XPost: alt.religion.christian.20-something, alt.religion.christian.adventist   
   From: msapubli-g9@yahoo.com   
      
   What are the things that make faith decrease?   
      
   Question:   
      
   What are the things that make faith decrease?   
      
      
   Answer:   
      
   Praise be to Allaah.   
      
   The things that make faith decrease are as follows:   
      
   1. Ignorance of the names and attributes of Allaah makes a decrease in faith   
   inevitable, because if a man is lacking in knowledge of the names and   
   attributes of Allaah, he will be lacking in faith.   
      
   2. Neglecting to think about the signs of Allaah in the universe and the   
   signs of sharee'ah (i.e., verses of the Qur'aan and miracles of the Prophet   
   (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), etc.). This causes a decrease   
   in faith or at the very least it causes it to stagnate and not grow.   
      
   3. Committing sins, because sin has a profound effect on the heart and on   
   faith. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:   
   "The adulterer at the time when he is committing adultery is not a   
   believer."   
      
   4. Neglecting to do acts of worship, because neglecting to do acts of   
   worship causes a decrease in faith. But if the act of worship is obligatory   
   and a person neglects it with no excuse, then he is to be blamed and   
   deserves punishment. If the act of worship is not obligatory, or it is   
   obligatory but a person does not do it for a valid reason, then he is   
   lacking but is not to be blamed. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of   
   Allaah be upon him) described women as lacking in reason and in religion,   
   and he explained their lacking in religion as being because of the fact that   
   when they menstruate, they do not pray or fast. But they are not to be   
   blamed for not praying or fasting during their menstruation; rather they are   
   commanded not to do these things at that time. But because they miss out on   
   doing some of the things that men do, they are regarded as lacking in this   
   regard.   
      
   Majmoo' Fataawa wa Rasaa'il Fadeelat al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih   
   al-`Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 1. p. 57   
      
   Go to http://www.islammuslims.com/islam-qa/Volume_1/Contents.htm for   
   Reference and more questions and answers.   
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)