How should a person strengthen his/her Belief?
A Brief Description of the Question:
How should a person strengthen his/her Belief?
The Answer:
Belief is a holy light; a blessing from Allah. However, belief is also knowledge, a fact which should be learnt. There are two ways to strengthen our belief:The very first one is to learn the principles of ahl as-sunnah (those who are loyal to sunnahs of the Prophet (pbuh) ) in the direction of the Book and the Sunnah and consider them with the help of reasoning as a requirement of our century.The second is to purify the heart by doing good deeds and restraining from sins and to progress in spirituality by purifying the carnal soul.However, the situation of this century makes the second way difficult. For this reason, it is of utmost importance to read the books which provide verified lessons of belief. As a requirement of the property of this century, it has become a necessity to learn natural sciences along with religious sciences because, just as the enlightenment for the heart is obtained by religious sciences, the illumination for the mind is obtained by natural sciences. We can say that one of the most important works which present these both together is the Risale-i Nur Collection. Besides, the works of great people like Imam Ghazali, Imam Rabbani, Imam Mawardi and Imam Qurayshi can be utilized as well.Preserving faith and improving it is the most important duty of a believer. To preserve belief in the first place, we should take great care of piety. Belief is preserved in the fortress of piety. Without piety, belief is in danger or deterioration. In order to improve belief, works on belief should be read and considered a lot. Matters on belief through knowledge are not digested by the faculties of man without passing through the rooms of the mind. The satisfaction of the mind comes first.Contemplation (meditation) is very important. Ibrahim’s (peace be upon him) finding Lord by observing the moon and the stars with the help of reasoning is recounted in the Qur’an. Belief develops by reasoning and contemplation. That is why it is stated in a hadith that “one hour’s reasoning and contemplation is worth more than a thousand year’s supererogatory worshipping”.The environment has a significant impact on people. Sins play a suggestive role of disbelief on people. Suggestion has a great effect on people as well. It injects disbelief to the subconscious of people without their being aware of it. For this reason, people should stay away from sinful environments as much as possible. Sins that are freely and fearlessly committed suggest that there is no hereafter or punishment. In order to protect ourselves from the malicious effects of this suggestion, we should stay away from sinful environments as much as possible and should order the good and forbid the evil. In order to recover the effects of imposed malicious suggestion, we should consider the matters on belief and we should pay a lot attention to conveying the message of Islam. We should keep in touch with pious people who care good deeds a lot. With this respect, the importance of community becomes clearer. Just as sins suggest disbelief, so too do good deeds suggest belief.
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