As-salaam alaykum wa rahmatuLlah wa barakaatuh.
I came across something really amazing during the last sacred month of mercy. And it really changed my perception as regards all my endeavors.
To begin with, if I asked you what you think is closest to us as humans, your response would probably be, “our hearts” or “our souls”. However, with time, you will come to realize that there is actually something closer than all these.
That “thing” is none other than Allah subhanaHu wa ta’ala, the Great, the Almighty!
This takes me to my next question; since Allah is the closest One to us, how close is He?
The answer to this question has been unequivocally provided by Him, Azza Wa Jal, in some beautiful verses of the Qur’an;
In verse 186 of surah al-Baqarah, Allah, the Exalted says;
“وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيب أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ”
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, *then surely I am very near;* I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.”
He further explained how near He is when He said in surah al-Anfal, verse 24;
“يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ* وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ”
“O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Apostle when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered”.
Then in surah al-Qaf verse 16, He, the Exalted in Might said,
“وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَI تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيد”
“And certainly We created man, and We know what his mind suggests to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein”.
Allahu Akbar!
That’s how close Allah is to every single one of us. Closer to us than our JUGULAR VEIN ! Allahu Akbar.
It was narrated by Abu Hurayrah in Sahih Bukhari that the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, said :
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، وَأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الأَغَرِّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ “ يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الآخِرُ يَقُولُ مَنْ يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ مَنْ يَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيَهُ مَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ ”.
“Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, comes every night down on the nearest Heaven to us when the last third of the night remains, saying: “Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?”
“Allahu Akbar! How close is Allah!
Finally, from among His plethora of Names are these;
Al-Qareeb; the Close One
Al-Mujeeb; the One that answers supplications…
What assurance!
Despite knowing these, as humans we still tend to seek assistance from what we think are closer to us, things that are tangible, which we can see and touch. How lost are we? To look for a shortcut way out of our dilemmas, instead of beseeching the One Who is closest and Who never rejects our supplications.
A good instance is when we seek for admission into schools, or when we seek for employments or even for scholarship awards, in ignorance, we would miss our affixed meeting with our Creator and the One who is closest to us than miss a meeting with the person who we believe facilitates the processes for us. How easily we forget that nothing comes to being except with the permission of the One we place last! Exalted is He, whether or not we place Him last in our affairs, He is First and He is Last. He is the Beginning and the End!
One interesting thing about the verses we examined above is that Allah has explicitly told us that He recognizes our struggles and our problems in life, and He has reminded us of how close He is to us. Isn’t it then left to us to decide whether or not to totally and sincerely invoke Him and relate all our problems to Him?
As my teacher, may Allah honor him, would often say,
“Du’aa is a humble command coming from an inferior being to the superior sovereign.”
Oh yes! We know that He is so close, closer than we think, than we imagine. He listens. Nay, He doesn’t just listen, He loves it whenever we ask Him and He responds!
This goes to say, that if He created man from water, and the seven strong heavens and the universe… If He created us in different races, skin colours and structures… If He made a special finger print for every single soul (imagine our number compared to the few lines neatly drawn on the tip of our fingers!), there is then no doubt that our wishes are amongst the smallest things He can make come to reality, again and again and again! But first, we must be sincere enough to ask from Him alone.
We can make this change happen during the last hours of the night when He descends to the lowest Heaven, or when the rain falls, or when on transit, or between the adhaan and iqaamah, or between tashaahud and tasleem, during sujjud…!
Are you still dallying?
Alas! Here is a reminder for myself first, and then, to you all. LEVERAGE ON THE MOMENT! Turn to The One Who is closest to you at the times you are sure that your du’aa will definitely be answered! How many chances do you let slip everyday? Make a decision to let that stop today. Ask of the Creator instead of the created. Turn to Him in repentance. Give up your sins and, bi-ithniLlah, you will have your du’aa answered.
Author: Ruqayya Modibbo
Editor: Umm Naml
