Struggles with Self: How to Cope When Feeling Weak in Iman
"The Low Times"
Bismillah. The photo of the sad dog perfectly captures how I feel when I am feeling weak in my iman (belief).
It’s important I mention that fluctuations in iman do not mean that your foundational beliefs, such as believing in Allah and His Lordship, change.
These foundational beliefs are essential requirements of being a Muslim. Rather, it is the quality and state of our iman that fluctuates.
Iman dips can occur for various reasons, both internal and external.
For example, they might occur when:
- We are battling with personal bad habits or sins which fuels an unhealthy guilt and shame cycle.
- We are being deceived by the Shaytaan by becoming complacent in our deen.
- We are dealing with emotional and psychological issues that make it hard to focus on spiritual growth.
- We are being negatively influenced by our environment.
- We are heavily distracted by our worldy affairs and neglecting the time and focus for our spirit.
- We are falling short in our religious obligations.
Can you relate? Feeling weak in iman can be overwhelming if we don’t cope with the feelings in healthy ways.
Let us explore together practical steps and spiritual inspiration to help you cope when feeling weak in iman.
It is important to understand that Iman (faith) fluctuations are a personal struggle—a form of jihad that we all go through to some degree.
Every Muslim, including the Sahaba (ra), experienced fluctuations in their Iman. While we have no comparison to the remarkable Sahaba, and their dips were not like the dips we experience, it is a reminder that, like us, they were human too.
It is crucial to recognize that while it is normal to struggle with the state of our Iman, like them, we must continue to strive and persevere in our faith journey.
Iman Fluctuations: Understanding the Natural Rise and Fall in Iman
Experiencing fluctuations in Iman—the natural rise and fall in the quality and state of one’s faith—does not define who you are as a Muslim.
These moments simply indicate that you are going through a dip in your spiritual journey.
It’s important to remember that you are still a servant of Allah, and these fluctuations do not make you less of a Muslim. Instead, they are opportunities for reflection and growth.
Embracing these dips with patience and perseverance can lead to a deeper and more resilient connection with our faith, InshaAllah.
Common Experiences
Sadness, confusion, worry, and feelings of withdrawal and frustration with oneself are some emotions that may result from occasional dips in iman.
These emotions can serve as indicators of when it’s time to reflect and seek support from others.
For some, these dips may become prolonged due to unhealthy coping mechanisms or misunderstandings of these fluctuations.
It’s crucial to address these feelings with healthy strategies and a balanced perspective to navigate through these iman dips.
During these iman dips, we may find ourselves experiencing less concentration in our prayers, less motivation in reading the Quran, or less immersed in our dhikr and dua.
These ups and downs are expected due to the ever-changing situations in our lives.
Our state of iman can be understood as the byproduct of our environment, speech, actions, and what we do between ourselves and Allah SWT.
Our state of iman is an ongoing journey, not static, and not just a checklist or a one-stop journey.
We must pay attention to our Iman, inspect our actions, and help each other as Muslims, as the Sahaba (ra) used to do.
We need to have a consistent relationship with ourselves, much like taking care of a plant. If we notice it is becoming dry, we water and tend to it.
By nurturing our Iman with care and attention, we can help it grow and flourish.
8 Pratical Steps to Implement when Feeling Weak in Iman
1. Acknowledge the Fluctuations: Recognize that it’s normal for your iman to fluctuate. This understanding can reduce the stress and anxiety that often accompany these dips.
You are no less of a muslim because of these experiences.
2. Identify Triggers: Pay attention to what triggers your dips in iman. It could be stress, negative influences, personal bad habits, or external pressures.
Identifying these triggers can help you prepare and develop strategies to cope.
3. Set Realistic Expectations: Understand that you won’t always feel spiritually high.
Remembering that Islam is not a feeling but a lifestyle—about obedience to Allah, not about how we feel—can help us stay grounded and focused on our spiritual growth.
What matters is our striving in our deen.
4. Develop Coping Strategies: Create a toolkit of strategies to help cope when feeling weak in iman.
This could include increased dhikr, seeking knowledge, spending time with supportive friends, or engaging in acts of charity.
Remembrance of Allah, reflecting, and seeking forgiveness from Allah are additional essential practices.
5. Seek Support: Sharing your iman struggles can provide comfort and guidance. I personally have a friend I almost always immediately reach out to when I am feeling weak in my iman.
Creating an environment where we can vent to others, hang out with them, strengthen our iman, and share our experiences is crucial for our spiritual and emotional well-being.
6. Practice Patience and Perseverance: Remember that growth in faith is a gradual process. Be patient with yourself and ask Allah to help you persevere through the challenges.
Try not to be hasty, this is a reminder to myself first.
7. Self-Awareness: Being self-aware of how our iman is doing and how we are contributing or not contributing towards it being in a good state is crucial.
We should ask ourselves, “What am I doing and not doing?” and frequently reflect, especially when we feel disconnected from Allah SWT.
This is a big one for me!!!!
8.Not Abandoning Worship:
Continuing our worship to Allah despite feeling low in Iman is important.
We should not undo the spiritual habits we have been consistent in because of a temporary state.
It is vital to remember that as long as we are alive, we can strive to become better Muslims and should never fall into despair. Our understanding of Allah’s mercy is limited.
We should ask Allah to renew the faith in our hearts and take responsibility for ourselves, striving to become stronger in faith.
Just Keep Swimming!
Fluctuations in iman are a normal part of the human experience and do not define your identity as a Muslim.
By recognizing these fluctuations, seeking support, and engaging in practical and spiritual practices, you can navigate through the dips in your faith journey.
Remember, you are still a servant of Allah, and these moments of struggle are opportunities for growth and deeper connection with Him.
May Allah grant us all the strength and clarity to continue striving towards being the best version of ourselves as believers.
What boosts your Iman, and what causes it to decline?
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
AISSATA
As Salamualeikum,
Reflecting on the 6 pilars of iman helps me boost my iman. For example contemplating on a specific name of Allah for a few days.
Umm Souleymane
Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. Beautiful and thought-provoking post, Allahumma baarik. Attending lectures, visiting the masajid, keeping up with Qur’an and arabic sessions, islamic knowledge… are so many ways to try and keep afloat with our eeman: keep swimming indeed 🙂
May Allah grant us hidaayah and istiqamah, aameen.
Rahma Hamada
Asalaam Alaikum my sister, I notice that a happy day for me is when I recite the Quran, read my Athkar, and pray my Salawat all in the morning before I start my day. I get a sense of contentment and believe that nothing can hurt me that day… lol it is all Qadr though! I feel what causes my iman to decline is life hardships and the current state we are in running from one thing to another. This is the case most times, it hinders you from clearing your mind and spiritually connecting to Allah because your mind is stressing about other things. Also, if I want to take my time and pursue praying plus everything above it takes about an hour- almost two hours and most of us do not have that time every single day. I think what helps though, is knowing that everything else you are doing as long as it is within the area of seeking knowledge and improving, is also a state of worship. However, it is crucial to be aware that spiritual worshiping is as important as other things. And you just need to plan and make time for it just like we make time to simply shower and go grocery shopping.