Feeling More Fear Than Love for Allah and Struggling with That
I've been really stressed about making errors in my salah lately-it's like I'm convinced I don't deserve His mercy, even though I know that's not the right mindset. It's a tough spot to be in. Just earlier, while breaking my fast, I was asking my parents about some mistakes I'd made during prayer, and my sister pointed out that it seems I'm praying more out of fear than love for Allah. Honestly, I'm not sure how to change that. For years, I turned away from Islam, even lying about praying and fasting. I've been back at it for about eight months now, and I'm still getting the hang of the basics. It's only recently that I've realized how many mistakes I was making in my prayers before, and the thought of being seen as a hypocrite or unworthy of Allah's love is just terrifying. It's so draining-I'm always afraid of messing up, to the point that it's making me put off acts of worship sometimes. Even these last nights of Ramadan have been a struggle. I manage to pray Isha and do a few extra rakats, then make sincere duas and some dhikr, but come morning, I just feel empty. I can't tell if this is a test from Allah or if I'm just being weak and not worth guiding. I really want to grow in love for Allah and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. I'm trying to read more about him and follow the sunnah, but it feels like nothing clicks when I do. What's wrong with me? I'm scared that I'm not worthy of being guided by Allah.