Salam Alaiykum waramatullah wabarakatu Brothers and Sisters in Islam.

I've had this thought for a while now and I've never had the nerve to share it with any of my friends.

As Muslims,the technicalities associated with our religion (5 daily salat)can sometimes be difficult to fulfil.

However,for some of us it's routine and we've grown so used to it despite our very busy schedules.
Despite work and the other issues that affect everyday life.

I believe we all have our different driving forces both in career,religion, steadfastness in salat, acts of Ibadah etc.
What works for you?
How are you able to remain steadfast in your Salat and follow the Sunnah squarely?
How are you able to strenghten your Iman despite the advent of the 21st Century.
Despite the advent of Computers and the internet,despite the importance of putting food on the table and how tasking it is.

In order to help those of us who long to be steadfast in Islam,who don't just want to be known as Muslims by our names.
Those of us who cherish Quranic recitation but can't find time to do it or wish we could fast on Mondays and Thursdays but are weak in our acts.
Those of us who wish our IMAN was stronger but can't seem to seek strenght from Allah.
THOSE OF US WHO PRAY TO MAKE AL-JANAH ON THE LAST DAY.

Please post your comments to bring back souls to Islam.

right, it's not easy to stand firm in the deen these days. I watch the company I keep. Also I try to turn the distractions into attractions, e.g I watch islamic programmes when I watch cable tv, I visit islamic websites when I'm online. I listen to quran cds on stereo.

well, I am also trying ni o..in Fact I need as much of these suggestions as u do. help us out please!!

Walaiykum Salam waramatullah wabarakatu

The key i think is to form good habits, These are some of my suggestions:

i. Plan your day around the Salat: fix your breaks at the times for prayers.

ii. Build a better relationship with the Quran in the Salat, develop a deep understanding of the surahs you recite... You will always look forward to the time for salat... It won't be something you just want to get done... Salat means connection... If you truly connect with Allah in the salah, it is a truly, truly incredible feeling. You would always look forward to it

iii. Recite a page or half a page after fajr prayers, also try to memorize at least one ayah of the Quran at fajr. Use the daily prayers to recite when you memorise.

iv. Fix a time in the day to just reflect on the words of Allah. The Quran is supposed to offer us practical solutions to our problems but many times we do not even refer to it when we have problems. Personally, i try to study the Quran for 1 hour everyday but i need to do more reflection because that is what the Quran calls for from believers.

v. Learn duas: Duas from the sunnah is an excellent way to always keep the consciousness of Allah. Once you make the duas a habit, it will be hard to forget to say it when you need to. There are duas for almost everything in the sunnah...

vi. Knowledge and Dawah: Nothing beats it but knowledge could make you more humble or more arrogant. The truth is when you get true knowledge of this religion, you will realise how little you know. Our deen is such a vast ocean of knowledge. More muslims need to be able to articulate their religion in public. Nothing raises the Iman more than when you are able to present this incredible religion to non-muslims and just leave them dumb-founded.

We have a duty to carry this deen to unchartered territory.

I will come with more suggestions if i think of more In sha Allah.

Alhamdulillah we learn everyday.. Strengthening d Imaan in d 21st century hasn't been easy having a lot of fitnahs here n there. In strenghtening my Imaan n gaining closeness to Allah I try my best to obey Allah's commands as much as possible, I put it upon myself when it comes to faraad n waajib I have no choice but to fulfil n when it comes to sunnah n nawafi I try my best to fulfil as much as I can..its hasn't been easy but alhamdulillah I can tell there's improvement. May Allah make us strong, ameen.

Good company

Everyone struggles but i think the '21st century' offers the muslims more opportunities to take the dawah to greater heights. We need to start thinking that the cup is half full not half-empty. The '21st century' offer the muslims a lot more opportunities.

Many people today are looking for truth, they are looking for Islam but the muslims are not offering it. The Sahabah were small in number but got the message to vast regions of the world, they fought in wars and many of them died in regions far, far away from Arabia carrying this message. The prophet's mosque was still leaking 90 years after his death even when the muslims had a vast territory and plenty resources. Read about the battles of the companions, many times the were out-numbered, and had inferior weapons but they were victorious.. Time and time again... Allah gave them victory, time and time again.

Today, we are 1/5 of the world population, yet we have not reached the rest of the world. We are here for the people.. We are muslims to serve humanity and give them this message.

As much as this century brings up its own challenges, we have to realise that muslims are changers of society not reactors. We do not complain about things. The prophet and the companions never complained about how bad their society was, or blamed society for their problems.

In 23 years, the prophet took this message (by the will of Allah) and transformed a society that was involved in shirk for centuries.

Today, muslims build elaborate conspiracy theories, and blame everybody, Israel, US, society etc for their problems. The problems of the muslims is within, We have forgotten Allah so He has made us forget ourselves. Who we really are, what we are here for. Allah warns us:

Do not be like those who forget God, so God causes them to forget their own souls: they arethe rebellious ones– (Surah 59:19)

Enough of the rant...

May Allah guide the muslims..

tbaba1234:
Do not be like those who forget God, so God causes them to forget their own souls: they arethe rebellious ones– (Surah 59:19)

Enough of the rant...

May Allah guide the muslims..

And may Allah indeed guide all the Muslim.
Insha Allah!

Thanks a lot for that piece tbaba234
However I expect that we do a thorough assessment of the reasons why our individual Iman is strong and has been able to stand the test of time not just what we do to forge ahead.
Or why it is weak and cannot be made strong even with a nudge as hard as the fact that planet Earth hangs loose in the universe with over 7 billion humans not to mention the other creatures that occupies it.

What exactly is Iman?
The Merriam Webster Dictionary describes it as;
“Fidelity to one’s promises, sincerity of intention, belief and trust in and loyalty to God”.
It also calls it “belief in something for which there is no proof”.

The Quran says this about Imaan in Surat Hujurat (49/14)
Ye have no faith! But ye (only) say ‘We have submitted our wills to Allah’! For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not be little aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
That alone is a clear sign.
The Holy Quran talks about Science and Astronomy, it talks about signs of the last day.

Let’s share experience on those things we’ve seen while growing up that give us the conviction that we are on the right path.
Let’s talk about the last hour as described by the Quran.
Let’s encourage each other on the purpose of continuity why we certainly must make Al-Jannah