Inner Voice

Be With God

“And God is with you wheresoever you may be:” (Qur’an: Chapter 57: Verse 4)

God 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 as in the life hereafter.

But this relationship with God should not be one-sided. No doubt, God is with us. The vital question is: “Are we with God?” If a grown up son misbehaves and still demands the same parental affection which is enjoyed by his courteous and 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 God is with us, we must be sure that we are with God. It means that we have to prove our love towards God, if we want to be worthy of love of God. In other words, we must know also our responsibilities towards God and His creatures, and try to fulfill 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 God. We are not preparing ourselves to meet God at all. Sheikh Saduq, on 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 that well; the plant in 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 the safety and security provided by the loving care of Allah.

We may easily reach to God and be safe forever. Or, on the other hand, we may be destroyed by death. The choice is ours.