Zaynab just got home after listening to this mind-blowing Iman-boosting lecture at the community mosque. The Sheikh spoke about Modesty. She cleaned out all her tight-fitting clothes and put them in a box for charity. She was going to finally put on the hijab, tomorrow! Her heart, as well as her lips, was full of dhikr. She was not going to despair in His Mercy. She said her evening adhkar, prayed Magrib and Isha and on time too. She even recited Surah Mulk before bed and said her bedtime duas. 

…..Then it was Monday morning. Zaynab woke up late. And all the motivation and will power from yesterday wasn’t anywhere to be found. She couldn’t even find clothes that matched well enough…

This is typically what happens when reality hits. Whether it is after an amazing lecture or podcast or even after our periods, we all hit some kind of Iman low at one point or the other.

Here are some tips to help you get through.

First off, Never despair in the mercy of Allah. Your sins are not too big for Allah. Allah is not tired of forgiving you either. The fact that you are still trying to Improve is proof of His mercy.

Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an,

“O My servants who have transgressed upon their own souls!  Do not despair of the Mercy of Allah!  Indeed Allah forgives all sins.   Truly, He is the Oft-Forgiving and Compassionate.”

[Qur’an 39:53]

  • Start small and build over time

How complete are your obligatory acts of Ibadah? Are you saying all your 5 daily prayers regularly and on time?

“No prayer is more burdensome to the hypocrites than the Fajr (dawn) prayer and the ‘Isha’ (night) prayer; and if they knew their merits, they would come to them even if they had to crawl to do so.”

[Bukhari and Muslim]

The five need to be established. Let that be your barest minimum. No matter how you feel, try and establish the five dailies. Do not surrender into your desires and always remember to ask Allah for help.

Then add on extra acts of worship like the Salatul Duha and do not lose hope when you skip or miss one of the Nawafils.

  • Choose consistency over perfection

Choose to show up every day and recite 10 minutes of Qur’an rather than wait for your tajweed to be perfect so you can read one Juz a day.

  • Write down reminders

The reminder always benefits the believers. And you needing reminders does mean you are a bad Muslim. Have some dua’s scattered around, some inspiration and even alarms on your phones to jolt you back.

  • Forgiveness

Ask Allah to forgive you. The Prophet (SAW) was granted forgiveness but he still sought it more than seventy times a day.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “By Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to him more than seventy times in a day.”

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5948

How many times have you uttered any dhikr for forgiveness today?

  • Engage in dhikr

You have no idea how many supplications you have already memorized. Just start. Don’t think I have to go bring my Hisnul Muslim (the adhkar book – Fortress of a Muslim), just start. One thing that helps is opening random pages of the Qur’an to see what gems you find. trust in Allah and you would find what you need.

Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!

[Quran 13:28]

  •  Surround yourself with good people

As you read this, someone crossed your mind. Reach out! Also, you can find some lessons or videos on youtube that can help boost your Iman.

What are some of the ways which you try to cope with the low iman moments?