Mohammad Rafoqie
Junior Member
By Mohammad Rafique Etesame
The holy Qur’an reveals,” Say He is Allah the one, Allah, the eternally besought of all, He begets not, nor was begotten, and there is none comparable unto Him” (Al-Ikhlas:4)
These verses reveal that Allah is one and also there is none in the entire universe comparable to Allah Almighty. That is why He is free from all the qualities found in the creatures i.e. being a body, dimension, weight, essence width etc. Also there is no specific direction or place can be fixed in the entire universe that where He exists because He is the Omnipresent. But as His highest respect, it is the belief of Muslim Ummah that He exists on the throne situated over the Highest heaven as the holy Qur’an reveals, “A revelation from Him who created the earth and the high heavens, The Beneficent One, Who is established on the Throne “(Ta,Ha:5). According to the commentators “Istwa-alal-Arsh” means He took power over the universe not “sitting on the throne.”
Now the question is: when a believer establishes worship, what should be his concept about Allah that where He exists? For example, whether He exists in the Mosques, Baitullah Sharif or in Bait-tul-Muqaddas? He exists there! But
According to the majority of Muslim scholars, Allah Almighty “exists” in the hearts of the believers in real as long as they pay full attention to Him at the time of worship. That is why heart has great importance in Islamic teachings as the holy Qur’an reveals about the Infidels of Mecca who did not accept Islam by hearts that, “Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom” (Al-Baqarah: 7). Also reveals, “Will they then not mediate on the Qur’an or are there locks on the hearts? (Mohammad:24)
The holy Prophet PBUH) said,” there is a piece of meat in the human body that, if it is right (in guidance), then all the body is right, and if it leads astray, then the whole body will lead astray. Beware! Beware! It is the heart” (Al-Mishkat). And, if someone wants to accept Islam, he bears a witness that there is no deity but Allah and Mohammad is the messenger of Allah”. And if he is dump or Deaf and cannot speak correctly, then the witness of his heart will be reliable and it will be known when he acts upon Islamic teachings.
The holy Prophet (PBUH), when asked a question about “Ehsan” replied that,” Ehsan is that you worship Allah Almighty as if you are seeing Him, and if it not so, then (imagine) that He is seeing you”.
(Bokhar, Muslim) This Hadith proves that the worship of Allah Almighty will be performed in the correct manner when the attention is fully focused on Allah Almighty. It is not the case that a servant stands in front of Allah Almighty and worships Him, but his attention is on domestic matters or business matters and he is busy solving these problems. In this way, his worship will not be performed in the correct manner. Because in this Hadith, the definition of " EHSAN"(goodness) is that, anyone should worship that Allah Almighty as if he is seeing to Him, and if he cannot do so, then he should reflect in his heart and imagine that Allah Almighty is seeing to me Because it usually happens that when a person is praying, his heart is filled with a multitude of thoughts. Sometimes he is busy with the business of his horses or something else, or he is discussing domestic matters with his wife. In this way, worship is not performed with complete attention and humility. Therefore, special care should be taken to ensure that the mind is free from unnecessary thoughts while praying and that the person's attention is completely focused on Allah Almighty.
And, on the other hand, if a believer offers prayer but his attention is towards the business, domestic affairs or any other matters; then, despite his prayer will be offered, but without the essence of worship.
It means that he is offering prayer apparently, but in fact he is busy in doing his business etc.
A faithful believer always remains in the position of offering prayer. It does not mean that he offers prayers only and does nothing else except it. But he earns his daily bread and pays his duty to other necessary works also, he does all these works including prayers also but keeping in his mind that Allah is seeing him and is aware of all his actions. The holy Qur’an reveals,
”Lo! Man was created anxious
Fretful when evil befalleth him “
And, when good befalleth him, grudging;
Save worshippers
Who are constant at their worship
And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged
For the beggar and the destitute”; (Al-Ma’arij:25)
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said,” seven Muslims will be under the shadow of the throne of Allah at the Day of Judgment when there will be no shadow but the shadow of it.
Among them there will be the one who’s heart always “remains hanging” in the mosque that when he comes out of it after establishing one prater, he waits to hear the voice of Azan for other prayer”. (Al-Mishkat)
May Allah give us power to do all our works according to the teachings of Islam keeping in the mind that ALLAH is seeing us for all the times.