It should be the desire of every Muslim to draw nearer and closer to Almighty Allah the most compassionate and the most merciful. By drawing closer and near to Allah we gain his help in every aspect of our lives in this world and to be merciful to us so that we may gain mercy in the hereafter to enter Jannah in the next world. When we call upon him he would answer our calls and when we ask of him for anything he would give it to us when we draw nearer to him then our sincerity and intentions will enable us to become closer to him. Allah says:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
“And when ask you My servants about Me, then indeed I am near. I respond (to the) invocation (of) the supplicant when he calls Me. So let them respond to Me and let them believe in Me, so that they may (be) led aright.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186)
People who are always grateful, then his life will be calmer and away from anxiety. For those who can be grateful, then he has stepped closer to Allah SWT and got additional pleasure. This is because he realizes that the favour is bestowed by Allah. Build a close relationship with Allah by making much due to him. He loves it when his slave calls upon him and it angers him if his slave does not call upon him. Allah says:
الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُم بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
“Those who spend their wealth by night and day secretly and openly, then for them (is) their reward with their Lord, and no fear on them and not they will grieve.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:274)
Piety means carrying out the whole command of Allah and avoiding all his prohibitions. If we love God and expect His mercy, we must be able to keep away from all the prohibitions that can keep us from His good pleasure. A person may ask, ‘How can we do Zikr all the time whilst we have so many things to do in life such as go to work, feed the family Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“O you who believe! Fear Allah and seek towards Him the means and strive hard in His way, so that you may succeed.” (Surah Al-Maidah 5:35)
Every human who wants to go to heaven must be close to Allah. Because, the closer a servant with Allah SWT, it will create stronger faith and more obedient worship. By knowing Allah, keeping His commands, and away from His prohibitions, we can become closer to Allah. Also, Allah will give all the things that we want if we are close to Him.
The following are steps for us to draw closer to our Almighty Allah:
- Be confident of the mercy of Allah, don’t be despairing and lose heart
- Be alert and aware of the world around you, don’t be absent-minded
- Be confident and have deep faith, don’t be doubtful and wavering
- Be loving and solicitous to others, don’t be unmindful of them
- Be diligent and vigilant of your duties, don’t be negligent
- Be generous and charitable, don’t be selfish and miserly
- Be sincere and straightforward, don’t be hypocritical
- Be considerate and compassionate, don’t be harsh
- Be dignified and decent, don’t be graceless
- Be chaste and pure, don’t be lustful
- Be truthful in everything, don’t lie
- Be moderate, don’t be excessive
- Be reserved, don’t be garrulous
- Be soft-spoken, don’t be loud
- Be humble, don’t be boastful
- Be honest, don’t be corrupt
- Be fulfilling obligatory duties
- Be always be patient
- Be practice righteous to others
- Be sincerely repenting to Allah
- Be hug your parents and always obey
- Be spiritually oriented and not materialistic
- Behaving good manners, character and being humble
- Be cheerful and pleasant, don’t be irritable and morose
- Be optimistic and hopeful, don’t be cynical or pessimistic
- Be good-natured and forgiving, don’t be bitter and resentful
- Be refined and gentle in speech, don’t curse and use foul language
- Be polite and respectful to people, don’t be insulting or disrespectful
Every human will get trials or problems from Allah SWT in life. However, only human beings who are patient in trying to complete the trials will be glorified. Istigfar is the easiest thing to do but not everyone can practice it. Indeed, acknowledging mistakes and hastening to repent is one way to go through to get closer to Allah SWT. Being in a conducive environment where the people are close to Allah SWT, will also bring us closer to Him. Allah says:
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
“Indeed, (the) First House set up for the mankind (is) the one which (is) at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for the worlds.” (Surah Al-Imran 3:96)
Qur’an is a guide to human life that gives many benefits to those who read it. Even one letter is rewarded with 1 goodness that is folded into 10 goodness. Moreover every time we increase our reading, then the reward from Allah also increases. Allah says:
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
“Take from their wealth a charity, purifying them and cause them to increase by it, and bless [upon] them. Indeed, your blessings (are a) reassurance for them. And Allah (is) All-Hearer, All-Knower.” (Surah At-Taubah 9:103)
It will increase noble and great when reading in prayer. Tawakkal to Allah must be done when we have done everything according to the ability to possess. Allah is the only one who understands what is best for His servant. Allah says:
وَلِلَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
“And for Allah (is the) unseen (of) the heavens and the earth, and to Him will be returned the matter, all (of) it, so worship Him, and put your trust upon Him. And your Lord is not unaware of what you do.” (Surah Hud 11:123)
Zikr is a practice of oral worship through thayyibah sentences, by always praising and mentioning the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. We can perform zikr anywhere and anytime, when we stand, sit or lie down. One of the most important things we must do, which sadly many people neglect, is that we should avoid bad company. People, we should avoid taking as friends those who speak too freely, who miss Salah, who do not dress modestly, who backbite, slander, etc. Allah says:
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا
“Glorify [to] Him the seven heavens and the earth and whatever (is) in them. And (there is) not anything except glorifies His Praise, but not you understand their glorification. Indeed, He is Ever-Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.” (Surah Al-Isra 17:44)
One of the obligations of every Muslim in the world is to perform fast. In addition to mandatory fasting in the month of Ramadhan, there are many Sunnah fasting that is recommended to do. By fasting either mandatory or Sunnah fasting, then not only can draw closer to Allah SWT but many other virtues can be obtained. Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“O you who believe[d]! Is prescribed for you [the] fasting as was prescribed to those from before you, so that you may (become) righteous.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 183)
We need to do good things for other people. Allah does not want us to become a man who has been a zikr for a long time without associating with other human beings. We can approach Allah by practising good deeds to fellow human beings. Allah says:
وَمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُم بِالَّتِي تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِندَنَا زُلْفَىٰ إِلَّا مَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَاءُ الضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا وَهُمْ فِي الْغُرُفَاتِ آمِنُونَ
“And not your wealth and not your children [that] will bring you close to Us (in) position, but whoever believes and does righteousness, then those, for them (will be) reward two-fold for what they did, and they (will be) in the high dwellings secure.” (Surah Saba’ 34:37)
As Muslims, we must understand Islam thoroughly. We can do it by adding Islamic knowledge in various ways, including reading books, reading on the internet (about Islamic knowledge, Islamic articles, tausyiah, etc.), looking at Islamic videos that can improve our faith. Remembrance of Allah is the foundation of all good deeds. Whoever succeeds in it is blessed with the close friendship of Allah. That is why the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to make remembrance of Allah at all times.
