The World Of Islam

Allah (swt) said in the Holy Quran:

So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me [2:152]

He also tells us the story of what happens to those who turn away from remembering Allah (swt): not only will he have a depressed life in this world, but they will also be rendered blind on the Day of Judgment.

He will say, "My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?" [Allah] will say, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten." [20:125-126)

Oftentimes when life gets tough and it starts to seem that Allah (swt) must have forgotten about us, we are overwhelmed with feelings of weakness, helplessness, and unworthiness. The truth of the matter is, the power to change our situation is in our very hand. How?, you ask. By doing exactly what the Quran tells us we should do: that is, remembering Allah (swt) and thanking Him for the blessings He has bestowed on us. It's very simple; just like we are more likely to remember and cherish those friends who make an effort to remember and keep in touch with us, Allah (swt) has honoured our remembering of Him by returning the favour.

But what happens when we pray and make dhikr, yet we still seem to get no answer? On the one hand, you can think of this as a test. Allah (swt) is testing your faith and patience to see how loyal you are to Him just like he tested Prophet Ayyub (Job) and Prophet Yunus (Jonah). On the other hand, maybe you're just not listening clearly enough. Consider this beautiful poem by Persian poet Rumi:

All night, a man called “Allah” Until his lips were bleeding. Then the Devil said, “Hey! Mr Gullible! How comes you’ve been calling all night And never once heard Allah say, “Here, I am”? You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what? I’ll tell you what. Nothing!” The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned. Depressed, he threw himself on the ground And fell into a deep sleep. In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked, “Why are you regretting praising Allah?” The man said, “I called and called But Allah never replied, “Here I am.” Abraham explained, “Allah has said, “Your calling my name is My reply. Your longing for Me is My message to you. All your attempts to reach Me Are in reality My attempts to reach you. Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me. In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah” Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”