Let us remind ourselves that weak faith overshadows the brightness of a heart as we learn from a hadith of the prophet (Sallellahu Alayhi Wa Sallam):
“There is no heart that is not covered by a cloud like the cloud covering the moon when it is shining, and so it suddenly goes dark, but when it (the cloud) goes away, it shines again.”
(Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 2/196; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 2268)
A sincere effort on our part can help us repel such darkness, which manifests itself as dissatisfaction in life, depression, and misery. More importantly, a heart clouded by sins is also deprived of Allah’s blessings. Curing the weakness in our hearts, thus, can help us regain the light of faith and can help us make sense of life’s complexities that may be eroding our faith levels.
DEVELOPING SINCERITY TOWARDS ALLAH:
One of the key prerequisites for strengthening ones faith is to first develop sincerity toward our Lord, Allah. Without instilling this sincerity and His fear in our hearts, other actions become moot. We can achieve this level of sincerity toward Allah by becoming sincere to Him the way Allah wants us to be sincere. This includes sincerity in faith, sincerity in intention, and sincerity in our fearing Allah, The Exalted. Let us remind ourselves and others that not every act of obedience is sincere unless it is done, both outwardly and inwardly, in a manner which Allah likes.
Furthermore, more than just having intentions, our sincerity should reflect in our actions. Allah has described the ones who are sincere in the following verse:
“It is no virtue that you turn your faces towards the east or the west, but virtue is that one should sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Prophets and, out of His love, spend of one’s choice wealth for relatives and orphans, for the needy and the wayfarer, for beggars and for the ransom of slaves, and establish the Salat (prayers) and pay the Zakat (obligatory charity). And the virtuous are those who keep their pledges when they make them and show fortitude in hardships and adversity and in the struggle between the Truth and falsehood; such are the truthful people and such are the pious.”
[Surah al-Baqarah:177]
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“This verse includes a number of great meanings, important principles and sound beliefs.”
(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/485).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
A person can have nothing more beneficial than sincerity towards his Lord in all his affairs, along with sincerity of resolve, so he should be sincere towards Him in his resolve and in his actions.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And when the matter is resolved on, then if they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them”
[Surah Muhammad 47:21]
So his happiness lies in sincerity of resolve and sincerity of action. Sincerity of resolve means certain desire to do an action and not hesitating to do it. If his resolve is sincere, all that is left is sincerity of action, which is doing one’s best and striving one’s utmost when doing it , and not letting anything, outward or inward, hold him back from it. Resolve of purpose prevents him from becoming weak-willed and sincerity of action prevents him from becoming lazy or lethargic. If a person is sincere towards Allah in all his affairs, Allah will give him more than He gives to others, and this sincerity results from true love of Allah and true trust in Him. So the most sincere of people is the one who loves Allah most and puts most trust in Him.
(Al-Fawaa’id, p. 186, 187).