How to Strengthen your Iman

Ayatullah Ja'far Subhani, Imam of the Friday Prayers at the Sayeda Masuma haram in Qum, was asked how young people in the west might go about increasing their iman.

His answer was simple. He told us:

There are three things you should do.

1. Pray at the very first time of the prescribed time for prayers


2. Read at least a quarter of a Juz' of Quran every day


3. Carry a notepad with you wherever you go, and record your bad deeds throughout the day. At the end of the day review what you have written, and ask forgiveness for the sins you have committed.

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The Start of Faith: Establishing your beliefs beyond any doubt
The way to progress
Seeking knowledge of God, above and beyond any other form of knowledge

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Nahjul Balaghah sermon 1: what is it to Deny God Attributes?
To Deny Him Attributes II
To Deny Him Attributes III

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Ideas from the book "Man & Destiny":: Virtual
Virtual II
Virtual III
Virtual IV

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Qum, Iran
August 2006

Invitations & Welcomes

When the door opens, know that the owner of the house has opened it for you. If you choose to come, it is possible through their permission and not otherwise. Don't let shame & self-awareness make you forget -- it is not on your own merit for you to feel deep & uncomfortable shame at its lack; it has always been at the grace and mercy of the resident.

The scholar-prince of believers invited you first - before all, before you yourself were his follower. His speciality in thought, answers in the face of abundant & colourful ideologies, his rational & logical approaches, historical & narrated through his fathers, his diplomacy, wisdom & means & method of survival & habitation amongst unbelievers & class society, his humility & maintenance of the perfection of Islamic behaviour despite plots & hostility -- this Imam who first called, & has called as many times as the Prophet, held lessons for your situation; an example & guide for your life. Your delay in realisation did not prevent his re-invitation, & his gentle beckon remains, sweeter than ever, ready for your approach.

Hand picked by him are his visitors - like flowers. This son of the Prophet is my Imam: he watches over me, teaches me, & draws me close when I need him, if I am willing to come.

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Iran, Mashhad
July 07

On Mercy:: Dua Kumayl

what weighs on your heart, which you fear the consequences of -- that abandonment to the cold & dark loneliness of doubt or disbelief - that isolation & lack of comfort, support & guidance which you need to progress -- that without which you fear withering death & suffering with a burning heart...

This
is known to Allah,
& leaving a believer so distressed
-- no matter their sins --
is not consistent with His mercy.

He is the One who quells the flames,
& makes them coolness & peace.

He is the One
Who would not leave -- by His Greatness & Mercy --
A believer, expectant & calling for Him.


What you fear
will not happen.

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in His name - the Merciful, the Great.
First Dua Kumayl in Mashhad, Iran
July 2007.

On His Lordship, & our servitude

On the authority of Abu Dharr Al-Ghafari, of the prophet is that among the sayings he relates from his Lord is that He said:

"O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.

O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.

O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O my servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to become as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it.

O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allah, and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself."

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Allah the Almighty has said: "O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it."

* * *

with thanks to
the Supreme Lord,
the Most Kind.

virtual IV

Conclusions:

[Know this,] so that you may not despair over whatever [good] has escaped you nor exult [unduly] over whatever [good] has come to you... (57:23)

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"Young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice] : Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah.

Know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that Allah had already prescribed for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something Allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried."

and in another version,

"..Be mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you. Get to know Allah in prosperity and He will know you in adversity. Know that what has passed you by was not going to befall you; and that what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship."

* * *

Allah the Almighty has said: "Who soever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have imposed upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it."

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"Purity is half of faith. alhamdu-lillah [Praise be to Allah] fills the scales, and subhana-Allah [How far is Allah from every imperfection] and alhamdu-lillah [Praise be to Allah] fill that which is between heaven and earth. Prayer is light; charity is a proof; patience is illumination; and the Quran is an argument for or against you. Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin."

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with thanks to
the Most Merciful

On Certainty

The levels of certainty.


Allah who knows the seen and the unseen proclaims that the Quran revealed to the Holy Prophet is the truth of assured certainty (haqqul yaqin), which can never be disproved.

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Truth as understood by man by the application of his power of judgement and appraisement of visible evidence through reasoning or inference is called ilmul yaqin.

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If he sees something with his own eyes, described as "seeing is believing", it is called Ayn ul yaqin which sometimes terminates in delusion or deception.

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tafsir 69:38 --from here

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"Argue with a fool, and most likely the fool is doing the same... because the problem is not, do you believe what you see, but what is it that you see?"
-- reproduced, with thanks

knowledge & submission III

In prayer, I felt the stubbornness in my soul
I realised - I loved the world & was reluctant to leave it - so
If I would not leave my home, how could I begin the journey to God?

For a while I was dumbstruck, silent; until
I realised - or remembered - the world is fake, deception
And knew; no-one who knows this, would want it at all.

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"Many a knowledge comes to man in stages:

(1) first he becomes aware of an idea;
(2) then he has some doubts about its correctness;
(3) then he becomes inclined to accept it;
(4) then gradually the possibility of his accepting the opposite view vanishes completely and he becomes firmly convinced of the truth of that idea - and this firm conviction is called knowledge.

If such a knowledge is concerned with some frightening affair, then his worry and disquiet will begin as soon as he reaches the third stage when he is only inclined to accept it - is only "thinking" that probably it may be true."

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(c) July 2007,
with thanks to AlMizan.org