Fajr Thoughts: Nearness to Him Part 27
You cannot even comprehend it.
In the name of Allah, the entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
إِنّا كُنّا مِن قَبلُ نَدعوهُ ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ البَرُّ الرَّحيمُ
Indeed, we used to supplicate Him before. Indeed, it is He who is the Beneficent, the Merciful." [Surah at-Tur: 28]
Do you remember?
There was a time when you called upon Him in the dark, you had whispered it not knowing if you would ever see the light at the end of that tunnel.
And now, look at you on the other side of that du’a. Alhamdulillah!
Hard as it might have seemed, that thing did not kill you.
al-Barr is the One who never turns us away. The One who answers in ways we do not always recognize. The One whose kindness always surrounds us.
How many times did we plead for something, only to realize later that He was guiding us to something better?
How many times did we think we were unheard, while He was answering with protection, with wisdom, with love?
To know Al-Barr is to know that every prayer, every tear, every moment of longing, is all seen and ever ignored.
We call upon Him and He answers, not just with what we ask, but with what we truly need.
And even when we sin…
Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “A person will know Allah’s Birr when he recognizes that Allah concealed him at the time he was committing the sin although He had perfect sight of him. Had He willed, He could have easily exposed him in front of His creation. This is from His Perfect Birr. And from His Names is Al-Barr. This Birr is from Allah’s perfect richness free of the slave, and the slave’s complete poorness towards Allah.”
Of His Birr towards His believing slaves is wanting ease for them and not wanting hardship. He accepts the little of their good deeds and rewards them abundantly for it. He pardons many of their sins and does not take them into account for all their mistakes. He recompenses the good deeds with ten of its like and multiplies it for whomsoever He wills and does not recompense the evil deed except with one of its like. He records their desire to perform a good deed as one good deed and does not record their desire to commit a sin as one sin.
O Allah, You are Al-Barr, please do not let our hearts become heedless of Your grace, and let us never forget your generosity towards us.
If you would like to reflect on least one ayah daily this blessed month, then go ahead and get your copy of Fajr Thoughts. It contains a summary of each juz, an ayah or passage from each juz, some notes from tafasir and then some questions to get you started on your reflections.