40:60,

There was once a young woman, with a heart filled with hope. She was determined to find her way to God. Her mind raced with questions, which was the way she’d always been, for as long as she could remember. How do things work? Why are certain things the way they are? What is life meant to be like? Questions, always. Answers, not so much. But the questions remained, for her heart knew that one day, somehow, she would get answers.

On her Way, many questions travelled through her mind. Was she worth it? Was she worth walking on these lands, taking these steps? Would her Lord accept her? When she closed her eyes and tried to see the state of her heart, she would look down in shame for all she could see was darkness. “Light, you’re filled with light,” people would tell her. But she didn’t believe them. What did they know? Were they aware of the shame she carried? Of the guilt that drowned her every time she tried to swim in the oceans of Love? They didn’t know. They wouldn’t understand.

Despite the whirlpool of questions swimming around in her mind, there was one in particular that stood out for a while.

How do I know that my Lord is near? He says He is, but how do I measure this? What is near? What does that mean?

She would try different ways of interpreting Her Lord’s words in her own life. She had no doubt that He was indeed near. But she just didn’t know how to visualise this nearness. So, she tried the ways she had seen others experience.

At first she tried a rigid method. A set list of prayers and tasks to help boost her faith and feel closer to God.

It worked, but it wasn’t quite enough.

So, she tried to add on to this set list. Extra prayers, more reading. Learning from the great ones who preceded her.

It worked. But reading about their journey only reminder her of the blurriness of hers.

She kept going. Trial and error, except the errors weren’t so bad per se. They just didn’t quench her thirst. But she kept going. Living life, smiling and laughing and, living. No one knew about the storm in her heart, the waves crashing, the wind howling, the rain pouring.

But,

He did.

One day on her journey, she found herself on a normal worldly day standing, on her way back home aboard the tram. She spent a good day, but it was, as all the other ones, worldly. She stood there, leaning against a seat in the crowded tram waiting for it to start its journey. Her shoulder was in a lot of pain. Reality was that she was used to having pain in her shoulders. She accepted it as part of her life. But in that particular moment, the pain was stinging. She could not bare the weight of the bag on her shoulders anymore, but had to. For there were no seats available, and, she thought, even if there were, there are people in this tram who needed it more than she did. So she stood there, knowing that sitting down and resting her shoulder would make her feel better, but accepting the situation for what it was.

On the seat against which she was leaning, was sat an elderly woman. As the train took longer to drive off, and the young lady was trying to distract her mind from the pain, the elderly woman turned around and tapped the young lady’s arm. “I’ll get down at the next station,” she said, “and when I do, you can take my seat.”

The young lady smiled in response, but couldn’t utter a thank you. She was not only surprised by the woman’s kindness, but what really took away her words was the answer she was looking for, all this time.

“And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad concerning Me, then answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.” (Quran 2:186)

This is how near He is. A simple sigh, an unuttered wish, a silent suffering. He is there, every step of the way, with you, by your side. He is there, you just have to open your eyes to His presence. What could be considered as a simple act of kindness from a stranger, resonated as an answer to a lingering question. What were the odds? That a random kind stranger would be sitting next to the person in need of this kindness? The answer is simple. There were no odds, no coincidence. It was all Him.

His presence is everlasting

His Love infinite

Open the right eyes

You too shall see.