If you realise that everything you have is a gift to you from God Almighty, then, every time you open your mouth, what right do you have to say anything other than Alhamdulillah – meaning, “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, God, Thank You!”?
And do so, not only with your mouth and with the bottom of your heart, but with every cell, sinew and pore in your body?
And if you understand that, as God’s slave on his plantation earth, you must spend all your life in total subservience and obedience to him, what the Qur’ān calls Ibaadah, and what people call worship, then what business do you have to go through any moment of your life without Wudu – a perfect state of physical, mental and spiritual hygiene and cleanliness – as prescribed by God and as taught and demonstrated by his messenger Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam?
And, if you really grasp, master and practice these two things, these two central pillars of Islam, and Qur’ān – Hamd and Wudu or Taharah – at least conceptually – at least in your mind that is – and if you make that your Shi’ar, the distinguishing feature and marker of your life, then don’t be surprised if you find your beloved and loving master, your God, wherever you look for him, in whichever direction you turn.
And if you end up finding him only as far from you as you can call and reach him, which, you will discover, is closer than anything else in this world – closer than your own jugular vein, as the Qur’ān puts it.
No, don’t take my word on any of this. Listen to God’s own words, as he speaks them in his own most glorious, noble and majestic book, the Qur’ān, most directly to you.
Here is the Qur’ān – with my paraphrase: “Here, there, everywhere – wherever you look.”
Aiynamaa tuwalloo, fa-thamma wajhullah. In whatever direction you turn, there is the presence of God.
Here again is the Qur’ān – with my paraphrase: “I am indeed near.”
Wa idhaa sa-alaka ‘ibaadee ‘annee, fa-innee qareeb. When my slaves ask you about me, surely I am close.
Ujeebu da’watad daa’i, idhaa da’aanee. I answer the call of those who call, as they call me.
And here, once more, is the Qur’ān elsewhere – with my paraphrase: “Closer than anything you can imagine.”
Wa nahnu aqrabu ilaihi min hablil wareed. And we are closer to him than his jugular vein!
And here is even more Qur’ān, again with my paraphrase, as if all that we cited above was not enough: “Call me and I shall respond.”
Or, alternatively: “Call me and I shall call you back.”
Ud’oonee, astajib lakum. Call me, I shall respond; call me, I shall call you back.
I am so tempted to say, and I do indeed say: Call me, and then watch me respond.
Want commentary on these words from God? On these Aayaat as the Qur’ān calls them?
But Muslims make a mockery of them – and commit a blasphemy – by referring to them as “Verses” in the English language, instead of Aayaat Kareemah?
Want sources and citations, and references and notes, added to make them clearer or stronger, and more thoroughly documented and more ponderous and academic, and more university sounding?
Sorry, you are on your own. I am not your man. Go find those things all by yourself.
As for myself, my whole being shudders and tingles at the sheer delight, thrill, awe and majesty – and clarity and lucidity – of God speaking to me in the Qur’ān in First Person and telling me directly, without the intermediacy of a priest or a pundit, how close he is to me; where I can find him; and how I can get in touch with him.
No CEO of a mega-corporation ever said that to me. No king or queen ever told me: Call Me!
No Prime Minister, no President, no Potentate, no Superstar, no Big Shot of any kind ever said to me: Here is my direct line, my own personal number, call me and I will pick up the phone!
I am just thrilled, and immensely grateful, that God said that to me – and to everyone else – directly, personally and in his own language: Call me and watch me answer!
Ud’oonee, astajib lakum!
I don’t know about you, but as for myself, I ask for nothing more!
[The writer may be reached at [email protected]]