sabeen, please send me an invite for that village. thx

Asalamlaikum,
I am impressed by this village and those who post comments. I have never seen a more cohesive, productive, and positive group of individuals working together to rebuild faith. I have been inspired to create a village from the information I have received on this site. It will be called the "RamadanCalenge" ( there wasnt room for two l's). The point of it is to get a group of people together to practice exactly what you all have advised. If you don't mind I would like to copy some of the advice and post it on the site as well as invite you all to take the challenge of renewing your faith this Ramadan and sharing the experience with your fellow brothers and sisters in Islam.
You really have touched many with your words.
Peace be unto you.
Ws.

Apparition06 ? Mashaallah I really like reading your comprehensive post dated September 9. It?s such a good reminder for not only this brother in question but for all of us in this village, especially me who needs constant reminding and reinforcement. May Allah reward you! :)

The ?Qulls?, taught by our beloved Prophet (saw), that should be recited every night before going to bed :

?Aa?ishah reported that when the Prophet (saw) went to bed, he would cup his hands together, blow into them and recite into them Qul huwa Allaahu ahad , Qul a?oodhu bi Rabbi?l-falaq and Qul a?oodhu bi Rabbi?l-naas . Then he would wipe as much of his body as he could with his hands, starting with his head and face, and the front of his body. He would do this three times.

?Uqbah ibn ?Aamir said: ?I met the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? and he said to me, ?O ?Uqbah ibn ?Aamir, shall I not teach you some Soorahs the like of which have not been revealed in the Tawraat (Torah) or the Zaaboor (Psalms) or the Injeel (Gospel) or in the Qur?aan? There is no night comes but you should not recite (i.e., every night you should recite) Qul huwa Allaahu ahad , Qul a?oodhu bi Rabbi?l-falaq and Qul a?oodhu bi Rabbi?l-naas .?? ?Uqbah said: ?So every night I would recite them. It became my duty to recite them, because the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had commanded me to do so??

And if I?m not mistaken, al-kafiroon is one of the soorahs that can be recited as treatment for somebody affected by witchcraft but I doubt that it is recited together with the other 3 ?Qulls?. The 3 ?Qulls? I believe are recited to protect us from being affected by witchcraft. Allahualam.

yes of course, it hit me earlier today, surah al Kafirun.

I'm trying to figure out if alKafirun was ever recited {by Muhammad(pbuh) or the sahaba} with the last 3 surahs, as its subject matter is quite different from these 3.

surah kafirun

qul ya ayyo hal kafirun......

salams...

abdul, it takes tremendous strength to even realize where ur at. mashaAllah...may Allah make it easy for u. ameen.

Question:

I always hear abt the "FOur Qull" from my desi family as well. The surahs at the end of the Quran that begin with 'Qull' are 3. Ikhlas, falaq and an-nas. These are the three surahs which Muhammad(pbuh) recited before going to bed and on other occasions.
But i have never heard of a fourth except from desis...Which is this fourth qull??

Ameen sister!

Rayflexx bro thank you so much, lets just hope the bro in question and others benefit from it. :)

Great to hear you're on the right track..

Pisho--Great Breakdown!

Remember the Hadith of our beloved Prophet (s):

--A strong believer is better than and more loved by Allah than a weak believer but in ALL of them is good.

Javacooldude__- That is fanstastic news! Mashallah.
May Allah continue to give you strength...Ameen


I would like to give you advice on some very short daily actions to start with, which you can eventually build on.

RECITE :
"Ya Hayo Ya Kayoum" recite this all the time and your soul will feel enlightened Inshallah.

RECITE:
"Four Kull" recite the four kulls three times and do Daam on yourself every night prior to sleeping.

Daam:
Take take one teaspoonful of honey,
Recite Bismillah irah ma niraheem, then Al Razatu Amma Naveel.
blow on the honey and consume it.
Do the Daam three times a day, preferably morning, noon and night.

Donation:
Once a week donate a certain amount to a disabled persons charity, whatever amount you can afford or feel comfortable with.

Namaaz :
You have already started Mashallah which is excellent news, slowly build on it on a daily / weekly basis and increase until you are able to do five.

Company:
Refrain from keeping too much company with those that may be bad for you or lead you off the right path.

Fasting:
Try and Fast at least once a week on your day off, this action will purify your Soul. Inshallah.

Most of these have already been covered but i have done a small break down for you. Try it for a week and you will notice a difference Instantly Inshallah!
Good Luck :)

Thanks a lot guys, all what you have said means a lot to me.
I started waking up early in the morning to attend salat el fajr with some of the devout brothers in the mosque. Hopefully things will get better from here on :)
Salam

This happens to the best of Muslims...and we know that Iman goes up and down. At least your not in denial and realize that this is a problem. True happiness can only come with rememberance of Allah--the one who created everything--that brings inner peace. Seek help with this problem from the only one that can help you-Allah. Make dua. Material things are vanishing and can come and go...

Ask yourself, as the Quran does "Where are you going?" Not tomorrow, not next year, but 100 years from now? This question is already answered in the Quran for you--You are going back to your Lord. And like the Prophet (s) said in 100 years from now you will all be dead.

Be optimistic and have a good opinion of Allah. And start with one small good action you do daily--that is best. Like read one verse from the quran or one hadith daily and then progress from there. and remember Allah is MOST MERCIFUL, MOST FORGIVING and his mercy is over his wrath.

And be careful of the company you keep and the food you eat. These two things determine a lot about a person. Good luck inshallah.

Salaams Abdul,

I, too, have to commend you since it truly takes great strength to come forward with such an admission.

I have to agree with Oasis, death really does put things into prespective and helps you increase your deen. Afterall, the Prophet (SAWS) said that the wisest of men is one who regularly remembers death and constantly remains aware of it.

I also know that making dua to Allah (SWT) to help you increase your iman is also very helpful. I understand that you have been having problems performing salat, but one can make dua at any time and place. Allah (SWT) knows your intention and if you sincerely ask Him to guide you, He will never lead you astray, iA.

It also helps to surround yourself with those who are pious and can help you strengthen your iman without judging you. It is very important that you spend time with those who are not judgemental for you may be adversely affected if you associate with individuals who claim to be close to Allah (SWT) but instead, look down on all others. I honestly believe those with the strongest of iman also have a very open mind and heart. Our dear Prophet (SAWS) is the perfect testament to this.

And of course, Allah (SWT) always knows best.

Abdul, Your are very brave to have sought help in such a way Mashallah.

Apparition06---Mashallah to you for providing so much useful information to the brother in question.
This information is also useful to others that may be reluctant to seek advice in the village.


Sy00 and
Oasis_asu very well said Mashallah.

You know the nicest thing about this VE is that fact that we are all happy to help the brother rather than opening up attacks on him, which is easily done.

Death awareness does create a caring, helpful, generous believer, in short a truly wonderful person. If death awareness is spread among a whole community of believers, that community will be truly wonderful.
Death remembrance also does give the believer a huge spiritual boost. The believer who is always aware of his/her own mortality will always be in need t seek refuge with the Almighty. This kind of believer will be very careful not to displease his Lord and if it happens that he does something wrong he will be quick to ask for forgiveness. repentance will become his daily practice since he remembers that death might come to him at any time, so he is taking precautions by being always repentant.

This mortality awareness will improve the spiritual quality of the believer's prayers. If in your prayer you remember very well that someday you will be a dead man, then you will truly humble yourself in this prayer. That's why the Prophet (SAW) once advised us that at the start of every prayer we should consider that, this prayer as our last prayer in this life. Repentance, prayer, humbleness, self-restraint, patience, charity, Fear of allah,and hope, all of these are the immediate outcomes of death remembrance.

i think the fact that you can recognize your weakness is the first big step....you also realize you have so much to be grateful for...so start slow with a simple thanks to Allah regularly for all he has given you...inshallah Allah, will help you achieve the rest in his own way...just have patience and dont forget to leave your trust in Allah....

God bless you Apparition06, that was such a powerful post mashallah

Assalamu alaikum Abdul

I found something on the sunnipath website that might be of significance. Hope it helps!

02.153 ?O you who believe! Seek help in steadfastness and prayer. Lo! Allah is with the steadfast.?

Al-Haakim reported in al-Mustadrak, and al-Tabaraani reported in al-Mu?jam, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

?Faith wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allaah to renew the faith in your hearts.? (Reported by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak, 1/4; Al-Haythami said in Majma? al-Zawaa?id, 1/52, ?It was reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer and its isnaad is saheeh.

Read up on the benefits of performing Salat and harms of not performing them. Read those Ahadith again and again. Read up on the bounties of Paradise and Punishments of the Hell fire. Remember the breaker of worldly pleasures i.e. death. Daqaq (R.A.) says, ?Who ever remembers death frequently, will benefit in three ways: he will hasten to repent, he will become content, and he will be active in worship. Whoever forgets death will be punished in three ways: he will delay repentance, he will no longer be content with what is sufficient, and he will be lazy in worship.? O Death! Where is thy long awaited sting?

As for when one fears non-acceptance when they find hardness of heart and weakness in resolve, then one should make remembrance of Allah and istighfar (seeking forgiveness). It has been related in a hadith from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) that he said,
?Truly, hearts rust just as iron rusts, and their polishing is La ilaha illa Allah (?There is no god but Allah?) and seeking forgiveness.?

Thus, if a Muslim seeks to polish their heart, they should adhere to the remembrance of Allah until their heart is purified and illumined. If one makes remembrance of Allah but finds no light therein, then they should make themselves in a position to benefit from the winds of Allah?s beneficence.

As for loss of motivation, this is natural to the human temperament, and is the reason why the acts of good and worship are variegated?so that the lower selves of creation not get weary. Thus, if one finds weakness in one?s resolve, then move to another type of good, while
being wary?when given success?not to take on too many voluntary acts of worship, lest this lead to loss of motivation and a sense of being fed up. Allah Most High enjoined upon us certain obligations which we cannot leave. After this, He encouraged us to supererogatory works from which we should take that which our selves can handle, sustain, and remain avid for the good

?If a sick person doesn?t realize that she is sick, the doctor will ever be able to cure her. So realizing that there is a spiritual sickness is a sign that your faith is strong. Our faith will become weak but we will have to
strengthen it with various actions and different good deeds. If we try to implement the following, Insha Allah it will help us all.


On a weekly basis, try to attend some Halaqah or an Islamic gathering. That is a great way of keeping the battery of Iman and actions charged.

A good suggestion would be that you join some weekend or evening Islamic course or something of that sort. You will find good company there which will be a means of strengthening your faith and Iman. And when you feel like you are all ?burnt out?, there will be others there who will guide you and help you out and get you back up on your feet again.

Try to read some portion of the Quran everyday and make Zikr of Allah. It will not be a bad idea to start off the day by reciting Surah Yaseen.

Try to have a daily Halaqah of reading from a Hadith book at home. The most widely used Hadith book in English is probably Riyadh us Salihin. Set aside a time at home, and try to sit down with other family members. It does not have to be long. Even five minutes or ten minutes ill suffice. A daily dose of the words of Allah and his beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam goes a long way in keeping us attached to our
faith.


After prayers or whenever, try to recite as many times as possible the words which are mentioned in the following Hadith: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ?Do not forget to
say in every prayer, ?Rabbi a?inni ?ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni ?ibaadatika (O Allah, help me to remember You, thank You and worship You properly.).?? (al-Nasaa?i, 1303)


Sometimes we commit sins which eventually make us weak in our faith. Islam will prevent us from sins....or sins will prevent us from Islam. repentingover past sins will not be a bad idea at all. The way we have a habit of sinning, the same way, as soon as a sin is committed, we shuld make a habit of seeking forgiveness for our sins. We should never procrastinate because death could over take us anytime.


You also must understand that we all go through these weaknesses. We al have those moments when we don?t feel like doing anything Islamic.
Faith increases and decreases. This is natural and it will happen many times in our lives.
It is important to know that if a decrease in faith leads to one neglecting one?s duties or doing Haram deeds, this slackening is very serious and one must repent to Allah and start to do something about it at once. If it does not lead to neglect of duties and doing Haram deeds, but just makes a person fall short in doing Mustahabb (recommended) deeds, for example, then a person still needs to know how to sort herself out and correct herself until she returns to the proper level of
energy and strength in worship. This is what we learn from the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), ?Every deed has energy and strength, and then this energy and strength is followed by a lackening, so who?s slackening is in accordance to my Sunnah he will be fine, and who?s slackening is to other than that he will be doomed.? (Reported by Ahmad, 2/210;
Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 55).

The times before Fajr and Maghrib are ?great windows of opportunity? as one great teacher repeatedly tells me (may Allah preserve him), so take dvantage of them by praying and supplicating at those times in particular, and all times in general.

Taken from Sunnipath.com


May Allah(SWT) help us and increase our iman. Ameen