Hazrat Dr Abdul Hai RE used to say that everyone of us should look at our daily routine, to make a list of which of our daily activities are in accordance with Shariah, and which are not. How many Faraid (فرائض) and Wajibat (واجبات) do we follow in our daily life, and how many we don’t? How many Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ do we follow in our everyday life? How many opportunities for good deeds are we neglecting each day? What sins are we involved in, in our daily life? Make a list of all these Do’s and Don’ts.

Once you have made such a list, then consider how many of these sins you can give up easily, without too much discomfort. Give up those sins immediately. Then consider those sins which you cannot give up immediately for some reason. Start making an effort to give them up, even a little bit if you can. And for the rest, start praying to Allah Ta’ala, “O’ Allah! I have given up all the sins that I could. But I am unable to give up the rest. Please help me in refraining from these sins too, with Your blessing.” Start making the effort that you can, and start praying to Allah Ta’ala, to help with the rest. Insha'Allah, Allah Ta’ala will help us.

There are two essential steps on the path to Allah Ta’ala; start making whatever effort you can make immediately, and then pray to Allah Ta’ala to help you with deeds that look too difficult. If a person keeps following these two steps all his life, he will Insha'Allah succeed on this path.