If a person makes their focus Allah ﷻ, then Allah ﷻ will direct His focus upon them. When a person desires to attain the nearness of Allah ﷻ, they must recognize the four stages along that journey. The first stage is that a person identifies that Allah ﷻ should be their focus. The second stage is that a person begins to make an active effort toward becoming closer to Allah ﷻ through their deeds and develops a daily routine for themselves that includes: recitation of the Qur’an; istighfar, or seeking forgiveness for one’s sins; salawat, or sending prayers of peace upon the Prophet ﷺ; muraqabah, or silently engaging one’s heart in the remembrance of Allah ﷻ; and wuquf, being aware throughout one’s day that Allah ﷻ is watching them. The third stage is when a person becomes so focused on Allah ﷻ that the world around them disappears and they become somewhat removed from things happening around them. The fourth stage is when a person remains focused on Allah ﷻ at all times, but the person interacts with the world normally. Two key points to remember during this journey are that muraqabah is the fuel for the journey, and rabita, or staying in touch with a teacher to guide you along the journey, is essential in making progress towards Allah ﷻ.
