Assalamualaikum, Allah swt tests one with what he has given him, Allah swt has given me a lot. How can I make sure I'm not failing my tests? Despite doing whats Obligatory I always feel like I'm failing. Perhaps because of my frivolous worldly interests outside of Islam. Any advice?
Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,
My recommendation for those who want to be extraordinary believers is to try to perform an extra hour of worship every day, especially reading the Quran. One should read it with the aim of understanding it and embodying its teachings in one’s life. If you an achieve this hour of daily worship and do your best to embody the Quran’s teachings, then I would say this is guaranteed to keep you in a great spiritual place constantly. There is no way to remain spiritual without constant, daily work. The life of this world always takes us away from God on a daily basis and we need to exert daily effort to constantly go back to Him.
For more on the extra hour of worship please see my essay Mysticism without Sufism: A Guide to Tahajjud, Islam’s Meditation Practice