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Salam, Abdullah.

Thank you for your question.

Surprisingly enough, your dissatisfaction with your self is a good sign. If a person finds himself saying, "Ok, I'm not perfect, but I'm doing all right…in the end I'll be just fine," then most likely he has been deceived by Satan. Furthermore, it is often difficult for a person in this state of self-delusion to pass into true humility before Allah. A self-reproaching person, on the other hand, will have a much easier time progressing spiritually if he rolls up his sleeves and makes a concerted effort to reform himself. But let us not be disillusioned—this is no easy task.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “If a person were to remain in prostration from the day of his birth until the day he died, to please Allah Exalted, then nevertheless on the Day of Resurrection he will consider this deed to be small” (Reported by Ahmad).

In other words, it is impossible to thank and praise Allah enough for all the blessings that He has given us. Even the ability to recognize a single bounty and to thank Allah for it is taken from Allah’s quality of guiding and leading towards righteousness, and thus demands further gratitude. As such, we can never merit Allah’s pleasure, and it is only by His mercy that we will achieve success.

How much would you sell one of your eyes for? You have two—couldn’t you spare one of them for a million dollars? How about a billion dollars? Assuming your answer is no, then you are admitting that your eye is worth more than a billion dollars. How grateful would you be to a person who gave you a billion dollars? How much in his service would you be? Now carry this analogy to Allah, and we must also consider how much more He has given us.

In terms of practical advice, your companionship is key for building your iman. Even if your friends are regular in their prayers and attend the mosque regularly, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they will increase your faith. Ask yourself, how much of your conversation is spent in discussing other people behind their backs?

You mentioned people of bid`ah, and I would strongly urge you not to spend your time discussing these matters with your friends. It’s enjoyable to discuss other groups and sects because it makes us feel better about ourselves, but keep in mind that this is exactly what Satan wants us to do. Let us assume that a group of people is deviant; is our discussing them and backbiting them improving the situation? Which scholar said that they are deviant? Is there a difference of opinion among the scholars, and if so, then why do we choose to consider one sheikh’s line of reasoning to be the only truth?

With all this in mind, there are three types of “religious” companions: those who talk about others, those who remind you of Islam, and those who remind you of Allah. The first category we discussed above. While they may even come in the guise of sheikhs, they base their Islam on the denigration of all other people, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Keeping the company of these people will lower your iman and take you farther away from Allah the Exalted.

The second group of people remind you of Islam in one form or another. They may be interesting to listen to or read, and often times they will be of great benefit towards your knowledge and even practice. Nevertheless, they will not raise your iman per se. Included in this category are talks on systems, aspects, and models within Islam (the Islamic economic model, etc.), and even the study of tawheed (oneness of Allah) as a theoretical science, among many other types of talks and discussions.

Finally the group who reminds you of Allah has understood the meaning of the verse:

(And continue to remind, for surely the reminder profits the believers) (Ar-Rahman 55:51).

(And [as for] those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways; and Allah is most surely with the doers of good) (Al-`Ankabut 29:69).

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