Al-Qareeb (The Near One)

Al-Azhar Quran Teaching | Al-Qareeb (The Near One)

Al-Qareeb (The Near One)

Do you feel lonely? Has your close friend let you down? Do you feel as if a veil separates you from those dearest to you, leaving you misunderstood as was before? Does your soul long for someone to whom it can pour out its deepest emotions?
 
Why not turn away from that friend and that loved one and instead turn to the One Who never abandons those who draw near to Him?
 
Allah, Who is closer to you than your jugular vein, transforms your life into comfort and happiness with His Presence. He has a majestic name that encapsulates beauty and radiance: Al-Qareeb (The Near One). Let us delve into its meanings, experience His closeness, and savor the sweetness of whispering prayers to Him in times of solitude…
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O Allah!

While He wants you to know that He is established on the Throne, He also assures you that He is closer to you than your jugular vein.
 
He hears your words and sees your actions, and nothing about you is hidden from Him.
 
The Prophet (peace be upon him) once entered the Masjid and found his companions calling upon Allah with loud voices. He said, “Calm yourselves, for you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. You are calling upon the All-Hearing, the Near.”
 
The moment a servant concludes his supplication, the answer begins to unfold, for He is nearer than the mind can imagine!
 
A man once lost his mount and wandered in distress until he encountered Ibrahim bin Adham. The man said: “I have lost my mount!” Ibrahim stopped and prayed: “O Allah, I will not move a step until You return this man’s mount.” And there it was, appearing around the bend!
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For You…

Another friend told me he entered the Masjid after performing ablution, and the water of ablution was still on his ears. The cool air from the air conditioner caused discomfort in his ear, which eventually turned into pain. Without moving his lips, he whispered in his heart, “O Allah, I endured this for You.” Suddenly, the pain vanished without warning or transition!
 
Such closeness, where even the unspoken words of the heart are heard, is indescribable.
 
The nearest you can be to Him is when you are in prostration. Whisper “Subhana Rabbi al-A’la” (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High), and the heavens open for your whispering as the Almighty listens to you!
 
Never imagine that He is far away or unaware of anything about you.
 
The Prophet (peace be upon him) went out in the dead of night to knock on the door of Ubai bin Ka’b. When Ubai answered, the Prophet said: “Allah commanded me to recite Al-Fatiha (the Opening Chapter) to you.” Ubai, overwhelmed, asked: “He mentioned me by name?” The Prophet replied: “Yes.” Ubai wept.
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The Crawling Ant

He is close to all His creations, seeing and protecting them…
How could He sustain His creation without being near?
How could He be the Lord without being near?
His nearness is one of knowledge, hearing, vision, and encompassing awareness—not physical proximity, for His essence is transcendent and beyond such limits.
Among His acts of nearness, the Prophet said, “In the last third of the night, He descends to the lowest heaven, saying: ‘Who will ask Me that I may give him? Who will call upon Me that I may answer him? Who will seek My forgiveness that I may forgive him?’”
He even hears the footsteps of a black ant on a solid rock in the darkest night.
Allah says: “And not a leaf falls but that He knows it.”
Imagine the countless trees, their leaves, and how they fall in autumn. He knows each of them: how many, their shapes, their types, and every detail about them!
A woman once came to argue with the Prophet (peace be upon him) about her husband while ‘Aisha was sitting nearby. ‘Aisha admitted that some of her words were inaudible to her. Yet, Allah revealed: “Allah has certainly heard the statement of the woman who disputes with you concerning her husband and directs her complaint to Allah. And Allah hears your dialogue. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing.”
How astonishing is His nearness, vast knowledge, encompassing hearing, and penetrating vision?
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He sees you now!

Stretch out your hand now. Did you extend it? He saw it! You must believe that!
 
Once, as my friend was leaving my dorm room at the university, he asked me to write him a word on a piece of paper to read on his way back to his room. I wrote: “He sees you now.” He later told me that those words struck him deeply!”
His closeness makes you fear; it must make you fear…
His closeness comforts you; it must comfort you…
His closeness warms you; it must warm you…
His closeness makes you courageous, proud, and heroic…
Listen to Him as He calmed Moses when Moses expressed fear about going to Pharaoh. He said to him: “Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.” This is enough. His presence with them was the greatest protection. Because He was with them, they had no reason to fear Pharaoh. They had to be brave, proud heroes.
It is established in the books of creed that Allah has two types of closeness: A special closeness for His allies, which involves love, support, and guidance. A general closeness for all His creation, which involves His knowledge, hearing, sight, and encompassing awareness.
His closeness to Moses and Aaron was a special closeness, entailing support and guidance. How could they fear when Allah promised them His support and success?
And everyone who does as Moses and Aaron did, commanding good and forbidding evil with knowledge and wisdom, will have Allah’s support by the faith in his heart and his adherence to His commands. This is why every person who calls to the truth and stands against falsehood is endowed with such strength, courage, steadfastness, and success that you might feel certain that Allah’s special closeness surrounds and supports him.
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Smile…

One of the most comforting verses in this regard is: “He who sees you when you stand [to pray] and your movements among those who prostrate.”

How much solace will you feel as you say, “Allahu Akbar,” praying to Allah, knowing that a special gaze from Him is upon you for this act? Allah sees all His creation, those who pray or not. This indicates that His gaze upon one who prays is a unique gaze, a gaze of love, acceptance, response, and forgiveness.

The same applies to the Hadith found in Sahih Bukhari, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah has never listened to anything as He listens to a Prophet with a beautiful voice reciting the Qur’an aloud.”

Ibn Kathir explains this: “It means that Allah has never listened to anything like His listening to a Prophet reciting the Qur’an beautifully and aloud. This is because the recitation of Prophets combines sweet voices with complete reverence, which is the ultimate goal. Allah hears the voices of all His servants—righteous and wicked alike—as Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: ‘Glory be to Him Whose Hearing encompasses all sounds.’ Yet His listening to the recitation of His believing servants is greater, as He says: ‘And you are not [engaged] in any matter or recite any part of the Qur’an, nor do you do any deed, except that We are witness over you when you are involved in it.’ And His listening to the recitation of His Prophets is even more profound.”

If fears slap you in the face, smile. Remember His closeness. All the things you fear are not nearer to you than He is!

And if calamities surround you, remain optimistic and scatter them with the thought that He is closer to you than your jugular vein!

Some preachers of old would narrate the story of a man traveling in the desert. He was stopped by a highway robber wielding a sword, intending to kill him. The man offered, “Take my money,” but the robber replied, “No, I want to kill you and then take your money.” The man asked for permission to pray two Rak’ah, which was granted. He said, “I forgot all the Qur’an except: ‘Or Who responds to the distressed one when he calls upon Him and removes evil?’ I kept repeating it, and before I finished my prayer, a knight appeared from nowhere. He hit this man with his sword, cutting his head off.”

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Glory be to You!

He is near; simply move your lips in His remembrance, and the gates of the heavens open to the sound of your voice.
 
Jonah was in the belly of the whale, calling out: “There is no deity except You; glory be to You. Indeed, I have been one of the wrongdoers.” That faint voice, emerging from the three layers of darkness, pierced the vastness of the heavens until the angels said to the Lord, Exalted is He: “A familiar voice from an unfamiliar place!”
 
Allah says in the Sacred Hadith: “Whoever remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself. And whoever remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than his.” Because He is near, just say “O Allah,” and the response is that he mentions your name!
 
Imagine the Majesty of the King of Kings mentioning your name at this moment, saying: “My servant, so-and-so, has remembered Me!”
 
With all its distractions, this world pales in comparison to such a thought. This nearness grows even more profound with repentance, devotion, and acts of worship. He says in the Sacred Hadith: “If My servant draws near to Me a hand-span, I draw near to him an arm’s length. If he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.” Every effort to draw closer to Him is met with even greater nearness from Him—through acceptance, blessings, and gifts.
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Reaching Him

One of the meanings of His nearness is that He makes you see reminders of Him in everything around you:

You see His Wisdom in the intricate design of His creations.

You see His Power in the suspension of the heavens without pillars.

You see His Mercy in the rainfall and the growth of plants.

You see His Majesty in the towering mountains.

You see His Torment in natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanoes.

He says: “We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.”

When you see with your eyes, your sight reminds you of the All-Seeing Glory be to Him.

When you hear a whisper in the dead of night, your hearing reminds you of the All-Hearing Glory be to Him.

When you learn even a fragment of hidden knowledge, your knowledge reminds you of the All-Knowing Glory be to Him.

In everything, there is a sign that points to the fact that He is the One.

Once, I was sitting with a group of children, talking to them about reflecting on the creation of Allah. One of them said: “When you reflect on His creations, you reach Him.” I was astonished and felt that this child understood these meanings better than us. I realized I should listen to him more than he listens to me.

He is Near. You do not need to do much to reach Him; it is enough for Him to cross your mind, feel His nearness, sense that He sees you, and then say: “O Allah.”

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Amidst the Smoke…

Amid the trials endured by the Ummah and amidst the suffocating smoke of destructive wars that weigh heavily on the hearts of believers, a believer requires three levels of understanding related to the Name Al-Qareeb (The Near):
 
First: To know and have faith in His Nearness with certainty, to relieve himself from the burden of crying out for help from others, for the Lord of all is Near, All-Seeing, and All-Knowing. The believer finds solace in the Qur’anic verse stating: “Indeed, He is All-Hearing, Ever-Near.” Thus, at its doorstep, the wounded soul lays down its burdens. This level of foundational understanding is essential for all the mentioned above.
 
Second: Amidst the flames of oppression, the sight of scattered families, destroyed homes, loss of lives, and ruined crops, the believer longs for mercy, seeks it desperately, and wishes for it to end the agony of betrayal and the recurring wounds of treachery. Here, they reflect on the words of Allah: “Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good.” Oh Allah! So, there is only a fine veil between the valiant warrior who has dedicated his soul to the Almighty and the Mercy of Allah. This warrior needs only to strive on earth in an angelic manner, feeling as though he sees Allah, and if he does not see Him, he is ever aware that He sees him. They do not pull the trigger of a weapon without knowing why, how, and when it should be used! Thus, the servant transforms from one level of excellence (Ihsan) to another, drawing closer to Allah’s Mercy, until that Mercy envelops him completely, lifting him from the smoke of death to the clouds of divine satisfaction.
 
Third: As days stretch on, sighs grow heavier, trials intensify, and the siege tightens from all sides, the fighter’s spirit is drawn to a third verse in which Allah declares: “Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.” Just as He is near to His servants and His Mercy is close to the doers of good, His victory, too, is near for His soldiers. “Indeed, Our soldiers will be victorious.” With this assurance, Allah fortifies hearts that have grown weary of waiting and exhausted by steadfast patience, inspiring them to anticipate His near-victory—whether by day or night.
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Allah…

O Allah… and my tears fall in awe,
 
Have Mercy on the love’s yearning within my tears.
 
O Allah… and my heart burns with passion,
 
Have Mercy on the love’s blaze within my heartbeat.
 
O Allah… and my words overflow with longing,
 
Have Mercy on the love’s essence in my verses.
 
After this contemplative journey through the Name of Allah, Al-Qareeb, I ask Allah to make us among those who are ever mindful of His Nearness, acting by what this greatest Name entails—humility, submission, vigilance, reverence, seeking mercy, and relying solely on Him for victory.
 
O Allah, You Who are near to those who call upon and hope in You, grant us closeness to Your Mercy and guidance. Grant us a nearness that comforts us, lifts the burdens from our souls, and leads us to Paradise.
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