Physical Proximity Without True Presence - Portal Gems #72

Est. Read time: 2 min
Edition Number: 72
Adapted from: Prophetic Connections: Re-connecting with Allah SWT, yourself, and others
Instructor: Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed & Shaykh Mikaeel Smith

Assalamu Alaykum,

Today’s gem is from Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed and Shaykh Mikaeel Smith’s course, Prophetic Connections: Re-connecting with Allah SWT, yourself, and others. In this gem Shaykh Mikaeel shares what is truly valued in the relationships that we have.

Hope you enjoy!

We begin in the Name of Allah ﷻ, the Most Merciful and Compassionate,
We ask that He ﷻ sends Peace and Blessings upon our noble and beloved
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

The worst thing is to give physical proximity without true presence.

Physical proximity without true presence, what does that mean to you?

That means, “What are you saying I'm never home? I'm here.”

Can you give me an example in Ibadah (worship) where physical proximity doesn't matter as much as actual felt presence?

Prayer.

We start the prayer, we say Allahu Akbar and I'm here, I'm here physically but my mind is everywhere else. There are so many Hadith, some people get full 10 out of 10, some get 9 out of 10, some get 8 out of 10, some get 1 out of 10 based on presence. So Allah ﷻ is teaching us how to be present with people because every day, five times, we have to learn presence with Him.

And that's why the Hadith says just two short rak'ahs, two short units of prayer with presence, are better than the whole night. Same thing with your wife and your mom or whoever. A short call with presence, priceless. But you sit on that phone for an hour, not present - everybody knows you're not present because she asked a question and you answered it five minutes later.

Understand, presence is what's truly valued in the relationships that we have.

May Allah ﷻ grant us tawfiq to be present in our Ibadah and with people.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم، فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم

Continue Your Journey Towards Sacred Knowledge

1. Miftaah Portal - Join thousands of self motivated learners and get access to over 2000 hours of exclusive lectures from world renowned scholars completely on demand from your computer or your mobile device! Try it free for a week!

P.S. If you enjoyed this gem, forward it to a friend.

If you’re that lucky friend, subscribe here.