You learn about the beauties of a voluntary act of worship that’s beloved to Allah and decide to start becoming consistent with it.

Then the whispers start trickling in.

You’re not doing it with full intention. Stop.

Why are you doing it so many times? At this point it’s giving bid’ah (innovation).

Did you really just do it in front of someone? Girl, I’m starting to question whether or not you’re actually doing this for Allah.

In the beginning of our journey towards being consistent with a voluntary form of worship—whether it’s staying consistent with your sunnah prayers, reading a certain portion of the Qur’an every day, or persisting in a form of worship—it feels great. We’re going with the flow, we’re even tasting some of the sweetness that comes with performing this good deed. Then, right when you start getting the hang of it—right when you feel like you’re about to reach a breakthrough of something beautiful—something forces you to an abrupt halt.

Now, it doesn’t always have to be so abrupt. Sometimes it’s, Maybe you should tone it down a little with this form of worship. You don’t want to burn yourself out.

Or, It’s fine, bro. You don’t have to reach your goal EVERY day. It’s not even obligatory, just chill.

(Notice how for some reason these thoughts only pop up when you’re locking in on something beneficial and never when we’re being consistent in a harmful action?? Anyways.)

So you start doing a little less.

Then the next week, a little less.

And then, once you’re down to the absolute bare minimum, you think, I’m so far behind on my goals. What’s the point of staying consistent anymore?

By that point, your motivation is lower than the Mariana Trench, so you decide to give up. Not because you don’t enjoy engaging in this good deed, or because it’s too hard. But because the whispers trickled in, little by little each day, until it got to a point where you decide you just don’t want to deal with them anymore.

This actually happened to someone I know. She wanted to start bettering herself by focusing on small, consistent good deeds… until the whispers hit her. Hard.

She almost gave up, but the one thing she told me, by the will of Allah, saved her: sticking to her morning and evening dhikr, especially what’s known as Taajul Dhikr (The Crown of Remembrance).

Taajul Dhikr is the part of your morning and evening adhkar where you say, La ilaha illal-lah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahul- hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shai’in qadir (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. He is the Only One and has no partners, for Him is the Kingdom and all the praises are due for Him, and He is Omnipotent) one hundred times, both in the morning and right before the evening.

She then told me that her whole life she’s been dealing with these whispers that creep up whenever she decides to become consistent in any voluntary action, but after listening to a podcast episode by Sumayah Hassan (which is an amazing podcast, Allahuma Baarik), she decided to take her advice to protect herself further by repeating Taajul Dhikr over the minimum amount (which is 100 times).

I mean, it made so much sense to do so. The Prophet ﷺ said whoever says it a hundred times will get the same reward as given for manumitting ten slaves, and one hundred good deeds will be written in his accounts, and one hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts, and it will be a shield for him from shaytan on that day till night, and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the one who does more than he.1

She also had no other choice. Her whispers were LOUD-loud. To the point where she almost couldn’t continue with her day.

She first did it 200 times. Felt slightly better. Then 300. A little better. 400. Felt a lot better than she did before. But then by 500… silence.

After dealing with these whispers for over a decade, the first time in her life, her mind was… quiet.

It was so peaceful, she told me, just as Sumayah described on her podcast episode, where it feels like the kind of peace you have in Ramadan.

Let me leave you with one last thing.

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, his companions came to him and said, “Messenger of Allah! We have thoughts which we cannot dare talk about and we do not like that we have them or talk about them. He said, “Have you experienced that?” They replied, “Yes.” He said, “That is clear faith.”2

Did you catch that?

You disliking these thoughts is a sign they’re not from your Nafs. It’s from the shaytan.

The shaytan is only whispering because you’re strong; you’re actively focused on pleasing your Creator. So don’t be afraid. Put your trust in Allah and tie your camel.

Allah gave you a gift and a shield to protect yourself with, which is the morning and evening adhkar/prayers, including Taajul Dhikr. Even if you have to repeat it 100, 500, or 1,000 times, keep going.

Start with these Adhkar before you begin your day, because Allah is the only true protector. Seek refuge in Allah when you come across those whispers and try your best to treat them like the dead leaves that fall from trees. You’ll begin to see how shaytan’s logic is truly weak, filled with nothing but fallacies and holes.

May Allah make it easy for us to stay consistent in our good deeds and purify our intentions. And may He be pleased with us the day we return to Him.

Your fellow human being who is currently admiring trees,
Asmaa

She said, “The goal is to become a walking Qur’an like sallallahu alaihi wasallam Muhammad was. Pick one ayah, then perhaps you can become a walking Surah. And perhaps then, we can be walking Qur’ans.” (source)

She gave an example where she said imagine if someone made it their mission to live by the ayah, “So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him].”1

Her point was, imagine the entire ummah decided to live by this one verse of the Qur’an. Imagine a world where we weren’t lenient in allowing wars to happen, watching the displacement of people from their homes, and the erasure of entire bloodlines, all because our sole goal was to protect orphans. How much of humanity would we save?

This got me thinking about the beauty of the Qur’an. With just one verse, we can benefit so much. In fact, every verse of the Qur’an has something that we can learn from and live by, even if the only verse we read was Alif Laam Meem.

“But how?” you’re probably thinking. “No one knows the meaning behind this verse, so how could we possibly live by it?”

You’re right. Nobody knows the true wisdom behind Alif Laam Meem, but that’s the whole point!

A person who comes across this verse and ponders upon it could take away a very powerful lesson. Not a single scholar knows what this word means. Not the Prophet (ﷺ), not any of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and no one today knows the true meaning behind it. It has a meaning that Allah decided to keep to Himself.

However, they also understand that no verse Allah has revealed is without wisdom and benefit for the believers. Just as we can’t see the full wisdom behind this verse, yet have full certainty that there’s a reason behind them, these people apply this lesson to the way they live their lives. They trust in Allah when they can see the wisdom behind things, when it makes sense, but also trust in Him when it doesn’t. Because they understand that we have the pixel, and Allah has the picture.

Imagine if we all made it our mission to live by the ayah, “And I said, ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver,’”2 and became people who constantly ask Allah for forgiveness.

How many blessings would Allah shower us with? How many sins would be wiped away as if we’ve never done them? How much joy would we find due to our ranks in the Hereafter?

So as you read the Qur’an today, ponder how you can live by its verses.

For every ayah we read that talks about the characteristics of hypocrites, we can say, “What part of my behavior do I need to change to become the opposite of that?”

For every ayah that talks about the characteristics of the people of Jannah, we can ask ourselves, “Is there a characteristic from these people I’m already doing that I do more of?”

My final message for you is this.

What’s that one good deed or characteristic Allah has made easy for you? Hold onto that. Make it your goal to hone in on it and stay consistent with it, no matter how small.

Because if we try to become an ummah that walks the ayahs of the Qur’an, perhaps we can fill the world with so much beauty. And perhaps, someday, we can become walking Qur’ans. May Allah make us all people of the Qur’an and allow it to intercede for us on the Day of Judgement.

From your girl who currently needs to get back to studying so she won’t be cooked,
Asmaa

Abu Hanifah instructed him to go back home and pray until he remembered. “It was what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to do. Whenever he was in distress, he rushed to prayer.”

So the man did.

As he began praying, the shaytan started to whisper, reminding him of where he’d buried the money.

The next morning, he came back to Abu Hanifah, his face bright with joy. He’d found his money.

Abu Hanifah explained to him that he knew the shaytan would not let him spend the entire night in worship.

Once he sees that you’re committed to an act of worship, the shaytan will do anything and everything to stop you from continuing. Whether that’s by distracting you, giving you solutions, or—like in the case of the man in this story—reminding you of what you forgot. It’s the same reason we feel like our minds are empty, yet the moment we stand to pray, we start having shower thoughts.

I forgot to reply to that person’s message.

I just got the best business idea ever. (You’re not even a business person.)

Oh my God, I forgot to submit the assignment that’s due in an hour.

But there will always be one thing the shaytan will try his best to make sure you never do. And that’s to make istighfar.

Try it for yourself. Sit down and try to make a certain number of istighfars (let’s say 500-1,000 times), and next thing you know, you’re in the garage building a shelf from scratch (or doing that one assignment you forgot about that’s due at 11:59pm).

You might even find yourself distracted by voluntary acts of worship. Reading Qur’an. Making tasbih. Anything.

“But isn’t reciting Qur’an and doing voluntary acts of worship a good thing?”

Of course it’s a good thing for us to busy ourselves with other acts of worship. However, we cannot deny the fruits we get from asking Allah for forgiveness.

In Surat Nuh, Allah tells us that Nuh (peace be upon him) told his people, “Ask forgiveness of your Lord: He is ever forgiving. He will shower you with abundant rain, supply you with wealth and children, and give you gardens as well as rivers.”1

Keep in mind, Allah promises us all of these things from the mere act of asking Him for forgiveness (before we even repent).

Why is that?

Because istighfar softens the hearts and helps them lean towards repentance.

Why do you think Nuh (peace be upon him) told his people to make istighfar before even telling them to repent?

Why Houd (peace be upon him) told his people to make istighfar, then repent?

Why Shu’aib (peace be upon him) told his people to make istighfar... then repent?

It also makes me think, if Allah promises us all of this just from making istighfar, then imagine what we’ll get after repenting! Subhanallah, He truly is Al-Lateef (The One who is kind to His servants and endows them).

One of the scholars was asked, “Which is more beneficial to a person, glorifying Allah (tasbih) or praying for forgiveness (istighfar)?”

He said, “If the garment is clean, then incense and rosewater are better for it, and if it is dirty, then soap and hot water are better for it.”

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) added, “What about if the garment is still dirty?”2

Meaning, if you have a dirty garment, which would you do first? Clean it with soap and water or spray it with perfume?

It’s the same with our sins. We all sin in life, and there’s no guarantee that we won’t sin tomorrow. That’s why it’s important for us to prioritize purifying our garments (asking Allah for forgiveness for our sins) every day before we focus on spraying them with perfume (beautifying our Book of Deeds with voluntary acts of worship after holding onto the obligatory actions of course).

It makes me wonder, if the shaytan tries so hard to stop us from istighfar, what barakah and sweetness is he trying to keep us from tasting?

May Allah allow us to become from those who remember Him often, and make it easier for us to stay consistent in asking for His forgiveness.

From your fellow human being who’s lowkey still trying to figure out Substack,
Asmaa

Well, let me tell you a true story.

Someone I know was once having a conversation with a group of people. She was enjoying it, having fun socializing and making connections.

She then told me that she didn’t know what got into her, but something inside her suddenly said: Let me make istighfar.

So she started doing it in the midst of the two-way conversation, and the moment she did, a chill went down her spine.

Dang… this conversation doesn’t sound right. I think I need to leave.

It turned out they were actually backbiting someone. She didn’t realize it at first, and neither did the other two people. She knew she had to leave to avoid gossiping.

But even though she wanted to leave… she couldn’t.

Whenever she tried to change the subject, it went back to backbiting.

Whenever she tried to change the tone of the conversation, it got negative again.

Whenever she tried to defend the person they were talking about, it just made them take another jab at them to hammer in their point.

This is a nightmare, she thought. And it was. But she also knew this was a test from Allah, so she asked, Ya Allah, please save me.

After a while of remaining silent during the conversation and constantly looking for an out, she realized something. Out of regret, she had stopped making istighfar at some point.

Let me start making istighfar again. Perhaps Allah will find a way out for me.

And I’m telling you, immediately once she started doing so, she found an easy solution.

“Guys, it’s dhuhr2 time. I’m going to go make wudu3.”

She left and never came back.

“I don’t know why I didn’t do that earlier!” she told me later on.

You see, when you make istighfar, something inside you wakes up.

Istighfar not only awakens your senses as to what’s right and wrong, but it also lifts the blindfold created by sins that covers your ability to see solutions.

All of a sudden, what’s common sense is common sense again. Your brain’s gears get back to shifting, and you can finally hear your heart beating.

People always tell you, “Make sure you don’t make dhikr4 unless you’re completely focused. Otherwise, you won’t get the full reward.”

And although that’s true, it doesn’t mean that if you do it while your mind is occupied, you won’t get any reward. It won’t the same reward you get when you do it while focused of course, but don’t let the Shaytan (the devil) trick you into receiving NO reward at all.

Because when you’re standing at the gates of Jannah5 (may Allah make this our destination!), you’ll be thinking: “Oh, I wish I’d spent those three seconds making dhikr! Perhaps I would have gotten an even bigger reward.”

Jannah is a home that you’ll stay in forever. We have to prepare for it and renovate it in any way we can, and the easiest way to do that is through dhikr. It’s so easy, yet so heavy on our scales on the Day of Judgement.

The Tabi’i ‘Umar Mawla Ghufrah said:
“On the Day of Judgement, when the veil revealing the rewards of actions is lifted, people will not see any action with greater reward than dhikr. Then, some people will feel regret and say, ‘There was nothing easier for us than doing dhikr.”
Source: Recorded by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim in Al-Wabil al-Sayyib (p. 237).

Let’s make an intention to have dhikr always on our tongues. May Allah make us from those who do not feel this regret on the day of judgment and make our tongues utter the words that save us, not destroy us.