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Remember Me and I shall Remember you
By Nader Salah
It is a blessing that we are in this month of Ramadan. It is the month of the Qur’an, of remembering Allah, of asking His forgiveness. Essentially, this is the month of communicating with Allah. Of course, we can communicate with Allah any month of the year at any given moment.
However, many people use the blessed month of Ramadan as a springboard to establish or reestablish their relationship with Allah. Some people unfortunately go 2-3 years or even a lifetime without communicating with the One who Created them.
Imagine that one day you wake up and find that your face is on the cover of every major magazine and newspaper. You are the feature story of every newscast in every major city of the world. Every leader throughout the world is praising you and saying how great you are. It turns out that you are being awarded as the Man of the Year! Imagine the amount of pride you might have in that achievement? Quite understandably, many people would take great pride in this notoriety.
Now, let us ponder on how we would feel if the King of kings, the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between recognized us. How would we value that achievement? How would you feel if Allah mentioned you? If He even noticed you? Would you be thankful? Would you feel undeserving? Would you feel proud?
If you are of those that desire for Allah to remember them, there is a simple formula to achieve this goal. Allah says in the Qur’an in sura 2, verse 152, “Therefore remember Me, I will remember you. Give thanks to Me, and reject not Me.”
In a hadith Qudsi related by Imam Al-Bukhari (May Allah have mercy on his soul), Allah said, “Whoever mentions Me by himself, I will mention him by Myself. And whoever remembers Me in a gathering, I will remember him in a gathering that is better.”
Therefore, it is very easy to see how we can have the Creator remember us and mention us. However, many of us are reluctant or lazy to put this into practice. After pondering on the idea of Allah (SWT) remembering you by Himself or in a gathering, could you possibly still resist having your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah?
In another hadith related by Imam Al-Bukhari, the Prophet (SAAWS) said, “The similitude of the one who remembers Allah versus the one who doesn’t is like that of the one who is alive compared to the one who is dead.”
Oh Allah, make us of those who remember You when we are alone as well as when we are in gatherings. Shower your mercy upon our souls and forgive us for the sins which we have committed. Guide us on the straight path and let us not die except in a state of Islam.
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