Shoring up your Character

Allah guides those who perform good deeds. And the more we do, the more guidance we receive. Likewise, evil doing feeds on itself. Ibn-ul-Qayyim said, "This is because Allah likes good deeds and rewards on them, and abhors evil deeds, and punishes for them." Scholars have taken this truth and crafted the rule: "Recompense is according to deeds."


Here are a few Qur'anic verses relating to the loss of guidance and decrease in emaan:


"So when they turned away (from the path of Allah),
Allah turned their hearts away (from the right path)." [61:5]


"I shall turn away from My signs those who behave arrogantly
on the earth in a wrongful manner.
If they see all the signs they will not believe in them.
And if they see the way of righteousness, they will not adopt that way." [7:146].



"And recite to them (Oh, Mohammed) the story of the one to whom We gave our verses (signs), but he turned them away, so Satan followed him up, and he became of those who went astray. Had he willed We would surely have elevated him therewith
but he clung to the earth and followed his own vain desires. So his description
is the that of a dog; if you drive him away, he lolls his tongue out,
or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls his tongue out." [7:175-176].


The last verse tells us that some even have knowledge, but instead of applying it, they choose to follow their whims and worldly desires. In the end they lose their blessing and stray from Allah.


The young girl was eventually ensconced within the circle of her Muslim community but she had changed. She felt disconnected somehow. "I always did good deeds and tried to be helpful. I made good grades. But I was trying to sort out my relationship with people and was trying to see myself. My anger had turned to hatred and I thought that feeling, that rush made me brave. But it wasn't my nature, to feed off of that kind of negativity. It wasn't who I thought Allah wanted me to be. It wasn't what my family brought me up to be. I could never reach my potential holding on to that baggage. "There was a time when I feared nothing but Allah. And now I had to admit that I feared what people could do when they discover you're different. Going to school, walking to the store, meeting new people, voicing an opinion..." The more she hid and tried to blend in, the more obvious it became that she was different. "I didn't gossip. I dressed modestly. I stood up for what I felt was right. I thought globally ... I achieved things and some people admired me. But that made me uncomfortable because I knew that any good that came my way or through me was the will of Allah. I never really belonged. I had yet to really stand up for myself, to allow people to get to know me on my own terms. I had created something of a prison for myself that only I knew I was in." Everyone is solely responsible for his/her deviation. Allah does not oppress anyone. Nor does Allah turn away servants when they sincerely strive for guidance. Allah is the most just. And He is the most merciful.


Deviation from the right path and the degradation of emaan are a result of one's own deeds and a reflection of one's own behavior and character. Muslims must always be aware of that. They should assume they will face challenges sometimes and be ready to protect themselves and to heal and to grow. The first step towards achieving that is to know why and how does it happen. Most times it isn't the big wars that defeat a people, it is the little internal skirmishes which go unmet that eat away at character long before a clear enemy comes knocking on a half-opened door.