My Experience on Connection with Allah
Bismillah, in the name of Allah.
I want to talk about our connection with Allah Subhanuwatallah. Most of us have experienced Allah Subhanuwatallah in some way but the connection is always the same. Sometimes we feel a strong connection and sometimes we feel disconnected. Its a continuous struggle. Most of us are trying or atleast have the intention to to try in our capacity but is there a way? Is there a standard procedure?
I found a hadith and I applied it and it seems to work for me so I want to share it with you guys. This is a Hadith Qudsi. What do you get by following the procedure? You maintain and improve your connection with Allah Subhanuwatallah.
What is the process?
Step 1: Obligatory prayers (Fard Namaz, Zakat, Fasts, Hajj, Jihaad)
Focus on the five prayers. Just make sure you pray. You start doing the effort and it will improve automatically with the will of Allah. Just make a genuine effort. Don’t do anything else. There will come a point where you will feel like you want to do more. That’s when I think that the connection is restored and you continue to maintain it by performing the obligatory prayers.
Step 2: The Extra Efforts
Once you are regular in daily prayers, you focus on doing the extra stuff. Doing the extra stuff will help you get the love of Allah. I think the best thing is the “Night Prayer”. I cannot find the reference right now so I’ll share another hadith (). The Prophet said:
(ﷺ) “Whoever gets up at night and says:
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ، وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّ
And then says:
للَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي
Or invokes (Allah), he will be responded to and if he performs ablution (and prays), his prayer will be accepted.”
There are a lot of other things you can do. I have explored the following and I switch between them a lot.
- Memorizing the Quran: My favorite thing is I like to memorize the Quran because I love reciting it. Maybe its also because I am not very good at it. Start by your favorite parts. I once listened to lecture in context of Surah Taghabun. I loved it so much that it motivated me to memorize it. There is a half and hour lecture on youtube by Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza to revise the basics of tajweed. It works as an alternative to music. Lecture Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWAVYb5NPVM
- Understanding the Arabic: When you are trying to memorize the Quran, it helps if you understand what it means. It also improves your Namaz. I started doing Lisan-Al-Quran course by Amir Suhail. Its a basic course and it has forty lectures. Lecture Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQEmhyFtjTY&list=PLmcMQH9TZ96D7vlU3ws7OAN5l_s6qUnAk
- Gatherings: Its not my favorite thing to do but it helps. Meeting people for the sake of Allah. It motivates you to be better. Its a reminder. If it helps, you can add it to your routine. If you are an extrovert, this is your thing. You can always consult with Tableeghi Jamat for a gathering. There is also lectures arranged by Naseeha Institute. You can look them up online.
- Understanding the Quran: This is my second favorite thing to do. Understanding the message of Quran. Start from you favorite part of the Quran. Personally I like Dr. Israr Ahmed’s style of tafseer. There is a recorded bayan al quran available. I use it as an alternative to movies. Israr Ahmed Bayan Al Quran Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz3t9J3jP_w&list=PLJDzZYV0BryEjBaWCFr4YG0I52lqRToCy Nauman Ali Khan Surah Yusuf Tafseer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3ak4q52Cmg&list=PLUwKu6hisEQFc-jkOzqEhkUmxw3tVGCZJ
- Random Scrolling on Islam360: I hate that I have to keep a smartphone. So in my screen time, especially before I sleep, I read random stuff on Islam 360 just because there is no other good option.
Step 3: Conclusion:
I applied this hadith and I cannot explain it in words but it helps in maintaining and improving the connection. How do I know? Because when in simple words, it makes it hard to sin and easy to do good deeds. You will understand this when you read the hadith. Allah says, “When I love him I shall be his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps and his foot with which he walks. If he asks from me I shall certainly give him and if he seeks refuge in me I shall certainly give him refuge. I have not hesitated about anything I do as I hesitate about taking the soul of a believer who dislikes death, for I dislike grieving him, but he cannot escape it.”
( In-book reference : Book 9, Hadith 41, Mishkat al-Masabih 2266, this reference works in Islam 360 also)
