RAMADAN 2023 – ATTACHMENT/CONNECTION TO ALLAH – HOW TO ACHIEVE IT
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL
Many Muslim claim that they have a strong connection with Allah, but when you scratch the surface, it’s hollow inside. This attachment and connection to Allah is very vital because it will free us from being a slave of the dunya. Even if we face many problems in life, as Allah Has Reminded us in the Qur’an in Surah 29 verses 2-3, the connection that we have with Allah will allow us to handle these tests in a positive light inshaAllah.
أَحَسِبَ النّاسُ أَن يُترَكوا أَن يَقولوا آمَنّا وَهُم لا يُفتَنونَ
وَلَقَد فَتَنَّا الَّذينَ مِن قَبلِهِم ۖ فَلَيَعلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذينَ صَدَقوا وَلَيَعلَمَنَّ الكاذِبينَ
“Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: “We believe,” and will not be tested.
And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test).”
Allah also Informed us how to seek help in Him is we face any problems:
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا استَعينوا بِالصَّبرِ وَالصَّلاةِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصّابِرينَ
“O you who believe! Seek help in patience and As-Salat (the prayer). Truly! Allah is with As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.).” 2: 153
And “patience” and “salah” comes from Who? It comes directly from Allah and His Guidance.
Many people said that they love Allah, but the fact that they miss obligatory prayers regularly, or they refused to follow the true teachings of prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) but instead follow the baseless teachings of their parents or their culture truly question their connection to Allah. They follow assumptions and baseless examples that they think will bring them closer to Allah:
- Celebrating the prophet’s birthday;
- Performing Hajj or Umrah – but the first thing they think about when doing these acts of worship – what should I shop there or how many likes would I get on my Instagram pages, etc;
- People seek knowledge not to help themselves, but to complete with others or to debate, or to show off to others that they were present at such and such events;
- People starting to wear hijab or even niqab, but fail to realise that such noble acts involve concealing not just every part of the woman’s awrah, but to make women less conspicuous – but nowadays people to that without controlling their tongue and again, it’s another way to fill up their Facebook or Instagram pages.
Surely, being connected to Allah and attached to Him is so important, but steps must be taken that we truly feel connected to Allah and n ot just assumptions based on superficial achievements like wearing a thobe and having long beards for the men, and simply covering the awrah for the women who then failed to control the tongue and manners.
الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَتَطمَئِنُّ قُلوبُهُم بِذِكرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلا بِذِكرِ اللَّهِ تَطمَئِنُّ القُلوبُ
“Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” (13: 28)
How to achieve connection with Allah?
- Seek knowledge on
- Allah – Tawheed – the 3 branches
- Purpose of Life
- Pondering on Allah’s creations – 3: 190-191
“Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.
Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): “Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.”
- Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
- Make plenty of du’a
وَإِذا سَأَلَكَ عِبادي عَنّي فَإِنّي قَريبٌ ۖ أُجيبُ دَعوَةَ الدّاعِ إِذا دَعانِ ۖ فَليَستَجيبوا لي وَليُؤمِنوا بي لَعَلَّهُم يَرشُدونَ
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.” (2: 186)
وَقالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادعوني أَستَجِب لَكُم ۚ إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَستَكبِرونَ عَن عِبادَتي سَيَدخُلونَ جَهَنَّمَ داخِرينَ
And your Lord said: “Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism)] (and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!” (40: 60)
Most important du’a is for Guidance and Taqwa.
When Taqwa comes into our hearts,
إِنَّ أَكرَمَكُم عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتقاكُم ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَليمٌ خَبيرٌ
“…Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa…” 49: 13
- Do righteous good deeds that are pleasing to Allah:
- Obeying the Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
قُل إِن كُنتُم تُحِبّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعوني يُحبِبكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغفِر لَكُم ذُنوبَكُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ
Say (O Muhammad SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to mankind): “If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” 3: 31
- Doing obligatory and voluntary deeds
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu) who said: The Messenger of Allah (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,
“Verily Allah (Glorified may he be) has said: ‘Whosoever shows enmity to a wali (friend) of Mine, then I have declared war against him. And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafil (supererogatory) deeds until I Love him. When I Love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.’ ”
[Reported by Bukhari]
Abu Dharr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah Almighty says: Whoever comes with a good deed will have the reward of ten like it and even more. Whoever comes with an evil deed will be recompensed for one evil deed like it or he will be forgiven. Whoever draws close to Me by the length of a hand, I will draw close to him by the length of an arm. Whoever draws close to Me the by length of an arm, I will draw close to him by the length of a fathom. Whoever comes to Me walking, I will come to him running. Whoever meets Me with enough sins to fill the earth, not associating any partners with Me, I will meet him with as much forgiveness.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2687
- Repenting to Allah
قُل يا عِبادِيَ الَّذينَ أَسرَفوا عَلىٰ أَنفُسِهِم لا تَقنَطوا مِن رَحمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغفِرُ الذُّنوبَ جَميعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفورُ الرَّحيمُ
Say: “O ‘Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. 39: 53
إِلّا مَن تابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صالِحًا فَأُولٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِم حَسَناتٍ ۗ وَكانَ اللَّهُ غَفورًا رَحيمًا
“Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do righteous deeds, for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” 25: 70
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوّابينَ وَيُحِبُّ المُتَطَهِّرينَ
“…Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves.” 2: 222
Anas ibn Malik reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “All of the children of Adam are sinners, and the best sinners are those who repent.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2499
It was narrated from Ibn Maajah (4250), at-Tabaraani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (10281), Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya’ (4/210), al-Bayhaqi in as-Sunan (20561), via Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood, that his father said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin, and if the sin is removed, then the punishment and consequences are also removed.
End quote from Sharh al-‘Umdah (4/39)
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) [reported a Hadith Qudsi, Allah Ta’ala said]:
“A servant of Allah committed a sin and said, ‘O Rabb, I have sinned, so forgive me!’ His Rabb said, ‘Does My slave acknowledge that he has a Rabb who forgives sins and also punishes/takes to task for it? I have forgiven My slave.’
Then he remained for [some time] as long as Allah wished and then again committed a wrong sin and said, ‘O Rabb, I have sinned again, forgive the sin.’ Allah Ta’ala said, ‘Does My slave acknowledge that he has a Rabb who forgives wrong action and punishes for it? I have forgiven My slave.’
Then he remained for [some time] as long as Allah wished and then committed a sin and said, ‘O Rabb, I have committed another wrong action, so forgive me.’ Allah Ta’ala said, ‘Does My slave acknowledge that he has a Rabb who forgives wrong action and punishes for it? I have forgiven My slave,’ three times ‘so let him do what he likes.” [i.e. let him continue asking for forgiveness and making a firm intention of abandoning that vice each time he slips up]
(Sahih Bukhari, Hadith: 7507, Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2758 with difference in the wording. Refer: Targhib, vol. 4 pg. 91)
Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Allah Ta’ala says, ‘O Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and have hope in Me, I shall forgive you for whatever you have done and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you were to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, if you were to come to Me with an earthful of sins and were you then to face Me, without having ascribing any partner to Me, I would grant you an earthful of forgiveness”
(Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith: 3540. Declared sound –hasanun gharib– by Imam Tirmidhi. Some editions of Sunan Tirmidhi have the word ‘gharib’ only)
Anas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah is more delighted at the repentance of His servant than one of you who lost his riding animal on a journey in a barren land while it carries his food and drink. He loses all hope as he comes to a tree to lie down in its shade, despairing over his animal, but suddenly he finds it standing over him. He takes hold of its reins and then he greatly rejoices, saying: O Allah, You are my servant and I am your Lord! He makes a mistake due to his great joy.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2747
Performing prayer
The Messenger (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wwa sallam) said: “The example of the five (daily) prayers is like that of a clear-water river flowing in front of your houses in which a person washes himself five times a day – cleansing him from all dirt.” [Sahih Muslim]
Allah Warned us:
“Guard strictly (five obligatory) As-Salawat (the prayers) especially the middle Salat (i.e. the best prayer – ‘Asr). And stand before Allah with obedience [and do not speak to others during the Salat (prayers)].” 2: 238
But it’s not just about praying on time. What is even more important in my opinion is the quality of our prayers. When it comes to our heart, there is nothing more crucial than our prayer. It will be the first thing we will be asked about by Allah and if our prayers were good, then everything else will be good, insha’Allah. [Jami’ at-Tirmidhī]. By implication, this means that the quality of your prayer is a way to check yourself and the state of your faith and heart. It’s our way to call on Him five times a day, to keep our relationship with Him alive and our hearts connected to Him. We have to fix the quality of our prayer if we want to fix our hearts. If we don’t have that consistency, that food for the soul, our hearts will automatically be affected.
The five daily prayers can be seen as a constant refresher of our faith. It revives us spiritually if we engage in our prayers consciously, and not just treat them like a cardiovascular activity. An issue for many of us is that we are not fluent in the Arabic language, so we might feel disconnected in prayer because we don’t understand what we are reciting. It’s then up to us to be proactive and find ways to get something out of the prayer by reviewing, for example, a few of the verses you have recited, understanding their meaning…etc.
2. Reading and pondering over the Qur’an
الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَتَطمَئِنُّ قُلوبُهُم بِذِكرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلا بِذِكرِ اللَّهِ تَطمَئِنُّ القُلوبُ
“Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” 13: 28
I’m sure we have all been in the situation where we attend a lecture or an Islamic event, and go back home feeling a spiritual high rushing through us. But then, after a week or so, we feel a dip in our faith again. Imagine this scenario: if you were to advise a friend who wanted to get in shape, would you tell them to work out for three hours straight, and this would be enough for the rest of the year? If only it were that easy! Just like a few hours of physical exercise every couple of months won’t do anything for our bodies, remembering Allah once a week or once a month won’t do much for our spiritual hearts. In order to be consistent with the remembrance of Allah, we have the above-mentioned five daily prayers, but we have also been given the Qur’an, which is not just meant to sit on our shelves but was sent down to be read, lived and engaged with on a daily basis. Allah tells us in the Qur’an that our hearts find ultimate peace and tranquility in the remembrance of Him. Since the Qur’an is said to be the best form of remembrance, it’s an essential component to keeping our hearts steadfast. But how many of us really make an effort to understand His book? How much time do we really spend with it on a regular basis?
Reading the Qur’an, even if we might not understand or remember everything, is a means to purify our hearts and bring about change inside of us. But in order to really feel the effect of His words on us, we have to be willing to go deeper in order to reap the tremendous benefits of their meaning. Imagine you receive a letter from a king, a president, or anyone else in a high position. Even if it was written in a language that you didn’t understand, you would get it translated because you would be dying to know what it says. The Qur’an can be seen as a letter to mankind and it’s not a letter from just anyone! It’s a message from the Lord of the worlds Himself. It’s one of the most fulfilling experiences to establish a relationship with the Qur’an and extract gems on how to enrich your own personal life and enlighten your heart. All you have to do is commit to and set aside a certain time in the day where you can sit down, read, and ponder over the Qur’an, even if it’s just one verse a day. One of the recommended times is right after fajr prayer as it’s a time of blessings.
Your relationship with others and yourself
- Surround yourself with people that remind you of Allah
The Messenger SallAlahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “The likeness of a righteous friend and an evil friend, is the likeness of a (musk) perfume seller and a blacksmith. As for the perfume seller, he may either bestow something on you, or you may purchase something from him, or you may benefit from his sweet smell. And as for the blacksmith, he may either burn your clothes, or you may be exposed to his awful smell.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]
Even if you strive to better yourself and purify your heart, it will prove to be very difficult if your company isn’t good. Just as some people can impact you positively, others can literally poison your heart. Therefore, quality is so much more important than quantity when it comes to the friends you choose to surround yourself with. It’s completely normal for us to go through phases where our faith goes up and down, but if we keep good company and don’t isolate ourselves, we can prevent our faith from plummeting to the ground. Choose to be around people who bring you closer to righteousness, people who remind you of Allah and encourage you to do good deeds, the ones who support you and believe in you in the good times, as well as the bad times.
Go to, or organize, weekly gatherings where you come together with fellow Muslim friends and discuss things that you are dealing with at the moment. Read His Book together, reflect on His words, pray together, eat together, and simply come together for His sake. You might see something in a way that the person sitting next to you might not see and vice versa, so you can benefit from each other’s differing perspectives. Angels surround gatherings where Allah is remembered, so imagine how blessed a weekly get-together would be. You will feel an immediate effect on your heart and spiritual self, insha’Allah.
2. Pause and assess yourself
Frequently assess the state of your heart and think about the way you affect others. Does your character and the way you speak to and treat others, bring them closer to Allah , or does it drive them away? I believe that a fundamental aspect of purifying one’s heart starts with working on one’s character and developing fundamental etiquette. When you’re going through a tough time in your life, go out and help somebody deal with their problem. This way, you’ll be able to shift your focus from ‘I’ to a more positive and comprehensive one and will be able to put your own matters into perspective.
We can all do our part in making the world a little better for someone. It might not impact on everyone, but if it can have an impact on even one life, on one heart, then there is still value in it and it still makes a difference. You will realize that what you do for others will not just have an effect on them, but will also soften your own heart. When we look at the Prophet SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his companions, we can see that they never let a person feel as though they were alone or as though they had to get through trials by themselves. They didn’t look a person up and down and judge them. Be a real friend to people and someone who they can come and speak to. Think about how you being Muslim is not only a benefit to you, but also a benefit to those around you.
