The challenge is that while we call upon God, we often feel unheard, even though the Qur’an promises,
“Call on Me; I will answer you” (40:61).
History and the lives of the prophets show that God does communicate-but this connection depends on inner transformation. To hear His response, one must strengthen faith, purify the heart, and cultivate humility, self-discipline, restraint, and self-denial. When a person subdues all selfish desires and devotes every faculty to God’s will, a state known as “Fana”, divine communion becomes a living reality. The verse “Ud‘uni astajib lakum” (40:61) then becomes experienced reality: calls are answered, hearts are transformed, and life ascends continuously toward the Divine.
Flowing from this, to access this reality, we must learn how God communicates and develop within ourselves the spiritual receptors to receive His message. We must tune our frequency sync up with the Divine .The Qur’an declares:
“It is not given to any man that Allah should speak to him except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger”(42:52).
This verse outlines three modes of Divine communication:
- Direct revelation (waḥy an yushra‘a bihi al-malak), without intermediary.
- Communication from behind a veil through dreams, visions, or spiritual audition.
- Revelation through angelic messengers.
Building on this framework, revelation (waḥy) is God’s direct disclosure of truths beyond human discovery, absolute, infallible, and often prophetic, where both thought and word are divine. “Ilhām” (inspiration) is a subtler influence: God inspires the thought, but the words remain human; it enlightens yet carries no binding authority. “Tajallī” (illumination) is the light through which the heart perceives divine truth, a gift reserved for purified souls.
As the Qur’an says,
“And He revealed to it what is right for it and what is wrong for it” (91:9), fa alhamahā fujūrahā wa taqwāhā,
showing that human understanding depends on God’s grace to enlighten the heart.
Accordingly, revelation varies according to purity, capacity, and spiritual station – “the shape of water is that of its vessel.” Among all forms of divine communication, the revelation granted to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa) stands supreme and is described as In huwa illā waḥyun yūḥā. It is nothing but pure revelation.. (53:5) and in (72:28) where God guarded His Messenger with angels to ensure prophetic revelation remained pure and undistorted, while communications to other righteous believers may bear traces of human limitation. Hence, to deepen our communion with God, we must purify the heart, strengthen faith, and cultivate inner stillness, allowing the divine “signal” to reach us without interference.
On this path, the verse
“He shall have his reward with his Lord, and no fear shall come upon such, nor shall they grieve” (2:113)
describes three stages of perfect piety: Fana (self-annihilation), Baqa (regeneration), and Liqa (union with God). Human striving brings one to “Fana”, where the self is wholly surrendered to God, while “Baqa” and “Liqa” are divine gifts bestowed by grace. Through these stages the soul attains true life and union with the Divine. This perfection was bestowed supremely upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa), the most complete manifestation of divine beauty and knowledge, the Khatam al‑Anbiya, the foremost in nearness to God, and the perfect reflector of divine light to all humanity.
Naturally, the key to nearness to Allah, where the heart becomes a vessel of guidance, is “purity of heart”, as the Qur’an says of the Prophet(sa): “He purifies them” (62:3). This purification was his living miracle: his companions, once aimless, became spiritually awakened and world-transforming through his companionship and the Qur’an’s power. Their hearts brimmed with the love of Allah and the Prophet(sa) ; the Prophet(sa) said “Allah, Allah fi Ashabi” (nothing but Allah resides in the sahaba’s heart), and the Qur’an honors them:
“Allah is well pleased with them, and they are well pleased with Him” (9:100), “raḍiya-llāhu ʿanhum wa raḍūʿanhu”
In this way, spirituality is the refinement of awareness through divine grace: the cleansing of selfishness and the awakening of reverence. Two elements attract this grace-“remembrance of Allah and purification of self”
as the Qur’an says,
“He loves those who turn to Him and loves those who keep themselves pure” (2:223)
and
“None shall touch it except the purified” (56:80).
Such purity unveils truth and opens the soul’s vision to the signs of Allah. This is further enhanced by gratitude. As Allah says,
“Therefore remember Me, and I will remember you; and be thankful to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me” (2:153) – fa‑udhkurūnī adhkurkum, washkurū lī wa lā takfurūn. Gratitude elevates servitude.
True communion in prayer, as described by the Promised Messiah(as), occurs when every impulse, word, and movement in prayer arises from God’s grace and returns to Him in longing for nearness. Thus he wrote that prayer “comes from God and returns to Him”, meaning that the heartfelt urge to turn toward God, with tears and yearning, is itself a divine gift, not a human creation. In response, God manifests a special nearness to such a person “as if He were another God,” that is, a new manifestation of the same One God, marking the essence of true communion.
In light of this, Allah says:
Wa idhā sa’alaka ʿibādī ʿannī fa innī qarīb; ujību daʿwata d-dāʿi idhā daʿān; fa l-yastajībū lī wa l-yu’minū bī laʿallahum yarshudūn” – “And when My servants ask thee about Me, say: I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me. So they should hearken to Me and believe in Me, that they may follow the right way” (2:187)
The “spiritual technology” through which this communion is achieved is a “Salat‑centric life” in which each day is organized around Salat times and Salat. This means transforming Salat into what might be called a passionate obsession; not a neurotic fixation, but a zealous prioritization that shapes every hour. This is what it means to “stalk” your next Salat, vigilantly guarding and protecting it, as captured in the Quranic term rābiṭū(3:201). When this consciousness takes root, Salat transcends being merely five discrete acts and becomes a perpetual state, extending prayer-consciousness into every moment of daily life. The Qur’an describes such believers as “those who are in a constant state of prayer” (70:24). Salat functions as spiritual technology meticulously designed to rewire our consciousness until living in Allah’s presence becomes our default state, our natural rhythm. This comprehensive nature of Salat addresses the soul’s multifaceted spiritual needs within a single practice, making it a complete spiritual ecosystem that nourishes every dimension of faith.
Naturally, the pre-requisite to achieving all this is humility, as Allah says
“alladhīna hum fī ṣalātihim khāshiʿūn” (23:3) – “those who are humbly submissive in their Salat.”
Meaning we stand before God with a penitent heart and a humbled soul. Istighfar maintains spiritual purification and humility. That’s the relationship between humility and prayers. Humility opens the door. Prayer walks through it. And in that sacred space, Providence meets Servitude and transformation happens.
The ultimate goal is to be as close to the state as God instructed the Prophet(sa) to say:
“Say, ‘My Prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds” (6:163) – qul inna ṣalātī wa nusukī wa maḥyāya wa mamātī lillāhi rabbil-ʿālamīn.
When a life reaches this axis, communion is no longer momentary but continuous, and the servant’s entire existence becomes a moving prayer. In such a state, the promise fa innī qarīb “I am near” is not merely recited; it is lived, breathed, and witnessed.