Allahu Akbar
Allah is Greater
Allah - the
Most High - says.
"That He will call you
to account for what your hearts have earned."
[Soorah
al-Baqarah 2:225].
"The day when
neither wealth nor children will be of any avail, except he who comes to Allah
with a dean and pure heart."
[Soorah ash-Shu'araa 79:88-89].
The
Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:
"Indeed, there is a piece of
flesh in the body; if it is sound then all the body is sound. However, if it is
diseased, then all the body is diseased Truly that is
the heart." [1]
Al-Haafidh Ibn Rajab (d.795H) - rahimahullaah -said:
"So know that the world - and whatever is
above it and below it in the water- will not be corrected except when the
actions of its people are all for Allah. The actions of the body follow on from
the actions and intentions of the heart. So when the actions
and intentions of the heart are purely for Allah alone, then it is corrected,
and likewise the actions of the body will also be correct. However, if
the actions and intentions of the heart are for other than Allah, then it is
corrupted, and likewise the actions of the body will be corrupted in proportion
to how much the heart is corrupted." [2]
And he said: "Hearts will not be
corrected until the ma'rifah (knowledge and
realization) of Allah - being in awe of His greatness, loving Him, fearing Him,
hoping in Him, relying and trusting in Him - is not firmly implanted in them.
This is the reality of Tawheed and the meaning of the saying: Laa ilaaha illAllah (that none has
the right to be worshipped except Allah). Thus, hearts will not be corrected
until Allah is made the ilaah (deity) to be known, to be loved, feared and
hoped in, and that He - along with this - becomes the only ilaah (deity) worthy
of this, without associating any partner to Him in this." [3]
Indeed,
we may begin to appreciate the greatness of Allah - the Most High's - and being
in awe of Him, by considering some narrations regarding what He - the Most High
- has created.
The
Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:
"Indeed I see what you do not see
and hear what you do not hear. Heaven has groaned, and it has a right to do so.
By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! There is not in the heaven a space equivalent
to four fingers, except than an angel has prostrated his forehead to Allah in
it. By Allah! If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep a lot,
and you would not take delight in women in their beds, but rather would go to
the wilderness and implore Allah for help." [4]
He sallAllahu 'alayhi wa
sallam said:
"The
seven Heavens compared to the Kursee (the Footstool of Allah) is like a ring which is thrown into a desert. And such is
the magnitude of the 'Arsh (the Throne of Allah)
compared with the Kursee." [5]
He
sallAllahu 'alayhi wa
sallam also said:
"I have been given permission
to relate to you about the Angels of Allah - the Most High - that carry the 'Arsh (Throne). Between one of the Angel's ear and shoulder is a distance of seven hundred year
journey." [6]
And
he sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam also said:
"Al-Baytul-Mamoor
is in the seventh heaven [directly above the Ka 'bah]. Each day seventy
thousand angels enter it, and they will not return until the Day of
Resurrection." [7]
So:
"the need of the servants for this
(type of) knowledge is greater then every other need; and it is the most
necessary of all things for them, since there is no life for the hearts, nor
any delight, nor any tranquility, except through knowing their Lord, the only
One Who deserves to be worshipped, their Creator - with His Names, His
Attributes and His Actions, and that He - along with all that - is more beloved
to the person than anything else. So man's striving is with regards to
everything that will draw him nearer to Allah, to the exclusion of the
creation. So the people who know Allah the best, are the ones who best follow
the way to Him; and know best what lies at the end of the way." [8]
