How Allah Responds to His Servant's Call! - Hafiz Masum Ahmad Dudhratchaki

Daily Bijoy News Special Correspondent:

In the Holy Quran, Allah, the Lord of the worlds, declares: "Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth..." (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah: 255). Islam asserts that the Creator of this world is a Living Lord and Sustainer. He reveals Himself to His servants in the present era just as He has been revealing Himself in previous eras. From the beginning until the present age, not a single one of His attributes has been diminished. He still hears today just as He heard before, and He still interacts with the righteous today just as He did before.

The fact that Allah is Living, Ever-Living, and Eternal compels people to have faith in Him, to maintain a relationship with Him, and to harbor love for Him. If He were not Living, Without Beginning, and Without End, fear would remain concerning His existence, that He might die before us. By providing proof of His Living reality, Allah has invited us to place our trust in Him, saying: "And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die..." (Surah Al-Furqan, Ayah: 58).

Allah the Almighty further states: "Everyone upon the earth will perish, And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor." (Surah Ar-Rahman, Ayah: 26-27). This means that every entity in all the worlds of the heavens and the earth is changeable and perishable. And He upon whom no change or destruction befalls, He is God. Faith and belief in Allah are, in reality, the foundation of religion and the focal point of spirituality. Without this, religion cannot even be conceived. Islam presents the Being of Allah as a living reality or sign. He is a Living, Ever-Living, and Eternal Lord. One proof of His Living Being is that He hears the prayers of His servants and answers them. As Allah states in the Quran: "And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you...'" (Surah Ghafir, Ayah: 60).

From among the thousands of examples of the relationship between the Prophet (pbuh) and the belief in one Living Creator and its proofs, I present just one instance. The Prophet (pbuh) wrote letters to various kings inviting them to Islam. When this letter reached the Kisra (Chosroes), the king of Persia, he became so enraged upon reading it that he tore the letter into pieces and said, "A slave of mine addresses me like this?" He then ordered his governor in Yemen to arrest this Arab (i.e., the Prophet) and present him. So, the governor of Yemen sent two men to arrest the Prophet (pbuh). When they reached Medina, they tried to persuade the Prophet (pbuh) through advice, saying, "Come with us, otherwise Kisra will destroy your country." He (pbuh) said, "Stay here tonight, and I will give you my answer tomorrow, Allah willing."

When they went to the Prophet (pbuh) the next day, he (pbuh) said: "Go and tell your master (i.e., the ruler of Yemen) that my Lord has killed his lord (i.e., Kisra) last night." When this response from the Prophet (pbuh) reached the governor of Yemen, he said, "If what this man has said has truly happened, then he is indeed a Prophet of Allah." Consequently, after a few days, a letter from Kisra's son arrived for the governor, stating, "I have killed my father for the sake of the country's interests." Such was the relationship between the Prophet (pbuh) and the Living Allah. As a result, Allah Almighty always kept the Prophet (pbuh) within a protective enclosure.

In truth, those who love Allah, whose hearts are pure, when they remember Allah, call upon Him, and seek His help, Allah hears their call and rushes to their aid. As Allah the Almighty has stated in the Holy Quran: "And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided." (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah: 186).

Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to build a loving relationship with this Living Allah and to conduct our lives by obeying His commands and prohibitions. Come! Let us keep ourselves away from all kinds of misdeeds and spend our time in the remembrance of Allah. Allahumma Ameen.

Writer: Prominent Islamic thinker, writer, and columnist Hafiz Masum Ahmad Dudhratchaki, Former Imam and Khateeb of Kadamtali Mazar Jame Mosque, Sylhet. Founding President, Jokiganj Upazila Conscious Citizens Forum, Sylhet.

Daily Bijoy News/ Hafiz Masum Ahmad Dudhratchaki