Question:
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum,
I am a 24-year-old girl. My problem is that I am far from Allah The Almighty. I used to be observant and religious but now I have gradually begun to neglect many things. I no longer experience the sweetness of faith and the happiness of being close to Allah. I blame myself a lot, and thus, although I stand up and performablution for prayer, I keep delaying it from one time to another until its fixed time expires. I no longer savor the taste of Ramadan and fasting.
I want to draw closer to Allah and abandon disobedience. However, I feel that I no longer have the flame of faith in my heart, as it was before. I want to return, but I feel that I am unable to do so.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Ever Merciful
Dear sister, Assalaamu ‘Alaykum,
Without further ado, the first thing I want to ask you is: What have you prepared for the meeting with Allah The Almighty? What will be your answer before Allah The Almighty when you have neglected the greatest obligation in Islam next to the two testimonies of faith?
What will be your fate when death suddenly attacks you without giving you respite even for one moment?
What is the matter, sister? How have you become overcome by the devil and the evil inclinations of your soul, given up prayers and removed yourself from the circle of the righteous and obedient people and replaced this with deeds which are displeasing to your Lord, Creator and Protector? Allah The Almighty is fully acquainted with your secret and public affairs as well as each thought you have.
You have to stop this in a way befitting sensible and rightly guided girls like yourself. Listen to Allah The Almighty, Who Says (what means): {Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is The Forgiving, The Merciful."} [Quran 39: 53]
You should return to Allah The Almighty in repentance and remember that a good life is attained when one is obedient to Allah The Almighty, true happiness is attained by submission to Him and showing humility; even honor and dignity are attained by obeying Allah The Almighty. Thus, if you want a happy and good life, here is the verse in which Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.} [Quran 16: 97]
If you want forgiveness and honor, here are the sayings of the Prophet, :
The fit of negligence you are experiencing and the sins you are committing can be easily treated, by the permission of Allah The Almighty. Regardless of how great your sin is, repentance wipes it out. Rather, the good and righteous deeds wipe out misdeeds, as Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds.} [Quran 11: 114]
What you have to do is to stand up, perform ablution, purify yourself for meeting your Lord, The Generous, Who continues to envelop you with tolerance and covers your sins, stand before His Majesty with humbleness and submissiveness and call Him during prostration: "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." You should call Him while admitting your sin and saying: "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me." What will be your status after that? You will be one of those concerning whom Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know. Those - their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens beneath which rivers flow [in Paradise], wherein they will abide eternally; and excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers.} [Quran 3: 135-136]
Here are some tips that you have to take care of:
1 – Keenness to accompany righteous Muslim sisters, for the believers are like a building whose different parts enforce each other.
2 – Moderation in worship: You should not assign yourself too many prayers, fasts, as well as other acts of obedience and good deeds. Rather, it is enough for you to perform of the voluntary prayers, the prayers before and after the obligatory ones along with the Shaf‘ (even) and Witr (odd) prayers. As for fasting, it is enough for you to fast the month of Ramadan, as the Prophet, , said: "Whoever fasts of Ramadan out of faith and in hope of a reward from Allah, his past sins will be forgiven."
3 – Hastening to repentance: Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
4 - Whenever you commit a sin, you must repent and ask for forgiveness -- do not sit down, abandon all actions and think that you are being a hypocrite or other such insinuations, which the devil whispers to you.
5 – You should often supplicate Allah The Almighty and entreat Him to keep you steadfast on religiousness. We ask Allah The Almighty to keep you steadfast on religiousness and grant you His pleasure. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out, and will provide for him from where he does not expect.} [Quran 65: 2-3]
May Allah grant you success to do what He loves and approves.