Allah Took Them By The Hand

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Whoever Allah wills, He picks up that person and takes him by the hand, and in a very short time he becomes the elite on the planet. Whoever Allah puts barakah (blessing) into his age, Allah put barakah to his time. He will realize in a very short space of time tremendous matters.

Allah chose for Prophet Nuh, peace be upon him, that he preached for 950 years. After all that time he was preaching only a few followed him and the rest were destroyed and his children flourished on the earth.

Allah chose for the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he preached for 23 years, after which he was victorious and His religion spread in the lands, and he is the Prophet till end of time.

What is the means and how do we acquire the means for Allah to take us by the hand?

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, Allah be pleased with him, who said that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: Allah the Almighty said:

I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.

Allah relates a wonderful story in the Qur'an about the Companions of the cave. There were a group of young man who despite the difficulty of their age and bad influence, they came towards Allah. The youths hid in the cave, but they trusted in Allah, and made over their whole case to Him in prayer. Allah received them graciously and made them a sign for all of time.

إِذْ أَوَى ٱلْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى ٱلْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةًۭ وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًۭا

"Behold, the youths betook themselves to the Cave: they said, 'Our Lord! bestow on us Mercy from Yourself, and dispose of our affair for us in the right way!'" Qur'an al-Kahf 18:10

Then they apparently fell asleep and knew nothing of what was happening in the world outside.

نَّحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُم بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَٰهُمْ هُدًۭى
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا۟ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَن نَّدْعُوَا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِلَٰهًۭا ۖ لَّقَدْ قُلْنَآ إِذًۭا شَطَطًا

"We relate to you their story in truth: they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance. We gave strength to their hearts: Behold, they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: never shall we call upon any god other than Him: if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity!" Qur'an al-Kahf 18:13-14

وَإِذِ ٱعْتَزَلْتُمُوهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ فَأْوُۥٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلْكَهْفِ يَنشُرْ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُم مِّن رَّحْمَتِهِۦ وَيُهَيِّئْ لَكُم مِّنْ أَمْرِكُم مِّرْفَقًۭا

"When you turn away from them and the things they worship other than God, betake yourselves to the Cave: Your Lord will shower His mercies on you and disposes of your affair towards comfort and ease." Qur'an Al-Kahf 18:16

All these indicate that if the slave takes the steps towards Allah, Allah takes him by the hand. As well, we have to turn away from bad influences and factors which influence darkness in our lives.

Allah guides whoever He wills and whomever He chooses to guide he is guided to tremendous good. The means to achieve that is by taking steps towards Allah, asking Him, and being impoverish before His kindness.

And whoever Allah wills, He leads them astray. What is the method for someone to lead astray? It is taking steps away from Allah.

May Allah bestow mercy on us from Himself and take us by the hand. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. JazakAllahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam