“I tried to make salat again, but I don’t feel anything anymore.” That was a statement of a Muslimah whose life, for a decade or more, centered largely on intoxicants and sensuality. She is like a lot of Muslims who are trying to come back to their faith but don’t want to declare repentance before Allah, because they are still in a lifestyle that contradicts the tenets of Islam. Maybe they will make salat occasionally. Maybe they will fast—or try to fast—a few days during Ramadan. But when they try to fulfill one of the pillars of Islam and feel no spiritual reward, their attempts become even more sporadic, or they give up.
An effort to reconnect to faith spiritually may begin with a simple expression of gratitude to Allah. That is because, in fact, there is nothing simple about expressing gratitude to Allah. Gratitude has many facets and is an entryway into the heart of the Muslim. Muslims trying to come back to faith may find that achieving a renewed spiritual connection requires some work to change the heart, to let the seeds of spiritual change begin there, as well as through the physical actions of salat and fasting.
Gratitude contains an acknowledgement of the rightness of His Plan in big and small things. The Muslim knows that Allah and Allah alone could have created the vast universe we live in from the great stars to the tiny particles that make up each atom. The Muslim heart may soften in realizing that just as Allah made no mistake in the vast creation of the universe, Allah also made no mistake in the life of any individual.
Gratitude builds on itself. The Muslim who begins to incorporate expressions of gratitude in things major or minor may find that gratitude becomes a habit. Gratitude may soften the heart and let hope back in. Or gratitude may build and let joy back in. Gratitude may even begin to chip away at the pain and anger and disappointment stored in the heart and help the tears flow once again.
Gratitude to Allah is also an acknowledgement of dependence on Allah. That acknowledgement may soften the heart, eventually inclining it to desire submission and obedience to His Will.
Gratitude to Allah may be a step toward the renewed spiritual feelings Muslims seek when trying to come back to faith. Remembering to be grateful to Allah may also help strengthen the heart when faced with tests, set-backs or disappointments that are ever a part of life and a part of faith.
