The First Step Towards Allah We Keep Forgetting
By Qalbun Yaqzaan | قلبٌ يقظان — A Heart That Can No Longer Sleep
“I want to become closer to Allah.”
It’s one of the most common questions people ask: “Where do I start?”, “Can you give me a roadmap?”
Our answers are usually the same: pray five times a day, read the Qur’an, attend Islamic classes, make dhikr, wake up for Tahajjud. Every one of these is beautiful.
But I wonder if we have forgotten the very first step.
Stop sinning.
Not because you are already righteous, but because you have decided that Allah means more to you than your desires.
Many of us want guidance while continuing to hold on to the very things that distance us from Him.
“As for those who are ˹rightly˺ guided, He increases them in guidance and blesses them with righteousness.”
Acts of worship are the pillars that bring us closer to Allah. But before we build higher, we must stop digging deeper. Persistent sins quietly pull us in the opposite direction.
Every Sin Enters Through a Door
We often think of sin as one big action. In reality, every day our body is either obeying Allah or disobeying Him.
- Our eyes look at what Allah has forbidden instead of lowering the gaze.
- Our ears become accustomed to music, gossip, and speech that distract us from the remembrance of Allah.
- Our tongue lies, backbites, mocks, or hurts others with words that can never be taken back.
- Our hands type, scroll, share, earn, and touch. Every click is either written for us or against us.
- Our feet carry us towards places of obedience or places of heedlessness.
- Our heart becomes attached to the dunya instead of becoming attached to Allah.
- Our mind becomes occupied with everything except the One who created it.
“Do not follow what you have no ˹sure˺ knowledge of. Indeed, all will be called to account for ˹their˺ hearing, sight, and intellect.”
“But no! In fact, their hearts have been stained by all ˹the evil˺ they used to commit!”
Sins do not simply break rules — they leave stains on the heart.
The Prophet ﷺ said that every sin places a black spot upon the heart. If a person repents and seeks forgiveness, the heart is polished clean. But if the sins continue, the blackness spreads until it covers the heart.
That is how hearts become rusty — not overnight, but one sin at a time.
A Moment That Stayed With Me
Recently, I travelled with close friends to a remote area of Pakistan. The children amazed me. Ma sha Allah, they were respectful, kind, generous, and incredibly well-mannered.
But something quietly saddened me.
Music played almost constantly. Some children even fell asleep listening to it. When the adhan was called, hardly anyone prayed except me and one or two others.
This is not written to criticise anyone. Allah alone knows what is in every heart.
It simply made me ask myself:
Are we raising children with beautiful manners but weak connections with Allah?
We spend years teaching them to say “please” and “thank you.” We teach them to study hard, dream big, and become successful.
But are we teaching them to love Allah?
If parents don’t shape their children’s hearts, social media will. Someone is always teaching our children what to admire, what to normalise, and what to love.
The question is: who are we allowing to become their teacher?
One Habit at a Time
No one becomes righteous overnight.
Don’t try to fix your entire life today. Instead, ask yourself:
- What can my eyes stop looking at?
- What can my ears stop listening to?
- What words should my tongue stop speaking?
- What should my hands stop typing or sharing?
- Where should my feet stop taking me?
- What attachment should my heart let go of?
Leave one sin today for the sake of Allah. Then another tomorrow.
One sincere step away from sin may become the first step towards Allah.
Before You Close This Page…
Ask yourself one question: Who am I becoming?
We live in a time when truth is constantly challenged, faith is tested, and the Ummah is genocided before our very eyes. If these moments don’t soften our hearts or bring us closer to Allah, what will? Today it may be the trials of others; tomorrow, Allah may test us. When that day comes, our wealth, careers, and social status will not carry us through — only a heart filled with Imaan (faith) will.
The decision we make today is not simply whether to leave a sin. It is deciding who we stand with, what we stand for, and ultimately, who we want to be when we stand before Allah.
May Allah purify our hearts, protect our limbs from disobedience, make our children among those who establish prayer and remember Him often, and grant us the courage to leave every sin for His sake. Ameen.
