Protecting Yourself from Fitnah
No doubt we are living in a time of great fitnah (trails and temptations). So more than ever, we need to seek ways to ensure that we don’t fall into such trials. We need to ensure that our faiths and religious commitments are safeguarded so that we prosper and succeed.
So, how can we protect our religious commitments from such trials and temptations ? Here are a few tips to take to help us preserve and strengthen our faiths and what we can do if you have already fallen into such trials:
1. Keep away from corrupted environments. Avoid being in places and around those who will corrupt your religious commitments and morals. Don’t mix with evildoers and those who will pressure you into sin. Be around the righteous Muslims who will encourage you to perform good deeds and warn you of the bad. Refrain from going to countries and living with those who will cause you to compromise your religious commitments. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “A man will follow the way of his close friend, so let one of you look at who he takes as a close friend.” [Abu Dawood & At-Tirmidhi, who classed it as hasan]
2. Adhere to the Quran and Sunnah. As much as you can, commit yourself to performing obligatory acts of worship and refrain from that which Allah has prohibited you from. Hold strong to your prayers while fulfilling its necessary conditions with the proper concentration and humility. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “…and perform As-Salât (prayers). Verily, As-Salât (the prayers) prevents from Al-Fahshâ’ (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed)” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:45].
The Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Hasten to do good deeds before there emerges fitnah like a piece of black night, when a man will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever in the evening, or he will be a believer in the evening and a disbeliever in the morning, and he will sell his religion for worldly gain.” [Muslim]
3. Seek Allah’s Help. Make lots of du’a (supplication). Ask Allah to guide you and protect you from every type of fitnah (hidden and apparent). Use the recommended supplications taught by the Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding protecting one’s religious commitments from trials and temptation. Be sincere and keep seeking help from Allah no matter how safe you believe you are.
4. Seek Knowledge and Devote Yourself to the Quran. Keep yourself busy with learning Islamic knowledge from trustworthy sources and scholars. Keep yourself busy with reading, memorizing and studying the Quran. Being busy with learning will prevent you from having time to waste in sinful or unnecessary activates. The ones blessed with knowledge will be constantly holding on to the straight path while the ignorant ones are more prone to drift away from it.
So what should one do if he/she has fallen into fitnah with regards to his religious commitment:
1. He should hasten to remove himself completely from such fitnah and repent sincerely to Allah. He should have deep regret in his heart and resolve never to go back to such sin/temptation/trial.
2. He should change the environment in which he is in and go to a surrounding which is pure and sinless.
3. He should ask Allah to help him get out of the fitnah he has fallen into.
4. He should follow up with as much good deeds as he can as Allah says in the Quran: “Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). [11:114]
5. He should realize his shortcomings and the main cause for falling into such fitnah and ensure that he protects himself from returning back to it as well as finding means to counteract the trial he has fallen into. For example, if one has fallen into fitnah because of his sexual desire, then he should start fasting to reduce this desire.
And Allah knows best.
May Allah protect us from the fitnah of this life and next and safeguard our faiths. Ameen
