A question many Muslims ask, especially when faith feels weak, is this: how can a Muslim increase his Iman [faith]? What Iman is, and the six things a Muslim believes in, are covered on the Pillars of Faith (Iman) page. This page gathers what the books say about how Iman grows: the teaching that Iman increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience, and the means the scholars name for increasing it, in their own words. It is written for the ordinary believer, the one whose faith rises and falls, and who wants to know from the books themselves what raises it.
Iman Increases and Decreases
Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan explains what Iman is in the legislation, and his explanation ends with the increase and the decrease:
“As for al-iman in the legislation, it is that which Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah have explained: statement of the tongue, belief in the heart, and action with the limbs; it increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience.”
Because Iman is statement, belief, and action together, it is not fixed at one level in every heart. Ibn Kathir, explaining the verse of Surah al-Anfal quoted below, records that this is the view of the majority of the scholars of Islam:
“Al-Bukhari and other scholars relied on this Ayah (8:2) and those similar, as evidence that faith increases and varies in strength from heart to heart. This is also the view of the majority of the scholars of Islam, prompting some scholars, such as Ash-Shafi’i, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Abu ‘Ubayd to declare that this is the consensus of the Ummah.”
So a person whose Iman feels low has not left the teaching of the scholars. He is standing where the books say a believer can stand, and the same books name the way it rises again.
The Qur’an: Listening to It and Thinking Over It
Shaykh al-Fawzan asks the question directly: “And what is the evidence that iman increases and decreases?” His first proof for the increase is the statement of Allah (in the book’s translation):
“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts, and when His verses (this Qur’an) are recited unto them, they (i.e., the verses) increase their faith.” [Surah al-Anfal 8:2]
His comment on it is short: “This indicates that iman increases when listening to the Qur’an.” Shaykh as-Sa’di explains the same verse at length, and his explanation names what happens inside the listener:
“and when His revelations are recited it increases them in faith, the reason being that they listen to it with presence of mind, contemplating the meaning, and as a result of that their faith increases, because contemplation is one of the actions of the heart, and it is inevitable that they will learn a meaning that they did not know, or they will be reminded of something that they had forgotten, or it will make their hearts inclined towards good and make them long for the reward of their Lord, or will make them fear His punishment, or they will be deterred from sin. All of these are things that increase one in faith.”
Notice what the Shaykh gathers into this one passage. The recitation teaches a meaning the person did not know, which is learning. It reminds him of what he forgot. It inclines his heart towards good and makes him long for his Lord’s reward. It makes him fear His punishment and holds him back from sin. Listening with presence of mind, and thinking over what is heard, is itself one of the actions of the heart.
Shaykh al-Fawzan’s next proof is the verse of Surah at-Tawbah, in the book’s translation:
“And whenever there comes down a surah (chapter from the Qur’an), some of them (hypocrites) say, ‘Which of you has had his faith increased by it?’ As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice.” [Surah at-Tawbah 9:124]
His comment joins the two together: “This indicates that iman increases with the revelation of the Qur’an, and with listening to it and contemplating over it.” The Qur’an a person already has is enough for this: reciting it, listening to it, and thinking over its meanings. No rare book and no special gathering is named in these passages, only the Book itself, heard with the heart present.
Obedience, and Watching Against Its Opposite
The definition itself carries the rule: Iman “increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience.” Shaykh al-Fawzan draws the same point from the verse of Surah al-Muddaththir, where Allah says that the believers “may increase in faith” [74:31]. His comment is: “This indicates that iman increases with acts of obedience and affirmation.”
And the decrease has its proof as well. After the proofs of increase, he writes:
“As for the proof of the decrease, then everything that increases likewise decreases. Everything that is subject to increase is subject to decrease.”
And a shortfall is a deficiency, not an expulsion from the religion. Speaking of the branches of Iman, Shaykh al-Fawzan writes:
“As for the one who leaves off any of the branches, then this individual is deficient in his iman. Either it is a deficiency of the obligatory completion of his iman, or it is a deficiency in the recommended completion of his iman. However, he has not disbelieved by way of that.”
Shaykh as-Sa’di, at the head of his explanation of these same verses, ties a person’s shortfall in obedience to the level of his faith itself:
“If anyone falls short in obeying Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), that is due to his lack of faith, because faith is of two types: complete faith which results in success, which is praiseworthy, and faith that is of a lesser degree.”
This is not a word of despair, and it should not be read as one. A person who finds his Iman lowered by sins is told by these same books where the rise is found: in obedience, and in turning back to Allah. Seeking His forgiveness is its own door, and it is treated on the pages What Is Istighfar? and Does Allah Forgive Every Sin?, linked below.
Learning About the Prophet ﷺ
Learning the religion is itself a means, and Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen names one part of it plainly: studying the life of the Prophet ﷺ. In his explanation of the third principle, knowledge of the Prophet ﷺ, he writes that this knowledge is reached by studying his life history, his worship, his character and manners, and how he called to Allah. Then he says:
“Therefore every person who wishes to increase his knowledge about his Prophet, and to increase his eemaan (true faith) in him should read what he is able to about his life in times of war and times of peace, in his times of difficulty and times of ease, and in all his conditions.”
The Shaykh’s words are measured: “what he is able to.” A person reads what he can of the Prophet’s ﷺ life, in his ease and in his hardship, and that learning is tied by the Shaykh himself to an increase of faith in him.
Patience When Times Are Hard
Increase is not only found in quiet times. Shaykh as-Sa’di, explaining the verse “It is He Who sent down reassurance to the hearts of the believers so that they might increase in faith” [48:4], describes what Allah gives His slave in disconcerting trials and difficult circumstances, and what the Companions gained when they bore a hard peace deal with patience:
“By His blessings to His slave in such circumstances He makes him steadfast, strengthens his resolve and gives him a sense of peace, so that he may meet those difficulties with steadfastness and focus of mind, and thus he will be prepared to comply with the commands of Allah in such circumstances and thereby increase in faith and certainty. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) agreed on the deal between him and the polytheists, on the basis of those conditions which appeared to be unfair to them, it seemed to undermine the status of the Companions, and appeared to be an insult such that people can hardly tolerate. But when they bore it with patience and decided to accept it, that increased them in faith.”
The trial itself is not what the believer seeks. But meeting it with steadfastness, keeping to the commands of Allah inside it, and bearing it with patience are named here as a path to increase, by Allah’s blessing.
The Company a Person Keeps
The books also direct a person to the company around him. Shaykh as-Sa’di explains the verse of Surah al-Kahf in which Allah instructs His Prophet ﷺ (in the book’s translation):
“Content yourself with [the company of] those who call upon their Lord every morning and afternoon, seeking His Countenance, and do not turn your eyes away from them, desiring the adornment of the life of this world…” [18:28]
The people described are believers who are obedient and who remember Allah at the beginning and the end of the day. The Shaykh explains the verse’s words, “those who call upon their Lord every morning and afternoon,” as calling upon Him “at the beginning and end of the day, seeking thereby the Countenance of Allah.” On their company, the Shaykh says:
“He describes them as worshipping Him sincerely, which implies that one should keep company with good people and strive to make oneself content with their company and mix with them, even if they are poor, because there are many benefits in keeping company with them.”
Good company is sought for what it carries: worship, remembrance of Allah, and obedience, the very things this page has gathered as the means of increase.
Tending Your Iman
Shaykh as-Sa’di closes his explanation of the verses of Surah al-Anfal with the whole matter in a few lines, and with the single best means he names:
“This indicates that faith may increase and decrease; it increases by doing acts of obedience and it decreases by doing the opposite. The individual should pay attention to his faith and tend it. The best way of doing that is contemplating the Book of Allah and reflecting upon its meanings.”
Paying attention to one’s own faith, and tending it the way a person tends something he values, is the picture the Shaykh leaves us with. The means are within reach of every one of us: the Qur’an recited, heard, and thought over; obedience taken up and sins left; learning about the Prophet ﷺ; patience in hard times; and good company kept. May Allah increase us all in faith and keep us firm upon it.
References
Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles: Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan. Authentic Statements Publications. First Edition, Sha’ban 1440 AH/April 2019. Translated by Raha Batts.
Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles of Islaam: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen. Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution. First Edition, 1418 AH/1997 CE. Translated by Aboo Talhah Daawood ibn Ronald Burbank.
Tafsir as-Sa’di: Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di. International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH). English Edition 1, 2018. Translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Vols. 3, 5 and 9.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), English translation, all 10 volumes in one file. The held copy carries no publisher, edition or translator statement, and none is named here.
Further Reading
Pillars of Faith (Iman): what Iman is: the six pillars every Muslim believes in.
Hadith 2, The Hadith of Jibril (The Levels of the Religion): the hadith of Jibril, in which the Prophet ﷺ defined Islam, Iman and Ihsan.
What Are the Five Pillars of Islam?: the five pillars that Islam is built upon, explained from the books.
What Is Istighfar? Seeking Allah’s Forgiveness and Its Virtue: seeking forgiveness, one of the doors back when faith has been lowered by sins.
Does Allah Forgive Every Sin?: the door of repentance, open to every sin for the one who turns back.
Repentance (Tawbah): what sincere repentance is and the conditions the scholars name for it.
Verified on 2026-10-24 against the books listed above.