What would take you to Him?

Bismillah.

"The spiritual aim is reached neither by many works, nor by few, but by Grace alone. As the Saint Ibn Atha'illah says in his Hikam: 'If you were destined to reach Him only after the destruction of your faults and the abandonment of all your claims, you would never reach Him. But when He wishes to bring you back toward Him, He absorbs your quality into His and your attributes into His and thus brings you back by means of what comes to you from Him, NOT by means of what comes to Him from you."

- Shaykh al-Arabi ad-Darqawi

O son, this does not mean that you should be passive and wait for His grace. You should try to win His grace by loving the one man He loves - His Beloved, Muhammad Rasulullah s.a.w. Did you know that He does not really care about the long petition you make in your du'a which is often selfish and tainted by wordly matters? Those words you utter have no value to Him apart from the salutation you make to His Beloved in between your du'a. That, O son is a lot dearer to Him. So love the man He loves!

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًاInna Allaha wa malaaikatahu yusalloona `ala an-nabiyyi ya ayyuha alladheena amanoo salloo `alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema(Qur'an Al-Ahzab 33:56)

"Surely, Allah and His angels send blessings to the Prophet. O you who believe, do pray Allah to bless him, and send your Salam (prayer for his being in peace) to him in abundance."

(Translation by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani)

Allahumma salli 'ala

sayyidina Muhammad wa sallim

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Picture credit: Abdul Ghani of Haqqani Fellowship