Remembrance of Allah — Page 14
14 the missing shoes or turban will make his appearance defective. And people of high status do not accept a defect in anything of theirs. Thus, when not engaging in the in all the ways is a defect, and on top of that, when we also prove that Allah the Exalted has commanded that methods of remember- ing Allah other than S al a t be adopted as well—whether anyone fully comprehends the underlying wisdom or not—and the Holy Prophet s as has also directed along these lines, then it is essential that in order to achieve excellence in spirituality, we should also act upon these ways of remembering Allah. The reason for proper attention not being given in our Jam a ‘at to the offering of Naw a fil [supererogatory worship] is also that these people have not understood the benefits of this way of remembering Allah. They think that by performing the obligatory worship they have done their duty, whereas the Holy Prophet s as says, and he does not say so himself, but rather says that Allah the Exalted told him that: ُ اُحِبَّه ُ فَاِذَا اَحْبَبْتُه ی َتَقَرَّب ُ اِلَي َّ بِالنَّوَافِل ِ حَتّٰ ی ْ َزَال ُ عَبْدِي ی وَمَا َمْشِي ْ بِهَا. ی ْ َبْطِش ُ بِهَا وَرِجْلَه ُ الَّتِي ی ْ َدَه ُ الَّتِي ی َ ُبْصِر ُ بِه ٖ و ی ْ كُنْت ُ سَمْعَه ُ الَّذِي ْ يَسْمَع ُ بِه ٖ وَبَصَرَه ُ الَّذِي —By offering Naw a fil, My servant gets so close to Me that I become the ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hands with which he holds, and the feet with which he walks ( S a hih al-Bukh ā r ī , Kitābur-Riqāq, Bābut-Tawā d u’; Hadith 6502). From this you can understand the rank that God Almighty has accorded to Naw a fil , and how great a status has been given to the person who performs them. It is as if through them, God Almighty elevates a human being to such a degree that he begins to absorb His attributes within himself. Therefore, Naw a fil are not an ordinary matter. But alas, many people pay them no heed!