Islamic Studies

How Can We Strenghten Our Faith?

By al-‘Allama Muhammad Hassan Walid al-Dido al-Shanqit

The Question:

How can we strengthen our faith?

This is one of the most important questions one should ask constantly because faith is the greatest thing which a person can embellish, and which one is always in need of strengthening. This is because faith increases and decreases, it is present and at times absent.

The only way for one to increase his faith is by increasing in righteous actions which bring him closer to Allah, listen to beneficial reminders, and increase in the remembrance of Allah and by increasing his knowledge. Thus, if one wants to strengthen his faith, then it is a must that he increases his obedience to Allah. There is no way that one who doesn’t seek to perform extra acts of worship and fails to remember Allah except a little will have the same faith as one who guards his nawafil, increases his remembrance of Allah, completes a reading of the entire Qur’an, give charity and fasts. It is impossible that their faith could be equal. Therefore, if one wants to increase his faith, then he must increase his obedience to Allah and with this increase in obedience his faith will be strengthened and established firm in his soul.

 

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About the author

Suhaib Webb

Suhaib Webb is a contemporary American-Muslim educator, activist, and lecturer. His work bridges classical and contemporary Islamic thought, addressing issues of cultural, social and political relevance to Muslims in the West. After converting to Islam in 1992, Webb left his career in the music industry to pursue his passion in education. He earned a Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Central Oklahoma and received intensive private training in the Islamic Sciences under a renowned Muslim Scholar of Senegalese descent. Webb was hired as the Imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, where he gave khutbas (sermons), taught religious classes, and provided counselling to families and young people; he also served as an Imam and resident scholar in communities across the U.S.

From 2004-2010, Suhaib Webb studied at the world’s preeminent Islamic institution of learning, Al-Azhar University, in the College of Shari`ah. During this time, after several years of studying the Arabic Language and the Islamic legal tradition, he also served as the head of the English Translation Department at Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah.

Outside of his studies at Al-Azhar, Suhaib Webb completed the memorization of the Quran in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. He has been granted numerous traditional teaching licenses (ijazat), adhering to centuries-old Islamic scholarly practice of ensuring the highest standards of scholarship. Webb was named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in 2010.

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  • Mash’Allaah…I’ve heard great things about this shaykh. Akhee Suhaib..do you know what one can do to study under him or Sh. Abdullah bin Bayyah??

  • I think the brother above is confusing those with similar names, one with a similar namesake.

    The one I’m thinking of is: Imaam Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqeetee, the great scholar of Ahl-us-Sunnah. Scholarship ran in the family, praise be to Allah. In 1371H, he was called to teach in the educational institutes and colleges of Riyadh. Then he moved to Madeenah to teach in the Islaamic University there. The Shaykh died on the forenoon of Thursday, the 17th of Dhul-Hijjah, 1393H. His death occurred in Makkah on his return from Hajj. He was buried in the Mi’alaa graveyard and his funeral prayer was held in the Ka’bah after the Dhuhr prayer of that same day. Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez Ibn ‘Abdillaah Ibn Baaz prayed over him, along with all the other Muslims that attended, may Allaah have mercy on him.

    They are different people brother, the one I think you are referring to is Muhammad Al Ameen Ash-Shanqeetee.

    [A more thorough bio can be found at theclearpath website, inshaALLAH.]

    wALLAHU ta’ala Alam

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