The desired relationship between man and God is that of a living relationship. This relation exists at all times and at every moment through the remembrance of God, prayer, worship, contemplation, reflection, and drawing lessons from God’s signs, etc. Man asks God for blessings at every moment and he receives them from God at every moment. Just as man is dependent on God for his existence, so is he totally dependent on God for his survival. If God ceased to sustain him even for a moment, man would be destroyed. In accordance with religious belief, God is not only the Creator but also the Sustainer. That being so, the theory of evolution is, in effect, a negation rather than an affirmation of God.
Source: Spirit of Islam May 2013
Worshipping God is to express reverence for one’s God and Creator, a Being who truly deserves to be held in awe. On the contrary, when man bows his head before anyone else, he exalts one who is no better than himself—and as such, has no right to be worshipped. Adoration of God glorifies Him, while worship of anything other than God degrades the worshipper. Veneration of God makes man a realist while prostrating himself before a non-God turns him into a creature of superstition. Bowing to God opens the door to the realization of the truth, while the worship of something other than God closes this very door in man's face.
Source: The Spirit of Islam
A monotheist attributes all greatness to one God and seeks the fulfillment of his desires solely from Him. His worship is directed only to God, and he places his utmost trust in Him, considering Him superior in every aspect. Worship represents the ultimate expression of attachment to someone, which is why all forms of worship are exclusively the right of the one God. Worship of any kind is impermissible for anyone other than God.
The beginning of monotheism is discovering God as the Creator and Lord of the universe. When a person achieves this realization, the Quran describes the impact it has on them in detail: "When they listen to what has been sent to the messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the Truth they recognize. They say, 'Our Lord, we believe, so count us among those who bear witness. Why should we not believe in God and the truth that has come to us? We yearn for our Lord to admit us among the righteous.' And for their words, God will reward them with Gardens through which rivers flow, wherein they shall abide forever. That is the reward of those who do good." (5:83-85)
The Quran describes the personality that emerges from the discovery of God in various ways. In this context, one verse is translated as follows: "True believers are those whose hearts tremble with awe at the mention of God, and whose faith grows stronger as they listen to His revelations. They are those who put their trust in their Lord." (8:2)
Modern science, through analysis and experimentation, has demonstrated that everything, despite its apparent diversity, ultimately consists of a collection of atoms, which are in turn composed of electromagnetic waves. This discovery has dismantled the myth of multiplicity in nature. Despite their outward differences, all things are ultimately unified in their reality. It is as if the advancement of knowledge has refuted the polytheistic theory and provided a solid basis for the theory of monotheism. Therefore, science supports the monotheistic concept of God.
Belief in monotheism—tawheed—is the foundation upon which all Islamic actions are built. Monotheism means belief in the oneness of God, recognizing that all powers and authority belong solely to Him. He alone is deserving of worship, and no act of worship should be directed to anyone other than God. He governs the system of the entire universe, provides everything to every creation, including man, and the right of superiority belongs solely to Him. When an individual realises God, the Creator and Lord of the universe, it ushers in an intellectual revolution within his mind, turning an ocean of realization into a raging tempest. Subsequently, a profound transformation occurs in their thoughts and emotions, resulting in the emergence of a new person. And when this revolutionary thought inspires many people, they form a society known as an Islamic society.
Monotheism (tawheed) means to believe in one God; to believe in the fact that all power lies in the hand of one God alone; that He alone deserves to be worshipped. No act in the nature of worship is lawful unless directed towards God. It is God alone who fulfills all our needs. It is God alone who is behind the functioning of the entire universe. Superiority is the prerogative of the one and only God. No one enjoys real superiority in this world. All such concepts are false as associate anyone or anything with any of the aspects of God’s sovereignty.
The concept of one God is the essence of Islam and the source of all of its teachings. The Quran puts it thus:
“God: there is no deity save Him, the Living, the Eternal One. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and on the earth. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows all that is before them and all that is behind them. They can grasp only that part of His knowledge which He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and their upholding does not weary Him. He is the Sublime, the Almighty one!” (2:255)
God is one, and everyone is dependent upon Him. He is not dependent upon anyone; he alone has power over everything. He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He is a unique Being with no equal, no likeness. All kinds of uniqueness inhere His Being, and this Being is of God, the Almighty. The concept of the one God is the central concept of Islam: this belief is the essence of Islam and the sole source of all of its teachings.
Source: The Spirit of Islam
God is a spiritual focus for man. One whose heart is attached to God undergoes spiritual experiences at every moment. Belief in God becomes a source of spiritual development for him. Filled with the love of God, he does not need anything further. God becomes a vast ocean for him to continue to swim in without ever experiencing any limit. In the form of spiritual awakening, he receives such great wealth that he does not feel the need for anything else.
For one who discovers God, the entire universe becomes an open book of God. Every leaf of a tree becomes a page of the divine book. When he sees the sun, he feels as if God is lighting His heavenly torch so that he may read His book clearly. The Universe becomes, as it were, a supernal university and he its student.
Finding God is to find his centre of Love. Man by birth is a seeker of a Supreme Being who is far above him, who is free from all limitations and who may form the centre of his feelings. In short, after finding this Being, the grown man becomes as satisfied as a child after being held in the embrace of his mother.
This discovery of God saves one from regarding something other than God as God: and mistakenly and unrealistically thinking it to be the answer to the urge inherent in his nature. The discovery of God is to fulfill his or her real urge to find God. And the failure to discover God means failure to find that which is man’s greatest need.
One who fails to find God is compelled by his natural urge to give the place of God to something other than God. This place is sometimes accorded to a certain human being, sometimes to a certain animal, sometimes to a phenomenon of nature, sometimes to a certain material power, sometimes to a certain supposed concept and sometimes just to the self.
Even if one fails to discover God, or he becomes a denier of God, it is not in his or her power to stifle the urge in his nature to find God. That is why those men and women who have not found God inevitably come to hold something other than God as God. And this supposed God is always some creation or the other of God.
By nature, it is possible for man not to accept the real God as God, but it is not possible for anyone to save himself or herself from granting the status of divinity to something other than God. Making God one’s object of worship raises man's position. On the contrary, regarding something other than God as God amounts to descent from the level of humanity.
Submission to God is the only way of life for both — man and the universe.
Source: Spirit of Islam June 2014
In this vast universe, man’s only source of support is God. Man’s very nature constantly urges him to recognise the need for God. Without God, man’s life is incomplete. Without the help of God, we cannot succeed in life. The following example further illustrates man’s position.
A hundred years ago, a ship sailed from the coast of America to Africa. A severe storm broke out when the ship was far out to the deep sea. The ship began to shake and jolt. All the passengers were in great fear and anxiety. At this time of crisis, one of the passengers saw a little girl sitting in the corner of the deck. She was playing with her dolls, relatively undisturbed by the storm. He became curious and asked her, “Do you know what is happening to our ship?” She asked, “What is the matter?” The passenger told her that the ship was caught in a dangerous storm. The girl calmly replied: “You know, my father is the captain of this ship. He is not going to let it sink.”
The girl’s faith in her father saved her from being a victim of fear at this crucial moment. The same is true of a religious person. He has the same childlike faith in his Creator, God Almighty. However, his is a faith of far greater intensity. When catastrophe threatens, he can say with a much stronger conviction that God Almighty is the captain of the ship of his life: He will never let it sink at any time or in any situation. God’s guidance brings man’s ship safely to the shore. Belief in God is the most essential thing for a man. Man is nothing without this belief.
Source: In Search of God
There are two aspects of God realization—Love and Fear. On the one hand, God is very compassionate, and on the other hand, He is very just. When man thinks of the unbounded mercy of God, he develops the feeling which has been called in the Quran, “Loving God Most.” (2:165) Similarly when man thinks of God as being just, he has that feeling which has been alluded to when the Quran speaks of: “those who stand in awe of none but God.” (9:18)
The personality of a believer is made up of these two feelings. On the one hand, he loves God the most. And on the other hand he fears God the most. The love of God is such as is filled with agony. Similarly, the fear of God is such as is filled with the love of God. This is a relationship which man hopes to have with the Being he fears lest He deprives him of His blessings. This is the combination of love and fear which can be felt but cannot be expressed in words.
This is the sign of a high level of realization, in which there is peace as well as agony. A high level of realization implies hope as well as fear. A high level of realization brings conviction as well as uncertainty. A high level of realization embraces closeness as well as distance. A high level of realization is a place where sometimes the believer is sure that he has reached his destination, while sometimes he is in doubt as to whether or not he is on his way to the right destination. At times he has this feeling that he has reached a full stop, while at other times, he is in doubt as to whether he is still at the stage of the comma. This feeling of love and fear is true realization, another name for which is maarifah.
Source: Love of God
Maarifah or realization or discovery of God is the essence of faith. When a man consciously seeks out and finds God, and thereby has access to divine realities that is what constitutes faith.
This discovery is no simple matter. God is the Creator and Owner of all things. He will award or punish all, according to their deeds; none is free from His grip. The discovery of such a God shakes to the core of the whole life of man. His thinking is revolutionized, for God becomes the centre of all His emotions.
With God as the principal focus of his attention, man becomes God’s servant in the fullest sense of the word. He becomes a man whose living and dying is all for God.
Such a faith ultimately results in all of man’s behaviour and his dealings taking on the hue of God. When the believer speaks, he is conscious of the fact that God is listening to him. When he walks, he does so with modesty so that his gait may not be displeasing to God. When he deals with people, he is always worried lest he deal unjustly and be punished by God in the next life.
The impact of this degree of faith makes the entire life of man akhirat-oriented. In all matters his eyes are focused on the Hereafter. Instead of immediate gain he makes gain in the next life his goal. Whenever there are two aspects of any matter, one pertaining to this world and the other to the next world, he always prefers the latter.
Faith, another name for the recognition of the Supreme God, becomes for the believer a fountainhead of limitless confidence in his Creator. When this recognition takes root in an individual’s heart and soul, his whole personality becomes regenerated. Knowing that in all circumstances he may depend upon God, he becomes a new man.
Source: Discovering God
God has created man in the best of moulds (The Quran, 95:4). He has been granted all the intellectual capabilities by which he may achieve realisation of the Lord of the worlds. Besides this, in the external world that is nature, all those elements are hidden which may assist him in this journey. Now it is man’s task to discover these elements of maarifah in nature and experience such an elevated level of maarifah as will enable him to develop a divine personality.
Source: Discovering God
The realization of God is the essence of religion. Realization of God (maarifah) is the beginning as well as the end of religion. The position of maarifah in God’s religion is that of the seed. Just as a seed grows gradually into a full tree, similarly maarifah shapes the entire personality of a person. Without maarifah, religion is reduced to a spiritless form. With maarifah, religion is like a lush green tree and without it, religion becomes like a dried-up tree. If religion is the body, maarifah is its spirit.
The journey of realization begins with a questing spirit. Seeking is an intellectual journey. If a person is sincere and one hundred percent honest in his search, if there is no negativity in his thinking, if he is free from prejudices, if he has become a completely complex-free soul, attainment of maarifah for him is as certain as the dawn of light after the rising of the sun.
In the words of the Angel Gabriel, the Prophet of Islam once said: “Worship God as if you were seeing Him.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 50) This is the most correct definition of maarifah. This may be put in a different way: God-realization is to have conviction in God’s existence as if you were seeing Him. How can one achieve this kind of maarifah? The way to achieve maarifah is to, first of all, discover creation and then, through creation, reach the Creator. For if there is creation, there must be a Creator.
Source: Discovering God
The most important thing that every person needs is to achieve the realization of God, for there is nothing greater than this realization. God-realization is a process, the first step of which is to go on the quest for truth. The course this takes is guided by reason, but reason in itself is not enough.
Reason or mind can lead a person only to probability. By rational thinking, one theoretically grasps the fact that God very probably exists. The next level is that of conviction, and the mind alone does not lead anyone to conviction. There is only one way to arrive at conviction and that is through one’s nature. Every person receives his nature as a gift of birth. God has fully inculcated consciousness of Him in human nature, just as mother’s love is innate in everyone. Through reason, man arrives at theoretical realization, and through his nature, man arrives, with certainty, at the realization of the truth.
A person’s innate nature assists in the building up of conviction provided that he does not allow himself to succumb to different types of distractions. Distraction throws a veil over his true nature. In this way, his nature is not able to perform its real task. At present, causes of distraction have greatly increased, for instance, mobile phones, shopping, parties, family functions, business engagements, etc. Today, people are usually very far away from true realization of God. For them, God is just a formal belief, not a discovery. The reason for this is distraction. The price of realization is for a person to completely save himself from all kinds of distractions. Without paying this compulsory price, no one will be able to attain to the realization of God.
Source: Discovering God
Yes, love of God is a part of faith. This has been a part of the teachings of many revealed religions. For example, in the Bible, it is stated in both the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament that: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (Matthew, 22:37; Deuteronomy, 6:5)
Love of God is not something mysterious. It is the highest degree of acknowledgment of God. When a person discovers God, when he becomes consciously aware of God’s blessings when he realizes that his existence and entire life are replete with God’s blessings, at that moment a strong affection wells up within his heart. This strong affection is called love of God.
To love God is to love the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. Such a love is not only an emotional relationship. It brings about a revolution within the human personality. Love of God produces many elevated human qualities, for example, positive thinking, well-wishing for others, trust, courage, etc.
Love in relation to God, is the highest degree of discovery and with reference to man it means developing human-friendly behaviour. Calling people to God is also a manifestation of love of God.
When anyone establishes a relationship with God that is imbued with love, he naturally has a strong urge to convey the message of God to his people, so that none of God’s servants are deprived of the eternal mercy of their Lord.
Source: Love of God
The Quran describes one basic quality of the believers thus: “Those who believe love God most.” (2:165) The Believers mentioned in the Quran in this verse are those who have discovered God at the level of realization. All their feelings and emotions will be associated with God alone. Their hearts and minds will focus solely on God.
Owing to his limitations, man cannot see God in this present world, but he experiences God’s mercy and blessings at every moment, and this experience is the real source of his love of God. Everything man has received in this world is a blessing from God. The more one thinks of divine blessings, the more one’s love of God will increase. The source of the love of God is the discovery of blessings and not the sight (deedar) of the Benefactor (God).
The realisation of God is the discovery of the Benefactor, who is the source of all blessings. When man attains this realisation in the real sense, the love of God wells up within him. Every fibre of his being is enlightened with divine love. Obedience to God is, without a doubt, the demand of faith, but it would be an underestimation of the love of God if it is taken only in the sense of obedience. Obedience is only a legal description of the relationship with God, whereas love entails man’s entire existence being moulded in the remembrance of God. Man comes to acknowledge God in the perfect sense when it is with the whole of his being.
The Quran says: “Remembrance of God gives one’s heart peace of mind”. (13:28) Moreover, it means that only the love of God can give man peace of mind in the real sense.
Source: Love of God
The strongest human feeling or emotion is that of love. When man makes something his supreme concern, it naturally happens that a feeling of love becomes associated with that thing. In religious terminology, this is called “deification”. The thing one loves the most is one’s deity (mabud) whether or not one utters this word.
Faith in God is for man to discover God to the extent of loving Him more than anything else. The Quran says that “those who believe love God most.”(2:165) One who loves God the most is one who has made God his object of worship.
Real love for God will find expression in many ways. Even uttering such words as praise (hamd), thanksgiving (shukr), and remembrance (zikr), as we find in the Quran, is also an expression of our love for God. It would be right to say that Alhum-do-lillah, praise be to God, signifies love for God (Alhub-bu-lillah). Praising God means loving God. Gratitude to God also means loving God. Remembering God also indicates a strong love and affection for God.
The Quran has this to say: “Remembrance of God gives one’s heart peace of mind”. (13:28) This means, moreover, that it is only love of God which can give man peace of mind in the real sense.
Belief in God begins with the discovery of God. In the Quran this discovery is called maarifah. Maarifah, or realization of God, in the real sense, becomes a part and parcel of one’s existence. When this happens, all those high and noble manifestations.
According to a Hadith, you should be merciful to people on earth and God Almighty will be merciful to you. In this way, Islam links personal salvation to serving others. God’s reward in the Hereafter can be earned only if one has striven to alleviate the sufferings of mankind.
The following incident brings out the concept of service to others in a very profound way. During the British monarchy, one of the British Emperors disguised himself as an ordinary person to inspect his military establishments. During an interaction when one military officer admonished him in a very stern and harsh manner, the disguised king asked, “Do you know who I am?”
Taken aback at such a question and doubting himself the officer said, “Are you a military officer just as I am?” The king replied, “I am of a greater position than that”. The officer said, “Then you must be a Captain.” Again to this the king replied, “I am greater than that.” “Are you a colonel?” asked the officer. “No, I am greater than that”, was the reply. The officer said, “Then you must be a General”. “No, I am even greater than a general”, said the king. Then the officer who was by now in total shock said, “Then you must be the Emperor”. He said, “Yes, I am the king”. The officer handed his gun to the king and said, “You may shoot me for my crime, I have failed to recognize my king”. The king said, “No, you are a good military officer but I have an advice for you. Whenever you interact with any common man think of him as your king and of yourself as an ordinary soldier then you will treat every individual in the best manner and will consider the common man’s affairs as the affairs of the king”.
In this incident, there is a principle for living a God oriented life. When God created man and asked the angels to bow down before man all the angels obeyed God’s command but Satan refused to do so. The angels considered the issue as a matter of God’s command but Satan considered it as a personal issue between man and himself.
All the teachings of Islam are based on two principles—the worship of God and the service to mankind. Without putting both principles into practice, there can be no true fulfillment of one’s religious duties.
Islam inculcates the spirit of love and respect for all human beings. On the one hand, by serving human beings they please God and on the other, they achieve spiritual progress.
Source: Spirit of Islam September 2016
The present world with all its components is an expression of the blessings of God. This discovery is enough to make man regard God as his Benefactor. He becomes the grateful servant of God. However, this feeling becomes the most intense when a man discovers all these blessings at the level of his being. The first discovery causes man to utter these words, “God, You have given me so much!” However, further discoveries cause him to call out spontaneously, “O God, You are so merciful that You have given me those blessings of which I knew, and besides those, You gave me Your countless blessings about which I had no knowledge and so could not have asked You for them.”
This same reality has been expressed thus in chapter 19 of the Quran: “For when the revelations of the Merciful were recited to them, they fell, prostrating themselves and weeping.” (19:58) In another place in chapter 96, the Quran has this to say: “Prostrate yourself and come closer to God.” (96:19) An actual act of self-prostration is a moment of nearness between God and man. At that moment, spiritual contact is formed at an invisible level between God and man. This contact experience is so intense that tears fall from the eyes of the servant.
Umar bin Khattab reported that there were brought some prisoners to God’s Messenger amongst whom there was also a woman, who was searching (for someone) and when she found a child amongst the prisoners, she took hold of it, pressed it against her chest and provided it suck. God’s Messenger said: ‘Do you think this woman would ever afford to throw her child in the Fire?’ We said: ‘By God, she would never throw the child in Fire so far as it lies in her power.’ God’s Messenger said: ‘God is more kind to His servants than this woman is to her child.’ (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2754)
God is Most Merciful toward man.
Source: Love of God
Prayer or dua means a call. That is a servant of God invokes his Creator to express either his needs or his servitude to Him. This call in itself is a form of worship. God is a living and permanent existence. He hears and sees and has the power to do as He desires and set the course of events in consonance with His will.
It is this firm conviction which gives rise to this urge within man to pray to God. When man receives inspiration from God, it comes to him naturally to call upon God for all his needs and to ask for God’s blessings in this world as well as in the Hereafter. God is truly man’s sustainer.
There is no time set for prayer, neither is there any prescribed method nor a separate language. Man, at any moment, in any form, and in any language can pray to God. If the prayer has come right from inside one’s heart, it will certainly reach God. God will hear the call without delay and will answer the suppliant’s prayers.
There are certain prayers, which are repeated in different forms of worship. But most prayers are not linked to one form of worship or another. For instance, when a man goes to sleep at night some words of prayer come to his lips according to the time. Similarly, when he wakes up, he starts praying to God to help him to make a better start to the coming day. In the same way when he meets someone, or eats and drinks, or takes his seat in a conveyance or is traveling, or is engaged in his economic activities –whatever the occasion – such prayers come to his lips as mean, O God, in this matter you will decide what is best for us.
Dua means seeking from God and this seeking from God has no ending. It continues always. Dua is an expression of unceasing feelings welling up inside the believer’s heart for his Lord. No moment of a believer’s life can be bereft of it.
Source: Principles of Islam
