The union of servant and their Lord
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Question
I am a convert from Buddhism where it is ingrained that the purpose of life is to attain the 'Buddha mind' or oneness with the supreme being. I have asked several muslims and received answers that in Islam the servant can never attain union with the Lord and master. Is this true? How close can the servant get to the master? Can she/he become one with the lord?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
wa `alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
Thank you for your question.
For us to become "one with God" in the literal sense, meaning that we become God Himself and God becomes us is not possible. This type of "fusion" is unbecoming of God's majestic transcendence.
It is, however, possible for us to become "one with God" in a figurative sense, meaning that we become so wholly absorbed in concern for Him and so wholly oblivious of ourselves that it is as though we were Him (cf. Reliance of the Traveller, w7.3). This "union of love" is a common metaphor used in love poetry and was adopted by many Muslim mystics to express their intense love and submission to God.
Our Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) taught us that the way to become close to God is to worship Him. He told us that God says, "My slave approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory for him, and My slave keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his food with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him." (Bukhari)
The great hadith commentator, `Abd al-Ra'uf al-Munawi (God have mercy on him) explained the latter part of the hadith as follows,
"In summary, whoever draws near to Allah through what is obligatory, and then through voluntary works, Allah draws him nearer and elevates him from the level of true faith (iman) to the level of the perfection of faith (ihsan) such that the knowledge in his heart becomes visible to the eye of his spiritual perception. To fill one's heart with knoweldge of Allah effaces what is other than Him, so that one speaks not except of Him, moves not save at His behest, and if one looks, it is through Him, and if one seizes, it is through Him. And this is the consummate awareness of the oneness of Allah." (cf. Reliance of the Traveller, w33.2).
I hope that clarifies things. Please feel free to folow-up with further questions if something remains unclear.
Hamza.
This answer was published by SunniPath and is preserved as written. Rulings can depend on circumstances; for your own situation, consult a qualified scholar.
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