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NEARNESS TO ALLAH (S.W.T.) OR QURBATAN ILALLAH
Qurb means nearness of one thing
to another in time and space.
Another common usage of the word
“Qurb” means the center of
attention of someone or to hold
a special place near them. In
the physical world, when we say
that A is near B but both should
be material. In case of Allah
(s.w.t.), He is unlimited and we
cannot point out towards Him.
Allah (s.w.t.) says in Holy
Qur’an: “….I certainly am near;
I answer the prayers of those
who pray.” (2:186). “We are
closer to him than you, but you
cannot see.” (56:85). “We swear
that We have created the human
being and We know what his soul
whispers to him. We are closer
to him than even his jugular
vein.” (50:16) “Believers,
listen to Allah and the
Messengers when they call you to
that which gives you life. Know
that Allah is between a man and
his heart….” (8:24)
This journey of nearness takes
place in the man himself by
traveling from material
intellect to active intellect,
he communicates with the Names
and Attributes of Allah
(s.w.t.). The depth and
faculties of his existence are
strengthened and he becomes one
of Allah (s.w.t.)’s great signs
and manifestations. This
spiritual state can be called
“nearness to Allah (s.w.t.). Let
me explain material and active
intellect.
Material Intellect:
Is a potential state of
understanding. This is the basic
intellect.
Active Intellect:
It understands concepts and
judgments needing speculative
reasoning through self-evident
concepts and judgments.
Allah (s.w.t.) is Merciful and
loves His creatures, there is no
one who loves the human beings
more and cares for his needs
than his Creator. One day, the
Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) was
walking with his companions when
he saw a mother bird with her
babies in the nest. She was
feeding her babies with utmost
tenderness. The companions were
awe-stricken. The Holy Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) said: “Let me inform
you that Allah (s.w.t.) loves
His human beings 70 times more
than this mother bird.” Allah’s
blessings are countless. In His
infinite Mercy, Allah (s.w.t.)
has promised to multiply the
rewards of good deeds by 10
times, while the punishment of a
sin will only be one time. He
has ordered his angels to record
a good deed as soon as the
intention is made, while a sin
is recorded only after it is
done. A sin can be erased
through seeking forgiveness.
When someone loves us, we are
naturally drawn to him and would
like to be closer to him.
Knowing that one is loved brings
peace and joy to the human
heart. What more could the human
being asked for than to be loved
by the Supreme Power of the
universe. Imam Ali (a.s.) said:
“Allah (s.w.t.) is more Merciful
on you than you are to
yourselves.”
Man has always been in pursuit
of happiness for which he tries
every thing. There is a
difference between pleasure and
happiness. Pleasure relates to
the body while happiness is
related to heart. Happiness
could be achieved by serving the
servants of Allah (s.w.t.). So
the true happiness is achieved
from faith and love for the
Creator. Allah says in Holy
Qur’an: “Surely, by the
remembrance of Allah are hearts
set at rest.” (13:28)
From Islamic point of view as
Allah encompasses all things, it
does not make sense that He be
distant from something. Hence, a
Muslim should strive to achieve
nearness by performing virtuous
deeds and be obedient to Him.
This is also confirmed by Imam
Baqir (a.s.). It has been
related that prayer and zakaat
are the means of nearness to
Allah.
When this nearness is achieved,
man becomes Allah (s.w.t.)’s
friend and Allah (s.w.t.)
becomes man’s friend. Holy
Qur’an says: “(Muhammad), tell
them, “If you love Allah, follow
me. Allah (s.w.t.) will love you
and forgive your sins. Allah is
All-forgiving and All-merciful”
(3:31).
In order to get the best
results, the prayer and zakaat
must be performed sincerely and
with proper intentions.
Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.)
said: “Amongst the things Allah
(s.w.t.) revealed to Prophet
Dawud was ‘O Dawud, just a
humble people are the nearest
people to Allah, the proud ones
are the farthest people from
Allah’.”
It is clear that humility and
good morals or kindness are
secondary acts in obtaining
nearness to Allah (s.w.t.)
whereas the primary principle
remains understanding and the
worship of Allah (s.w.t.). The
Noble Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said:
“O Abu Dharr, worship Allah as
if you see Him, for if you do
not see him, He sees you.”
In reply to a question,
Ayatullah Bahjat said: “If the
seeker is truthful, abandoning
sins suffices for one’s lifetime
even if it is a thousand years.
You have to act upon what you
learn and be persistent on it.
Obey Allah, His Messenger, and
the Imams as well as abandoning
sins, in belief and in action.”
Aayatullah Muhsin Qara’ati
defines nearness to Allah as:
“Exaltation of the spirit
through the ladder of existence
whose consequence is the
acquisition of influence in the
creation. That is proximity to
the Fountainhead of Creation and
finding Him in one’s heart.”
As per Tradition in
Bihar-ul-Anwar: “Man can always
get nearer to Allah (s.w.t.)
through recommended prayers”
Intention is very important. Let
us examine the following Ayaats
of the Holy Qur’an:
“Fight for
the cause of Allah,
those who fight you, but do not
transgress, for Allah does not
love transgressors.” (2:190).
“There are those among people
who give their lives toseek
Allah’s pleasure.
Allah is Affectionate to His
servants.” (2:207) “We only feed
youfor the sake of Allah and
we do not want any reward or
thanks from you.” (76:9)
The phrases in bold letters are
an indication of how much
importance Allah attaches to the
intention for nearness to Him.
Bilal-e-Habashi, the caller of
prayers for the Holy Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) had a defect in
pronunciation. He would call
“shin” as “sin”. People
criticized him, but the Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) said: “The ‘sin’ of
Bilal is ‘shin’ for Allah.”
Although outwardly his work was
defective, since he had motive
for nearness and good
intentions, hence he got the
reward.
In order to attain nearness to
Allah (s.w.t.), any act must be
done for the sake of Allah
(s.w.t.) regardless of its
resultant joy or pain.
The servant of Allah is nearest
to Him during prostration. If
one weeps in prostration, it is
even better.
The Commander of the Faithful,
Imam Ali (a.s.) says in Sermon
109 of Nahjul Balagha: “The best
means by which the seekers of
nearness to Allah, The
Glorified, The Exalted, seek
nearness, is belief in Him, and
His Prophet, fighting in His
cause, for it is the high
pinnacle of Islam, and to
believe in kalimatul
ikhlas (the
expression of Divine
Purification) for it is just
nature and the establishment of
prayer for it is (the basis of)
community, payment of zakaat
(Islamic tax) for it is a
compulsory obligation, fasting
for the month of Ramazaan for it
is the shield against
chastisements, the performance
of Hajj of the House of Allah
(s.w.t.) and its Umrah (other
than annual visit) for these two
acts banish poverty and wash
away sins, regard for kinship
for it increases wealth and
length of life, to giving alms
secretly for it covers
shortcomings, giving alms openly
for it protects against a bad
death and extending benefits (to
people) for it saves from
position of disgrace.”
In order to seek nearness to
Allah (s.w.t.), we should:
1.
Recite and understand the Holy
Qur’an and practice its
commands.
2.
Remember Allah (s.w.t.) through
supplications and prayers.
3.
Seek His forgiveness. |
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