Answer
Asalamu Alaikum,
Thank you for contacting About Islam with your question.
Ustadh Amjad Tarsin from SeekersHub addresses this question in the video below:
Transcript:
Firstly, the fact that you’re asking this question and the fact that you’re seeking to return back to Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala) is a sign that Allah has willed you to come closer to Him.
So, even though you might feel like you’re in a slump or even though the Shaitaan might whisper to you that you might have all of these mistakes that you’ve made in the past, and that those mistakes will be a barrier between you and Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala)— not to listen to that.
But to keep your hope strong in your generous and merciful and compassionate Lord who gave you every blessing. And one of the things that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us is that as long as we have life, the door to repentance is wide open.
So, one of the things that I would recommend is never losing hope: is always recognizing that we should have a good opinion of Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala), that Allah is more merciful than we can possibly imagine.
But we need to take those steps and the fact that you’re seeking is a beautiful sign that you’re already on that path. So, number one is don’t lose hope.
Number two is to seek good company. And if you don’t have good company around you, ask Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala) to bless you with righteous friends and righteous company. The Prophet (Salaallah alayhi wa sallam) said, a person is upon the religion of their close friend.
So, choose your close friends wisely. So, one of the things is that even if you feel like I’m not a good person: I’m not doing things right. If you associate yourself with people who have beautiful character, who are obeying Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala), constantly in the remembrance of Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala). then that will rub off on to you.
And you will benefit from being in their company even if you don’t feel like you have those qualities within yourself. So, number two is seek out good company. If you have some time off now and you’re able to dedicate some time to being in those gatherings, seek them out.
And if they’re not available, ask Allah to guide you to people who are like that.
And then number three is to recognize it’s a process. The path Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala), that this deen is not just something that happens overnight where you get everything right. But that is actually a journey.
And whether it’s related to your prayers or whether it’s related to your character with your parents or whether it’s related to getting over bad habits of the ego or things like that is that it’s a process.
And one of the righteous scholars, he said, just go to Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala) whether you’re limping and broken because we can’t wait for perfection. Perfection doesn’t happen until we get closer to Allah (Subhanahu WA Ta’ala) and even then, we’re always in need of Him.
So, recognize that it is a process …
Continue watching for the rest of the advice. I hope this helps answer your question. You can also check out more from SeekersHub at the link here.
Walaikum Asalam. Please keep in touch.
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links: