Ways to Strengthen Faith in Allah and the Last Day

Question:
At the beginning of this episode, we return to a message sent to the program by one of our brother listeners. We addressed some of his questions in a previous episode, and in this episode he asks Your Eminence—Shaykh Abdul Aziz—saying: What is the way to strengthen faith in Allah and the Last Day? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon whoever follows his guidance.
As for what follows:
This is an important question, worthy of attention, and it is: What is the way to strengthen faith in Allah and the Last Day?
The way to do so is through many avenues. First: through reflecting on the Noble Qur'an, caring for its recitation, and increasing it, because of the great stories it contains about the Hereafter, Paradise, and the Fire, and about the names and attributes of Allah, and about the news of the messengers (peace be upon them) and their nations. So whoever reflects on the Qur'an, his faith is strengthened and his religion is rectified, if Allah grants him success. So the advice to every believer, male and female, is to care for the Qur'an, increase its recitation, and reflect on its meanings, turning to it with a good intention and a good purpose: the purpose of knowing Allah, strengthening faith in Allah, the purpose of believing in the Hereafter and strengthening that belief, and the purpose of acting in what pleases Allah, brings one closer to Him, benefits in the Hereafter, and becomes a cause of salvation and happiness in the Hereafter.
And among the causes of that is also caring for the hadiths, the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the character of the Companions and the righteous ones. One should listen to the hadiths, listen to the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his deeds, and the deeds of the Companions, their activity in good, and their fear of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) , so that he takes them as his model, takes the righteous as his model, acts like their actions, and strives in that.
And among the causes of strengthening faith is also that one should account for himself and remember that death comes suddenly. What has he done? What has he prepared for his Hereafter? So that he prepares before his term overtakes him. Indeed, accounting for the soul and looking at what the servant has prepared for the Hereafter is among that which strengthens his faith, and among that which helps him in obeying Allah and His Messenger, and among that which helps him to hasten in repenting to Allah from his bad deeds and his shortcomings. All of this is among the causes of the strength of faith, and among the causes of remembering the Hereafter and preparing for it.
And from that is a fourth matter as well, which is the company of the righteous. One should keep their company and sit with them, so that he benefits from their character and their knowledge, and they remind him of the Hereafter and help him in that. This is among the causes.
Similarly, there is a fifth matter, which is attending circles of knowledge. He should seek them, attend them, and benefit from them. And he should listen attentively when hearing sermons, the Friday sermons and other beneficial sermons, and from the broadcasting of the Qur'an. He should listen to the Noble Qur'an, listen to the admonitions and the beneficial seminars, so that he benefits from that, and so that his heart softens and his faith strengthens. May Allah guide them all. Yes.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.