Iman Rollercoaster

Bismillah ir Rahman nir Raheem

Assalamalaikum

Introduction

Everyone experiences iman highs and lows, we are human. One day you feel on top of the world, you read quran, prayed all your prayers and Sunnah, had no issues with family members, and truly just felt like your iman was at the peak of the coaster. And there are other days when, you might have missed fajr, got into a little misunderstanding with your parents, and maybe your iman hit a little low. Our iman fluctauates, sometimes we are at highs and sometimes we are at lows, but we need to make sure that our iman is always increasing, inshallah.  We need to strive to get our old iman highs- our new lows and never dip too far down.

Part I: What exactly is Iman? 

• §  What is Iman to you?
• §  The word Iman by many people is translated simply into faith, believing in Islam, in Allah, and while this to a certain extent is true, its not the whole picture.
• §  Believing versus Iman. The translation belief does not do the word justice, Iman is belief but its different from belief in that it creates a commitment. Iman creates a commitment with our Creator, when you have Iman, you have made a commitment with Allah.
• §  Iman is letting your life change, it should change our lives. We abandon our old ways, we abandon the glitter and the grills, and the junk fed by our society, and instead we take shelter in Allah. When we have iman, we commit ourselves to change.
• §  Iman isn’t just claiming to believe, it is acting upon that belief. Anyone can “claim” to believe. What truly proves that, is when you see them changing right before your eyes.
• §  Another really good way to understand this concept is that we all display different kinds of Iman. Like, if we have a giant test, you can’t just go into the test unprepared and expect to ace it, you know? You have to have a certain iman, or commitment to preparing and then going into it. A person who wants to lose weight has to have iman in the sense that they can’t just go and eat like 5 Big Macs and still that they’re on a roll. So just like the dieter and the student, we as Muslims must have iman and commit to Allah’s commands, staying away from things that are forbidden, and developing a relationship with our creator.
• §  So now the issue at hand, we understand what iman is, and when push ourselves to commitment, the rollercoaster shoots off…

Part II: When Does it Occur?

• §  Iman highs usually occur differently for different people. During Ramadan it is evident that many muslims experience a iman high. People who never pray fajy are now praying fajr, people who never pray Sunnah are now praying Sunnah, people who don’t read the quran are now reading the quran. Ramadan is the ultimate time for a ramdan high.
• §  For me, finals and a lot of projects put together can be a little bit of a dip, hanging with the wrong crowd can be a dip, and not reading Quran regularly can be a dip too. And of course, if you’re not praying regularly, you’re dip is gonna get even dippy-er.
• §  A high even during Ramadan for me, is taraweeh. The night prayer is an awesome thing to take advantage of and can inshAllah stengthen your relationship with Allah.
• §  Some other things that can lead to iman high’s are when you give up something for the sake of allah, like your hair and start wearing hijab, that can give you an iman high. Praying Fajr I think is a big iman high. Hardships can sometimes be an iman high too but sometimes it can backfire and go the other way. Its all about the level of patience one is willing to show.
• §  Any other high or low experiences?

Part III: Tips on how to Constantly increase Iman

• §  Renew Shahada everyday. Even we say it in salah, sometimes that becomes a simple ritual, but spend a few seconds knowing what you’re saying, pondering over it.
• §  Do a lot of dhikr with thought.: “SubhanAllah wa bihamdi x100
• §  Dua for guidance
• §  Hang out with the right crowd
• §  Stock up on Good Deeds
• §  Seek forgiveness for your past sins…awesome dua: Humma anta rabbee la ilaha illa ant, khalaqtanee wa-ana AAabduk, wa-ana AAala AAahdika wawaAAdika mas-tataAAt, aAAoothu bika min sharri ma sanaAAt, aboo-o laka biniAAmatika AAalay, wa-aboo-o bithanbee, faghfir lee fa-innahu la yaghfiruth-thunooba illa ant.
• ‘O Allah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You, You created me and I am Your servant and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best I can, I take refuge in You from the evil of which I committed. I acknowledge Your favor upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for verily none can forgive sin except You.’
•  [Do youu know what the reward is for saying this supplication? The Prophet ﷺ has told us that, “If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it and dies before the morning he will be from the people of Paradise.”
• §  Reduce shamelessness from your life
• §  Respecting parents

Our hearts are in Allah’s hands. He can turn them one way or the other if he wishes, we just have to show him that we want to be guided, that we are trying. At the end of the day, analyze your dips or your highs, make sure your highs outweigh and outnumber dips. 

-Destination Jannah