Al-Qareeb (The Near One)
O Allah!
For You…
The Crawling Ant
He sees you now!
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.”
Get in touchGlory be to You!
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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