Surah Al Fatihah (Virtues and Themes)

and asked the king, “Dear king! What quality does that servant possess which makes you favour him over us?” The king did not answer the question and instead instructed them to prepare for a journey. Thus, the horses were readied, and the king set out on the journey with his servants.

The journey took them through a mountainous area, and after some time, they came across a large mountain covered in snow. The king saw the mountain from afar and lowered his head. As soon as he lowered his head, the favoured servant advanced forward on his horse. The rest of them became confused, thinking to themselves: What has happened? Where is he going? After a while, the slave returned with some snow in his hand. The king asked, “Why did you bring this snow?” The slave replied, “O king! You looked towards the snow-covered mountain and then lowered your head. I knew you did this because you wanted the snow.”

Upon hearing this, the king addressed the rest of the servants, “Look! You are always busy with your own affairs. You are always focused on yourselves, but this servant is always concerned about me. He always knows what I am looking at, what I am doing, and what I am planning to do. This is why I love him greatly.”^{^[1]}

Dear Islamic brothers! This is murāqabah. It is for our attention to be directed towards Allah Almighty at all times. A person might be in a shop, yet his mind is focused on Allah Almighty. A person might be at home, but his thoughts are directed towards Allah Almighty. A person could be in the masjid, and he is mindful of Allah Almighty. In short, murāqabah is for a person to always be focused on Allah Almighty.

[1] Al-Risālah al-Qushayriyyah, p. 225

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