How Can One Attain True Faith?

Having true faith is possible by fulfilling the trust, that is, by obeying the demand of the spirit. The spirit is not our spirit but Allah's spirit, and it is in us as a trust from Him. The trust craves for the owner. So, if we comply with the requirements of the trust, if we fulfill the wish of the spirit, we will attain true faith. As our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in another hadith: "O my Lord, just as You have instilled faith in my spirit, instill faith in my soul as well."

One of the 19 virtues of the spirit is faith. There are 19 vices in our soul. The opposite of faith in our spirit is disbelief in our soul, and naturally, the Rasul (Messenger) of Allah (PBUH) says: “O my Lord, instill faith in my soul as well."

The person who does not fulfill the trust is the one who follows the demand of the soul, not the demand of the spirit. The demand of the soul is everything that belongs to this worldly life. The soul wants the world. And the person who follows the demand of the soul has no faith. There are 19 diseases in the spiritual heart of our soul. All the demands of the soul are evil, all the demands of the spirit are goodness. All the demands of the spirit are encompassed in the Holy Qur'an. The Holy Qur'an is also a trust from Allah to us. For this reason, not fulfilling the trust means, at the same time, not fulfilling what the Qur'an requires. The spirit has a structure that obeys all of Allah's commands and does not commit any act that He forbids. Allah Almighty wants us to obey all the commands He has laid down in the Holy Qur'an and not to commit the acts He forbids. Therefore, fulfilling the trust is obeying the spirit's demand (the verses of the Holy Qur'an). The one who does not obey the spirit's demand, i.e. the verses of the Holy Qur'an, has no faith.

If a person does not use his will in the direction commanded by Allah, then he follows the desire of the soul. By intruding into another’s domain, he also dominates that person’s will in a certain direction, and if he forces it, he falls into shirk (blasphemy). Therefore, Allah does not want us to follow either our own desire of the soul or the desire of others. For if a person does not follow the commands of Allah, then he is either following his own desire of the soul or the desire of others.

Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur'ân:

Ar-Ra'd-2: It is Allah who raised the (levels of) heavens without pillars that you see. Then, He established Himself upon the Throne and He has subjected the sun and the moon to His command. Each one orbits its course for an appointed term. He manages and regulates all matter. He explains the Verses in detail that you may be certain of reaching your Lord (of having your spirits reach Allah before death).

An-Naml-80: Surely you cannot make the dead to hear nor can you make the deaf to hear the call (of Allah) when they flee, turning their backs.

An-Naml-81: And nor can you make the blind reach Hidayah (turning them) out of their dalalah (misguidance). You can make only those who believe in Our verses (those who wish to reach Allah) to hear. They are the surrendered ones (to Allah)!

The person who recites the verses is the murshid (guide) of Allah. The being who is subjected to the recitation of the verses is the human being who has free will. Those who truly believe in the verses are only the ones who wish to reach Allah. Because hidayah (guidance) is the reaching of the human spirit to Allah, and only those who seek hidayah (guidance) with their free will can hear the verses. The dead, on the other hand, not only do not wish to reach Allah, but also prevent others from doing so; they are the ones who incur the wrath of Allah.

Then, there are two alternatives: to have certainty (yakîn) in the verses - not to have certainty (yakîn) in the verses, to have certainty (yakîn) in the Hereafter - not to have certainty (yakîn) in the Hereafter. One of the two alternatives will be chosen by a person with his own free will. If a person wishes to reach Allah with his free will, Allah Almighty guarantees that He will deliver that person to Himself in accordance with surah Ash-Shurâ, verse 13.

Ash-Shura-13: In the religion, what He (Allah) had enjoined upon Noah (the Law (the Shari’a)), He had enjoined, by saying: ”Maintain the Religion and in it (in religion, in faith) do not divide into groups," upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus, and by revealing to you, made it a “Law (Shari’a) for you too. What you have called them upon for (to wish to reach Allah before death) had been very difficult for the disbelievers (mushriqun). Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills, and he will deliver to Himself (their spirits before death of) those who turns to Allah (yuneeb ones).

“Allâhu yectebî ileyhi men yeşâu ve yehdî ileyhi men yunîb (yunîbu): Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills, and he will deliver to Himself (their spirits before death of) those who turns to Allah (yuneeb ones)."

Therefore, what is required of a person is only to wish to reach Allah and to have certainty (yakîn) in Allah's verses. Only under these conditions can a person have true faith. Thus, as our Prophet (PBUH) states in His Noble Hadith: “The one who does not fulfill the trust has no faith.”, gives us the message: “The one who does not obey the verses of the Holy Qur'an, who does not have certainty (yakîn) of the verses of the Qur'an has no faith.”