“If He takes you away from people, then know that He is opening to you the doors of His company.
And if He allows you to ask, then know that He wants to give you something.”
Sometimes Allah tests us with the death of a spouse, brother, or a dear person… and you might find yourself one morning on a hospital bed or somewhere remote traveling, where you are only by yourself, when you are alone.
In this case, the lesson here is to know that you are not really alone; Allah Almighty is with you. And this is a very important part of the journey.
When you feel alone, don’t feel lonely, feel that Allah is opening the doors of His presence for you. When you are alone, whom are you going to mention and whom are you going to speak to? To Allah Almighty.
A Golden Opportunity
So He is actually opening the door of uninterrupted presence, remembrance and meditation with Him.
His company is something that maybe you were missing because you’re very busy with your life and what you’re doing and so forth.
And that is why Allah took away the people from you or took you away from the people. This could be a highlight in your life. When you are alone somewhere and you turn to Allah and you start to think about your life in a deeper way and you read things that you didn’t read before, or you reflect upon issues that you never reflected upon before… Because you didn’t have a chance.
But He opened that door for you. And when He opens the door of His company, you should use the opportunity to ask Him. And the sheikh here is teaching that if He allows you to ask, then know that He is going to give you something.
Ask Allah
Maybe not exactly what you are asking for because what you are asking for is not good for you. Allah says:
And man supplicates for evil as he supplicates for good, and man is ever hasty. (17:11)
They’re not really wise, they don’t understand what they are asking for. So when you ask, you should know that Allah is going to give you something and that thing is either what you are asking for if it is good, or something even better. But you should know that the dua is the true worship, it’s the core of worship. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
Dua is the essence of worship. (At-Tirmidhi)
Allah answers us in this life or in the next life. We should not feel that the isolation is actually a punishment, but we feel that the isolation is a gift so that He opens the doors of His company.
And what company is better than His?
The Prophet Muhammad used to say in his travels:
You are the company in my travel. (Muslim)
So when he traveled, he felt the company of Allah. And in the travel of the journey of this world, He is the best company that you could have. In addition to other company of humans and things, that is fine, but He will always remind you of His company with His blessings and to take you steps further on His way.
May Allah allow us to feel His company and to benefit from it.
Ameen