Congratulations!
You have been gifted the most beautiful house. The house of your dreams. It has everything you could ever dream about. And I know you want it badly. The only catch is that the house is on top of a mountain. But, once you are there, you needn’t worry about coming down again, as everything you need, everyone who you need is up there. So it’s all about making that one single trek up the mountain to reach that home of yours. It’s okay, you know you can do it. All you need is to build some strength, pack the right supplies and you will be up that mountain and relaxing in the beauty and comfort of your dream home in no time!
I am not making this up.
This is indeed true. We all know that Paradise was created for you and me. What we need to do is prepare ourselves, train ourselves and pack the appropriate supplies and be on our way. This is what Prophet Muhammad 
was telling us when he said,
“A believer who is strong (and healthy) is better and dearer to Allah than the weak believer, but there is goodness in both of them.Be keen on what benefits you and seek help from Allah, and do not give up…” 1
There is goodness in a believer, but we don’t want to settle for anything less than that beautiful house of our dreams. Do we? We want to be a strong believer, as only a strong believer will be able to tread the path up the mountain, strewn with fallen trees, ditches and sharp turns where one wrong footing means we will plummet to our death. So are you ready for the training program?
Let’s begin.
Bismillah, In the name of Allah
There are four core areas of strengthening our “muscles”.
1. Physical Strength
2. Mental Health
3. Spiritual Health
4. Emotional Intelligence
A Strong Believer is a balanced personality who has all the above 4 attributes in their correct proportions.
So how to achieve the above?
Physical Strength
A physically weak person is not able to keep up with the worship and this takes a toll on the levels of his/her imaan. I know this, as when the chemotherapy effects took their toll on me and I wasn’t able to offer Salah as I would normally do when I was healthy and when I couldn’t read Quran and listen to tafseer, my imaan levels took a hit. Alhamdullilah, Allah 
pulled me out of that low phase, but I know how difficult it gets to fight shaitan when physically weak.
Moderate physical exercise and a balanced and halal diet is essential to maintain physical strength.
Messenger of Allah ﷺsaid:
‘A human being fills no worse vessel than his stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to eat a few mouthfuls to keep his spine straight. But if he must (fill it), then one-third of food, one-third for drink and one-third for air.’” 2
Mental health
Mental health includes the way we feel about ourselves, the ability to manage our feelings and deal with difficulties. Depression, anxiety, relationship problems, ADHD, addiction are all signs of a weak mental health. A sense of low self-esteem leads us to think that we are too sinful to be forgiven by Allah . And when such thoughts take root, Shaitan tries to strengthen them by making us think that we have no chance of forgiveness by Allah . This further plummets us into the darkest depths of depression that seem to engulf and suffocate us.
But Allah says,
“O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful”. 3
We should seek help as soon as we feel the first tentacles of such feelings taking hold of us. Turning to Allah and seeking medical counsel if necessary is a must. Doing acts that add value to the life of others, looking at the creation of Allah , counting our blessings and being grateful to Him for them are means of strengthening our mental health.
Spiritual Health
What is a believer without belief? Nothing.
Being connected to Allah , holding on to His rope at all times, never losing hope of His mercy and His forgiveness, doing things only with the intention to please Him and focusing on Jannah are all indications of a spiritual health of a believer. The knowledge of the religion is the only way to strengthen this aspect of our training program. Allah strengthened Adam 
( with knowledge that even the angels did not have) and so, they were told to prostrate to him.
Allah wants us to be strong believers, that is why the Messenger of Allah said,
“When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of Deen.” 4
The Messenger of Allah said,
“Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim,…” 5
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence can be defined as “the ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.”
An emotionally intelligent person is able to embrace change, be aware of his/her strengths and weaknesses, be a good judge of character, doesn’t get offended easily, is aware and grateful for the blessings that he/she has and doesn’t indulge in negative self-talk among other things.
You see, our talk is controlled by our emotions. The choice of words, the topics which we like to talk about or avoid are reflections of our emotional state. Even our acts of worship are made beautiful because of our emotions like humility in Salah, sincere intentions while giving charity and/or reciting Quran with emotions. 
But it is very important to keep these emotions in balance. As much as they can beautify a thing, they can also make it ugly. Managing stress, expressing oneself, avoiding negative self-talk, connecting with people are some ways of increasing emotional intelligence.
As a person trying to get my life back on track after finishing my treatment for Cancer, this hadith makes so much sense to me. I am advised time and again to try to maintain a healthy lifestyle to minimize the chances of a remission. I am facing huge emotional and mental issues because of the physical and emotional trauma of dealing with that disease. And the only thing that has kept me from falling apart then and now was my firm belief that no matter what, Allah will pull me through it.
When my teacher used the example of the house on top of the mountain, I was reminded of the painting of a house at the edge of the cliff overlooking a rocky sea, with a staircase without any rails leading to it,in the waiting room of the Oncology department.
But you and I don’t need any physical rails to protect us from falling from that staircase. Allah is with us, guiding us while we climb higher and higher up to Him.
I pray and hope that none of you are or have been in my situation, but I know how it feels. This life is a test. And we all have to give this test. How we attempt it determines the outcome. That house on the top of the mountain awaits you and me. I request you from the bottom of my heart to prepare yourself for this journey, as this is one road we all have to take.
It will take a lot of patience, hard work, perseverance and a clear focus on that house in Jannah to inculcate the correct balance of the mentioned attributes. But all the hard work is worth it, as that house on top is worth every drop of sweat, groan of the muscles and every scrape on our body as we climb that mountain.
May Allah make us all strong believers and enjoy the fruits of our toil in Paradise. Ameen.
Some Self Evaluation Tests:
http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=3040
http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_eq_quiz.htm
Let me know your tips and suggestions about how we can prepare ourselves, train ourselves? What your appropriate supplies are for your way to Jannah? I would love to hear back from you and someone may get benefit from your tips as well 🙂
- Sahih Muslim ↩
- Ibn Majah ↩
- Quran, Chapter 39, Verse 53 ↩
- Riyad-us-saaliheen ↩
- Ibn Majah ↩
Comments
Allah
Allah`s mercy
believer
emotional intleligence
islamic Knowledge
Jannah
mental health.physical health
Messenger of Allah
48 replies on “Training Program for a Strong Believer: Are You In?”
May Allah (swt) reward u for sharing ur knowledge with us…jajakallhu khairan.
jazzak Allahu khairan 🙂
I will surely remain ever grateful and glad for being a beneficiary of this marvelous school. May Allah (SWT), continue to all that are instrumental to the development of this school. Ameen.
ameen
Very helpful & I m very much convinced with all the points. May Allah (swt) grant us the knowledge of being thankful to Him . & we should never loose our hope from the mercy of the sole Almighty Allah…
Yes sister, we should NEVER lose hope of Allah swat’s mercy
Masha Allah Jazaka Allah.
it really made my mind to think deeply.
Alhamdullilah, mission accomplished 🙂
Mashallah very thoughtful article. It opened my eyes to think and to be grateful for everything in my life. May Allah grant u health sister. Thanks aot for the beautiful article. I read it so many times. May Allah reward u. Ameen
Jazakillah khairan Sis Tooba, and Jazakillah for your du’a.
yes! isn’t it amazing ?? 🙂
MashaAllah! JazakAllahu Khair! Alhamdulillah!
May Almighty Allah have mercy and guide us all to righteousness! Ameen!
Jazakillah khairan 🙂
Alhamdulillah! The article is good and helps to build the confidence reinforcing the strength of our eeman which is already is in our possession of which always sways high and low depending on our mental balance with the tests from Allah coming forth every moment of our lives.
I always go low when I stumble upon seeing human suffering with wars and destruction by the evil forces in the world who are in control of every sphere of the secular world. I have cried many many times seeing the suffering of our Muslims murdered, massacred along with their whole families. Then the children being hurt by wars and babies are left in the street as orphans.
These things hit me too hard to comprehend as what’s exactly is going on when Allah Al Jawazzal is the Lord of the entire universe who is controlling everything is going so wrong. What my heart always questions me to test my eeman is why Allah’s help is not forthcoming to them even though they were Muslims who are being attacked by the the very same enemies who rebel against his truth.
Sometimes I feel emotionally threatened by the negative thought of getting caught in such a situation and seeking Allah’s help and then then the scary thought of not getting any help and be left at the mercy of the enemies of the Muslims. Because, the trials of Dajjal is reaching every corner of the world where Muslims live.
How do I get back in a strong position mentally to fight back with answers from my Deen that will justify with conviction and with a logical explanation?
For all the time i found myself in any kind of stress/examination from Allah s.w.t I do remember the hadith of the prophet s.a.w,he said:any trouble and tribulation of muslims become lighten if i remember my trouble during the time he married ummusaalma.so it always make me strong to face my challange both the dunya and alkhirah.thanks for your da’awah.
subhanalah may Allah grant u health I am also facing some depression after falling ill for almost ten years..until now I dont know what will my feature health I only cry and depend to Allah.I know one day this pain will end.
Assalam alai kum brother Shakir,
may Allah swt grant you complete health and great levels of imaan, ameen
i totally understand what you are going through. I went through the same phase after my chemo ended. i was prescribed anti-depressants that i didnt want to take because of the side effects.
What helped me was a gathering of knowledge.
me and 2 other sisters started gathering once a week to discuss one thing from the Quran, seerah or Ahadith.
Though i am student of the Quran, it is online and this physical gathering was a better anti depressant than those medicines.
Try getting up in Tahhajudd and meeting people solely for the purpose of knowing more about Allah swt andHis messanger (s).
In sha Allah it will be a great help to you.
sana
Aslaaam o alikum, jazak Allah for such a nice and thought provoking piece of advise.
Jazaak Allahu Khairan….may Allah(SWT) grant us the correct understanding of deen…may Allah(SWT) have mercy and lead us to the right path…this aricle was very beneficial…May Allah(SWT) reward you and grant you with better health…Ameen
Mashallah a very good article and great example provided. May Allah talah bless us.
jazakumullahu khaeran
May Allaah help us to strengthen our imaan as
expected of us.
Masha Allah! Very inspiring article. May Allah bless all of us. Ameen.
Alhamdolelie Alhamdolelie may Allah blessed u with ur nice words and knowledge we should thank allah 4 his blessings may allah make us one of de people on paradise
Great article masaAllah.. May you have that house in Jannah.
JazakAllah Khair…Deeply moved by this article.
May v all Muslim Ummah have that House on the Mountain, Aameen
MashaAllah,,,jazakallah,,,thinking deeply, in a point of just crying,,,oo Allah guide as always to the right path.
jazakallah khair ……. really nice advise …… may we all be strong believers and enter jannah ameen 🙂
In my opinion, most of the people who are starving to get close to janna are lacking the last step. Emotional intelligent and may Allah(SWA) make us knowledgeable about it.
Jazakallahu khair
Assalaamualaykum. The message itself is a rehabilitation. It went a long way in reshaping my belief(imaan). Jazakallah to whosoever contributed to this article. May Allaah guide us,grant us the required strength and make us consistent in getting to the house on top of the mountain. Ameen!
Assalamu alaikum warahamatullah…!
This is a Good write up jazakumul Allahu khairan, we have learned a lot from this lesson and also tap from your experience and looking forward to putting the training acquire in to use Insha Allah.
My suggestion would be that, a Sign of WEAK IMAAN and that of the STRONG IMAAN be include, to give us clear insight on becoming a STRONG believer that would be able to climb to the mountain up( Al jannah insha Allah).
With the signs, every one reading would know which category of Muslims does he/she belong to, and Insha Allah would try improve from there.
Ma’assalam
Assalama alai um Dear Sister,
This is an amazing idea. In sha Allah we will work on that too.
Jazakillah khairan
Sana
Subhanallah this is a beautifully worded instructions to spiritual success Insha Allah
bismillah rahmani rahim,
I’m ecstatic that a Muslim woman wrote this article because of it’s awesome structure and it is captivating … shukren jezila sister ! may we meet in jannah one day inshaAllah 🙂 I love u all for the sake of Allah ! :* and I find the last point ’emotional intelligence’ very interesting !! something I had on the back of my mind but didn’t think of it well .. I hope to achieve that along with the others 😀 .. looking forward for another article
Assalam alai kum Dear Sister Hindia <3
lolz!.. the IOU is a great place to work . Its teaming with Sisters! ma sha Allah! and Alhamdullilah!!
May Allah swt unite us in Jannah , amen
Jazakillah khairan for your kind comments
🙂
Sana
Manshaa Allah. I really loved your article. It’s really good advice and I will definitely do all 4. Jazzakallah. May Allah grant you and us healthy and paradise .
ASAK. I read the article and appreciate the standpoint from which the sister writes. Insha’Allah may Allah (swt) give you and all of us who are facing health challenges shifaa. I am disabled with an incurable condition that has taken a toll on me and my family. I look at this as a test from Allah (swt) and despite do all I can, against the pain, to keep up with my prayers, reading Qu’ran, etc. And yet it seems to me, and correct me if I’m wrong, that everything I come across in my readings pertaining to physical disabilities doesn’t acknowledge the difficulty of keeping imaan nor any benefit but on the contrary the physical disability is looked upon as a lesser manifestation of a believer. One who offers prayers lying down is not accepted to the degree to the one offering prayers sitting as to the one standing, etc all pointing to physically “whole” person as being better. The fact that a disabled person struggles against so much more than a physically whole person to just offer prayers is not good enough and somehow lessens their imaan seems unfair. I would imagine it would be the opposite. Someone struggling against physical pain, emotional turmoil from that pain, to offer prayer and keep their imaan would be, not better than anyone else, but equal at least. I don’t see much written about the physically disabled in Islam And Allah (swt) forgive me if I’ve misunderstood what I’ve come across thus far but could you please guide me to where I could read and learn more about this?
Assalam alai um dear SM,
My heart goes out to you. I pray from the bottom of my heart that Allah set grant you complete shifa,grant you patience to bear this trial, accept your patience , expiate your sins and raise you high, high really high in ranks. Ameen
You are right dear SM. some one who is struggling with pain and yet is striving to worship Allah swt is an great example of immense imaan.
I know how it feels to be weak. I have some times offered salad, while lying down, not sure how many units of prayer i prayed. some times not even aware of the time.
And I don’t think that Allah swt will consider me less just because I couldn’t offer salah while I was standing on my 2 feet.
You see Allah swt observes the state of the heart. The limbs are in His control.
WhatI wrote is for those whom Allah swt has blessed with health. They should not waste it by indulging in unhealthy eating and a lazy lifestyle.
Allah swt talks lovingly in the Quran about those people who were unable to go to fight with the Messenger of Allah (s) due to ill health or etc.
their hearts were full of pain and longing to be with the beloved Prophet (s).
And Allah swt mentions them with so much love .
The Messenger of Allah (s) says, “Indeed amazing are the affairs of a believer! They are all for his benefit. If he is granted ease of living he is thankful; and this is best for him. And if he is afflicted with a hardship, he perseveres; and this is best or him.” (Muslim)
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has also instructed his ailing companions in these words:
“Place your hand where you feel pain and say ‘Bismillah’ three times, and then repeat seven times A’oudho bi’izzatil-lahi wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa ‘uhadhir. (I seek refuge with Allah and with His Power from the evil that afflicts me and that which I apprehend.)” (Muslim)
The efficacy of Surah Fatiha, opening chapter, and the muawwithat, the last two chapters of the Quran, in the cure of illnesses is well known as attested by the Prophet (s) himself .
I myself have done these for myself .
Please forgive me for any pain that my words caused you.
Sana
Assalaamualaykum.Warehmatullah …very nice information…especially the addition of the verses of Quran and Ahadees …
May ALLAH fulifill all your wishes and Grant his blessings upon you …
keep guiding us …
JAZAKALLAH …
Peculiar article, exactly what I needed.
Masha Allah. May He reward u abundantly. Permission to share pls
Jazakalahu hairan. Wonderful article may Allah reward and continue to inspire us. Ameen
As salamu alaykum wr wb! sister Sana, Jazak’ Allah khair for your effort and sharing your knowledge with us. subhanallah you have spoken absolutely what the entire humanity is facing and i personally relate to that where it is extremely hard to make solah while feeling ill. Especially in sujood and that itself is indeed a test from Allah. May He increase you in knowledge and grant you shifah( cure). The same dua goes to all my beloved muslims brothers and sisters. The body is indeed amana and its our duty to take care of it because we will be asked by He swt, how did we make uses of it and how we take care of it. It reminds me of ahadith of Rosul (saw) that says take care of 5 before 5, that is your health, your youth, your money, your time and your life before death. subhanallah. i love that analogy of yours…. keep sharing with us in your knowledge. 🙂 i love you fisabilillah
Alhamdulillah! I was searching to read something like this which will help me boost my iman. Because the shaytan constantly reminds me of my weaknesses and sorrows and of the fact that I was born weak and will not be able to carry these mountain loads. May Allah swt reward you sister.
Aoa.
Jazakillah for the words ! May Allah grant you that house in jannah. (Aameen)
i felt the words were for me as im going through weak health issues and the depression and anxiety/panic issues since 4 years uptill now and it has badly been engraved in my mind . I feel my imaan too low at times but the fact which keeps me strong and relieves me is this “Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest” – Allhamdulillah.
You cant imagine , infact im also surprised when i read the starting line of that house painting. I started draw the rough image which suddenly clicked my mind (my dream which i saw ) I dont know how to explain in words but i exactly saw such dream a month back in which i felt Allah warned and guided me for something better regarding a matter but i couldnt understand that exact picture which i saw.
i wish i can share that picture as there’s no option to share a picture in comment.
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Thanks a lot for this lovely article. I read it so many times and wrote it down and tried to teach my 10-year-old son by making him read it. We both enjoyed discussing about it and sharing the thoughts together. May Allah give each one of the ummah a well balanced health to reach our beautiful homes in Jannah. Ameen.
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