Everyone’s faith fluctuates
6-7-2012 | IslamWeb
Question:
Sometimes I feel I am a hypocrite and at other times I feel I am ostentatious. What should I do?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. In the light of this classification, it becomes clear to the questioner that hypocrisy is something that exists either in one’s belief or in one’s acts and its effects are felt. It is not just a feeling or obsessive doubts. Therefore, if the questioner finds any of the two mentioned types of hypocrisy in himself, may Allaah forbid, then he must hasten to repent. We have previously mentioned the methods of treatment for those who are afflicted with one of the qualities of hypocrisy in Fatwa 5815. However, if what the questioner feels is only a weakness in his consciousness of the fact that Allaah The Almighty is always watching him, or a weakness in his faith, then this is a matter that people are seldom free from. Even the Companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, experienced this. Hanthalah Al-Usayyidi On the other hand, ostentation means seeking to impress people by an exaggerated display of goodness and this is considered Shirk (polytheism). The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, informed his Companions that the thing he feared most for them was minor Shirk, which is ostentation. [Ahmad in his Musnad] Therefore, the one who feels ostentatious must return to Allaah The Almighty in repentance and must worship Him with full sincerity because Allaah The Almighty alone is the One Who rewards His slaves for their worship and grants them mercy by virtue of it. In a Qudsi Hadeeth (sacred narration), Allaah The Almighty tells us that on the Day of Judgment He shall command those who were ostentatious in life to go and seek their reward from those whom they had sought to impress. Allaah Knows best. 
complained that when they were in the company of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, they would ponder over Hell and Paradise as if they could see them with their very eyes. However, when they returned home to their wives, children and business, they would not attain that high state of faith. This made him feel that he was a hypocrite. On hearing this, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, informed him that this is not hypocrisy for faith fluctuates and there is nothing wrong with this as long as one adheres to the commands of Allaah The Almighty and avoids His prohibitions. [Muslim in his Saheeh] Therefore, the ups and downs that one senses in his faith do not make him a hypocrite.