By Shaykh Anisul Haque
29 May 2026

﷽ 

Every year, the same question comes up. Ramadan ends, or the days of Dhul Hijjah pass, and we find ourselves asking: what now? 

We know how this goes. During Ramadan, we were praying, reading Qur’an, making du‘a. We genuinely felt close to Allah. Then it ended, and within weeks many of us were back to where we started, praying less, skipping the masjid, barely picking up the Mushaf. And now, after the blessed days of Dhul Hijjah where we pushed ourselves in worship and remembrance, we are at that same point again.

Here is the thing. Islam was never meant to be a religion you switch on during certain months and switch off the rest of the year. Allah is not only the Lord of Ramadan. He is the Lord of every single day. So I want to talk about something that every one of us needs to work on, and that is Istiqamah – being consistent, staying firm on the path of Allah all year round, not just when the energy is high.

Most of us want to worship Allah. That’s not the problem. The problem is keeping it up. Think about the last time you woke up for Qiyam, felt that real push of iman, and told yourself: that’s it, from now on every single night. Two days later it was over. Or the last time you sat with the Qur’an and made a serious intention to finish a Khatm and by the third day the Mushaf hadn’t moved from where you left it. We’ve all been there.

This is exactly why, when the companion Sufyan ibn Abdullah al-Thaqafi came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked for one piece of advice in Islam that he would never need to ask anyone else about, the Prophet ﷺ said:

Say: I believe in Allah – then remain steadfast.

Not just believe. Believe, then hold firm. So how do we actually do that?

First: Ask Allah. Istiqamah is not something you build through willpower alone. It is a gift from Allah, and you have to keep asking Him for it. Even the Prophet ﷺ, whose heart was the purest of hearts, used to regularly make du‘a: “O Turner of the hearts, keep my heart firm upon Your religion.”

When the companions heard him making this du‘a so often, they were surprised. They said: “O Messenger of Allah, we have believed in you, do you still fear for us?” He replied:

Yes, because the hearts of the servants are between two fingers of the Most Merciful, and He turns them however He wills.

That is a sobering reality. No one is safe from the heart drifting, not because Allah is unjust, but because the heart is constantly being tested and pulled in different directions. This is also why we say at least seventeen times a day in salah:

We already know the path. We ask because we need Allah to keep us on it every single day. Seeking His help is not a one-time thing, it is ongoing.

Second: Watch the tongue. This one surprises people, but it is directly connected. After the Prophet ﷺ gave Sufyan that famous advice, Sufyan asked him: “What do you fear most for me?” The Prophet ﷺ grabbed his own tongue and said: “This.”

The Prophet ﷺ also told us:

When the son of Adam wakes up in the morning, all the limbs say to the tongue: ‘Fear Allah when it comes to us, if you are straight, we are straight; if you go wrong, we go wrong.’

Backbiting, lying, pointless arguments, mocking others, these things damage a person spiritually, even if they don’t realise it. You can be praying five times a day and still find your heart getting harder because of what you’re saying with your mouth. Istiqamah in worship has to go hand in hand with Istiqamah in speech.

Third: Keep your worship grounded in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Istiqamah is not just about doing more, it is about doing what is right. Sufyan al-Thawri رحمه الله, a Tabi‘i scholar, jurist, hadith master, and ascetic, who died in 161 AH / 778 CE, said: “Words and deeds are not truly correct unless they conform to the Sunnah.”

The Prophet ﷺ once drew a straight line in the ground and said: “This is the path of Allah.” Then he drew lines branching off on either side and said: “These are the other paths and on every one of them is a shaytan calling people toward it.”

One straight line, many side roads. Real steadfastness means staying on the one path shown to us, not chasing every spiritual idea or trend that comes along:

Fourth: Be consistent, not excessive. This might be the most practical point of all. Islam does not ask you to burn yourself out. It asks you to keep going. The Mother of the Believers, A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, described the Prophet’s ﷺ worship: “His deeds were regular.” Not intense one week and gone the next. Regular.

True steadfastness comes from balance: praying consistently, reading Qur’an daily even if only a little, and remembering Allah regularly throughout our busy lives.

The hujjaj are coming home. Ramadan is behind us. The real test is not what we did in those seasons, it is what we do after them. May Allah make us from those who stay firm, not just when the atmosphere carries us, but in the ordinary days too.

O Turner of the hearts, keep our hearts firm upon Your religion.

Ameen.

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