GOD WHO DWELLS IN OUR HEARTS

By brother Saim Khwaja (e-mail: thesaim@hotmail.com)

If it had been only a poetic expression we would have appreciated it not

more than a Man's Concept of God which may become redundant with the
passage of time. But, as it is revealed in the Quran, which reads :

'" Hova Ma'akum Aina Ma Kuntum - God is with you, wheresoever you may
be ! [ 57:4 ],

therefore, it is not merely a wistful expression of human's imagination but

this Concept of God is a concrete reality. It cannot be denied or defied with
further arguments. It lays the foundation of Faith for those who believe in
Quran as Divine Revelation.

One cannot profess Islam unless he hold this belief that God is : Omnipresent
and Ubiquitous ! He is far above the man's concept of Time, Space and
Compassing. But, unfortunately, many people despite of their firm belief in
the Universality of God cannot defend themselves from the onslaught of false
dogmas of their religions. They hold certain very erroneous beliefs about
God's Existence. Their imagination cannot grasp a God Who is Omnipresent
and Ubiquitous and express Himself through tangible Laws. They are
incapable to derive satisfaction from His obedience through Laws. They
dislike to worship an Abstract God. Accordingly, they create a God from their
own imaginations and idolize Him in the worship. This weakness of human
mind lays the foundation of different religion because the imaginations vary
from person to person. Consequently, the mankind got divided and the
clergies started to confuse them further. They succeeded in sending a Hindu
to the Mander, a Christian to the Church, a Jew to the Synagogue and a
Muslim to the Mosque in search of God who dwells in hearts.

Now, everyone of us gets satisfaction only when we worship Him in the

Mosque or Mander, Church or Synagogue and when we seek His blessings
our hands and heads are raised to the sky instinctively. While doing all this
we don't have even the slightest sense that - He dwells in our hearts. He is
with us wheresoever we are ! He is far above our comprehension. He is - A
Being - Who likes to be obeyed and followed rather than worshiped. There is
not a single word in the Quran which could be translated into worship. We
find repeatedly such words; Ahbadullah, Atteeullah, Ittebahullah - all of these
got the meaning of Obedience rather than worship.

God shows His existence through His tangible Laws. Whether these are
discovered as Laws of Nature or Revealed to mankind through the agency of
God's Messengers, we have to follow them. These are the only means which
makes us honourable in the sight of God Who is not far away but very near
to us. How much near ? He says:

" ... We are nearer to him (man) than his jugular vein [50:16].
And when He says:

" (O Prophet) When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close
(to them): I listen to the Call of every Caller when he calls on me: So, let
them listen to Me and trust Me. This will put them on the right path. [2:186]
"

, this means that man has to obey His Laws all those which are commanded
both in Nature and the Quran. God never speaks to man directly except the
Prophets. And, our belief is that Mohammad (pbuh) was the last prophet.
There will be no more prophets. Therefore, the only way to listen to God's
call is through His Book. God answers our calls through Quran. And our
answer to God's Calls is to obey His Laws. God's Laws produce tangible
results. And, in fact, these results are the true acceptance of our calls or
prayers.

This is the true Concept of God which the Quran gives to us. All other
concepts concerning God are the fabrication of human mind. If we follow this
concept we need not to search God in certain places or through certain
agencies. We have to look for Him in our heart and mind and approach Him
through His Laws. If the whole mankind follow this course the entire face of
the earth would become a Paradise. Because, in this way the human being
like other living beings would become a law abiding specie. Rather, a better
specie due to his power to think and create.

Those who take different courses or agencies as " Waseela " other than God's
Laws to approach Him or to seek His blessings or to get nearer to him are
sheerly misguided. They are doomed here and would get double punishment
in the hereafter. And blessed are those who follow His laws. They enjoy the
pleasure of this life and would get double reward in the hereafter