How can a person protect himself from fitnah with regard to his religious commitment?

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

The soundness of
a person’s religious commitment in this world means happiness and triumph in
the hereafter. The capital of the Muslim is his religious commitment, so
whoever neglects it and exposes it to trials and temptations is doomed to
failure, whereas the one who preserves it and takes care to strengthen it
will prosper and succeed. Therefore one of the supplications of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was: “O Allah, set right for me
my religious commitment, which is the safeguard of my affairs. Set right for
me my worldly affairs in which is my living. Set right for me my Hereafter
in which will be my final abode. Make this life a means of increase in all
that is good, and make death a relief for me from all evil.”

Narrated by
Muslim (2720).

Al-Mannaawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:

“O Allah, set
right for me my religious commitment, which is the safeguard of my affairs”
means: it is what protects all my affairs, for if a person’s religious
commitment is spoiled, all his affairs will be spoiled and he will be doomed
to failure in this world and the hereafter.

Fayd al-Qadeer
(2/173)

Secondly:

The Muslim –
with the help of Allah – can protect his religious commitment from trials
and temptations, by following the path of the believers with regard to what
they were enjoined to adhere to. That includes the following:

1.    

Keeping away
from any environment that will corrupt one’s religious commitment and
morals.

So he should
avoid living in the lands of kufr, and avoid mixing with the evildoers.
Whoever keeps away from anything that may lead to corruption will protect
his religious commitment from being lost, by Allah’s leave. It is almost
certain that living in environments of kufr and mixing with disbelievers
will have an impact on the Muslim who dwells among them. We have seen and
heard shocking stories of those who drifted away and sold their religious
commitment for some fleeting worldly gain. That was because of being so
dazzled and impressed by the environment of kufr and the disbelievers, and
because of hearts becoming spiritually dead as a result of living among them
or mixing with them.

The same may be
said with regard to keeping away from any involvement in the battles between
Muslims over controversial issues, especially when arguing about those
differences leads to boycotting one another, turning their backs on one
another and fighting.

Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Whoever examines the
stories of turmoil and arguments that take place among Muslims will realise
that no Muslim ever got involved in that and was happy with the consequences
of his involvement, because of what may happen to him of harm affecting his
religious commitment and his worldly interests. Therefore it is something to
be forbidden, and refraining from it is something to be enjoined, concerning
which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And
let those who oppose the Messenger’s (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him)) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah— legal ways, orders, acts of
worship, statements) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief,
trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant) should
befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them”

[an-Noor 24:63].

Minhaaj as-Sunnah
an-Nabawiyyah
(4/410)

2.    

Another thing
that may help the Muslim to protect his religious commitment is
strengthening his faith, by doing obligatory acts of obedience and
refraining from that which is forbidden and prohibited.

One of the
greatest obligatory acts of obedience is prayer, so the Muslim should pray
regularly and on time, fulfilling all the necessary conditions and doing all
the obligatory parts of prayer, with proper humility and focus. Allah, may
He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and
perform As-Salât (Iqamât-as-Salât). Verily, As-Salât (the prayer) 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 Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) enjoined doing all kinds of acts
of obedience and worship in order to be saved from trials and temptations
with regard to one’s religious commitment, and he warned against worldly
temptations such as wealth, women and status, lest they be the cause of
selling one’s religious commitment for their sake. He stated that a man may
be a Muslim during the night then end up apostatising during the day, or he
may be a Muslim during the day then end up apostatising during the night!

It was narrated
from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace 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.”

Narrated by
Muslim (118).

Shaykh Muhammad
ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The point is
that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) warned us
against these trials that would be like a piece of black night, in which a
person would be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever in the evening –
Allah forbid; in a single day he would apostatise from Islam and exit the
faith, he would be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever in the
evening – we ask Allah to keep us safe and sound – and why would that be so?
Because he would sell his religious commitment for worldly gain. Do not
think that what is meant by worldly gain is merely wealth, for every worldly
pleasure is worldly gain, whether it is wealth, status, leadership, women,
or anything else. Every worldly pleasure comes under the heading of worldly
gain.

These people who
will be believers in the morning and disbelievers in the evening, or will be
believers in the evening and become disbelievers in the morning – all of
them will sell their religious commitment for some worldly gain.

We ask Allah to
protect us and you from trials and temptations. You should constantly seek
refuge with Allah from trials and temptations.

Sharh Riyadh as-Saaliheen
(2/20)

For more
information on means of strengthening the Muslim’s faith, please see the
answer to question no. 34171.

3.    

Supplication (du‘aa’).

Our Lord, may He
be exalted, has guided us, and our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) has taught us concise supplications that are of benefit to the one
who wants to protect his religious commitment from trials and temptations.
These supplications include:

The phrase “ihdina
as-siraat al-mustaqeem (Guide us to the Straight Path)” in every rak‘ah;
and the supplication:
“Allaahumma
ihdini feeman hadayta wa ‘aafini feeman ‘aafayta wa tawallani feeman
tawallayta wa baarik li feema a’tayta, wa qini sharra ma qadayta … (O
Allah, guide me among those whom You have guided, pardon me among those whom
You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship among those on whom You have
turned in friendship, and bless me in what You have bestowed, and save me
from the evil of what You have decreed…).” Narrated and classed as hasan by
at-Tirmidhi (464); also narrated by Abu Dawood (1425). This is what the
Muslim says in Qunoot al-Witr and in many other situations, because it
includes seeking the help of Allah, may He be exalted, to guide the
worshipper to the path of Islam and the straight path, and to make him
steadfast in adhering to that, and to show him the best and shortest way of
attaining His pleasure.

4.    

Keeping away from bad company

It was narrated
from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah 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.”

Narrated by Abu Dawood (4833) and at-Tirmidhi (2378), who classed it as
hasan.

Do
not take anyone as a close friend except one who is pleasing in terms of his
religious commitment and honesty, for if you take him as a close friend, he
will lead you to his religion and his way. So do not take risks with regard
to your religious commitment or gamble with your soul by taking as a close
friend someone who is not pleasing in terms of his religious commitment and
his way.

Al-‘Izlah,
(p. 141)

5.    

Learn Islamic knowledge and consult trustworthy scholars

One of the greatest means by which a Muslim may ward off trials and
confusion with regard to his religious commitment is Islamic knowledge.
Therefore the ignorant person is more prone to drifting away from the right
path of Islam. Look at those who circumambulate graves, or believe that the
dead have the power to bring benefit or cause harm. If you reflect on the
situation, you will see that they are ignorant people, and whoever among
them has any knowledge is one of those who has sold his religious commitment
in order to attain some fleeting worldly gain.

Thirdly:

If
anyone has fallen into any kind of temptation with regard to his religious
commitment:

1.    

Let him hasten
to get out of it and free himself from it completely, by repenting sincerely
to Allah, may He be exalted, regretting his neglect of his duty towards Him,
and resolving never to go back to it again.

2.    

Let him change
his environment for one that is pure and wholesome.

3.    

Let him call
upon his Lord, may He be exalted – with the utmost sincerity – and ask Him
to save him from that.

4.    

Let him follow
it with righteous deeds, and do a lot of them, as much as he can.

Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And perform
As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of
the night [i.e. the five compulsory Salât (prayers)]. Verily, the good deeds
remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for
the mindful (those who accept advice).

And be patient;
verily, Allâh wastes not the reward of the good-doers”

[Hood
11:114-115].

5.    

The individual should have an honest estimation of how he is faring, and he
should be aware of his shortcomings and the causes thereof, and how the
Shaytaan was able to gain control over him. If the cause of his drifting
away was sexual desire, then let him strive to protect himself by getting
married, and if he is not able to do that, then let him fast a great deal,
for it will be a shield for him, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) told us.

An-Nawawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: What is meant here is that fasting will
reduce sexual desire.

If the
temptation has to do with other desires, or specious arguments, let him
hasten to deal with it and counteract it with the opposite.

What we have
mentioned above are among the means of protection against trials and
temptations, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
taught us.

And Allah knows
best.