But are we with Allah?

“And He (Allah) is with you wherever you may be”. (The Holy Quran 57:4)

Allah is everywhere. No space or time is without Him; yet He is independent of time and space. He is Omnipresent; and His love protects us from harm in this world and in the life hereafter.

But this relationship with Allah should not be one-sided. No doubt, Allah is with us. The vital question is: “Are we with Allah?”

If a grown up son misbehaves and still demands the same parental affection which is enjoyed by his obedient brother, he is just deceiving himself. Likewise, some people fail to realize that there is no such thing as ‘one sided companionship’. And if we want to be sure that Allah is with us, we must be sure that we are with Allah. It means that we have to prove our love towards Allah, if we want to be worthy of the love of Allah. In other words, we must know also our responsibilities towards Allah and His creatures, and try to fulfil them.

As a first step to reach this goal, we must realize that we are too much entangled in our worldly affairs to spare a moment to remember Allah. Sheikh Saduq, one of the greatest Muslim Scholars, has given a very good parable to throw light on this facet of our life.

A man slipped down from the brink of a deep well. Fortunately, a plant had grown in the wall of the well, and while falling down his hands clutched a branch of that plant. After the initial shock, he began looking up and down.

What he saw, was enough to make him scared. A huge serpent, in the depth of well, was waiting for him to fall down. Desperately, he decided to remain where he was; and then saw to his horror, that two mice-one black, another white-were busy cutting the root of that plant. He lost his hope. Then he looked up, and his heart was full of hope. He was not very far from the rim of the well and, by a little judicious effort could reach the safety very easily. Then he saw a beehive in that plant. And forgetting his tragic position, he began eating the honey. Of course, the bees did not like it and began stinging him, but he remained oblivious of all the troubles. A short time after, the mice succeeded in cutting the plant down and he fell in the mouth of the serpent.

We are that man; this world is the well; the plant in the midway is our life; which is being eroded away by every passing night and day-the black and white mice; death is the serpent waiting for us. The honey represents the pleasantries of this world, for which we QUARREL with other people - the bees – and are bitten by them.

What makes our plight more tragic is the fact that rescue is never very far. It just requires a little effort on our part to reach to safety and security provided by the loving care of Allah. We may easily reach Allah and be safe for ever. Or on the other hand, we may be destroyed by death. The choice is ours. Allah is with us. But are we with Allah?