Want to Be Closer to Allah, But Don't Know How!

By Raya Shokatfard
Freelance Writer - USA

In many Islamic circles or presentations, I am asked a similar question from my

brothers and sisters:
"I want to get closer to Allah, but don't know how; or I don't have the power to do it.
Sometimes I can succeed in getting close to Him when I spend time with pious friends who
are affecting me, but when they are no longer around, I lose that closeness. I become
powerless."
Allah, the Exalted, is the Best to respond to this concern:
(When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I
listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me: let them also,
with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me: that they may walk in the
right way.) (Al-Baqarah 2:186)
As Muslims, we believe in the Word of Allah, then should we not believe in the above verse?
Of course we want to believe, but what truly keeps us from believing it in our hearts and
feeling it when we make supplications?
If we can imagine there is a beautiful scenery in front of us, but there is also a curtain or
veil between us and the scene. We can have a glimpse of the beauty on the other side, but
not all. We want to see it all, but we keep sitting in our place and do not get up to move the
curtain aside so we can have a full view.
Removing the veil or curtain takes the following efforts:
First, there must be a desire;
Second, the know-how;
Third, keeping it open for full view at all times.
Sometimes people think of wanting to be close to Allah, but the desire is not strong enough.
Faith is like a seed. It must be planted in fertile soil and watered. It is a process that would
take time and determination.
To begin with, we must observe the most important duty Allah has prescribed to us, which
is devotion and worship. This is the first step for achieving closeness to Allah.
In a Qudsi hadith the Prophet reported that Allah says,
"..my servant does not come closer to Me with anything more dear to Me than that
which I made obligatory upon him. My servant keeps coming closer to Me with more
volunteer deeds, until I love him. When I love him, I become His ear by which he
hears, his eyes by which he sees, his hand by which he holds and his foot by which
he walks. If he asks Me anything I shall give him. If he seeks My protection I shall
grant him My protection " (Al-Bukhari 6021)
While performing correct worship, one must choose the way to piety and righteousness
mentioned in the hadith; a major step of getting closer to Him the Almighty. The person
who has taqwa or piety, is the one who is foremost in doing good and wants to be ahead of
others in goodness.

(And the foremost are the foremost. These are they who are drawn nigh (to
Allah). In the gardens of bliss.) (Al-Waqi`ah 56:10-12)
He remembers his humility in front of Allah, and knows he can call on Him with hope and
fear. He desires much closeness to Him.
(Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loves not those
who trespass beyond bounds. Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been
set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the
Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good.)(Al-A`raf 7:55, 56)
Naturally, this person also knows that charity is another way to bring him closer to his
Creator, for Allah loves those who give to the needy from their wealth and hates the hard
fisted. In a Qudsi hadith the Prophet reported that Allah says,
"Allah will say on the Day of Judgment, ... O son of Adam, I asked you for food and
you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the
Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant so and so asked
you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would
surely have found that with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and
you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink when
You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant so and so asked you to give
him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would
have surely found that with Me." (Muslim)
This person does all right deeds in order to bring himself closer to his Creator. If he does all
this and still does not feel as close to Allah as he wants then he might look at his
environment and those he befriends and the condition of his lifestyle. Are his/her friends
neglectful of Allah and often engage in idle talk or activities which Allah dislikes?
Are members of his family busy spending most of their time at home in front of TV watching
programs Allah dislikes and he participates with them?
Are friends and family the cause of his weakness in religion? Is he/she dressed properly
according to Islamic mode of dress as he/she likes?
The influence of a close friend is greater than one can imagine. One must take heed who he
chooses as a close friend. Knowing our tendencies to incline to people and the worldly life,
Allah warns us not to get side tracked.
(O ye who believe let not your riches or your children divert you from the
Remembrance of Allah if any act thus, the loss is their own.) (Al-Munafiqun
63:9)
Actions must lead to the cleansing of the heart of all that is displeasing to Allah. This might
not be easy, especially for the younger generation. Yet they must remember they are the
torchbearers of Islam and they are the ones who can influence their peers better than older
people. What a better blessing is it than one knowing that he is doing all he can to gain the
pleasure of his Creator?
(Thus, then, if he be of those Nearest to Allah, there is for him Rest and
Satisfaction, and a Garden of Delights.) (Al-Waqi`ah 56:88,89)

To maintain closeness with Allah, besides the above recommendations, one may engage
in Dhikr or remembrance of Allah as often as one can
(O ye who believe remember Allah very often and glorify Him morning and
evening.) (Al-Ahzab 33:41,42)
Dhikr empties the heart and the mind of impurities and brings a meaningful satisfaction to
one's life.
(Behold in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.) (Ar-Ra`d
13:28)
Finally, since we believe in the Word of Allah, we find the solution of closeness to our
Creator is given to us by Him.
(Therefore remember Me, I will remember you.) (Al-Baqarah 2:152)
First published in February 2011

Seeking Closeness to Allah (Waseelah to Him)

59 COM MENTS

Waseelah means means and in Quranic terms it means

seeking closeness to Allah. We all wish to seek Waseelah to
Allah. Obviously, if we are closer to Allah, we will enjoy
numerous benefits in this life and the hereafter. If Allah is
happy with us, our Duas can be responded to faster, He will
protect us from the challenges of this life, and in general, we
can enjoy a better life.
This article summarizes the concept of waseela and how
others may have misinterpreted the message of Quran related
to this concept.
First, consider this verse of Surah Al-Maeda (Chapter 5):

O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him.

And seek the Waseela (means of approach to Him), and
strive hard in His Cause (as much as you can), so that
you may be successful. (Quran, 5:35)
In the above verse, seek the Wasilah to Him, pertains to
drawing close to Allah by adhering to the pillars of Faith, the
laws of Islam and acts of Ihsan (excellence in the religion).
This topic is important because many mistakenly believe in
seeking Wasilah to Allah through other people and illegal
means. The tenets of Tawheed make it clear without a doubt
that seeking the means of approach to Allah by mentioning
the grade and status of people or any of His creation is an
innovation that can lead to shirk and Kufr. Lets remind
ourselves that Arabs during the prophets time although
believed in Allah but mistakenly used idols to provide them
that access to Allah and for them to get closer to Him.
Therefore, such a practice is considered shirk in the eyes of
mainstream sunni scholars that puts one person out of the
fold of Islam.
One example of the above is trying to draw close to Allah by
calling on the dead or people who are absent, asking them for
help, and so on. This is a form of major shirk (shirk akbar),
which goes against Tawheed and means that a person is no
longer considered to be a Muslim. Calling upon Allah, whether
it is for a purpose such as asking Him to grant some benefit or
to ward off some harm, or as an act of worship to express

humility and submission before Him, can only be addressed

directly to Allah. If Dua or prayers are addressed to anything
or anyone else, this is shirk. [3]
Allah says in the Quran:

And whoever invokes (or worships) besides Allah, any

other god, of whom he has no proof, then his reckoning
is only with his Lord. Surely, al-kaafiroon (the
disbelievers in Allah and in the Oneness of Allah) will not
be successful. [Quran (Surah Al Muminoon, Verse 117)]
Another misguided practice is to ask Allah through the name
of Allahs prophets. That, too, in Islam is prohibited. The
prophet (s) brought Allahs message to mankind but that fact
doesnt sanction the practice of using the prophets name (or
anyone elses) to seek closeness to Allah unless there was
something specific that the prophet (s) instructed to us in his
teachings. Instead, we ought to follow the prophets
teachings to seek closeness to Allah (not use his name to
seek closeness to Allah.) Lets remember that the prophet
(s) was only a human and if we are to ask Allah, we are to ask
Him directly. Ibn Taymiyyah stated the following on this topic:
The wasilah, the means which God has asked us to take
in order to approach Him, only means that we should
perform obligatory and supererogatory works. It means
nothing else. Furthermore, what obligatory duties and
what supererogatory works we should engage in has

been defined by the Prophet. Hence, to take the wasilah

means nothing but to follow what the Prophet has taught.
As for approaching God through the Prophet (tawassul bi
al-nabi), it is, first of all, through belief in him and
obedience to his commands. Next, it is through his
prayers and his intercessions, the former in this life and
the latter on the Day of Judgment. Both are perfectly
right, and completely agreed upon among the Muslims.
But if it is taken to mean adjuring God in the name of the
Prophet or beseeching Him in his name, none of his
Companions ever did that in his life or after his death.
He further states the following:
This means that the wasilah which God has asked us to
seek, and which He has advised His angels and prophets
to seek is the performance of obligatory and
supererogatory works. Everything which is obligatory or
desirable is included in the wasilah, and what does not
fall into these two categories is not part of wasilah, that
is, things that are forbidden, undesirable or permissible.
Moreover, the obligatory and the desirable are defined by
the Prophet and enjoined as duty or commended by him.
All this follows from faith in the Prophet. In short, the
wasilah which God has asked us to seek is to approach
Him through submission to what the Prophet has
taught; there is no way to God other than that.
Seeking to approach Allah, therefore, by virtue of the status
and virtues of some created being, such as saying, O Allah, I
ask You by virtue of Your Prophet and so on. This is allowed
by some of the ulama, but this opinion is daeef (weak). The
correct view is that it is definitely haraam, because there can
be no tawassul in dua except by virtue of the Names and
Attributes of Allah. [4]

Allah says in the Quran:

The meaning and interpretation of the above is:

56. Say (O Muhammad SAW): Call unto those besides
Him whom you pretend (to be gods like angels, Iesa
(Jesus), Uzair (Ezra), etc.). They have neither the power to
remove the adversity from you nor even to shift it from
you to another person.
57. Those whom they call upon (like Iesa (Jesus) son of
Maryam (Mary), Uzair (Ezra), angel, etc.) desire (for
themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah), as to
which of them should be the nearest and they (Isa
(Jesus), Uzair (Ezra), angels, etc.) hope for His Mercy and
fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord is
something to be afraid of!
Quran Surah Isra, Verses 56-57
Again, seeking closeness to Allah comes through following
the teachings of the prophet (s). One, for example, can seek
closeness to Allah through actions such as the following:

Invoke Allah by His names and attributes

Recognize Allahs favors and bounties

Avoid what Allah has disallowed

Be dutiful to parents and keep your relations
Be kind to His creation
Trust in Allah for all your matters
Dhikr and Forgiveness
Love your prophet
Be kind to the orphans
Clean your heart
Abandon the evil inner self commands
Develop perfect sincerity in your actions
and so on.
Finally, lets review this hadith by the prophet where he tells
us about what Allah mentions about us getting closer to Him:

Narrated by Abu Huraira: Allahs Apostle (Peace be Upon

Him) Said,
Allah SWT Said,
I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a
pious worshipper of mine. and the most beloved things
with which my slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have
enjoined upon him;
And my slave keeps on coming closer to me through
performing Nawafil (Prayer or Doing extra deeds besides
what is obligatory) until I love him, so I become his sense
of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight
with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips,
and his leg with which he walks;
And if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks my
protection, I will protect him; and I do not hesitate to do
anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for

he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him. [Bukhari

Sharif Volume 8, Book 76, Number 509]
References:
[1] Source: Based on the sermon by Shaikh Abdul Rahman Al-Saadi mentioned in Fawakih AshShahiyyah (p. 36).
[2] Source: [Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah 1:199-203.222-3] / Also mentioned in Ibn Taymiyyah Expounds on Islam
[3] [4] islamqa.info

End

Getting Closer to Allah

Dec 15th, 2010
by Ahmed.

To gain closeness to Allah taala a person should do the following things:

[1] A believer should make it his/her habit to recite a portion of the Holy Quran every day.
Recital of the Quran is also a strong means in cleansing the hearts of the dirt of sins.
[2] Stay away from all sins, especially back-biting, slandering and telling tales, as the
Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, taught not only do these things deaden the heart,
and thus lead a person to commit more sins, moreover they are the main cause for
believers being punished in the Nextlife.
[3] Spend as much time as you can in the Dhikr of Allah taala. Specify an hour in the day
and sit down and recite as much as you can, the Kalima; LAA ILAAHA ILALLAH, pondering
over its deep meaning. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings upon him, said it is the
best of Dhikrs. Start by reciting it one hundred times and then the easier it gets the more
you can increase the number.
[4] One of the most important things you must do, which sadly many people neglect, is that
you should avoid bad company. People you should avoid taking as friends are those who
speak too freely, who miss Salah, who do not dress modestly, who backbite etc. The
company of such people is poison; just even sitting and talking with them will lead one to
commit sins. Just as a person who sits for a longtime with a perfume seller begins to smell
nice, and a person who sits by a gutter cleaner begins to smell awful, similarly a person who
spends time in the company of the wicked eventually gets affected badly by them. Rather,
you should seek out pious friends who fear Allah taala and who have the qualities of
humility, charity, compassion, modesty and knowledge. If you sit with them you will always
benefit and they will be a means for you to get closer to Allah taala.
[5]It was the practice of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings upon him, to ask Allah
taala for forgiveness (by saying ASTHAGHFIRULLAH) a hundred times in a day. Our

Messenger, peace and blessings upon him, was innocent and free of sin yet he did this,
why? The scholars explain the reason he would ask Allah taala for forgiveness so frequently
was because the act of turning to Allah taala and humbly seeking his forgiveness in itself is
highly beloved to Him and thus is a means to get closer to him. We who sin day and night,
are more deserving of making this a part of our daily routine.
Mufti Mohammed Sajjad
Wallahu Aalam bis-sawab