The basis of the religion of science is belief in the supremacy of the human intellect. If you believe in Allah, subhanahu wa t’ala, but believe that your faith proceeds from your intellect, you still fall into this trap.

Guidance comes from Allah:

وَمَاۤ أَرۡسَلۡنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوۡمِهِۦ لِیُبَیِّنَ لَهُمۡۖ فَیُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ مَن یَشَاۤءُ وَیَهۡدِی مَن یَشَاۤءُۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِیزُ ٱلۡحَكِیمُ

“And We sent not a Messenger except with the language of his people, in order that he might make (the Message)
clear for them. Then Allah misleads whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the All-Mighty, the All Wise.”

14:4

Just as Allah sends water to revive the dead earth, Allah grants faith to bring life to the heart.

النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ مَثَلُ الْبَيْتِ الَّذِي يُذْكَرُ اللَّهُ فِيهِ وَالْبَيْتِ الَّذِي لاَ يُذْكَرُ اللَّهُ فِيهِ مَثَلُ الْحَىِّ وَالْمَيِّتِ ‏”‏ ‏.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The likeness of the house in which Allah is remembered, and the house in which Allah is not remembered, is that of the living and the dead.”

Sahih Bukhari, 6044

And it is Allah that causes the rain to fall:

أَفَرَءَیۡتُمُ ٱلۡمَاۤءَ ٱلَّذِی تَشۡرَبُونَ

ءَأَنتُمۡ أَنزَلۡتُمُوهُ مِنَ ٱلۡمُزۡنِ أَمۡ نَحۡنُ ٱلۡمُنزِلُونَ

“Consider the water which you drink.

Was it you that brought it down from the rain cloud or We?”

56:68-69

Allah is above the physical phenomenon of precipitation. Even if all of the physical conditions for precipitation and rain are present, He can withhold the rain. And even if all of the conditions for rain are absent, He can send rain by His will.

The guidance of Allah is independent from rational understanding of the Truth. Rational understanding may be one aspect of Allah’s guidance, but it is never the source of guidance, just as a rain cloud is not the true source of rain. Allah may guide a person or increase them in faith by means of the intellect, or without it.

At times we may encounter some knowledge, or a rational argument which increases us in faith. At other times, it may be emotion that increases our faith. And nothing increases faith like witnessing karamat, or miracles, where Allah grants exceptions to the laws of physics. Even witnessing miracles, though, is no guarantee of faith or guidance.

The kuffar of Mecca witnessed the splitting of the moon and still did not believe. Ultimately, faith can only come from Allah. And so the Prophet ﷺ prayed:

يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ

“O turner of hearts, set my heart firmly upon your religion.”

Sunan at Tirmidhi, 3522

On social media, there is a big demand among the Muslims (especially in the English speaking space) for refutations of atheism. This demand points to a need; Muslims in America are not very interested in refutations of Hinduism, because their faith is not attacked and threatened by Hinduism on a daily basis. The religion of science, however, is the dominant organizing principle of society, and this is the real meaning of “deen.”

A “deen” is the core logic of a society, a way of life. The deception of secularism is to reduce the definition of religion to a private spiritual practice. This means many Muslims are actually living according to a religion that contradicts Islam while trying to reconcile their lives with the teachings of the Quran and sunnah. This is an impossible task. We are so infected by the religion of science, that we even seek to use it to repair our faith. When we are confronted with doubts, we seek
reassurance in rational refutations of atheists, or scientific proofs of Islam.

That’s not to say that this approach is not valuable or important; it is. But the problem is that this is only one means to increase our faith, and it is being given a level of importance which reflects the values of the dominant science religion.

Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimullah, said:

“Faith increases by acts of obedience to Allah and decreases by acts of disobedience.”

Sharh Al-Aqida Al-Wasitiyya 1/264

How many times does Allah, subhanhu wa t’ala, command the believers to struggle and fight in His path in His book? So we have generally abandoned obedience to Allah, subhanhu wa t’ala, and we find our iman is sinking. So what is the solution?

Well, what does the logic of society teach us to do? Turn to human reason to find the solution. The religion of science teaches us to use logic to destroy these doubts, just as we use antibiotics to kill diseases. Well, here’s a logical and rational explanation of how supporting and participating in jihad can increase your iman, without referring to the Western academic and scientific establishment.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ مَثَلُ الْجَلِيسِ الصَّالِحِ وَالْجَلِيسِ السَّوْءِ كَمَثَلِ صَاحِبِ الْمِسْكِ، وَكِيرِ الْحَدَّادِ، لاَ يَعْدَمُكَ مِنْ صَاحِبِ الْمِسْكِ إِمَّا تَشْتَرِيهِ، أَوْ تَجِدُ رِيحَهُ، وَكِيرُ الْحَدَّادِ يُحْرِقُ بَدَنَكَ أَوْ ثَوْبَكَ أَوْ تَجِدُ مِنْهُ رِيحًا خَبِيثَةً ‏”‏‏.‏

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The example of a good companion in comparison with a bad one is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith’s bellows; from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your body or your clothes or you get a bad nasty smell thereof.”

Sahih Bukhari, 2101

We are affected by our surroundings, and guess what happens when you start to even speak in support of the mujahideen in our time? You will find yourself abandoned by all kinds of people. Even many of your family members will stop speaking to you out of fear of the government.

Is this a loss? Not at all. Rather, the people who are in love with dunya will go away from you, because they will fear that you might cause them to lose some of what they love. At the same time, those who fear Allah, subhanahu wa t’ala, more than they fear His creation will still sit with you, and the quality of your companions will increase dramatically.

If you stay on this path, there are a few things that might happen; you will face increasing trials; you might be harassed and insulted. You may have trouble finding work. You might be imprisoned. But if you look at the people insulting you, you’ll find that being accepted by them would not help you in your religion.

You might find the job you were rejected from was filled with mixing with non-mahram women, and associated with other haram activities like riba, insurance, or supporting governments that are at war with Allah. If you go to prison, there’s a few possibilities; they can put you in the general population, which means you can make da’wah to the prisoners, and you will find them in many cases much more receptive than the normal people outside the prison who are busy with dunya. But the prison managers know this as well, so they may separate you from the general population and put you in a special area for religious Muslims, where the companionship of your brothers will increase you in iman and beneficial knowledge. And solitary confinement is probably the most difficult trial, but you will almost certainly spend much more time reciting and memorizing the book of Allah and making abundant dhikr.

From this persecution, you will come to hate the oppression of the kuffar and munafiqeen even more, and you may feel, if Allah wills, more willing to take the risks and endure the difficulty associated with emigration so as not to be in a position to be humiliated and abused by them any more.

These trials come in waves of difficulty and ease, ease and difficulty, and the only way to pass through these trials is reliance on Allah. Each trial may be greater than the last, and will require deepening your trust and dependence on Allah. Each time the help of Allah arrives after your sincere supplications, it will also increase your faith, in sha Allah. And as your faith increases, so too will the difficulty of the trials.

عَنْ مُصْعَبِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، سَعْدِ بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ النَّاسِ أَشَدُّ بَلاَءً قَالَ ‏ “‏ الأَنْبِيَاءُ ثُمَّ الأَمْثَلُ فَالأَمْثَلُ يُبْتَلَى الْعَبْدُ عَلَى حَسَبِ دِينِهِ فَإِنْ كَانَ فِي دِينِهِ صُلْبًا اشْتَدَّ بَلاَؤُهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي دِينِهِ رِقَّةٌ ابْتُلِيَ عَلَى حَسَبِ دِينِهِ فَمَا يَبْرَحُ الْبَلاَءُ بِالْعَبْدِ حَتَّى يَتْرُكَهُ يَمْشِي عَلَى الأَرْضِ وَمَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَطِيئَةٍ ‏”‏ ‏.‏

It was narrated from Mus’ab bin Sa’d that his father, Sa’d bin Abu Waqqas, said:

“I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which people are most severely tested?’ He said: ‘The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A person is tested according to his religious commitment. If he is steadfast in his religious commitment, he will be tested more severely, and if he is frail in his religious commitment, his test will be according to his commitment. Trials will continue to afflict a person until they leave him walking on the earth with no sin on him.’”

Sunan ibn Majah, 4023

So the solution to weak iman is clear, but the reality is that most people don’t want it. And Allah, subhanhu wa t’ala, said:

وَقُلِ ٱلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكُمۡۖ فَمَن شَاۤءَ فَلۡیُؤۡمِن وَمَن شَاۤءَ فَلۡیَكۡفُرۡۚ

‘And say, “The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills -let them believe; and whoever wills – let them disbelieve.”’

18:29

Making the choice to abandon jihad is an act of disobedience, and choosing disobedience is choosing to diminish in iman. Those who rationally think that they can benefit the ummah more by living a life of comfort and luxury than by sacrificing their life and wealth to establish the religion are simply using logic and reason to deceive themselves— just like the believers in the science religion. And Allah, subhanhu wa t’ala, says:


لَّا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡقَـٰعِدُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ غَیۡرُ أُو۟لِی ٱلضَّرَرِ وَٱلۡمُجَـٰهِدُونَ فِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ بِأَمۡوَ ٰلِهِمۡ وَأَنفُسِهِمۡۚ فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمُجَـٰهِدِینَ بِأَمۡوَ ٰلِهِمۡ وَأَنفُسِهِمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡقَـٰعِدِینَ دَرَجَةࣰۚ وَكُلࣰّا وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰۚ وَفَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمُجَـٰهِدِینَ عَلَى ٱلۡقَـٰعِدِینَ أَجۡرًا عَظِیمࣰا

Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home), except those who are disabled, and those who strive hard and fight in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives above those who sit (at home).

4:95

Stronger iman is one of the favors which Allah has granted to the mujahideen who strive sincerely in His path, and it is an indication of their status in the akhira. May Allah make us from the people of iman and the people of obedience to His command.