Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir- Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Opening
Friends who are blessed by Allah,
Have you ever felt a day when worship feels so delightful, tears flow easily during supplication, and the heart is utterly serene? Yet on another day, faith suddenly feels bland, prayer feels heavy, and the mind is easily distracted by worldly affairs? If you have ever felt that, do not be discouraged or think you are the most hypocritical person in the world.Because ordinary humans—apart from the prophets—will always experience phases of change or fluctuation in their spiritual stability. Moments of inner closeness, tranquility, and the radiance of divine light are strongly influenced by the level of consistency in our obedience. Faith is dynamic; it is not a lifeless object that stays fixed at one point.
Psychologically and spiritually, the human inner state is indeed designed with a rhythm [spiritual rhythm]. This fluctuation is sunnatullah [the way of Allah] so that humans do not become arrogant and always feel the need to lean on Allah SWT. In the science of creed, scholars have formulated that the basic characteristic of human faith is _Yazīdu wa Yanquṣ_—it can increase with obedience, and decrease with negligence.Allah SWT affirms the nature of faith that can grow stronger when His verses are heard in the Qur’an:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely.”[QS. Al-Anfāl: 2]
This dynamic ebb and flow of faith was once complained about by the best of Companions to Rasulullah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ offered a very soothing solution in his saying:
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْ تَدُومُونَ عَلَى مَا تَكُونُونَ عِنْدِي وَفِي الذِّكْرِ لَصَافَحَتْكُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عَلَى فُرُشِكُمْ وَفِي طُرُقِكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ يَا حَنْظَلَةُ سَاعَةً وَسَاعَةً
“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if you were to remain continuously in the state you are in when you are with me and in remembrance, the angels would shake hands with you on your beds and in your pathways. But, O Hanzalah, it is time by time [there is a time for this and a time for that].”
[HR. Muslim]
2. Lessons and Message
Let us look at an extraordinary inner drama on the streets of Madinah. One day, Companion Ḥanẓalah RA was walking while sobbing uncontrollably. He lamented over himself, crying out in anguish, “Ḥanẓalah has become a hypocrite! Ḥanẓalah has become a hypocrite!”Hearing that lament, Companion Abū Bakr Aṣ-Ṣiddīq RA was startled and asked, “Subḥānallāh, what are you saying?”Ḥanẓalah answered with tears streaming, “O Abū Bakr, when we sit in the gathering of Rasulullah ﷺ, he reminds us of Paradise and Hell as if we are seeing them with our own eyes. Our faith is so high! But once we return home, busy playing with our wives and children, and tending to our business, we forget much about the Hereafter!”Hearing Ḥanẓalah’s inner honesty, Abū Bakr did not judge. He instead wept along and said, “By Allah, I feel the same way.” These two noble men wept together by the roadside out of anxiety over the fluctuation of their faith, until they finally brought the matter to the Prophet ﷺ. How saddening to see their fear, yet how moving to see how faithful they were in guarding the purity of their hearts.
So we can respond to the ups and downs of faith in a relaxed yet wise way, let us use an analogy about “Wi-Fi Signal and Internet Data.”Imagine our faith is like the Wi-Fi signal on our smartphone. When we are near the “transmitter”—meaning when we attend a study circle, pray in congregation at the mosque, or read the Qur’an—our faith signal instantly goes Full Bar, 5G, smooth with no buffering! We feel so strong, like if a devil’s temptation passed by we could smack it down immediately. But once we get home, open social media, see shopping discounts, or run into stressful work matters… bam, the signal suddenly drops to one bar, and sometimes even turns into No Service, a disconnected connection!
The funny thing is, many people nowadays immediately panic and roll on the floor when their faith signal drops. They think their “soul phone” is totally broken and beyond saving, so they decide to skip prayer altogether.Yet the solution is very simple: when the signal is weak, don’t move farther from the transmitter! Walk closer to the “Main Router” of life—your prayer mat, dhikr, and gatherings of knowledge. Don’t expect your faith signal to be full if your heart keeps hiding inside the “bunker of worldly heedlessness,” dude! It’s normal for the signal to go up and down; what matters is that your “faith phone” doesn’t die completely because the worship battery runs out.
3. Conclusion & Closing
Friends, the profound moral message from the dynamics of faith fluctuation is an invitation to make peace with the process, while remaining disciplined in maintaining boundaries. Being a good Muslim does not mean we must become angels who never feel boredom or a dip in motivation. When your faith is at its peak [high tide phase], use that energy to multiply your voluntary deeds as much as possible. But when your faith is at its lowest point [low tide phase], pull the emergency brake: make sure you stay disciplined in safeguarding the five obligatory prayers, and do not slip into the valley of sin. Do it time by time, with istiqāmah.[steadfastness]
May Allah SWT always keep our hearts pulsing with faith, and return us into the embrace of His mercy whenever we start to step away.
. والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Abu Sultan Al-Qadrie
