If Your Heart Feels Tight and You Don’t Taste the Sweetness of Īmān

Ibn Taimiyyah, may Allāh have mercy on him, said:

When a [person] sees that his chest does not feel open and at ease, that he does not experience [either] the sweetness of īmān or the light of guidance, he should then make repentance and seek forgiveness in plenty and maximize his efforts as much as possible, for Allāh says [what in English means]: “And those who strive their utmost for Our sake, We will most certainly guide them to Our pathways [in this life and the Hereafter].” (Al-ʿAnkabūt, 69)

And he must fulfill all religious duties outwardly and inwardly and stick to the Straight Path, seeking Allāh’s help and forsaking [any idea] that any transformation or any ability can come from other than Him.

Majmūʿ Al-Fatāwá, vol. 11, p. 390.

Translated by Mikail ibn Mahboob Ariff