8 Ways to Build Certainty in Muslims' Hearts
Among the
greatest ranks of faith, the very soul of all deeds and the measure of
steadfastness in facing trials—is certainty. It is
this certainty that the Noble Quran nurtured, that the trustworthy Messenger (peace be
upon him) cultivated, and that the Companions,
the Successors, and all people of spiritual discipline upon the Straight Path
continued to build until the Day of Judgment.
The Reason for the Revelation of the Verse [At-Tawbah 9:51]
The
hypocrites stayed behind from the expedition of Tabuk and began spreading negative rumors about the Prophet (peace be upon him) and those who fought alongside him. This distressed
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
so Allah Revealed: {Say, “Nothing will ever befall
us except what Allah has destined for us.
He is our Protector.” So in Allah let
the believers put their trust.”} [At-Tawbah 9:51]
Meaning:
O Muhammad, say to these hypocrites who abandoned you: Nothing will happen to
us—O you who doubt your faith—except what Allah has Written for us in the
Preserved Tablet. He is our Protector and the One who grants us victory over
His enemies. (1)
This
verse affirms that the believer must never be shaken by the words of hypocrites,
those who spread doubt and fear among people. Protection from such influence is
achieved only through certainty in what Allah has Prepared for His servants.
Ways to Build Certainty in the Hearts of Believers
1. Knowing That There Is No
Faith Without Certainty
Allah
Described the believers as people of certainty: {And
who believe in what has been revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺1 and what was revealed before you, and
have sure faith in the Hereafter.} [Al-Baqarah 2:4]
Ibn
Mas`ud said: “Certainty is the entirety of faith.” (2)
Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “Certainty, in relation to faith, is like the soul in
relation to the body.” (3)
2. Belief in Divine Decree
and Predestination
A
believer cannot attain certainty unless he believes that everything that
happens in the universe of Allah is pre-ordained. This is stated in the verse: {Say, “Nothing will ever befall us except what Allah has
destined for us.} [At-Tawbah 9:51]
At-Tirmidhi
and Ahmad narrated that Ibn `Abbas said: “One
day I was behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) [riding
on the same mount] and he turned to me and said: ‘O young man, be mindful of
Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in
front of you. Recognize and acknowledge Allah in times of ease and prosperity,
and He will remember you in times of adversity. The Pen is dried upon what will
occur. If all creation were to gather to benefit you with something Allah has
not decreed for you, they would never be able to. And if they gathered to harm
you with something Allah has not decreed against you, they could never do so.’”
In Sunan
Abu Dawud, it is narrated from Abu Hafsah that `Ubadah Ibn As-Samit said to his
son: Son! You will not get the taste of the
reality of faith until you know that what has come to you could not miss you,
and that what has missed you could not come to you. I heard the Messenger of
Allah (peace be upon him) say: “The first thing Allah created
was the pen. He said to it: Write. It asked: What should I write, my Lord? He
said: Write what was decreed about everything till the Last Hour comes. Son! I
heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say : He who dies on something other
than this does not belong to me.”
3. Reminding of Quranic
Verses
Al-Rabi` Ibn
Abi Salih said: “I entered upon Sa`id Ibn Jubayr when he was brought to Al-Hajjaj.
A man began to weep, so Sa`id asked him, ‘Why are you crying?’ He replied,
‘Because of what has happened to you.’ Sa`id said, ‘Do not cry. It was in the
knowledge of Allah that this would happen.’
Then he recited: {No calamity ˹or blessing˺ occurs on earth or in yourselves
without being ˹written˺ in a
Record before We bring it into being. This is certainly easy for Allah.} [Al-Hadid
57:22]” (4)
4. Reflecting upon the
Signs in the Universe and Within Ourselves
Allah
Commands reflection upon the
heavens and the earth with the creatures they contain, as a means of building
faith: {Say, ˹O
Prophet,˺ “Consider all that is in the heavens and
the earth!” Yet neither signs nor warners are of
any benefit to those who refuse to believe.} [Yunus 10:101]
He
further Says, {And in your own creation, and
whatever living beings He dispersed, are signs for people of sure faith.} [Al-Jathiyah
45:4]
And: {There are ˹countless˺ signs
on earth for those with sure faith, as there are within yourselves. Can you not
see?} [Adh-Dhariyat 51:20–21]
5. Recognizing the Divine
Patterns Signs in Creation
The universal
laws of Allah nurture certainty in the hearts of believers
because they are fixed, constant, and apply to all people without favoritism.
Allah
Says, {Similar situations came to pass before you,
so travel throughout the land and see the fate of the deniers.} [Ali `Imran
3:137]
{Are they awaiting anything but the fate of those ˹destroyed˺ before? You will find no change in the
way of Allah, nor will you find it diverted ˹to someone else˺.} [Fatir 35:43]
{˹This is˺ Allah’s way, already long established ˹in the past˺. And you will find no change in Allah’s way.} [Al-Fath 48:23]
One
example is the divine law of alternation (victory and defeat): {We alternate these days ˹of victory and defeat˺ among people.} [Ali `Imran 3:140]
6. Keeping the Company of
the Righteous and the People of Certainty
Ibn Al-Qayyim
said: “Keeping the company of the righteous knowledgeable moves you from six
states to six others: From doubt to certainty, from showing off to sincerity, from
heedlessness to remembrance of Allah, from worldly desire to desire for the
Hereafter, from arrogance to humility, from ill intention to sincere advice.”
(5)
7. Reinforcing Certainty
Through Historical Stories
Allah
States that the stories of previous nations strengthen believers through victory and empowerment that occur within: {And
all that We relate to you of the stories of the messengers is to strengthen
your heart thereby.} [Hud 11:120]
Al-Bukhari
narrated from Khabbab Ibn Al-Arat: “We
complained to Allah's Messenger (peace be
upon him) (of the
persecution inflicted on us by the infidels) while he was sitting in the shade
of the Ka`ba, leaning over his Burd (i.e. covering sheet). We said to him,
‘Would you seek help for us? Would you pray to Allah for us?’ He said, ‘Among
the nations before you a (believing) man would be put in a ditch that was dug
for him, and a saw would be put over his head and he would be cut into two
pieces; yet that (torture) would not make him give up his religion. His body
would be combed with iron combs that would remove his flesh from the bones and
nerves, yet that would not make him abandon his religion. By Allah, this
religion (i.e. Islam) will prevail till a traveler from Sana (in Yemen) to
Hadrarmaut will fear none but Allah, or a wolf as regards his sheep, but you
(people) are hasty.’”
The
Prophet (peace
be upon him) used the stories of the righteous
before to plant certainty in the heart of Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with
him), and in the hearts of all believers to come.
8. Supplication (Du`a’)
At-Tirmidhi
narrated, with a good chain of narration by Al-Albani, that Ibn `Umar (may
Allah be pleased with him) said that God’s messenger seldom got up to leave an
assembly without using these supplications for his companions: “O God, apportion to us such fear of Thee as will come
between us and acts of disobedience to Thee, such obedience to Thee as will
bring us to Thy paradise, and such certainty that the calamities of this world
will be made easy for us by Thee..”
In the
Musnad of Imam Ahmad, with an authentic chain of narration, it is reported that
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) addressed the people and said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
‘O people, the people are not given anything better in this world than
certainty of faith and well-being, so ask Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, for them.’”
Abu Yazid
Al-Mada’ini said: “One of the supplications of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq was: ‘O Allah,
grant me faith, certainty, health, and sincerity.’” (6)
Also Read:
- Achieve Inner Victory Before External Victory
- Human Beings and Their Attributes in the Qur'anic Perspective
- Joy of Secret Invocation to Allah - Munajah
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Footnotes:
(1)
Tafsir At-Tabari
(14/290)
(2)
Sahih Al-Bukhari (1/11)
(3)
Madarij As-Salikin
(3/170)
(4)
Siyar A`lam An-Nubala’ by Adh-Dhahabi (4/337)
(5)
Madarij As-Salikin (4/294)
(6)
Hayat As-Sahabah by Al-Kandahlawi (3/186)
