How to attain Allah’s Guidance
The servant is granted success in many things, the most important and the highest in reward among them are:
First: Seeking and asking Allah in supplication
Constantly ask Allah for guidance
That’s why the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say: “O Allah, guide me, have mercy to me, and support me.”
It was reported in authentic Hadith that he used to say this between the two prostrations
Ask Allah constantly
O Allah, give us the strength to do the things that You love and what pleases You, O Allah protect me
During Hajj and `Umrah and when climbing (the mountains of) As-Safa and Al-Marwah `Abdullah ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them), as Al-Baihaqi reported, used to recite: “O Allah protect me by obedience to You and obedience to Your prophet (peace be upon him)”
Ask Allah sincerely for benefit and steadfastness in religion
As Allah says: “Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” (Ghafir 40:60)
How many people has honestly asked Allah to be among the righteous people so Allah raised them (their knowledge and deeds) to the degrees of the righteous
He set right for them their intention, faith and deeds
and it’s all by the guidance of Allah
Ask Allah (Exalted be He) to guide you
It is reported in the sahih Hadith that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah (the Almighty) says: O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so ask Me for guidance and I will guide you”
O Allah, we ask You for guidance, so guide us
It was narrated from Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet taught him the supplication to say in Qunut: O Allah, guide me among those whom You have guided”
So, ask Allah always to guide you, and don’t depend on your righteousness and steadfastness
Always fear relapsing and deviation of the heart
and say: O Allah I seek refuge in You from the deviation of the heart
No one deviates from Allah but one who is doomed
one may be steadfast in obedience and looking at his obedience, he is, in a moment, deceived and misled by it; his heart deviates (may Allah protect us) as he turns on his heel
Beware
He who fears will be secure. Better safe than sorry
this is the first matter: supplicating a lot
Always ask Allah (Exalted be He) for this as it is a favour no one grants except Allah
The second thing that help the servant attain success is to seek the means to achieve success
the greatest of these ever is the Book of Allah (Exalted be He) and the Sunnah of His Prophet ( peace be upon him)
You will never achieve success except with the Qur’an and Sunnah
One to whom Allah grants love for Qur’an so he recites it frequently, pay utmost attention to and deeply ponder on its meanings, internalize its words and act upon it , love listening to it and cannot help shedding tears when listening to it, is the closest to attain success, and the nearest to the straight path
May Allah make me and you among them
Love the Book of Allah
and he who loves something is influenced by it
That’s why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “On the day of Resurrection, one will be with those whom he loves”
that’s because he is influenced by them, saying what they say and doing what they do
So love the Book of Allah, and make it a goal to develop a strong relationship with the words of Allah (Exalted be He)
don’t be satisfied with a little of the Qur’an
Beware of being satisfied with such a little of the Qur’an
Rather you have to strive and work hard
trying to memorize the Qur’an, and then to understand and reflect upon its meanings
and to live by its teachings and percepts
It is a form of success that you find a man, when reading the Qur’an, feels that Allah is commanding and forbidding him
so he weeps out of fear of Allah’s threats and punishment
and when the Qur’an speaks about Paradise you find his heart overflow with joy out of longing to it
that he cannot wait until he is done with reciting the Qur’an to act by a command he just read in the Book of Allah (Exalted be He)
Listening to the Book of Allah (Exalted be He) ordering him to pray, he hurries up and follow the commands of Allah, i.e. prayer, being forward in doing good deeds
Inspired and influenced by listening to the imams and reciters of the Qur’an, when listening to the Qur’an they are humbly submissive
hoping for the highest and most honorable rewards for their prayer
Humiliating themselves drawing nearer to Allah (Exalted be He)
when he listens to the Book of Allah ordering to give charity, he never passes a poor or needy whom he can help without giving them something in charity
and he never passes an afflicted or distressed person whom he can help without fulfilling their need
The slave is in the ranks of the successful as long as he continues to follow the Book of Allah (Exalted be He) and act upon it
in all good deeds
Reading the book of Allah (Exalted be He) he learns each of its prohibitions and limits
Reading a verse that forbids him to commit something, he stop to know where he stands from this, and where he stands from the Qur’an which prohibits him
and that this verse which he recited is a proof against him between the hands of Allah (Exalted be He) so he fears
and then be led to success; success in avoiding sins, in forsaking them, in detesting them and those who commit them
Keeping himself far away from their places, their reasons, theirs allures and temptation
the Qur’an came for this
when you read the Qur’an you find it calling you to refrain from disobedience to Allah (Exalted be He)
To hate sin and disobedience to Allah, to fear disobeying Allah
by unveiling the truth of sin
Look at the Book of Allah (Exalted be He) – how it guides man towards true success, unveils the truth about things
Therefore, he on his eyes is a veil is deprived of true success and guidance
He is like the blind who sees not
On the other hand, he who is successful and guided sees clearly the truth by virtue of their fear of Allah
“if you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion.” (Al-Anfal 8:29)
and this criterion is the Qur’an
“Alif, Lam, Meem.This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah” (Al-Baqarah 2:1-2)