Reaching Allah (s.w.t.) without a Guide

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) on the 31^st January 2010. 

We must be aware of what Allah (s.w.t.) Wants of us.  Allah (s.w.t.) Says, in the Qur’an: 

سُوۡرَةُ المَائدة

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱبۡتَغُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ وَجَـٰهِدُواْ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ (٣٥) 

O you who believe!  Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto Him, and strive (with might and main) in His Cause: that you may prosper. (Surah al-Ma’idah:35) 

We have been Created to know our Creator.  We must seek a means of approach, a wasilah, to Him.  This is also known as asbab, a reason, for something to occur.  What is a wasilah?  If a person wants to fly, he would be unable to do so because of his physical limitations.  So he has to use an aeroplane.  By means of using an aeroplane, he is able to achieve his previously unattainable goal.  That aeroplane is the asbab, the wasilah.  We cannot attain our goals, except by wasilah.  This worldly life is one where everything is achieved through reason, asbab.  We take medicine to get well.  We go to school to learn.  We work to earn money.  We jog to get fit.  We drink to quench thirst.  We plant crops in order to reap the harvest.  In order to reach any goal, there is a process to get there.  That is wasilah.  If merely to reach this worldly sky, we need a wasilah, what about traversing the seven heavens to reach Sidrat al-Muntaha, to the Divine Presence?  That requires a wasilah.  We need a wasilah to reach Allah (s.w.t.) and anyone denying this fact is actually denying the Qur’an. 

Only Allah (s.w.t.) Fulfills the deep spiritual needs that are hidden in our soul so we should seek a means to approach Allah (s.w.t.).  This is taught in the Qur’an, as Allah (s.w.t.) did not leave any matter out of the Book.  No matter what we seek, whatever problem we face; the answer lies within the Qur’an.  To attain any goal, whether physical or spiritual, one has to seek a means to it, and the means may be zhahir or bathin. 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنعَام

... مَّا فَرَّطۡنَا فِى ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ مِن شَىۡءٍ۬‌ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّہِمۡ يُحۡشَرُونَ (٣٨) 

… Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (Surah al-An’am:38) 

There are some who claim that they have sought an answer from the Qur’an, but found none.  Such people are spiritually blind.  Just as a physically blind man cannot see the sun and the moon, spiritually blind people cannot see the Light of Guidance from the Qur’an.  Whatever we seek that will bring us spiritual happiness and contentment, is to be found in that Book.  When we understand that Allah (s.w.t.) is our goal and His Pleasure is our destination, we will be content. 

There was a time in which we did not exist.  Allah (s.w.t.) Created us from nothing along with the rest of Creation.  Did Allah (s.w.t.) Create us to seek Him, or to seek Creation?  Creation is but a shadow, an illusion.  We must seek Reality.  When we look into a mirror, we are merely seeing an image.  It looks real enough but though it resembles us; it does not have flesh and bones, it does not have life, and we cannot touch it.  There is a distinct difference between the real and the image in the mirror – one is reality and the other is just an illusion. 

Just as Allah (s.w.t.) Created the mirror for us to see ourselves, Allah (s.w.t.) Created the whole of Creation as a mirror for us to see His Attributes and His Beautiful Names since we cannot understand the being of Allah, Dzatullah.  We can understand Him through his Names and Attributes.  That Mirror is a wasilah.  When all that we see in this Divine Mirror is Allah (s.w.t.), we have reached mathlab al-‘ala, the endless fulfillment of the highest desire.  That is a never-ending vision of satisfaction for Man.  At that state, we realise we are part of that Manifestation of Divine Attributes and Names, and would then fana’ into that Reality. 

We need a wasilah, a Divine Mirror, to look at ourselves and to understand ourselves.  There are so many stations, many stages and realities and levels to pass through before our personality becomes naught and there is none but He.  It is Shaythan’s aim to take us in the opposite direction, away from Allah (s.w.t.).  That is why we need a Guide.  And that is why we ponder His Names and Attributes.  We must seek a Way to draw near to Allah (s.w.t.) relentlessly. 

Dzu al-Qarnayn (r.a.), the Two-Horned One mentioned in Surah al-Kahf, was one such servant Allah (s.w.t.) Opened the Way to. 

سُوۡرَةُ الکهف

إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُ ۥ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُ مِن كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ سَبَبً۬ا (٨٤) فَأَتۡبَعَ سَبَبًا (٨٥) 

Verily We Established his power on Earth, and We Gave him the ways and the means to all ends.  One (such) way he followed, (Surah al-Kahf:84-85) 

That the verse above is the secret that holds the key to all knowledge.  It is the knowledge of the Heavens and the Earth.  Everything is linked to a reason, a wasilah.  Dzu al-Qarnayn (r.a.) was on a journey.  He chose the right Way and relied on it Way.  He stepped on the Way of asbab, wasilah, to attain success.