"Wait, therefore; surely they (too) are waiting" (Qura'n, 44:59). Such a viewpoint is
impossible to accept; therefore, it is rejected on the ground that one who waits for something
needs to reach its commencement, desiring to find out its outcome. The correct meaning of
this latter verse is that Allah wants His servants to reach out to Him, to make Him the goal of
their adoration, submission and humility.
Al-Raqeeb, then, is the Witness Who is never absent. The virtues of one who watches himself
is implied in a tradition wherein the Messenger of Allah Muhammed says, "Ihsan (goodness)
is that you worship Allah as though you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He surely sees
you."
It is narrated that a man once passed by a young slave tending sheep and pointed to an ewe
and said, "Sell me this ewe, young shepherd!" The young slave told him that it was not his;
therefore, he could not sell it, whereupon the man said, "Where is your brilliance?! Can't you
tell its owner that a wolf ate one of his sheep?" He answered him by saying, "Then where is
Allah?!" The man was very impressed by his answer, so he bought the young slave and set
him free, then he bought the herd and gave it to him as a gift. Since then, that man kept
repeating "Then where is Allah?!" quite often. It is, therefore, one of the good manners of a
believer towards Allah, al-Raqeeb, to keep in mind that Allah ever watches over him and sees
whatever he does. He knows that his self, that is, his nafs, is his enemy, and that the accursed
Satan, too, is another, and that they both seize every opportunity to make him lax and disobey
his Lord; therefore, he must always be on his guard. He must close all the pitfalls in which he
may fall and block all the avenues from which Satan may approach him. It is also one of the
signs of good manners of a believer in this regard to watch himself and his senses, to keep
vigil, and to make whatever he does solely for the achievement of the Pleasure of his Lord in
a pure intention, to observe his obligations towards his Muslim brother, and not to expose the
latter's faults to others.
- "Al-Mujeeb"
Allah has said, "And to Thamud (We sent) their brother Salih. He said: O my people!
Worship Allah; you have no other god besides Him; He brought you into being from the earth
and made you dwell in it; therefore, ask forgiveness of Him, then turn to Him; surely my Lord
is Nigh; he ever answers" (Qura'n, 11:61).
Linguistically speaking, both nouns ijaba and istijaba mean basically the same, and "al-
Mujeeb" has two meanings: One is: the One Who answers the pleas. The other is: the One
Who grants what He is pleaded for.
Al-Mujeeb, Allah, responds to the plea of those who plead to Him and helps them, Who
favourably answers the supplication of those who supplicate to Him, Who removes the need
of those in need and gives them sufficiently. He even gives prior to being asked and accepts