Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 575 [Read full issue]
The "Challenge" of Istiqamah
Istiqamah (being steadfast) is not an easy thing to achieve. The proper istiqamah will only come about when faith is firmly rooted in the heart. Complete or perfect istiqamah - which implies complete devotion to the oneness of Allah without any shortcomings - may be impossible to achieve. By the mercy of Allah, such "perfection" is not what is required of human beings.
A hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) makes this point clearer. The Prophet said,
"O People, you are not able to, or you will not do, all that you are ordered to do. But, instead, try to be upright and have glad tidings."[Abu Dawud]
In another hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the Messenger of Allah stated, "Be straight on the path or be close to it." What the Prophet meant by this statement is that a Muslim must be in one of two situations for every belief, statement and deed: The first state is where the belief, statement or deed is correct and along the Straight Path. It is like a person who has taken aim at something and has actually hit his target. The second state is where the person intends to do what is right and correct but falls a little short. In this state, it must have been the case that the person intended and wanted to hit the target but he simply missed due to his own inability. However, at no time would a Muslim intentionally not hit the mark or not aim at the mark. The Prophet mentioned these two cases and these two only, and they are the only acceptable cases. (Ibn Rajab)
Hence what is required upon the person is either to be fully following, adhering and sticking to the Straight Path or to be doing his best to adhere to that Straight Path, although he may fall short of that Straight Path.
Compiled From:
"Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 834-837