I be careful about when and where and how I eat and when and where and how I do or do not exercise."

Then my brothers and sisters, you know that person is going for unfortunately a very bleak future. And there are people like that in the world today. They'll gladly eat a whole box of sweets and you say, "Aren't you diabetic?" "Yeah, who cares? Do you check your level?" "I don't." They're very frank about it: "I don't care. We got one life. Enjoy it."

Not realizing that this is not enjoyment what you're doing to yourself. Enjoyment does not mean eating a box of sweets when a person especially has diabetes. You can have many other ways to have a fulfilling life. You have many other ways to have a fulfilling, enjoyable life. Life is not there just to eat sweets.

Applying This to Our Faith

So similarly, subhanAllah, apply this to our faith. As long as the person keeps on checking his faith, checking the strength of his faith and sees: how is it doing today? I'm in a party right now - what's the condition? I'm in an office party right now - what's the condition? I'm at Jumu'ah right now - what's the condition?

Keep yourself through whatever situations you find yourself. Keep on checking. Muhasaba - look down in your heart and see what is my situation.

Imagine a person is sitting in the house of Allah, sitting in a khutbah like this today in a sermon, and his mind is somewhere else. Thousands of people sit in gatherings like this, but their hearts and minds are elsewhere. They're sitting here simply by their body, but the hearts and minds are absolutely not focused. If you ask them right after the khutbah, the sermon, what happened, they'll have no idea what we spoke about. Focus is not there.

Strengthening Our Faith Through Spiritual Nourishment

So even in this level, there are people in a very bad situation. They've come, they've driven so far to come to the house of Allah, but they're spiritually so weak that this environment is not doing enough to keep them strong. So these type of people need to take capsules and tablets in order to regain their faith. It is not the mere presence of the environment that will help them. They need to go a step further, and that's obviously through good deeds, through the remembrance of Allah, through the dhikr of Allah.

The Tree of Faith in the Heart

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya gives a beautiful example and he says:

This is from the Quran as well. He says the faith is like a tree that has its roots ingrained in the heart and the branches of it are in the heavens. مَعْرِفَةُ اللهِ خَوْفًا وَرَجَاءً وَمُحَبَّةً أَصْلُهَا فِي الْقَلْبِ - knowing Allah, fearing Allah, loving Allah. The essence of that is in the heart. وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ - and the branches of it. What are the branches of faith? It means good deeds. Good deeds are coming out of this heart extending outwards.

And then he mentions that a tree can never remain green and giving fruit and alive unless you give it what it needs: water, rain, irrigation, fertilizers, the nutrients. So he says فَإِذَا قُطِعَتِ السَّقْيَةُ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ تَيْبَسَ - if you were to cut off the flow of water and nutrition to that tree, very soon it will become a dry twig. No matter how tall it is, if you were to cut it from the sources of water to it, the highest of trees, the tallest and the strongest of trees will definitely over time fall flat.

فَهَكَذَا شَجَرَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ فِي الْقَلْبِ - similarly is a tree of faith in the heart. إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَعَاهَدَهَا صَاحِبُهَا - if the owner of that faith, if the believer does not continuously provide nutrition to that faith in the heart, Allah forbid, a time will come when that faith will also dry away. And when the faith dries away, just like a dried tree cannot give you fruit or leaves or shade or anything, similarly a dried up faith in a person's heart will be of no benefit - no benefit to anyone else nor benefit to the person who has it in his heart. Meaning, it will not even be able to save him from the wrath of Allah.

How to Nourish Our Faith

Ibn Qayyim continues and says, يَسْقِيهَا كُلَّ وَقْتٍ بِالْعِلْمِ النَّافِعِ - so how do I water this faith in my heart? He mentions بِالْعِلْمِ النَّافِعِ - with beneficial knowledge. Learn things which will not just be memorized like Wikipedia, but memorizing things which will actually benefit you in this world and in the next. Beneficial knowledge that will take you closer to Allah. وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ - and irrigate that faith with righteous deeds.

What else? وَالْعُودُ بِالتَّذَكُّرِ إِلَى التَّفَكُّرِ - and then continuously think and ponder about Allah's greatness and keep on taking heed from the Quran, taking heed from the signs of Allah around you. وَالتَّفَكُّرُ إِلَى التَّفَكُّرِ - this should be the pattern: تَذَكُّر، تَفَكُّر، تَفَكُّر، تَذَكُّر. تَذَكُّر is taking heed, تَفَكُّر is pondering. Sometimes pondering, sometimes doing the dhikr of Allah.

Active Engagement with Our Environment

When we're speaking, now I can't always be speaking nor can you always be speaking, but when we're speaking, we have to be speaking about ways and things that will genuinely make our faith increase in our heart. When you're listening, it should not be passive listening, and when I'm listening, it needs to be active listening.

Whoever is speaking, whenever they're speaking - how can I use this speech, whether good or bad, to ponder over those words and take a lesson home? If someone is speaking something trashy, to ponder over that and say: "What type of nonsense is this? I better never speak like this. There's a lot of harm in these words. I have to ensure that I don't hurt anyone's feelings by speaking like this." Continuously taking a lesson from the environments we are in and تَفَكُّر and pondering over what we have in front of us.

وَإِلَّا أَوْشَكَ أَنْ تَيْبَسَ - he says otherwise there's a fear that the faith in the heart will become dry. So this is what Ibn Qayyim's example is of that of a tree in the heart of faith.

Seeking Allah's Help to Renew Our Faith

And the Prophet, at the beginning I shared with you the hadith - he says it's very natural and it's going to happen due to the effects of the environment, corrosive environment that we live in, that the faith will be affected. So he told us in one hadith: ask Allah to revive your faith. That's one thing we have to do all the time: "O Allah, please renew and replenish my faith. Give nutrition to it."

You know how we say we have to eat healthy? Similarly we have to say: "O Allah, allow me to do such good deeds which will become a means of replenishing my faith, which will become a means of irrigating my faith in my heart. Allow me to see such things, hear such things, think of such things which will irrigate my faith."

And when your dua is accepted, you see how Allah will provide for you. Simple and small things will come your way. You'll come to a Jummah, you'll come for Fajr salah, you'll come for Isha and you will hear something from the imam in salah or after salah that exactly what you needed to hear. And you walk away like, "Wow, I came for two minutes and I heard him read from the hadith book. Two minutes - how did he open up something from there that exactly spoke to my situation?"

I have been a recipient of this and I have been a giver of this as well. People come to say: "How did you know my personal situation? My God, who opened up my secrets to you?" No one did - it's Allah who did. Allah is the one who made us speak that which you needed to hear. And you get exactly what you need, whether it's a YouTube video you're surfing and you come across a video, and that scholar speaks something for two minutes exactly what you need to hear. And he says سُبْحَانَ اللهِ - this is my answer.

Recognizing When We Need Help

Sometimes we're going through depressive moments, sometimes we're going through low moments in our life. My brothers and sisters, Allah knows what we're going through. Simple solution is: ask Allah.

"Ya Allah, my faith is weakening. My faith is decreasing. I just took my test, I did a blood test, and I see my iman is decreasing. I don't enjoy gatherings of knowledge. I don't enjoy salah. I don't enjoy coming to the masjid. I feel distracted. Why is this happening to me? This is a slippery slope I don't want to go down this route. Allah, please stop me. Put brakes on me so I don't continue to further get depressed and further from you."

When we lay our needs in front of him, he will make his inner workings of this world - how he controls it, he knows the best - he will really put his army into place. And you'll see, you'll get solutions to your problems, answers to your objections, spiritual rejuvenating moments from places where you never imagined. Your son and daughter, your parent, your spouse will say a word that is so profound that you'll freeze and you'll say: "Wow, man, that's what I needed to hear. How did that happen?" Allah made them speak.

But it has to start from us first. We have to put ourselves in front of Allah and say: "Ya Allah, where is my condition?"

Regular Self-Assessment

My dear brothers and sisters, I end with this: I end with the fact that make a point that there may be ups and downs, but please continuously check your faith. Don't be like that diabetic who doesn't check his or her blood sugar and continuously just consume everything they see, everything they smell, eating and eating until you see - سُبْحَانَ اللهِ - they are at 600 blood sugar levels, and now the doctors are wondering how long they got to live. That can happen to us.

It starts off with مُحَاسَبَة - taking account, putting ourselves to task, looking at ourselves, balancing ourselves, and seeing: Where was I last Friday? Where am I this Friday? Where was I this morning? Where am I now? Am I moving forward or am I moving backward? Am I moving towards Paradise or am I moving towards Hellfire?

InshAllah we are all intelligent people. We are all extremely well educated in our fields. If we just spend a few minutes on a day just checking our heart and the faith and to see really where are we headed, we will very quickly realize ourselves what we need to do.

The solutions are in the house of Allah. The programs are here, the activities are here in your local masjids, everything is there. The scholars are here, you can go connect. But it starts off with ourselves coming to realization that I need help. How much help? Do I need one tablet, two tablets, ten tablets? Is simply attending an environment sufficient for me, or do I need something to go beyond that?

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah to strengthen our faith. I ask Allah to save us, to save us from falling to such levels after which we cannot stand up. I ask Allah to rejuvenate our iman in our hearts, to keep us and our children and our spouses and our families strong in our faith. I ask Allah to preserve that flicker so that it continues to grow and grow and grow, that not only we become enlightened, but we enlighten all the people that we interact with.

Please let's move up and fill up all the rows all the way till the end and perform our sunnah.