The Strong Believer vs The Weak Believer

Every one of us wants to be strong. Strong in sports, strong in the gym, mentally strong in exams. But how many of us wake up and think, how can I be strong in my Iman today? Do we ever want to be a strong believer mentally, spiritually and physically?  

The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The strong believer is more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, and there is good in both.’ (Muslim) 

In this hadith, the Prophet is encouraging us to be strong believers. So who is a strong believer and who is a weak believer? A strong believer is someone who believes in Allah and does actions that Allah is pleased with. He does as much good as possible and avoids bad things. We all know the actions that please Allah but following are just some; praying all Fardh prayers on time, being dutiful to our parents, helping as many people as we can, staying away from harming others, avoiding haram things like smoking and backbiting. A strong believer should also aim to have physical strength. It takes energy and strong willpower to do certain physical acts that Allah loves. Praying and fasting requires physical strength. Removing something harmful or stopping two people from fighting might require physical strength. Guarding one’s family and property does require physical strength.  

Being physically strong was one of the qualities of Prophet Musa as well. 

 قَالَتْ إِحْدَىٰهُمَا يَٰٓأَبَتِ ٱسْتَـْٔجِرْهُ ۖ إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ ٱسْتَـْٔجَرْتَ ٱلْقَوِىُّ ٱلْأَمِينُ  

“One of the two daughters suggested, “O my dear father! Hire him. Indeed, the best one you can hire is the strong and the trustworthy.” [28:26] 

Notice something powerful, the Qur’an praises strength and trustworthiness together. So we should aim to be a strong believer like Prophet Musa.   
Now just to clarify, part of being a strong believer is to also ask Allah for the forgiveness of our shortcomings. The best and the strongest believer is the Prophet Muhammad and he too also asked for Allah’s forgiveness. The Prophet said, By Allah, I seek Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day [Bukhari].  

We should take some time out and ask, what can I do to become a strong believer? How can I physically and spiritually become stronger? And how can I use my physical and spiritual strength to improve the situation of the Ummah?     

May Allah make us strong believers.  

The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The strong believer is more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, and there is good in both.’ (Muslim) 

The second part of the hadith shows that we should not really aim to be weak believers, even though it is better to be a weak Muslim than to be a non-Muslim. Following is some of the signs of weak believers; neglecting salah, not reciting or connecting to the Quran, committing sins without remorse and harming others. If we find ourselves doing these things then we need to have a plan to improve. If we are not praying all 5 prayers, then we need to do everything necessary to do the 5 prayers. So for example, we might need to sleep early to make sure we pray Fajr on time. We should do wudu and not lose it so then we can pray Dhur in school. If we are not reciting the Quran then we should allocate at least two minutes every day and just recite. And then slowly increase the two minutes into three, and then four and so on. Start small—but be consistent. Because consistency builds strength just like going to the gym builds muscles. 

If we are committing sins and harming others and we don’t ask for forgiveness, then this might mean that we might end up in hellfire. We can die at any moment and that sin we are committing might be the last ever action we do on earth.     

If we find ourselves to be weak believers, this does not mean we should lose all hope. We should never lose hope. There is still good in being a Muslim. However, we should always work hard to improve ourselves. A true believer, whether strong or weak, is always aiming to improve.    
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah says: Whoever comes to Me walking, I will come to him running.” [Muslim] 

The hadith shows that even small efforts to improve yourself are greatly rewarded by Allah.  

In conclusion, we should aim to be a strong believer by doing deeds that please Allah and stay away from bad deeds that displease Allah. We should always look for opportunities to improve ourselves and when we find ourselves making mistakes, quickly ask Allah for forgiveness.  

May Allah make us from the strongest of believers and unite us in Jannatul Firdaws with the best of Muslims. Aameen.