A Precious Benefit Regarding the Difference Among People in Faith and That It Increases and Decreases
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The Shaykh : Perhaps another benefit can be derived from this hadith, which is the difference among people in faith. As for their difference in rank, that is a matter of consensus, but do they differ in faith? The correct view is that they do differ, and that faith increases.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : And it decreases, until a person feels in himself that his faith increases and decreases. This applies to both the faith of the heart and the outward faith. Outward faith varies; it increases through acts of obedience and decreases through sins. The faith in the heart is likewise; sometimes a person has a degree of certainty as if he is witnessing the unseen, and sometimes that certainty decreases according to his heedlessness and distraction. This is established even among the Companions, for the Companions said, “O Messenger of Allah, when we are with you and the Paradise and the Fire are mentioned, it is as if we see them with our own eyes. But when we return to our homes and mix with our children and wives, we become heedless.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:. So a person may sometimes find strength of certainty in his heart, and this is not strange, for this happened to the best of the messengers. It happened to Ibrahim (peace be upon him): [Al-Baqarah 2:260]. The conclusion is that the methodology of the Salaf, which is the position of the people of the Sunnah and the community, is that faith increases and decreases, whether it is outward faith or inward faith.
Among the benefits of this hadith is the virtue of persisting in the deed, even if it is small. But if a person experiences a surge of energy, should he increase or decrease? I fear that if I increase and then leave it off, I will be like the one who used to stand in night prayer and then abandoned it.
The student: The first.
The Shaykh : What do you say?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The first option, meaning he makes the lesser amount that he is able to perform the baseline, and if there is an increase, there is no harm. For example, if a person’s habit is to perform witr with five rak'ahs, and then he wakes up early and wants to perform witr with more, do we say, “Do not perform witr, for fear of a decrease in the coming nights,” or do we say, “Perform witr”?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : We say, perform witr with what you are energetic for. And when you do what you are energetic for, you have persisted in the original deed, and what else?
The student: And an increase.
The Shaykh : And an increase, so it does no harm.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : And it decreases, until a person feels in himself that his faith increases and decreases. This applies to both the faith of the heart and the outward faith. Outward faith varies; it increases through acts of obedience and decreases through sins. The faith in the heart is likewise; sometimes a person has a degree of certainty as if he is witnessing the unseen, and sometimes that certainty decreases according to his heedlessness and distraction. This is established even among the Companions, for the Companions said, “O Messenger of Allah, when we are with you and the Paradise and the Fire are mentioned, it is as if we see them with our own eyes. But when we return to our homes and mix with our children and wives, we become heedless.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If you were to remain as you are with me—or a word to that effect—the angels would shake hands with you, but it is only for a moment and a moment.
لو كنتم على ما أنتم عليه عندي -أو كلمة نحوها- لصافحتكم الملائكة ولكن ساعة وساعةwhen Abraham said, "My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead." [Allah] said, "Have you not believed?" He said, "Yes, but [I ask] only that my heart may be satisfied."
قالَ إِبراهيمُ رَبِّ أَرِني كَيفَ تُحيِي المَوتى قالَ أَوَلَم تُؤمِن قالَ بَلى وَلكِن لِيَطمَئِنَّ قَلبيAmong the benefits of this hadith is the virtue of persisting in the deed, even if it is small. But if a person experiences a surge of energy, should he increase or decrease? I fear that if I increase and then leave it off, I will be like the one who used to stand in night prayer and then abandoned it.
The student: The first.
The Shaykh : What do you say?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The first option, meaning he makes the lesser amount that he is able to perform the baseline, and if there is an increase, there is no harm. For example, if a person’s habit is to perform witr with five rak'ahs, and then he wakes up early and wants to perform witr with more, do we say, “Do not perform witr, for fear of a decrease in the coming nights,” or do we say, “Perform witr”?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : We say, perform witr with what you are energetic for. And when you do what you are energetic for, you have persisted in the original deed, and what else?
The student: And an increase.
The Shaykh : And an increase, so it does no harm.