by
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (The Steps of the Followers)
Muraqabah is knowing that Allah is
watching over us. Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala,
says, "And know that Allah knows what is in your minds, so fear
Him." [2:235] "And Allah is Ever a Watcher over all
things." [33:52] "And He is with you wherever you may
be." [57:4] There are many other similar
verses stating the same concept.
In the hadith of Jibreel, when he asked the Prophet (s) about ihsan (goodness and excellence), the Prophet (s)
replied, "Ihsan is to worship Allah as
if you see Him, but since we do not see Him we should know that He sees us at
all times." (Bukhari and Muslim) The meaning of
this hadith is the definition of muraqabah.
Namely, the endurance of the servant's knowledge and his
conviction and certainty that Allah is watching over his internal and external
affairs. To have this knowledge and certainty at all times is called muraqabah. It
is the fruit of the servant's knowledge that Allah is his Watcher, Over-seeing
him, Hearing his utterances, and Observing all of his
deeds at all times.
Al-Junaid said:
The one firm in muraqabah
fears the waste of even a moment for other than his Lord." Dhun-Nun said: "The sign of muraqabah is to favor what Allah has sent down (of
the revelation), to glorify what Allah has glorified, and to despise what Allah
has despised.
Ibrahim Al-Khawass said:
Muraqabah is the sincerity of both the internal and external to
Allah.
It has been said that"
The best that man may cling to on this road
to Allah is muhasabah (reckoning of the
self), muraqabah, and governing his conduct
with knowledge.
The people of true knowledge have unanimously
agreed that having muraqabah for Allah in one's hidden thoughts is a means for it to manifest in the
deeds and the behavior externally. So, whoever has muraqabah for Allah in secret and internally,
Allah will preserve him in his actions and behavior, both internally and
externally.
One of the finest definitions for muraqabah is the following: muraqabah
of Allah is being on the way to Him at all times with over-whelming
glorification, inciting nearness and urging joy. The overwhelming glorification
is to have the heart filled with glorification of Allah. Such a state makes the
servant unconcerned with glorifying others or paying attention to others beside
Allah. A servant should always have this state, especially when he is
remembering Allah. To be with Allah provides one with intimacy and love. If
these are not associated with glorification, they may take one outside of the
limits of servitude. Any love that is not associated with glorification of the
Beloved One is a reason to distance him away from the
Beloved and lose His respect.
The overwhelming glorification includes five
components: walking towards Allah, constantly walking towards Him, presence
within the heart for Him, glorification of Him, and being
overwhelmed by His glorification to be concerned with others. The
inciting nearness is the closeness to Allah that incites the servant to have
these five components. This closeness makes him glorify Allah in a manner that
he pays no attention to himself or others. The closer the servant becomes to Allah,
the more he glorifies Him and the less mindful he will be for others. The
urging joy is happiness and glorification. It is the delight
one finds in this nearness. There is nothing in this world comparable in
any way to the joy and happiness of the heart and the delight of the eye with
Allah and His closeness. This is one of the states in
A knowledgeable person said,
There are times when I would say that if the
people of
This joy, no doubt, urges him to be constant
in walking to Allah and doing his best to seek Allah's Pleasure. If one didn't achieve this joy or even a portion of it, then one
should doubt their faith and deeds. Faith has grace and sweetness. If one has not
tasted it, then one should go back and achieve the true faith and its
sweetness.
The Prophet (s) mentioned the sweetness of
faith in many ahadith, including:
...tasted the taste of
faith, those who take Allah as their Lord, Islam as their religion and Muhammad
as a Messenger. (Muslim and Ahmad)
He also said:
Whoever possesses the following three
qualities attains the sweetness of faith: To have Allah and His Messenger
dearer to him than anything else, to love a person only for the sake of Allah,
and to hate to return to kufr after Allah has
rescued him from it like he hates to be thrown into fire." (Bukhari and Muslim)
I heard Sheikul-Islam
saying:
If you don't find
sweetness and joy in the deed you perform, then doubt its sincerity, for Allah
is Shakur (Most Appreciative and Rewarding).
He meant that Allah will
certainly reward His servant for his deeds in this world as long as the servant
is delighted and happy with his deeds. But if he doesn't
find the delight and the joy in his heart, then his deed is imperfect,
defective.
This imperfection and defectiveness is the
reward of what the servant receives for his deeds. Deeds have consequences and
effects that return to the servant that performed them, affecting his life and
all of his affairs. Prayer (salah), for
example, prevents the servant from unlawful and evil deeds. It also refines his
morals and brings him up in the best manner that Allah loves.
Fasting (Siyam)
strengthens his will and enlightens self-reproach and insight, so the person
may see the straight path and become among the righteous. Such are all the good
and righteous deeds, they have a reward that affords
prosperity in all of man's affairs. As a result, family life and the society
become joyful and prosperous. The evil deeds have their consequences as well.
Allah said, "For those who have done good is
best (reward)." [10:26] and "The evil was the end of those
who did evil." [30:10]
The opposition in people is of three kinds.
Only those that Allah protects are free from these. The first kind is the
opposition to His Names and Attributes by presenting false and unclear matters.
These falsities are negated because of what Allah and
His Messenger have ascribed for Him. These people have ascribed to Allah what
He negated for Himself. By doing so, they became loyal to His enemies and
enemies to His Allies. They changed the words from the correct status and have
abandoned, as a result, a great part of what was sent
to them.
They are those that have divided their
religion into differing sects with each group rejoicing in its belief. The only
thing that protects from this is the pure submission to the wahy
(Divine revelation). When the heart submits to the wahy
(revelation), it will witness its soundness, realize intellectually and in the
light of fitrah (sound nature)
that it is the truth. Such a submissive person submits by way of hearing, the
mind, and the natural disposition of humankind - fitrah.
This is the most perfect faith.
The second type of person is the one who is
in opposition to His Message and Command. These people can vary slightly and can be further categorized. Some may oppose with their
opinions and analogies. They make lawful what Allah has made unlawful, and make
unlawful what Allah has made lawful. They void what Allah has made obligatory
and make obligatory what Allah has voided. Another type amongst these people are those that oppose the facts of faith and the Message
with their visions, personal experiences, and false devilish inspirations.
These compose a religion that Allah has not allowed, invalidate the religion
that Allah sent to His Messenger, and oppose the facts of faith using the
devil's tricks. These people have religions to worship other than Allah's religion
and place these before Allah's religion. Because of their analogies, opinions
and personal experiences, the entire world could have been
ruined and the pillars of the religion destroyed. But
Allah has preserved this religion and promised to protect those that will
preserve and protect it from the plots of these plotters.
Another group of those in opposition are those that oppose the Law of Allah with their unjust
rules. They put their rules before the rules of Allah and His Messenger (s). Thus they suspend Allah's Law, justice and His hudood (legislated punishments).
The third type of opposition is of those who
oppose Allah's actions, decrees and ordinances. This opposition comes primarily
from ignorant people. It has many forms, some are clear and some are not. This
kind of opposition exists within many souls. If we were to contemplate our
utterances, actions and desires, we would see this clearly. Most of us have
some kind of opposition to Allah's decree and His portioning of livelihood.
The ones that are free of this type of
opposition are those that know Allah with a true knowledge and accept Him with
complete satisfaction.