^But it's this simple answer that ....when you read about Allah's mercy and compassion.....makes it hard to comprehend why atrocities take place. Like the thread where this girl was grabbed from a crowded place and raped for several hours. And i know that bad things happen due to carelessness, or as punishment, as an aazmaish, or to test those that are more fortunate, or some greater good comes out of it down the road. There are so many possibilites but with our limited knowledge....it can tough to comprehend....and that in turn can make it tough to mentally/emotionally reconcile with.
I love Allah and completely faith on HIM. Whenever i need something or in some trouble, I ask Allah to help me and Allah never turn down my request. But the main thing is ur faith :cobra:
What a blessing it is to not know how close I am to God ... Me thinks that I'm not close enough ... in fact I'm too far from Him, but I know He is not far from me.
The whole philosophy of Islam revolves around fear of Allah. Quran talks about wrath of Allah at many places, gives examples of Allah's wrath on individuals and nations who digressed from the right path.
Fear of Wrath of Allah keeps us on the right path and hope for Allah's mercy keeps us motivated to stay patient during our tests and trials .
Unconditional Love of Allah is a Christian concept.
Peace Mirch bro
I'm surprised that you have this idea of Allah (SWT) ...
Please Read Surah Aal-Imran (3) - verse 31:
*Say: "If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
*
The fundamental is to become a slave of Allah (SWT) ... The new slaves and ones that have little relationship with Allah (SWT) act upon their Master's Will out of fear, but the ones who understand that their Master has their best interest and provides them without them asking even when they were unable to know or remember their own needs, to see the grace in this life, bounties and promise of much more in the Hereafter this should move us to "Love" Him ...
Sayyiduna Muhammad (SAW) Imam Al-Mursaleen was titled Habibullah - The Love of Allah (SWT) ... The essence of the Christians is right but their manifestation of God is false and a going astray, the Wrathful Merciless idea of God of the Jews is false but their concept of Monotheism is admirable. However Muslims have the best expression of Tawhid and we acknowledge that Allah (SWT) relates to us both by His Wrath and Mercy ....
Yet we are told in the hadith (Bukhari and Muslim) - My Mercy outsrips my Wrath ... And we should see that Mercy in in the verses of Allah (SWT) are linked to His Love.
well i think none of us cn say exactly tht how much we love or fear HIM...i personally feels that i dn't do the sins nt because of His fear bt i hve tender feelings 4 Him,i feel tht due to my any sinful action He 'll b hurt...talkin abt the fear i'll say i love my parents n along with it i hve fear of their wrath or anger so thing is that i hve this kind of love n fear from Him...i must add tht whenever i wish 2 hve something,i silently cry infront of Him n m happy 2 disclose tht he never disapoints me :)
The whole philosophy of Islam revolves around fear of Allah. Quran talks about wrath of Allah at many places, gives examples of Allah's wrath on individuals and nations who digressed from the right path.
Fear of Wrath of Allah keeps us on the right path and hope for Allah's mercy keeps us motivated to stay patient during our tests and trials .
Unconditional Love of Allah is a Christian concept.
but i personally feels tht love is always unconditional but u r right too tht some of us needs some conditions.
I have been thinking about the same for past few weeks now. I wish to be closer to Allah and share a more deeper relationship. For a month, i have been saying my prayers regularly but this seems more like something i should do and not something i feel passionately about. I hope to have that love and that strength of faith in my heart which makes me pray not because i have to but because i want to.
This is a vital concept ... The idea of self-determination or self-management is not the idea of being close to Allah (SWT).
Allah (SWT) has given us freedom to choose, but when we see that there are many creatures that do not have this freedom we should realise that we should be content in His decisions for us, we should try hard to succeed since that is what He wants from us, not because we want it for ourselves, and if we do not achieve from our efforts then we should be content in that position ... as a slave who does as his master's bidding does not complain when he is not rewarded for his obedience and shows gratitude when he is given reward.
If we say that if we need something we cry hard and ask Him and gives it to us - qabooliyat of du'a is no measure of closeness to Him ... it is only a measure of how close He is to us. When a slave asks his master - the du'a is undertaken with no anxiety, but surety and sincerity in the best etiquette - imagine when a subject comes to his king and asks by presenting his case and ends by saying "your decision is my bond" and if the king rules for or against him the subject walks away "thanking" this is the condition of a true servant ... but if we present ourselves like beggars before our king in despair falling to his feet people look down upon such people for not having "etiquette" and being in a condition where the decision of king will not be satisfactory to them.
It is the corpus of the spiritual school of Shadhiliyya to focus on conquering self-management as the method of being close to Allah (SWT).
Yes....and unfortunately the concept of fear of wrath has not worked well so far.......but I have found that the concept of love does work.
Or maybe its just me........
It is fear of repercussions of breaking the law which keeps majority of people in check. Majority of people need to know that if they break a law then there will be no mercy otherwise they will go corrupt in no time. You can compare the countries where law an be bought or is not implemented in true sense to those where the arm of law is long. Saudi Arabia vs US , UK vs Pakistan , Nigeria.
If this is true in this world where arm of the law is visible and very active then it should be more true for divine laws where arm of the law is not visible and not that active.
Unconditional love results in corruption , it results in nude beaches , strip clubs , key clubs , same sex marriages , child porn and what not.
Quran says muttaqeen (those who have fear in their hearts) are the people who are on the right path , those are the people who are looking for guidance, those are the people who do good deeds and those are the people who will end up in Jannat.
I'm surprised that you have this idea of Allah (SWT) ...
Please Read Surah Aal-Imran (3) - verse 31:
*Say: "If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
*
The fundamental is to become a slave of Allah (SWT) ... The new slaves and ones that have little relationship with Allah (SWT) act upon their Master's Will out of fear, but the ones who understand that their Master has their best interest and provides them without them asking even when they were unable to know or remember their own needs, to see the grace in this life, bounties and promise of much more in the Hereafter this should move us to "Love" Him ...
Sayyiduna Muhammad (SAW) Imam Al-Mursaleen was titled Habibullah - The Love of Allah (SWT) ... The essence of the Christians is right but their manifestation of God is false and a going astray, the Wrathful Merciless idea of God of the Jews is false but their concept of Monotheism is admirable. However Muslims have the best expression of Tawhid and we acknowledge that Allah (SWT) relates to us both by His Wrath and Mercy ....
Yet we are told in the hadith (Bukhari and Muslim) - My Mercy outsrips my Wrath ... And we should see that Mercy in in the verses of Allah (SWT) are linked to His Love.
I did not say Allah is all Wrath and no mercy. Neither did I say that Allah is all mercy and no wrath.
My idea of Allah's wrath for those who digress or transgress come from Quran , I did not invent it.
I also said that hope of his mercy gives us patience in our trial and tribulations and fear of his wrath keep us on straight path.
Allah created us so I am sure Allah knows that some of us need a carrot some of us need a stick and some of us need both. Just stick and just carrot does not work for all of us.
I did not say Allah is all Wrath and no mercy. Neither did I say that Allah is all mercy and no wrath.
My idea of Allah's wrath for those who digress or transgress come from Quran , I did not invent it.
I also said that hope of his mercy gives us patience in our trial and tribulations and fear of his wrath keep us on straight path.
Allah created us so I am sure Allah knows that some of us need a carrot some of us need a stick and some of us need both. Just stick and just carrot does not work for all of us.
Peace Mirch bro
Sorry misunderstanding from me ... thanks for the clarification ... I was thrown when I saw the words "unconditional love ... " now I understand your stance.
Yes....and unfortunately the concept of fear of wrath has not worked well so far.......but I have found that the concept of love does work.
Or maybe its just me........
You are confusing the term "fear".
Fear comes when you dont want to anything to annoy someone you love. Do as ALLAH says for the fear of not annoying HIM. We only have ALLAH who is sincere to us, provides us and loves us more than 70 mothers, if we annoy HIM, who will we turn to then.
I'm curious how many of us feel truly close to Allah.......
There used to be, and in some places still is, a trend to instill fear of Allah within us rather than love for Him.
Are you afraid of Him?
Do you fear consequences of His wrath or do you anticipate His love?
Do you share your thoughts and feelings with Him?
Is He your confidant? Your safe place to fall?
I agree with Mirch that fear of Allah is what prevents us from sinning, i don't think it's a bad thing to fear Allah's wrath at all and that's how i've been brought up. At the same time, i'm very aware of how He loves us and of how He is very merciful. And i love Him too.
I do share my thoughts and feelings with Him but i was closer to Him when i was a teenager. Not sure what happened. I hope to become closer to Him and it's a comfort to know that He is always there and has never left me.
Yes....and unfortunately the concept of fear of wrath has not worked well so far.......but I have found that the concept of love does work.
Or maybe its just me........
for me the concept of love works more ... it has drawn me alot closer to him. Like BBQ said I do fear judgment day, qabar ka azaab, dozakh ka azab .. but i also remember that Allah is Rehman and Raheem - and that he loves us 70 times more than our mothers
i would obviously be closer to someone i love rather than someone i fear ! so for me love predominates !
very interesting topic, nice to read all the replies.
personally i dont know how close i am to Allah swt. How close is close?
I do fear him but also love him. I share stuff that i dont share with anyone else, even though i know that i dont need to since he is all knowing. But it just gives me a feeling of peace. When i sincerely want something i happen to shed a tear and make du'a. I feel guilty when i miss prayer. I feel bad when i see ppl in poverty or those who are less fortunate. I thank Allah swt for what he has given me. Does this mean i am close to Allah swt? I dont know, i dont think its possible to say..really