What must one do to bewith Allah at all times and in all places?
Some people never consider the great blessings they enjoy throughout
their lives. Yet starting the day in good health every morning, being
able to breathe and see, being able to enjoy scents and food and all
beautiful things and being able to appreciate love, respect and
friendship are all great blessings. In addition, possessing the
judgment with which to distinguish between good and evil, right and
wrong or beauty and ugliness is another greatblessing bestowed by
Allah because that judgment enables one toavoid wickedness and the
evil whisperings of one's earthly desires andto choose goodness and
beauty instead. What one needs to do in return is properly appreciate
our Lord, to give proper thanks to Him and for one's heart to be full
of love and fear of Him at all times.
One's heart being with Allah at all times does not mean withdrawing
from all the preoccupations of the life of this world. "The heart
being with Allah atall times means";
Being aware of the greatness, might and power of our Lord at all times,
Knowing that He sees, hears and watches oneself and all the other
entities one sees, and that He encompasses theentire universe,
Being aware that Allah is the sole judge and sole Lord of all things,
and that He is mighty enough to do what He wants when He wants,
And knowing that everything that happensin the life of this world,
whether it appears to begood or bad, is actually the functioning of
the destiny ordained by Allah.
A Person Whose Heart Is Always Full of Remembrance of Allah Has a
Clear Mind and Awareness
It is easy to recognize the clarity of mind of someone whose heart is
always full of remembrance of Allah from his face and behavior because
there is a great difference between the face of someone who believes
and knows that Allah sees him at all times and someone who is
heedless. No matter howattractive the face of someone who has
forgotten Allah, it will never reflect any spiritual beauty or an
expression full of love and meaning, humanity, humility and
intelligence. In contrast, the luminosity, beauty, intelligence and
nobility bestowed by faith and clarity of mind are striking in someone
whose heart is with Allah. In the Qur'an, Allahnotes these features of
those who sincerely believe and exhibit an unsullied devotion to Him
and reveals it is easyto recognize them by"...the traces of
prostration" in their faces:
" Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him
are fierce to the unbelievers, merciful to one another. You see
them bowing and prostrating, seeking Allah's good favor and His
pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the traces of prostration.
That is their likeness in the Torah. And their likeness in the Gospel
is that of a seed which puts up a shoot and makes it strong so that
itthickens and grows up straight upon its stalk," (Surat al-Fath, 29)
In addition, when we look at the lives of those whose hearts are
heedless of Allah, we seethat it is these people who suffer the worst
consequences of their heedlessness. These people, who do not believe
in our Lord, Whocreated them from nothing and has bestowed so many
blessings upon them, avoid everything that might remind them of their
responsibilities to Him. They try to ignore the way that they and the
universe were brought into being fromnothing, they ignore thefact of
death and the Day of Reckoning afterward, the countless blessings of
paradise or the infinite torments of hell because they realize that
only by heeding their consciences, they will have to reflect on Allah
and come to faith. They know that if they think about the existence of
Allah, they will remember His commandments and prohibitions and
therefore be unable to follow their own earthly desires and passions.
Hearts Only Find Peace and Ease through Remembrance of Allah
True peace, joy and happiness can only comewhen people believe in
Allah and their hearts are with Him. One can never attain true joy
andhappiness so long as remains heedless of Allah. Contrary to popular
opinion, all pleasures flee away if one does not have faith because
people cannot live by moral virtues in places where the fact that
Allah is closer to onethan one's own jugular vein is ignored, and
where there is no fear ofHis wrath. Lack of fear ofAllah brings with
it ignorance of all bounds and lawlessness, and thus a degenerate
structure. Everyone behaves as they please. For example, taking
careover one's honor and chastity, not wasting theblessings bestowed
by Allah, thinking the best of people around one (not looking for
secret flaws), not showing off, not talking behind people's backs,
treating the people around one with love and respect rather than with
the aimof seeing what one can get out of them, displaying the moral
values of which Allah approves and being gentle, kind and polite are
all important examples of moral virtues. However, someone who denies
the fact that Allah enfolds and surrounds him (surely Allah is beyond
that) will keep as far away from these moral virtues as possible and
find himself living a degenerate life.
It is for these reasons that one of the worst mistakes people make is
to imagine they can avoid their responsibilities to Allah and build
tranquil lives by not thinking and by erecting walls around their
consciences. But the fact is that no matterhow much one may be
reluctant, or outright refuse to think, the existence of Allah is
still an absolute reality. Allah is there as we have fun, watch the
television, read the newspapers, eat, talk, walk down the street,
sleep, go to school and everywhere. He is closer to us than our own
jugular vein. Wherever one looks, oneencounters manifestations of
Allah. He creates and maintainsall events. Someone whothinks along
those lines can appreciate the true nature of the life of this world
and the absolute existence and might of Allah, grasp the conceptsof
paradise and hell and be punctilious over theirreligious obligations.
Unlike the majority of other people, he knows he must be a servant of
whom Allah approves, and therefore begins to think and live by
religious moral values revealed by Allah in the Qur'an and embodied
bythe prophets and true believers. In consequence, he will take much
more pleasure from beauties and blessings than otherpeople do, and
Allah willbestow a fine life on himin this world and the hereafter.
This is revealed as follows in the Qur'an:
" Those who believe and do right actions and establish prayer and pay
alms, will have their reward with their Lord. They will feel no fear
and will know no sorrow." (Surat al-Baqara, 277)
The finest way of turning to our Lord is to begin every task by
reciting Bismillah (in the name of Allah). Embarking on every taskby
invoking the name of Allah establishes a healthier power in termsof
evoking an effect on the heart and also increases a person's proximity
to Allah, because someone who embarks on a task with the name of Allah
will know that everything happens under His control and that he will
be successful if Allah so chooses. There is no doubt that this leads
to avery deep closeness between Allah and His servant. Such a person
has comprehended his own weakness and the fact he has no power to do
anything without Allah's leave, and has thus fully submitted himself
to Almighty Allah. This position of believers is described as follows
in the Qur'an:
"Say: 'Nothing can happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us.
He is Our Master. It is in Allah that the believers should put their
trust'." ( Surat at-Tawba, 51)
A sincere, deep and uninterrupted bond established with Almighty Allah
at every moment further increases a believer's faith, fervor,
submission to Allah and love and respect for Him. It causesa person to
avoid behavior that will be displeasing to Allah, restrains the
excesses of earthly desires and evils that know no bounds, and
constantly encourages one to behave in a way that may be hoped to be
pleasing to Allah. This closeness bestows a great spiritual delight
onthe believer by drawing him closer to Allah's approval, mercy and
paradise. It makes the believer scrupulous when it comes to
maintaining the bounds set by Allah, and bestowsa great awareness and
care in seeking His approval.
The Worthy Islamic Scholar Imam Al-Ghazali Expresses His Closeness to Allah:
"He [Allah] cannot be fettered by quantities; continents cannot
contain Him, He is not bounded by directions and neither the earth nor
sky can hold Him. He is settled on the earth in the sense commanded by
Him. He neither touches the earth, nor makes His abode there, nor
settles there, nor is included in it, nor proceeds towards it, He is
beyond all these. The earth cannot carry Him, but He bears the earth
and the angels that bear the earth with His might,and these are
mastered as a manifestation of His title of the Punisher. In the same
way that His being on the earth and sky does not require Himto be
distant from the ground and soil, so it does not require proximity to
the earth and sky. On the contrary,in the same way as He is far from
under the ground, so He is far fromthe earth and sky. In addition, He
is closer to the servant than his ownjugular vein. Indeed, in the
Qur'an Allah says "He is witness of everything"(Surat al-Saba', 47) ."
(IHYA-U ULUMUDDİN, Vol. 1 p. 201, Hacetü'l İslam, Imam Gazali)
What One Needs to Do toBe with Allah at Every Moment
To Take Allah, the All-Mighty, As One's Friend and Guide
Our Lord tests His servants by creating events they perceive as
difficulties, in which they face troubles, or experience joy and
happiness. Devout Muslims seek help from Allah alone under such
circumstances and trust in Him alone. They place no hope in natural
causes, intermediaries orother people. They do not regard Allah's
creation as having any power, will or effect independently of Him.
Seeking shelter in Almighty Allah, Who creates one and is awareeven of
the secrets one conceals from others is amajor consequence and sign of
proximity to Allah.
To Pray
Prayer is a very important means by which someone who is utterly
powerless in the face of our Almighty Lord can turn to Him, confess
his sins to Him, seek help from Him alone, feel His existence and
power and maintainthat awareness at every moment of his daily life.
To Turn to Allah in All Tasks
One of the greatest signs of faith is to be aware that all blessings
belong to Allah alone, and to express this with a pure heart and
tongue. It is also one of the most sincere ways ofestablishing a deep
bond with Allah and"serving Him alone."
To Always Give Thanks
By examining the proofs of creation, believers reflect on how it is
Almighty Allah, Who bestows such blessings as the Earth's atmosphere
which protects them against dangers from space, how the Earth's crust
protects them from the boiling magma beneath,how drinking water is
created, the fruits of the earth, the creation of night and day, life,
health, consciousness, the five senses, the air we breathe and
countless other examples at every moment. And by giving thanks for
these they once again turn to Allah alone.
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