chapter one..

ashysafiyya:

nonchalante:

What is stopping you? Wanting to be something has never made anyone anything. It’s your drive, motivation, focus, and what you do that makes you what you want to be. If you want to be a better Muslim, do it.

Write a list of what you want to change. Choose 3 things every month. Do them. It takes a person approximately 21 days to develop a habit. If you start something at the beginning of the month and stick to it for at least 21 days, it should become second nature.

Get off the Internet and learn from hard cover books. If you don’t have them, then check your local Masjid. If they don’t, then get some e-books. Get a paper and pen and learn. Study the deen.

Don’t overburden yourself, but don’t underestimate yourself either. If you know you are capable of something, do it. Allaah will help you along the way. ‘Allaah will not change the condition of a people until they first change it themselves.’

Read. Read. Read. The more you read, the more likely you are to change.

Listen to Islamic lectures/audios/videos.

Talk less. It might sound simple, but the less you talk, the more you listen. The more you listen the more you are observing. The more you are observing, the clearer it becomes to what exactly you need to change and how to change it.

Lower your gaze. Sound silly? Lowering the gaze prevents you from extracurricular thoughts that may fog the mind. The purer the vision, the purer the mind, the cleaner the heart.

Don’t tell anyone about changing, just keep it to yourself. Be sincere. Don’t even tell yourself you’re changing, just change some bad habits.

Stop complaining about how changing is hard. Nothing is hard, it’s all about how much you let it overburden you and how much you’re willing to work on it.

Pray the night prayers. If you’re awake at 3 in the morning and on tumblr, the least you could do is offer 2 raka’t. Allaah descends in that portion of the night and asks His slaves for anything they want. If you want to change, ask for the strength necessary to change.

Focus on you. Are YOU changing your bad habits? Don’t think about what Clarese or Amina is doing. Do YOU first.

Take it one day at a time. Don’t think ‘oh, I’ll change forever and I’ll never do this again!’ that alone makes the shaytaan work that much harder against your weak nafs. Just think about not doing it for that day. You’re not even guaranteed a tomorrow so focus on the now. Go to bed and ask yourself: Did I accomplish my goal today? If not, intend on doing it tomorrow and accomplish it.

Make repentance your everything. Always always always repent. Never lose faith. Never lose heart. Shaytaan wants you to feel so ashamed that you don’t repent, when Allaah loves those who turn to Him in repentance.

Walking around? Seek forgiveness. Cooking? Seek forgiveness. Whatever you do, make it a habit to always seek forgiveness anytime and everywhere. You never know when Allaah will accept it from you.

& never say to yourself “I wish I was a better Muslim” no. Become it. Do it. Plus, have wishes ever come true? No. Make duaa that you become so.

That is all.