As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu everyone. Welcome back to the Faith Revival. So last time we talked about the meanings of iman and how a person can recognize where they need to strengthen their iman by looking at their insecurity. If I have insecurity
in a particular attribute in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then I need to focus on reestablishing my iman in Allah in that way. But when it comes to faith, all of us will recognize that
over time faith wears out. It doesn't take a hadith for you to recognize that because you might remember a time where you felt really close to Allah and now you feel like you're distant from him and you feel like you've gone back on some of the things that you were
able to attain and you start wondering what happened. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says in this particular hadith, authentic narration, he says, إِنَّ الْإِمَانَ لَيَخْلَقُ فِي جَوْفِ أَحَدِكُمْ كَمَا يَخْلَقُ الثَّوْبُ
He said that faith wears out in your hearts the way that your garments would wear out. Now think about this, if you throw your garment into the washing machine over and over and
over again it starts to lose its color. You bought it new and even if you're taking care of that garment it starts to lose its color just by the amount of washing that it goes through. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is saying it's natural that your faith is
going to wear out the same way that your garments would wear out. Now there's a difference between taking your garment and getting stains all over it and not washing it when the stains come on it or tearing holes into your garment. So you can take care of it and still it will
lose some of its color but there's a difference between someone who takes care of it and someone who doesn't take care of it at all. Nevertheless the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is telling us it is natural that your faith is going to wear out. And here's the thing about
your Iman, it may be one color or it may be that it was strong because of a particular incident that happened to you in life or some sort of occurrence or something that really touched you at that particular moment. And maybe what's going to renew it is something
entirely different because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has opened many many many doors for us to be reminded of Him and to have our faith renewed. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam continues in this hadith and he gives us the first place we should go to. He says
Fas'alullaha ta'ala, he says ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and yujaddida imanakum that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would revive your faith, that Allah would renew your faith. Before
we get into any of the practical tips here, it starts off with asking Allah. Ask God, the one who enables your heart, the one who puts faith in you, the one who responds to
you. Ask Him to renew your faith and that should be frequent in your du'as to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in your supplications. So while you're praying for a new job, while
you're praying for some sort of sustenance in this world, while you're praying for something to happen to you, for a new car, for God to ease the path of something for you, don't
forget to constantly ask Allah to renew your iman because your faith is your greatest blessing, it's your most precious asset. If that is gone then everything else is to no good, is
not going to benefit you in any way. If it is strong then everything else of this world can be bore. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam says, ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
fas'alullah, ask Allah and yujaddida imanakum that He would revive your faith. Abdullah bin Mas'ud radiAllahu anhu gives us a supplication and I want you to memorize this supplication
on the basis of this hadith. He used to say, Allahumma zidna imanan wayaqeenan wa fiqha. Oh Allah, revive us in our faith, in our certainty, in our understanding. So asking Allah for
increase in your faith, in your conviction, your certainty, in your yaqeen, and in your understanding of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Anytime you come across a dua which talks
about this increase, which talks about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala enabling you. So for example the best dua that Imam bin Taymiyyah rahimAllah mentioned is the dua, the supplication the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam taught Mu'adh as he sent him off to Yemen. Allahumma
inni ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni ibadatika. Oh Allah, enable me to properly remember you and to thank you and to worship you. And he said because you're asking the enabler to enable you. Ya muqallibal quloob, thabbit qalbi ala deenik. Oh turner of hearts, make
my heart firm. When you ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to purify your soul, ask the enabler to enable you. Ask the one who can truly purify to purify you. Ask of him subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And that's the best thing that you can do for your iman is to constantly ask Allah and he forces you to in your prayer when you say ihdinas sirat al mustaqeem. Guide us to the straight path every single time you recite the opening chapter. So again the dua is Allahumma
zidna imanan wa yaqinan wa fiqha. Oh Allah increase us in faith, in conviction, and in
understanding. Allahumma ameen. See you all next time inshaAllah. As-salamu alaykum wa
Sultan al-Alaihi wa barakootuh.
