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Becoming closer to Allah

Becoming closer to Allah
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March 25, 2023
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In Surat Az-Zumar, Allah Almighty talks about those who do qiyam (voluntary night prayers) and supplicate to Allah, and how they are not equal to those who deny Allah and reject the akhirah, and are only concerned with the dunya.

Makki vs Madani surahs

This is a Makki surah. Like other, similar surahs, it addresses basic issues of reality, and deals with the way people think, and the way they challenged the Prophet (peace be on him), accused him, called him names, etc. In the Makki revelations we also see that the topics of the akhirah, monotheism and tawhid, the authority of Allah, and the truthfulness of the Quran and Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) are heavily present. In the Madani revelations, we see more rulings on community issues, hypocrisy, war and peace, etc. Each type of revelation has distinct characteristics.

Continuing good habits after Ramadan

In this surah, Allah is addressing the issue of those who are obedient to Allah, and immerse themselves in his ‘ibada, doing qiyam and dua. He draws our attention to the fact that we are in need of Allah, but He is not in need of anyone. He’s telling us that if we want to be close to Allah, then we need to be among those who do qiyam and stand to supplicate Allah. We are lucky that Ramadan brings us closer to this status, but hopefully we can keep it after Ramadan. Alhamdulillah, it’s good that we do more qiyam and dhikr and recitation of Quran in Ramadan, but we need to extend this outside Ramadan as well inshallah.

How do we become closer to Allah?

In Surat al-Baqarah, Allah says, ‘If My servants ask you about Me, tell them that I am near.’ [2:186] This nearness comes with submission to Allah Almighty. Elsewhere in the Quran, He says, ‘Prostrate and draw near to Allah.’ [96:19] If you want to be near Allah, it will be through your sujood. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) said in his hadith, ‘The nearest a servant comes to his Lord is in his sujood.’ [Muslim]

You have to put the most honoured part of your body – your forehead – on the floor in submission. You humble yourself towards Allah. And this is what we need to do, not just in Ramadan, but outside Ramadan as well.

We ask Allah to make us among the devout (qaniteen); those who stand in salah (qaimeen); the elevated (rafi’een); those who do sujood (sajideen); the worshippers (‘abideen); those who do dhikr (dhakireen); the thankful (shakireen); and those who praise (hamideen). Ameen.

Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Ramadan Night 4

Transcribed by Hana Khan

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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