Relationship with Allah

Relationship with Allah (SWT)

“Whoever draws near to Me among those drawn near by fulfilling what I have made obligatory on them, and a devotee does not cease to draw near to Me with nawafil (additional worship) until I love him. So when I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, and his eyesight with which he sees, and his tongue with which he talks, and his hand with which he strikes, and his feet with which he walks. (Hadith Qudsi in Sahih al-Bukhari, narrated by Hadrat Abu Hurayra, Rady Allahu 'Anhu)”

What is being conveyed through this hadith is the indication of when we act upon our obligatory duties and nourish our souls through voluntary deeds, to keep alive the heart with the remembrance of Allah (swt) we are aided in every action we accomplish for the pleasure of Allah (swt) with His mercy and love, SubhanAllah. That our sight, our hearing, our touch and our speech has been influenced with the essence of Allah (swt).

The reason as to why I started off with this hadith is because it closely links to what I am about to be discussing, InShaAllah which is the relationship with Allah (swt). It is only when we have a strong bond with Allah (swt) through the understanding of who Allah really is via the attributes that have been revealed to us of Him in the Qur’an and really, truly comprehending these characteristics by contemplating what they mean for us in this Dunya as well as for the Akhirah. Having this knowledge would help us to develop a love, affection, an appreciation, and a deep conviction of His existence as well as fear of what He is capable of doing. Once we have established a close relationship with Allah (swt) we are able to find contentment despite the shackles of life. Moreover, it will enable us to have a strong sense of accountability within our hearts. Consequently, drives us to endeavor what is necessary to partake in, for the way of Allah (swt).

 

A relationship between two people requires certain features and these usually are communication and dedication. A prosperous relationship entitles for both participants to reciprocate mutual feelings. Otherwise, it’ll be a dead acquaintanceship, as it cannot evolve any further. Sooner or later, the person who invests the time and energy towards the individual, he or she will get sick and tired of being the one to demonstrate any positive emotions when the other does not do the same. We wouldn’t be surprised or expect any different would we when the person no longer invests effort? It would be considered absolutely normal. I’m sure all of us would agree that a healthy relationship is that of one where both, regularly display some sort of inclination to one another. Likewise, to have an enriching bond with Allah (swt) we need to be constantly engaging in acts, worthy of befriending the Al- Khaliq, our Creator. In contrast to the relationships with people when we neglect our duty towards Allah (swt), He does not turn aside from us and strip us of our blessings. Neither does he let us fester away, rather this tends to happen when we forget our purpose naturally. However, He is always present when we are in need of Him and when we finally do acknowledge and remember Him, we are never turned away. When we ask for Him for favours, even after not fulfilling what is Allah’s dutiful right. “Your Lord is shy and generous. He is shy to turn away the hands of His slave empty when he raises them” [Ahmad]

We all know that we can have attachments to people, objects and worldly matters. Nevertheless, we should also be aware of how if our relationship with Allah (swt) is faulty then we will realise the attachments for certain people or material objects can be the cause of our destruction, for when they disappear from our lives we are left feeling destroyed. The feelings and thoughts have been effected so much that it inevitably leads to actions against the self and this is haram. This only occurs when we have made people or our possessions to be the source of our fulfillment, meaning our happiness instead of Allah (swt). Letting ourselves be so attached to something allows us to be extremely vulnerable. For when the very thing we are attached to, is ripped away from our hands it will have the capacity to break us. Worldly things have the power to crush us is because one thing they all have in common is that they are of the Dunya. The Dunya was made imperfect and was never created to offer us eternal happiness because then that would be Jannah. Jannah would lose its value and really there would be no purpose for it. So holding onto these worldly attachments is like grasping onto a thin piece of string hanging over a cliff. Therefore, every time these are snatched away or lost never to be returned again, it would lead to despair and disappointment time and time again when we repeatedly latch onto things that we were never supposed to be make into our all, our everything.

In Surah Al- Imran Ayah 3:14, Allah states: “It was made attractive to people, the love of things they crave; women, sons, heaped up heaps of gold and silver, branded horses, cattle and will-tilled land. But this is onluy for the enjoyment of this worldly life, but Allah, with Him is the beautiful homecoming. This ayah exemplifies that man can relish the world’s fortunes but it will never satisfy him. What really quenches man’s needs is Allah (swt). Therefore, when we have the correct bond after every trial, after every adversity that may befall us we will understand that it is part of Allah’s decree to build our characters and mold our personalities for the advancement of our selves to deal with future experiences in life.

They way we perceive things and how it makes us react is all linked to the bond we have with Allah (swt). Everything stems from that connection. Thus, linking the relationship with Allah (swt) back to the dawah is that when we are constantly strengthening the bond with Him it leads us to be more motivated into progressing further as individuals to be better people. At the same time we will have the mindset that we will be striving to reach our true potential when it comes to dealing with our contacts.  It will not be burdensome due to the fact that we apprehend the fact that we are not doing this for our self, the party, anyone else, other than Allah (swt).

To taste the love of Allah and having that strong association with Allah (swt) would mean that we would exert ourselves towards doing all that pleases Him and refrain from that which displeases him. Knowing that we are blessed to have been guided by Al- Hadi, The Ultimate Guide and cherish it in such a manner that we rush towards the people to convey His message and bring them to the Deen and reinforcing the idea that Islam is an ideology, a way of life with a comprehensive system just like us who have been given the opportunity to be part of the call of Khilafah!

“Oh you who believe..Allah has made you love the faith, and made it so beautiful in your hearts, and has made you hate disbelief, immorality and rebelliousness. These are the righteous. This is the grace and bounty, from Allah, as Allah is All Knowledgable and All Wise” [Surah Hujarat 49:8-6]. This ayah clearly links to concept of the heart loving Allah and Islam so deeply that ultimately leads to being agitated to work for Allah’s Law and swipe kuffr from the lands.

And finally, to end this I’ll close with this narration: “A man came to the Prophet (saw) and asked him “Oh Allah’s messenger, tell me something I do to win Allah’s love and people’s love”. The Prophet (saw) answered: “Do not love this world, Allah would not love you and do not have a longing for whatever people have, people would love you” [Ibn Majah].

 

By A.I