The Divine Kingdom -A Brief Introduction to Islam by Abdur Raheem AsSaranbi

1. The Divine
Kingdom
A Brief Introduction
to Islam
by
Abdur Raheem As-
Saranbi
1

2. Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………... 3
Chapter 1: What is the Divine Kingdom……………...8
Chapter 2: The Kingdom and you………………….…45
Chapter 3: The Kingdom and the Family…………. 98
Chapter 4 The Kingdom and the Society………… 139
Chapter 5 Women in the Kingdom………………… 167
Chapter 6 Balance in the Kingdom……………..…. 204
Chapter 7 Reason and Science in the Kingdom…225
Chapter 8 Government in the Kingdom…………..265
Chapter 9 Economy in the Kingdom………………. 304
Chapter 10 Peace and War in the Kingdom……. 331
Chapter 11 Freedom in the Kingdom…………… ..348
Chapter 12 Mercy in the Kingdom…………… …….357
Chapter 13 Pillars of the Kingdom…………… …….365
Chapter 14 The Kingdom in the world today 375
2

3. Introduction
All praise and thanks are only for Allah (swt).
The One True God. The Lord and Master of the heavens
and the earth. The Creator and Sustainer of the entire
universe. The Maintainer and the Nurturer of all that
exists. The Being of utter Perfection and Majesty. The
Being Who does not resemble the creation in any way.
The Being Who is Pure and Complete in all His Names
and attributes. He is the All Knowing, the All Seeing, the
All Hearing, the All Able. All that happens is what He
wills to happen and nothing happens except with His
Will and by His Power. He is the Being of Absolute
Tremendousness and Sublimity. He is not contained by
time or space. Nothing limits Him in any way. No vision
can perceive Him. No mind can understand Him. At
every moment He is near to us. He is nearer to us than
our jugular vein. He surrounds us and encompasses us
in a way that our minds can never fathom but our hearts
know for certain. Peace and prayers be upon His Final
slave and messenger. Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah (saw).
The greatest and noblest of all creation. The one who is
the nearest to Him. The one who was chosen to carry
His Message to all nations. The one sent to establish His
Law upon the earth for all time. The one who will be a
witness over all mankind on the Last Day. Peace and
prayers be also upon his family, his companions and all
those who follow in his path until the Last Day.
3

4. To proceed. This book is an introduction to both
Muslims and non-Muslims as to what Islam truly is. A
very brief introduction. Because this religion is so vast
that it can never be encompassed in any single work.
Even if you were to write volumes upon volumes you will
still not be able to encompass all of it. Such is its beauty.
In that on one level it is so simple that even a layman or
a child could easily understand it, and yet on another
level it is so deep and profound that even if you spent
your whole life studying it you will never be able to
know all that there is to it. All of us who have committed
ourselves to learning this religion will always be its
students. We can never be masters of it. So in this
humble work Insha Allah (God willing) I am going to
present to you what little I know about this beautiful
way of life. According to my understanding of it. What I
present in this book is how I see this religion to be
based upon what I have studied of it. Of course I could
be wrong and I do not expect you as the reader to base
your conclusions regarding this religion only on what I
have said here. I encourage you to read other books. I
especially encourage you to read the source books of
this religion which are the Quran and the sayings of the
Prophet (saw). I have tried to base every idea that I am
presenting to you here only on these source books and
not on my whims and desires. May Allah (swt) help me
in that endeavor! May He allow me to speak only Truth!
4

5. A question that may be asked by some is what
makes me qualified to speak on behalf of the religion.
The answer to this question is that in Islam there is no
such entity as a clergy or a pope. There is no one single
person or group of people who have the exclusive right
to explain the religion or speak on behalf of the religion.
This is the only religion that still has intact and complete
all of its source text. Allah (swt) Knew that this would be
the last and final revelation to mankind so He (swt)
ensured that the text is protected and preserved. The
Messenger himself told us that he has left among us two
sources of light, if we hold fast to these then we will
never be lead astray. Of course this is the Quran and his
sayings or hadith. Now what I am presenting to you in
this book is not from my own opinion. Rather it is only
my understanding of the Quran and hadith. To the best
of my ability I have tried to ensure that nothing in this
book is from myself, rather I have tried to take only
what is only from Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw).
This book is only an explanation and a summary of what
is already present in the sacred text. For every idea or
concept that I present I will give examples of verses of
Quran or hadith of the Prophet (saw) to support that
idea. So that you can be certain that the idea is from
Islam and not from my own opinion. And if you think
that any idea which I bring here is not from Islam then I
ask you to go to these source text and try to refute it. If
you can I will gladly make the correction.
5

6. Now the next question that you may ask is what
was my intention in writing this book. What did I hope
to accomplish by writing it? The reason for this book is
because in my opinion today the majority of non
Muslims, even the majority of Muslims, do not know
what Islam truly is. We do not know the reality of this
beautiful way of life that our Creator and Sustainer has
sent down to us. We do not see Islam as the correct
way of life to live. We do not see it as the solution to our
problems. That is why today we are lost and astray.
That is why today we are confused and miserable.
Simply chasing after the material pleasures of this world.
Simply living for the few joys that we can find in this
world. This is also why in the world today there is so
much injustice and corruption. So much decadence and
wastage. Because our Creator and Sustainer has shown
us the correct way to live but we have turned away from
it. He has sent to us the guidance to follow but we have
neglected it. Not only that but most of us today do not
even know that it is there. We do not even know that
we have this beautiful way of life to live. We are
engulfed in darkness and we do not even know that
there is a light. That is why I decided to write this book.
To help open our eyes. To help us to find the path. Now
I do not expect this book to be a solution to the
problems of humanity. Islam is the solution. This book
merely points the way to it. It merely attempts to
uncover what has been hidden.
6

7. I feel that the world today is desperately in need
of the guidance to be found in this beautiful religion.
The world today has become a very dark place and
lonely place. We are all suffering have been deprived the
guidance and the mercy and the justice of Islam. We do
not even know the answers to the most fundamental of
questions regarding our existence. We do not where we
came from, we do not know where we are going, and
we do not know what we are doing here. Only in Islam
can the answers to these questions be found. Only in
Islam can the solutions to all the myriad of problems
which humanity is facing today to be found. Because
there is more to this world than the material things.
There is He. The Being of Majesty and Purity. The Being
of Perfection and Light. The Being of Love and Mercy.
Do you think that such a Being would simply create us
and then leave us to be? Without communicating with us
without showing us the true nature of our existence,
without showing us the guidance on how to live? Of
course not. He has spoken with us. He has told us of
what we really are. He has shown us how to live. And
this is Islam. That is why we are all in desperate need of
discovering this religion. Of discovering the path back to
Him. Now we as Muslims believe that there will be no
more prophets or messengers, so we believe that the
onus of taking this Message to mankind is upon us. This
then was the only true intention that I had in writing this
Book. It was to discharge this responsibility that I have.
7

8. It was simply to do my part. And I hope and pray that
my Lord accepts it from me. Of course it is not perfect.
Of course there will be some mistakes in it. I ask Him to
forgive me these and to accept it from me. I ask Him to
make it easy for me. I ask Him to allow you to benefit
from it. If there is anything good in this Book then it is
from Allah (swt) and if there is anything evil then it is
from myself and He (swt) is free from it. May the
precious moments of our lives that we spend with this
book be moments that He will accept from us! Moments
that we will not regret!
Abdur Raheem As-Saranbi
January 2010
You will notice in this book that whenever we mention
the Name of our Lord and Master, our God and Deity,
we use abbreviation “swt”. This stands for Arabic words
which give the meaning of “Purified, Glorified and
Exalted be He”. And whenever we mention the Name of
our Messenger and Leader we use the abbreviation
“saw”. This stands for Arabic words which give the
meaning of “Peace and Prayers of Allah be upon him”.
The use of abbreviations instead of writing out these
meanings was never meant to diminish their meanings.
Rather it was used only for the sake of brevity. When
you come to these you should read them out loud to
give the Names of our Master and our Messenger the
respect that they deserve.
8

9. Chapter 1: What is the Divine
Kingdom?
Allah (swt) says in the Quran…
[52:56] “And I have not created the Jinn and
mankind except to live in slavehood to Me”.
If only you would understand the meaning of
this verse then you would understand what the Divine
Kingdom is. You would understand what Islam is. This is
one of the most important and comprehensive of verses
in the entire Quran. In this verse Allah (swt) tells us the
very reason why He (swt) created us. The very reason
why we exist on this planet. He tells us here that it is
only so that we can live in willing slavehood to Him. It is
only so that we can dedicate ourselves to Him. Not only
do we need to be His slaves but we need to be His
willing slaves. Meaning that we ourselves have to choose
to be His slaves. We have to choose to dedicate our lives
to Him. We have to choose to submit to Him. Why is
this? Why should we choose to be His slaves? Insha
Allah this is what we will try to explain in this chapter.
We will try to explain why He is worthy of our dedication
why He is worthy of our slavehood. Without a doubt
what He is asking of us is a lot. But if only you knew
Him as He truly is then you would gladly give it to Him.
9

10. When you see something to be grand, when
you see something to be awesome, then does it not
overwhelm you? Do you not feel the urge to glorify it
and to praise it? For example you see the sun rising over
the mountains, you see a majestic eagle spread its
wings in flight, you see a spectacular waterfall, you see
the ocean stretch out in the horizons. Does not this
overwhelm you? Does not this overpower you? Now if
you realize that all of this came from a Being Who is
more Magnificent and more Beautiful and more
Tremendous than all of these then what should be your
relationship with such a Being? Would you praise Him?
No, no that would not be enough. Would you glorify
Him? No, that would not be enough. Would you worship
Him? No, that would not be enough. Would you dedicate
your entire life only to please Him? Yes, that is what He
deserves. He deserves that we live in slavehood to Him.
If only you would realize His Perfection and His Majesty,
His Purity and His Sublimity, His Awesomeness and His
Glory. If you would but contemplate on Him for a few
moments then you would see how this is so.
Just think about it for a moment. You know for
certain that such a Being does exist. You know that this
universe could not have come into existence on its own.
You know that this Being cannot be limited or weak in
any way. Because how could a Being Who can create a
universe as marvelous as this be in any way limited or
weak? How could He be anything less than perfect?
10

11. Once you realize His Perfection then you must
also realize His Majesty and Tremendousness. Just think
for a moment on the Kind of Being that He IS. One Who
is All Seeing. At every moment every vision reaches Him.
There is nothing which happens in this world except that
He Sees it. One Who is All Hearing. He Hears even the
faintest of sounds. One Who is All Knowing. He Knows
all that there was, all that there is, all that there will be,
and all that could have been. He even Knows what is in
the deepest recesses of your heart right at this very
moment. He Knows everything about you and He Knows
all that you are going through. He is also the All Able.
The One Who has the Power to do absolutely anything.
In order to accomplish something He (swt) does not
need to exert any effort whatsoever. In an instant His
Will is manifested into reality. These are only but a few
of His attributes of Perfection. There are so many
others. Some scholars have even said that He has an
infinite number of Names. Among these is that He is the
Most Loving. No one can love like He can love. He is
Perfect in His Love. He loves you more than your mother
or your spouse ever can. To an infinitely higher degree.
How then can you not love Him? He is also the Most
Merciful, the Most Forgiving, the Most Just, the Most
Patient, the Most Sublime, the Most Appreciative. Once
you know that such a Being Exists. Once you realize that
He is so close to you. How then can you forget Him?
How then can you live in heedlessness of Him?
11

12. This is exactly our problem today. We have
forgotten Him. We have allowed ourselves to forget Him.
Why is this? It is because we have become distracted.
We have cut ourselves off from the real world. We have
cut ourselves off from nature. We live in these cities.
These artificial worlds. These virtual worlds. Filled with
games and entertainment. Amusements and
distractions. When was the last time that you saw a
sunset? When was the last time that you saw an eagle
spread its wings in flight? When was the last time that
you saw a night sky filled with stars? When was the last
time that you saw a beam of sunlight shining through
the clouds? These are all signs which He has told you to
look at. Which He has told you to contemplate upon.
Why are you surprised that you have never found Him
when you have not sought Him in the first place?
Another reason for our heedlessness is this
consumer society that we find ourselves in. We have
busied ourselves with chasing after the material things
of this world. Our only concern in life is how we can
accumulate more of this world, or how we can increase
our status in this world, or how we can satisfy our
desires in this world, or how we can provide for our
children. We have been given so much of the material
things that we have forgotten how there is more to life
than them. We simply cannot see beyond them. Our
desire for them completely consumes our sight.
12

13. Yet another reason why we have become so
heedless of our Lord is because of the society and the
environment that we find ourselves in. We as human
beings are influenced by our environment. More so than
we could possibly ever realize. Now let us look at this
society that we as mankind find ourselves in today. Not
only does this society promote materialism, not only
does it promote hedonism, but it also heavily promotes
individualism. It teaches you to only look out for
yourself, it teaches you that you are the most important
person in the world. How can a person who has such a
thinking ever be close to Allah (swt)? How can such a
person ever know Him (swt)? Islam as we will see Insha
Allah is the suppression of the ego, it is the suppression
of the self. Before you can truly know Allah (swt), you
have to release all traces of arrogance and pride from
your heart. You have to realize that you are not the
most important person in the world. You have to see
that this world does not revolve around you. If you
cannot come to this realization. If all that you care for is
yourself. Then the Divine will always be hidden from
you. Even though you know that He is there you will still
choose not to seek Him because you would rather serve
yourself than Him. Even if He calls out to you, you will
not respond to Him. This demon of the self is among the
greatest and the worst of devils. And it is one which is
rampant in our world. That is why so many of us have
hearts which are so distant from Him.
13

14. Allah (swt) also says in the Quran…
[17:43] “Exalted is He and High Above what they
say by a great exaltation”.
[17:44] “The seven heavens and the earth exalt
Him and so does whatsoever is in them, and there
is not a single thing except that it exalts Him with
His praise, but you do not understand their
exaltation, but surely He has always been
Forbearing Forgiving”.
If you are still not convinced as to why we have
to dedicate ourselves in slavehood to Allah (swt) then
consider what He (swt) says in these verses. First He
describes Himself by saying “Exalted is He and High
Above what they say by a great exaltation”. Now
what does it mean for Him to be exalted? Firstly we
have to realize that the English word “exalted” is really a
weak translation for the Arabic word Subhan. This word
does not simply mean exalted rather it means to be
utterly free and transcendent. So here Allah (swt) is
14

15. saying that He is utterly free and transcendent and high
above what the people say about Him. People today say
much about Him. They speak without knowledge
concerning Him. But most of what they say does not
befit Him at all. He (swt) is high above what they say
concerning Him. For example there are some who say
that He does not exist, that is He is only a figment of the
imagination and hopes of weak people. There are others
who say that He is a human being. There are others
who say that He is an animal. There are others who say
that He is an idol. There are others who say that He has
limitations and weaknesses in what He can accomplish.
Meaning that perhaps He cannot do everything or see
everything or perhaps He does not know everything.
There are others who say that we cannot speak to Him
directly in our prayers but rather we have to speak
through intercessors and intermediaries. That we have
to go to priests and saints and seek forgiveness of them,
rather than directly from Him. There are others who say
that while He may be the Creator and Sustainer, He has
no say in our lives today. They say that we should be
live as we please without having to even remember Him
let alone serve or worship Him. That we do not owe Him
anything. These are some of the abominations that the
people have invented about Him. He tells us here that
He is free from all such limitations. He is the absolutely
Perfect and the Pure.
15

16. We know that He does not resemble the
creation in any way. Rather He is the Being of utter
Perfection and Purity. There is nothing whatsoever like
unto Him. No matter how you imagine Him to be He is
different from that. But many people cannot come to
realize this simple fact. They cannot realize how the
Creator must be different from the creation. They cannot
understand how the Creator just by His very definition of
being a Creator cannot have the limitations and
weaknesses of the creation. Because if He was like us
then He would be a creation as well. But we know that
He exists by seeing the limitedness in all created things
and then realizing that there has to be a Being without
such limitations. There has to be a Being of Perfection
Who brought this universe into existence. But many
people cannot come to this realization. That is why in
their ignorance and folly they ascribe to Allah (swt) what
is not befitting for Him. They liken to Him the creation.
They speak the abominations which we mentioned
previously. Here in this verse He (swt) completely
annihilates such falsehoods. He (swt) declares that He is
High Above and Free what they speak about Him. He is
nothing like the limited and weak Being that they think
Him to be. Rather He is the Being absolute Glory and
Majesty. The Being of utter Perfection and Purity. That is
why He is deserving of not only our worship, but He is
also deserving of our dedication. Deserving that we
submit ourselves to Him completely.
16

17. In the second of these verses Allah (swt) says
“The seven heavens and the earth exalt Him and
so does whatsoever is in them, and there is not a
single thing except that it exalts Him with His
praise”. If you still do not realize the extent of His
Perfection and Majesty then ponder over this fact. The
sky that you see when you look above is only one sky.
There are six other skies on top of it. Each heaven is
much larger than the one below it. So as large as our
galaxy may seem, as infinite and unending as the
cosmos around our galaxy may seem, realize that this is
only a tiny speck when compared to the heaven above
it. And then that heaven is only a tiny speck when
compared to the heaven that is above it. Now realize
that each of these seven heavens themselves, as well as
whatsoever is in them is always glorifying and praising
Allah (swt). In addition everything in the earth as well as
the earth itself is also glorifying and praising Him (swt).
This is what He is telling us in this verse.
Just try and imagine this reality. Every single
thing in all of existence. The sun, the moon, the stars,
the trees, the animals, the birds, the rocks, the
mountains, the oceans, every object, every particle of
matter within every object, every cell, every microbe,
every atom. They are all glorifying Him and praising
Him. Not just at one single moment, but at every
moment. At every single moment of their existence they
are praising Him and glorifying Him.
17

18. Why are they doing this? Because they realize
how Magnificent and Tremendous a Being that He (swt)
IS. They can see how Awesome and Spectacular He IS.
They do not live in heedlessness to Him like we do. They
are not blind to Him like we are. They see Him for the
kind of Being that He (swt) truly IS. They have drowned
themselves in His Purity and Glory. They love Him. All
that they care for is Him. They exist only for Him.
Now of course the question that you may ask is
that if every single thing in existence is exalting and
praising Allah (swt) then why cannot we hear their
worship? Why cannot we hear their hymns of praise?
Why cannot we hear them declaring how Wonderful and
Glorious He (swt) Is? He (swt) explains for us why in the
verse “but you do not understand their exaltation”.
We do not understand their worship. We do not
understand how exactly they are praising Him and
glorifying Him. He (swt) did not give them speech like
He gave to us. Human beings are the only creation who
have been blessed with the gift of speech. All of the
other creation communicates in a different way. All of
the other creation expresses themselves in a different
way. And just because we with our limited senses
cannot hear how exactly they are glorifying and praising
Him does not mean that they are not. We often fail to
realize how limited we really are, how limited our senses
and perception really is. You cannot even see what is
behind your back or hear a sound that is ten feet away
18

19. from you, how then can you assume that you know
everything that there is to know? There is so much
going in around you at this very moment that you are
not even aware of. So look now at your surroundings.
What do you see? Perhaps you see a wall, perhaps you
see a chair, perhaps a table, perhaps outside you can
see a tree, some birds, the sky, the sun, the clouds.
Realize that every single one of these things at this very
moment is in a state of worship to Allah (swt). Not only
is that chair worshipping Him, but every particle of
matter within that chair is also worshipping Him. This is
what is happening around you right at this moment but
you do not even realize it. Such is how weak you are,
and such is how Glorious and Tremendous He (swt) IS.
So one meaning that we take from this verse is
that every single thing is worshipping Allah (swt) but we
do not understand how they are doing so. Meaning that
they are communicating with Him, they are expressing
themselves to Him, in a way that we cannot sense or
perceive. In a way that we cannot understand. However
there is another and even deeper meaning to this verse.
And that is that their worship of Him is their slavehood
to Him. Their glorifying Him is their dedicating
themselves completely to Him. You see we are the only
creation who sins. We are the only creation who lives in
heedlessness of Him. We are the only creation who does
not dedicate every moment of existence only to Him. As
for everything else, they are His complete and utter
19

20. slaves. At every moment they are remembering Him, at
every moment they are trying to please Him, at every
moment they are dedicated only to Him. So that chair
worships Allah (swt) just by being a chair. Just by doing
the job which it was created to do. At every moment it is
worshipping Him just by being His slave. Just by doing
the job that He created it to do. It does not wake up one
day and say that it does not want to be a chair. No
rather at every moment till the end of its existence, it
will be His slave. The same is true for all the rest of
creation. They have dedicated themselves completely to
Him. But we cannot understand this. Because we are so
full of ourselves. We have become so distant from Him.
Finally in this verse Allah (swt) says “surely He
has always been Forbearing Forgiving”. Why does
Allah (swt) mention this fact to us after telling us how
everything in existence is glorifying and praising Him?
Why does He tell us this after telling us how everything
has dedicated itself completely to Him? It is because He
expects us to be the same way. He expects us to also
glorify and praise Him. He expects us to also dedicate
ourselves completely to Him. Not only because this is
what everything else in creation is doing, but also
because such is what He deserves. So Glorious and
Tremendous and Magnificent is He (swt), that He
deserves our dedication and slavehood. But there are
many among mankind who choose not to give this to
Him. There are many among mankind who choose to
20

21. live in heedlessness of Him. For such people Allah (swt)
is Forbearing and Forgiving. He is Forbearing in that He
does not punish them immediately even though such is
what they deserve. If you only know how Magnificent
and Tremendous a Being that He (swt) IS then you will
see. So Pure and Perfect is He, so Awesome and
Glorious is He, that He cannot be forgotten. He cannot
be neglected. He has to be remembered. He has to be
glorified. He has to be praised. We do not give Him this
right and the only reason why He (swt) does not punish
us for this is because He is so Forbearing and Forgiving.
So Forgiving and Forbearing is He that He has allowed
us to go further and further into heedlessness and sin.
Until we have reached the point where we not only do
not remember Him, not only do we not worship Him, not
only do we not dedicate ourselves to Him as He
deserves, but many of us even deny that He (swt)
Exists. Today in the world for the first time ever atheism
and antagonism are becoming popular beliefs. This was
never heard of before the twentieth century. In all the
history of mankind there has never been a nation of
atheists. This is because the Signs for Allah (swt) are
every where in the universe around us. But today the
people have become so attached to the material things
of this world that they can not see these signs. So they
go as far as to deny Allah (swt). And yet He (swt) is So
Forgiving and Forbearing that He pardons them again
and again. Even though could punish us right at this
21

22. moment for our heedlessness and sins He gives us time
until our death. When we leave this world, when we
return to Him, then we will realize the consequences of
turning away from Him. But while we are in this world
we are all living in complete heedlessness. We have
forgotten our Master. We have forgotten His right upon
us to be worshipped and submitted to. We have busied
ourselves with this world. Until we have reached the
point where all that we care about is this world. We do
not even have time to ask where we came from. We do
not even have time to ask where we are going. Only
because He is so Forbearing, only because His so Perfect
even in His Mercy, have we gone so far astray.
We only call out to Him when we need Him. At
other times we allow ourselves to forget Him. We treat
Him as if He is our slave although we know that it
should be the other way around. He deserves that we
remember Him. He deserves that we dedicate ourselves
to Him. Because even in the good times. Even in the
moments of contentment and felicity. We have to
remember that it was He Who made it possible. He gave
us this life. He clothed us and fed us and gave us to
drink. He cured our illnesses. He took away our
problems. So the very fact that we are in a state where
we do not need to call out to Him should make us
thankful to Him. It should make us want to dedicate
ourselves to Him to show our gratitude. Just like the rest
of creation is always doing.
22

23. So before we can know what the Divine
Kingdom is we first have to know the Divine. We first
have to know Him (swt) as He truly is. He (swt) is not
how most of us think Him to be. He is not a limited
being. He does not have the weaknesses and the
shortcomings that the created beings have. No, rather
He is Perfect and Pure in every way. He is far above and
transcendent beyond anything of this world. He is the All
Seeing, the All Hearing, the All Knowing, the All Wise,
and the All Powerful. He is Perfect in every single way.
He is more Glorious and Tremendous than we could
possibly ever imagine. That is why He (swt) is deserving
of our dedication. He is more deserving than this world.
Most of us give ourselves to this world because we are
ignorant of Him. Because we are heedless of Him. But if
we would only stop and think about Him for a moment
then we would see Him as He truly is. We would see
Him as the One deserving of our dedication. Only
because of Who He IS. We would see that whatever
chattels that we have attached our hearts to instead of
Him pale when compared to Him. Whether this be our
wealth, our children, our status, or even our desires and
fancies. All of these pale in comparison to His Majesty
and Beauty. That is why those who truly know Him are
addicted to Him. They do not desire anything else from
life except Him. At every moment they strive to serve
Him. Seeking no reward from their actions except His
Pleasure. All that they seek from life is Him.
23

24. They love Him so much that if they know that
they have pleased Him, if they can even have the hope
that they have pleased Him then this is enough for
them. They do not need any reward from this world
whatsoever. This is the sublime station that all of the
creation, with the exception of us humans, is at. This is
the station that we also should all strive to reach. This is
the station that He created us to reach. There is nothing
sweeter than being at this place.
In order to understand the Divine Kingdom we
first have to understand this fact. We have to
understand Him. In this book Insha Allah (God willing)
we are going to show what a wonderful and beautiful
place the Divine Kingdom is. But at the end of the day
that is not the reason why we should yearn to live in this
Kingdom. No, rather we should yearn to live in this
kingdom only because it is His Kingdom. We should
yearn to live in this kingdom because such is the place
where we can glorify Him and praise Him as He (swt)
truly deserves to be. The world today is a world of
heedlessness. Even if you were to try and remember
Him you would not be able to. There are so many
distractions. There are so many temptations all around
you. If you truly loved Him (swt) as He deserves to be
then how can you be content in such a world? When all
around you, you see what displeases Him. When all
around you, you see the people living in heedlessness of
Him. We learned from these verses how every single
24

25. thing in the creation is praising and glorifying Him, how
then can you be content living in a world where there
are so many souls who are heedless of Him. Where
there are so many souls who do not even remember
Him, let alone glorify and praise Him as He deserves to
be. If you truly loved Him then you would yearn to
return to a world where He is Supreme once again.
This then is the Divine Kingdom. It is His
Kingdom. It is where we can submit to Him through
every aspect of our lives. It is the place where in every
single thing that we do can make manifest our
slavehood to Him. This is the Divine Kingdom. It is a
place of beauty and light. It is a place of peace and
happiness. It is not the place which the enemies of this
Message would have you believe that it is. It is not a
place of oppression and suffering. On the contrary it is
the place where all of mankind can know serenity. First
and foremost because it is the place where they can
know Him, and love Him and be near to Him. Just think
for a second. Just for you to know that there is so
Beautiful, and so Tremendous, and so Magnificent, and
so Pure a Being. Does it not bring so much peace to
your heart just to know that He Exists? Just to know
that He is so near to you. In the end this is what it is all
about. It is all about Him. How wonderful a place would
it be if we could all know Him? How wonderful a place
would it be if we call be near to Him? This is the Divine
Kingdom. A place that once was and could be again.
25

26. Now you would think that this would be reason
enough for us to choose to fulfill the purpose of our
existence. You would think that this would be reason
enough for us live in a life of slavehood to Him as He
created us to do. You would think that this would be
reason enough for us to want to live in His Divine
Kingdom. Just to make manifest our glorification and
sanctification of Him on account on how Awesome and
Pure and Tremendous He is. This should be reason
enough. If we all thought for a moment on the Kind of
Being that He IS. If we all reflected for a moment on
His Perfection and His Beauty. Then this alone should be
reason enough. But there is another reason as He tells
us in other verses of the Quran…
[14:32] Allah is the One Who created the heavens
and the earth, and He sent down water from the
sky, so that with it He brings forth fruits as
sustenance for you. And He has subjected for you
the ships that run through the sea by His
command. And He has subjected for you the
rivers.
26

27. [14:33] And He has subjected for you the sun and
the moon, working continuously, and He has
subjected for you the night and the day.
[14:34] And He has given you every single thing
that you could have asked of Him, and if you were
to try and enumerate His favors upon you, you
will never be able to. Surely man is indeed
constantly unjust and ungrateful.
In these three verses our Master reminds us of
another reason why we need to dedicate ourselves to
Him. Why we need to choose to live in His Divine
Kingdom. First He reminds us that He is the Creator of
this universe that we know. He and He Alone. The word
khalqaha that He uses here does not just mean to
create, rather it means to create from nothing. This is
the reality of what our Lord has done for us. In the
beginning there was only Him. He (swt) has existed
since pre-eternity. He (swt) has always been. He is the
27

28. One Who brought everything into existence. This then is
the other reason why we need to dedicate ourselves to
Him. To show our appreciation for all that He has done
for us. The least of which is His creating us. The least of
which is His creating the universe around us. Just think
about it for a moment. Were it not for Him (swt), you
would not even exist at this moment. All that you are, all
that you feel, all that you experience, it is all possible
only because of Him. How then can you live in
heedlessness of Him? How then can you forget Him?
How then can you give Him anything less than your
complete dedication? But your creation and your
maintenance is only the least of His bounties upon you.
In the remainder of these verses He enumerates for you
His other favors upon you. Perchance that you may
reflect. Perchance that you may show thanks.
First Allah (swt) tells us how He has sent down
water from the sky for us. You see the rain fall, but do
you ever stop and ponder as to who is it that is making
it to fall? For every effect there must be a cause. This is
the most basic of principles in the operation of this
universe. We all know this to be true. But whenever we
see the rain, do we ever stop and think as to why it is
falling? Do we ever wonder who is making it to fall? We
may have learned in science class how rainfall happens.
When the water vapor in the air condenses after a
certain level of humidity is reached then the rain begins
to fall. This is how it happens but do we ever stop to
28

29. question why? Do we ever ask who is doing this?
Science can answer the question of how but it cannot
answer the question of why. It cannot identify the cause
behind the effect, it can only describe for us the process.
The cause of course is only Allah (swt). He (swt) is the
One Who makes the rain to fall. He is the Power behind
that action. He is the Power behind everything that
happens in this world. There is no might nor power
except in He. This means that every action, every
motion, every event that happens in this universe is only
by His Will and Power. They are all created by Him. Not
just the rainfall rather every action that happens only
happens by His Power. He is the Agent behind all motion
in this universe. Even our own actions are created by
Him. All that we have even in the actions that we do are
our intentions. We have the intention to do certain
actions but the action itself is only by His Power. So for
example at this moment you have the intention to read
this book. But you are holding it only by His Power. The
light by which you read it comes from Him. He is the
One Who is creating the image of these words in your
mind. He is maintaining your body while you are
reading. He is the One Who is giving you the
comprehension of these words. It is all happening by His
Power. He is the Real Power behind this universe. Just
like He is the Power behind the rain that falls down. Just
like He is the Power behind all that happens. How then
can you live in heedlessness of Him?
29

30. Of the many blessings and bounties that He has
conferred upon us is water and this is what He brings
our attention to in the first of these verses. How many
are the benefits and blessings that we derive just from
water? How many uses do we have for water
throughout our daily lives? Just imagine one day if you
woke up and found that there was no water whatsoever.
Imagine one day if all the fresh water disappeared from
the face of the earth. What then will you do? How then
will you survive? Only then will you finally realize how
weak you truly are. Only then will you finally realize how
much you need Him. Today because water comes to us
so easily, today because all that we have to do is open a
faucet, we take it for granted. We forget how much we
need Him (swt) to send down this water upon us. But
just not imagine not having water to drink, just imagine
not having water to clean yourself, just imagine not
having water to cook with. You would not even last a
day. How then can you choose to live in heedlessness of
Him? How then can you not thank Him for this bounty
that He (swt) has sent down upon you? How many times
in a single day do you use the water that He has sent
down for you? Do you thank Him for it? Do you even
remember Him when you use or drink that water? Do
you acknowledge even once that it was He Who gave it
to you? How can you take so much from Him and give
back nothing in return? How can you be so ungrateful?
Is not such the greatest of injustices?
30

31. After Allah (swt) reminds us of His blessing of
water, He (swt) reminds us of his blessing of food. He
tells us how from this water that He sends down He
produces sustenance for us. Fruits, vegetables, grains,
and the grazing animals. Everything that we eat,
everything that we consume, is what He has brought out
from the earth for us. And yet how often do we
remember Him when we have a meal? How often do we
come to the realization that this meal which we have
before us is what He has given us? How is it that we can
continue to eat, day in and day out, and not show to
Him the proper gratitude? Have we become so deluded
that we have forgotten that He is our Sustainer? Today
most of us are so far from nature, we are so far from
the real world. We live in artificial worlds called cities or
suburbs. In order to get our food we only need to go the
supermarket or to the restaurant. We purchase it and it
comes to our dinner plates so easily. We forget the
entire process that this food had to go through to find
itself to our plate. We forget the rain that was sent, we
forget the land on which it was grown, we forget the
nutrients and minerals that nourished it, we forget the
seed that was planted, we forget the plant that was
grown, we forget the animal that was killed, we forget
all this. Rather we just enjoy that food thinking that it
fell from the sky just for us. Others who think Allah (swt)
to be a distant and powerless god think that the earth
produced that food, or “mother nature” or the farmer.
31

32. We fail to attribute this bounty to its true Source. That is
why here Allah (swt) reminds us. He (swt) reminds us
that it is He Who provided us with this pure sustenance.
It is He Who satiated our hunger. It is He Who gave us
the strength to live another day. That is why He
deserves to He be remembered. He deserves to He be
worshipped. He deserves to He be submitted to. Not
only should we be thankful to Allah (swt) for the
pleasure that we took from that meal and that drink, but
we should also be thankful for His allowing us to
continue to live through that sustenance. When you
realize the extent of what you owe to Him then how do
you think you should show your gratitude?
The next bounty of His that Allah (swt) tells us
of are the ships that sail through the sea by His
command. How much of a blessing and bounty are
ships? Ships are what have brought worlds together. As
we know oceans make up the bulk of our earth. How
have we been able to cross these giant bodies of water?
It is through this blessing of ships that our Lord has
given us. Just think where we as mankind would be
today if Allah (swt) had not given us this form of
transportation. The new world would not have been
discovered. We would still be confined to the home of
our ancestors. We would not be able to travel to distant
lands. We will not be able to meet new people. We will
not be able to gain new experiences and knowledge.
The world today would be a very different place, a much
32

33. darker place, if Allah (swt) had not brought us together
through this gift. Consider for a moment also how
marvelous is the ship. It is so large yet it does not sink
into the water. If you drop a small pebble into the water
it would sink but not the ship. It sails seamlessly and
effortlessly through the waters of the ocean. Even if you
were to fill that ship with people and cargo it still would
not sink. By the same token in today’s world, planes are
also an amazing creation which allows us to cover great
distances. They are so large yet they fly seamlessly
through the clouds. How much then are we in debt?
How much gratitude do we owe to our Lord for such
bounties? We have become so accustomed to them that
we take them for granted. We forget that we are not
the sources of these gifts. We forget the One Who Is.
Then Allah (swt) tells us how He has subjugated
for us the rivers. Notice the beauty of the language,
Allah (swt) does not simply tell us that He has given us
rivers rather He tells us that He has subjugated them for
us. He has made the rivers into our slaves. Is this not
the case? Do not the rivers always flow in one direction?
Do the rivers ever wake up one day and decide that they
want to flow in another direction? No of course not.
They always flow in the direction that their Lord has
ordained for them. They have been made to do this for
us. So that we can take numerous benefits from them.
We know that throughout history and even today, rivers
and waterways are used for irrigation. Our crops get
33

34. water, their primary source of sustenance, through such
rivers. So the next time that you have a meal realize
that not only did the food come to you from Allah (swt)
but even the water upon which it was nourished came
from Him. Another benefit that we can take from rivers
is transportation. Rivers are also a source of food. Rivers
also carry away sewage and waste. Countless are the
benefits that mankind has taken from rivers throughout
the centuries. In fact if you were to study history you
would find that almost all the major civilizations began
from settlements that we neighboring rivers. These
rivers allowed the people who lived around them to
become strong. To the point that they grew from a tiny
village into an empire than spanned across continents. If
Allah (swt) had not given them those rivers, if He had
not allowed them to grow, then they would not have
become who they became. And we would not be where
we are today. The world today would be a very different
place. Once again we who live in cites, we who live
detached from nature, detached from the real world,
cannot fully appreciate this fact. We cannot appreciate
how much it is that needs to be done only to produce
the daily meals that we eat. How much it is that needs
to be done only to produce electricity. But if only you
would stop for a moment and think about it then you
would see how much you are in debt to Allah (swt). You
would see how much He has done for you. You would
see how much you owe to Him.
34

35. Allah (swt) also reminds us in these blessed
verses how He (swt) has subjugated for us the sun and
the moon. He describes the sun and the moon here as
working continuously. Just like the rivers, just like
the ships that sail in the sea, just like the rain, just like
everything in the universe, even the sun and the moon
have been made into our slaves. They have been
subjugated into service for us. Here Allah (swt)
describes how at every single moment they are working
for us. They are always following a path. The sun always
rises in the east, follows its course through the sky, until
it sets in the west. Similarly the moon also follows a
course. Beginning as a crescent then evolving into a half
then becoming full then waning back into a half and
then again a crescent until it becomes new once again.
These are the paths that Allah (swt) has set for both of
these celestial bodies. Do they ever deviate from these
paths? Has the sun ever woken up one day and decided
that it wants to rise from the West? Has the moon ever
woken up one day and decided that it wants to begin as
a full moon? No, rather they both follow the set course
that their Lord has decreed for them. Not only do they
both always follow this course but they are continuously
following this course. At every moment the sun is
moving along its path. At every moment the moon is
changing phases. Neither of them take a break even for
a day, even for a moment. They are always working.
They are always in a state of servitude to Him.
35

36. They do this because they recognize the kind of
Being that He (swt) IS. They see Him in all His Glory and
Majesty. In all His Purity and Perfection. So they
annihilate themselves into Him completely. Desiring
nothing at every moment except pleasing Him. Thus
even though they have been subjugated into service for
us they are serving us only as part of their servitude to
Him. He has commanded them to work for us and that is
why they do so. But really it is Him that they serve. It is
to Him that they have dedicated themselves to. It is He
that they yearn for. It is He that they love. This is true
not only for the sun and the moon, but for all creation.
Then Allah (swt) tells us how He has also
subjugated for us the night and the day. The night and
the day have also been made into slaves for mankind.
Just like all creation Allah (swt) commanded them to
serve us so that we can serve Him (swt). And we can
see how this is true, the night and day exist for the
benefit of mankind. How many are the benefits that we
derive from the night? How many are the benefits that
we derive from the day? How many are the benefits that
we derive from the alternation between each of them?
Allah (swt) has made the day bright for us so that we
can work and so that we can go to school. So that we
can go out into the world and seek of His sustenance.
And He (swt) has made the night dark and still so that
we can rest in it. So that we can sleep in it and so that
we can meditate and remember Him in it. Even time as
36

37. we know it, even the calendar as we know it, is only
possible because of this constant alternation between
night and day. In the end the time that we keep is
nothing except counting the minutes remaining till
sunrise or the minutes remaining till sunset. And this is
so accurate that we base our entire lives around it. We
set our clocks and watches to it. Think about it. Does
not the day always come exactly when it is supposed to?
Does not the night always come exactly when it is
supposed to? Who do you think has made them this
way? Of course it is Allah (swt). He has subjugated them
to serve us, so that they always come when they are
expected. So that they each are the way that they are.
So that we can benefit from them in so many ways.
In the final of these verses Allah (swt) says
“And He has given you every single thing that you
could have asked of Him”. In addition to all of the
favors and bounties that He has already told us of, He
tells us here how He has given us every single thing that
we could ever have asked for. Now the meaning of this
is that Allah (swt) has given us everything that we need
to survive and prosper. Everything that we could
possibly need He has given us. From the most basic of
needs like food, water, shelter, and clothing. To means
of transportation. Spouses and companionship. Children
who will carry on after us. The means to trade and
conduct business. He has given us medicines to cure our
illnesses. He has alternated the night and day so that we
37

38. can rest and we can out and seek of His bounty. He has
given us minds and senses so that we may learn about
the world around us. Through these we bring science,
technology, and innovation. None of this, nothing of
what we have accomplished as the human race would
ever have been possible if He had not given us the
means and the enabling grace. The means not only
include our minds and senses but also the physical
resources and materials of this world that we use. Man
does not have the power to create from nothing, all that
he can do is use what Allah (swt) has already given him
from the things of the earth. And this is what we have
done. We have studied the world around us. We have
used the materials of this earth to bring forth all kinds of
technology and innovation. Through these our lives in
this world are improved, our lives in this world are made
easier. So we are at a state where we have everything
that we need. Everything that we could ask Him for.
Now of course we cannot take from this verse
the meaning that everyone will always have whatever
that they desire. Such is not the nature of this world.
Such can only be found in the Hereafter. Rather the
meaning that we can take from here is that we all have
what we need to survive. Our nature is that we like to
focus on what we do not have and we rarely if ever look
to what we do have. So this is what our Lord reminds us
of here. He reminds us of all His blessings that we
always use but forget. What we always take as granted.
38

39. But of all these that Allah (swt) has given us, by
far the greatest bounty and the greatest gift, is the
guidance to Him. Because as we mentioned the very
reason why we exist in this world is to serve Him. It is to
dedicate our lives to Him. It is to strive at every moment
only to please Him. This is how we will find true peace
and tranquility. This is how we will find fulfillment for
our existence. Because we were created for Him. So as
long as we are distant from Him then we will never find
completion for our existence. There will always be a hole
within us. There will always be a yearning. There will
always be an open wound. And the pain from this
wound will bring us misery for our whole lives. The only
way in which it can be healed is if we return to Him. But
in order to make the journey back to Him we first need
to be shown the way. We need Him to show us the way.
Because how can we know how to please Him from our
own minds? How can we know how to serve Him from
our own minds? We do not know what pleases Him, only
He (swt) Knows. So He must be the One to establish the
path for us to follow. That is why the greatest bounty
that He has given us is the path that leads to Him. That
path is none other than this Din of Islam. This Din is a
complete system that addresses every aspect of our
lives. It shows us how we can serve Him in every
moment of our lives. It shows how we can journey to
Him in everything that we do. And what is there to life
other than this? Once you know Him you will see this.
39

40. Despite all that we have discussed so far
concerning this verse, the heart of the verse, the main
lesson in this verse is the words of our Lord when He
says “and if you were to try and enumerate His
favors upon you. you will never be able to”. So
many are the bounties and favors that Allah (swt) has
bestowed upon us, that even if we were to try and
enumerate them we would not be able to. Just think
about the meaning of what He (swt) is saying here. He
is saying that even if we tried our utmost to simply
count all of the favors, big and small, that He has given
us we would never be able to. Imagine if you spent your
whole life just trying to count all of His favors. You did
no other job except just sitting down and listing all that
He had done for you, you dedicated yourself completely
to this task, still you would not be able to do it. You
would keep writing that list but still it would not finish.
You would write one gift another and you would keep
going until death took you. Even if all the oceans of the
world were the ink that you used, even if all the trees
were paper for you, still you would not be able to finish
writing all of Allah (swt)’s favors upon you. You would
exhaust your supply of ink and paper before you finished
writing all of His favors. Not only could you not list all of
His favors but you could not even list the magnitude of
each favor. For example you know that your eyes are a
great blessing that He has given you. But exactly how
much of a blessing are they? How much easier is your
40

41. life because you have them? How many pleasures and
joys have you enjoyed because of them? How many
hardships and sufferings have you been saved from?
This is something that you can never truly comprehend.
Ask someone who has lost this bounty, ask someone
who has lost their vision, and perhaps they will be able
to tell you. Even they will not be able to fully appreciate
how tremendous of a gift this is. Even they do not
recognize the true value of it. Only Allah (swt) Knows.
Only He Knows just how much He has favored us. Only
He Knows where we would be today were it not for His
bounties upon us. Now you may be saying to yourself
that this hard to believe. You may say to yourself that
“yes He has given us so many gifts, but is it really that
many? Is it really so many that it is innumerable? Almost
infinite”. Yes it is and the only reason why you cannot
realize this is because of your ignorance. It is because of
your limited knowledge. You can never know how much
He has favored you. You can never know how much He
has given you. You can never know how much He has
done for you and continues to do for you. As an
example right now in your body He is active. He (swt) is
digesting the food in your stomach, He is making the
blood to flow through your veins, He is making your
lungs to take in the air that is good and to remove the
air that is bad. He is removing the harmful substances
from your body. These are but a few of the processes
that He is causing to happen in your body right at this
41

42. moment. There are so many others that you are not
even aware of. And if He were to stop even one of these
then you would all fall down dead right away. And this is
just when it comes to the functioning of your body, let
alone everything else that He does for you, can you then
imagine how vast are His favors upon you?
In the final part of this verse Allah (swt) says
“Surely man is indeed constantly unjust and
ungrateful”. Despite all of the favors and blessings
which Allah (swt) has given us, so many that it is even
more than what we can count, we still do not do even
begin to show to Him the gratitude that He (swt)
deserves. So much is our ingratitude that this is how He
describes us to be. He says that we are constantly
unjust and ungrateful. Let us look carefully at what our
Lord is saying here. First notice how the first description
that He gives is that we are unjust. He does not first say
that we are ungrateful, rather He first says that we are
unjust. From this we should realize that by our failing to
recognize all of His gifts and favors upon us and by our
failing to render to Him the proper appreciation for
them, not only are we being ungrateful but even more
so is that we are being unjust. We are being unjust. We
are being evil. We should always remember that one of
the very Names of our Lord is the Most Just. Allah (swt)
is the Most Just. In everything that He does He
demonstrates for us His Justice. And in turn He (swt)
also expects justice from His creation. From His slaves.
42

43. He demands that we acknowledge what He has done for
us. He demands that we show our appreciation. Not only
in our hearts, not only through our words, but even in
our actions. Our gratitude to Him must be manifest in
our slavehood to Him. We have to dedicate our lives to
pleasing to Him. This is how we can show the proper
gratitude for all that He has done for us. Anything less
than this would be insufficient. So much has He given
us. So vast is His bounty upon us. That this is the only
way in which we can thank Him. If we do not then not
only would we be ungrateful, but we would also be
unjust. We would be unjust to the One Who is the
Source of all good in our life. To the One Who has given
us everything. Including life itself. How evil is that?
Notice also in the verse how Allah (swt) says
that we are constantly unjust and ungrateful. This tells
us that our evil is not only on one specific instance but
rather it is a constant state which we are always in. At
every moment of our lives we are being unjust to Him
and ungrateful to Him. Why is this so? It is because at
every moment we take of His bounties but most of the
time we do not even remember Him in those moments
let alone render Him thanks let alone dedicate ourselves
in slavehood to Him. We take from Him but we do not
give anything back to Him. We take more and more
from Him without even realizing that it is from Him that
we are taking. He is Aware of us at every moment. He
gives us at every moment but we always forget Him.
43

44. Just think about it. Every day of your life, at
every moment, you breathe His air, you eat His food,
you drink His water, your body is being sustained by
Him, His earth holds you and makes itself habitable for
you, and yet you do not even remember Him. You do
not even recognize all that He is doing for you right at
this moment. Rather you live in utter heedlessness of
Him. Thinking about some other false god that you have
dedicated your life to instead of Him. Sadly this is the
condition that the vast majority of mankind is in. And
this is why Allah (swt) describes us to be this way. He
says that we are in a constant state of injustice and
ingratitude to Him. How true is this for us all?
This then is another reason why we need to
dedicate ourselves to Him. This then is another reason
why we need to return to Him. This then is another why
we should want to live in His Divine Kingdom. Firstly as
we mentioned previously it is because He deserves that
dedication. On account of how Perfect and Pure He is.
On account of how Glorious and Tremendous He is. On
account of how Majestic and Awesome He is. Secondly
as we have learned in these verses it is to show our
appreciation to Him for all that He (swt) has done for us.
It is to even begin to show our appreciation. Of course
we can never truly thank Him enough. We cannot even
praise or glorify Him enough. Not as He (swt) truly
deserves to be. However it is a beginning. It is a start.
We may not be able to do much. We may not be able to
44

45. give Him much. On account of how weak and limited we
are. But if we choose to live this life of dedication to Him
then it is something. It is us telling Him how we have
begun to realize all that He has done for us. It is us
telling Him how we have begun to realize how
Tremendous and Glorious He IS. Oh my Lord, I love you
so much. I see how much you have given to me. I see
how every moment of my life is only possible because of
you. I see how You are the Source of every pleasure and
joy in my life. You are the Source of every moment of
my life without pain or misery. All that I am I am
because of you. Even the good that I do is only from
Your enabling grace. I also see how Beautiful and
Magnificent you are. I see how Perfect you are. So I
offer to you my Lord my life. I offer to you my Lord all
that I have. I sacrifice all of my pleasures and desires for
you. Or at least I promise you that I will try. I know
that all of this is not much compared to what you have
given me. I know it is far less than You deserve. But
please accept it of me my Lord. I know it is not much,
but I also know that part of Your Perfection is that You
are Perfect in Your Mercy and Forgiveness. And because
of only Your Bounty and Grace, and not from my own
merit I ask You to accept it from me. I am thirsty for
your Mercy. Like a person who has wandered the hot
desert for several hours without a drink. I am yearning
for you. You are my Beloved. All that I desire is to be
close to you. All that I desire is to feel Your Presence
45

46. close to me. This is the station that we all need to be in.
This is how our hearts need to be at every moment. If
we can understand this then we can understand the
Divine Kingdom. The Divine Kingdom is where all of
mankind can reach this station. The Divine Kingdom is
where we can all come to this realization. The Divine
Kingdom is where we can all make manifest our
slavehood to Allah (swt). Our utter dedication of Him.
Through every aspect of our lives as we will see Insha
Allah in this book. If you love Him then you would yearn
to live in this place. It is His Kingdom. Where He is the
King and Sovereign. Where He is the Lord and Master.
Where the people are truly dedicated to Him. All that
they desire is to serve Him. All that they desire is to
please Him. This is because they recognize all that He
has done for them. And they see how Glorious and
Tremendous He IS. And when they live this life of
servitude to Him that is when they find true peace and
contentment. Because such is what they were created
for. They were created for Him and so with Him they
find solace and joy. Do you not also want to live in this
place? Just think about Him and you will see why it is
the place for you as well. He is the Glorious and the
Pure. He is the Source of all good in our life. He is the
Source of our life itself. How then can you turn away?
The Divine Kingdom is where we can find Him, it where
we can be near to Him. Do you not want to go there?
With this book your journey begins.
46

47. Chapter 2: The Divine Kingdom and you
First and foremost we have to look at how each
and every single one of us will be in the Divine Kingdom.
Because as wonderful a place as it is, you first have to
see where you belong in it. How do you fit in? What is
there for you? What does the Divine Kingdom offer you
as an individual? Why would you want to live in such a
place? The first and foremost reason is because as we
mentioned in the previous chapter that to live in such a
place is what you were created to do. Allah (swt)
created you to be His slave, to dedicate your life to Him.
And the place where you can do this is the Divine
Kingdom. The Divine Kingdom is the place where you
make Him as your King and Master. Where you dedicate
your whole life only to Him. Where you can serve Him
through everything that you do. Thus can you find
peace. Thus can you find contentment. Thus can you
find fulfillment for your existence. How exactly can you
find this? It is by knowing Him. It is by being near to
Him. He is the Sublime and the Majestic. The Pure and
the Beautiful. Once you know Him then nothing else will
matter in your life. All that you will care for is being near
to Him. This is what the Divine Kingdom offers you. It is
the place where you can find true happiness. It is the
place where you can fulfill the very purpose of your
existence. It is where you can be near to Him.
47

48. Now how exactly do you reach this sublime
station? It is by realizing the meaning of the verse
where your Lord commands you to say…
[6:162] Say “My prayer, my sacrifice, my life and
my death are only for Allah, the Lord of all”.
In this beautiful verse Allah (swt) shows you the
path to the Divine Kingdom. He shows you what you
need to do in order to reach this wonderful place. As
you can see it is not just a certain set of rituals that
must be followed or some processes that must be
implemented. It is not simply the actions of the limbs or
the words of the tongue. But more than that it is a state
of heart. It is a viewpoint towards life. It is a realization
that you do not exist for yourself anymore. Rather you
exist only for Allah (swt). Your whole life is only for Him.
Your only goal in life is to serve Him and to please Him.
He is all that matters. At every moment you should be
asking yourself what you could do at this moment to
please Him. If you know that you have pleased Him then
this should be all that matters. This is the thinking that
you need to have if you want to call yourself “Muslim”. It
should be ingrained deep within your heart. This is the
first step in your journey to the Divine Kingdom. It is by
realizing that your only goal in life is being near to Him.
And you do this by trying to please Him and being
pleased with whatever He gives you in life.
48

49. Notice in the verse how Allah (swt) first
commands you to say that your prayer and your
sacrifice are for Him. Why is this? It is because in order
to reach that sublime station where you live only for
Him, first your prayer and your sacrifice must be for
Him. And it begins first with the prayer. For us as
Muslims there is nothing more important than our
prayer. Our connection with Allah (swt) is through our
prayer. Our Salah. So in order to reach the Divine
Kingdom the first step in your journey must be your
Salah. Not only do you need to make each of the five
daily prayers on time but you must pray them all with
humility and presence of heart. You have to remember
your Lord in your prayer. Your body must tremble as
you stand in reverence before Him. Your body and your
soul must be dedicated completely to Him. You have to
remember that Salah is your connection with Allah (swt).
It is the time when you cut yourself off from the world
completely and focus only on Him. That is why when
you pray your mind should be free of everything except
Him. Your focus should be on your prayer. Meaning that
nothing should occupy your heart in these moments
except Him. Just think for a moment, how can you
dedicate your whole life to Him when even in your
prayer you are heedless of Him. So it all begins with the
Salah. You are nearest to Him when you are in
prostration before Him. Your life should revolve around
your Salah. It is way in which you ascend to Him.
49

50. Once you are steadfast and constant in your
prayer. Once your prayer is more than just movements
of the body and words that are parroted. Once you
make all of the actions in the prayer with presence of
heart and humility. Then the next step in your journey
to Him is that you must sacrifice for Him. Allah (swt)
also tells you in the Quran that…
[3: 92] You will never reach goodness until you
spend from what you love, and from whatsoever
that you spend surely Allah Knows it well.
In order to reach righteousness. In order to be
close to Allah (swt). You first have to spend from what
you love. You have to give up what you love. You have
to give it up for Him. You have to demonstrate through
your sacrifice your love for Him. You have to show that
you care more for Him than anything of this world.
Because how can you reach that sublime station where
you have dedicated every moment of your life for Him if
there is still a part of you that clings to this world? If
there is still a part of you that loves something of this
world more than Him. No, rather you must love Him
more than anything else. That is why you must be
willing to give up everything for Him. If you realize how
Wonderful He IS then you will be willing to do so.
50

51. If we study the past events which Allah (swt)
tells us of in the Quran we can see several examples of
such sacrifice. For example in the story of the prophet
Ibrahim (as) (Abraham) we saw how he (as) was ready
to sacrifice his own beloved son for Allah (swt). In the
story of the prophet Musa (as) (Moses) we saw how he
gave up a comfortable life with his family to walk the
difficult path of calling to Allah (swt). In the story of
Maryam (as) (Mary) we saw how she left her family and
her people to go into the wilderness in order that she
may be alone with Allah (swt). These are but a few of
the many examples of great sacrifices that can be found
in the Quran. So this is the next step in our journey to
the Divine Kingdom. We have to give up what we love
for Allah (swt). We have to demonstrate how we truly
do love Him more than anything else of this world. And
of course this is true. When we see how Magnificent and
Tremendous He IS. When we see how Glorious and Pure
He IS. When it dawns upon us how much He (swt) has
done for us and how much we owe to Him, then how
could we not love Him more than anything else? How
could we not choose Him over everything of this world?
We have to strive to reach that high station of the
prophets and the saints who walked this path before us.
We have to be prepared to give up everything that we
love only for Allah (swt). It may seem difficult. The devil
will make it look difficult. He will say that you cannot
give up this thing that you love. He will make you think
51

52. as to how difficult your life would be had you had to live
without it. But as Allah (swt) has said in other verses,
the plan of the devil is weak. If only you remember your
Lord. If only you remember how He suffices for you in
every situation. Then you would see how you can indeed
give up that thing for His sake. So look now to your life.
Try to find some actions which you may be doing that
He (swt) may not be pleased with. Or else try to find
something in your life which you have that He may not
be pleased with. And then give it up for Him.
Now we are not saying here that you have to
give up everything that you love. If you look at the
Divine Law that He has written for you then you would
find that many are the things that He has made
permissible for you and only a few are the things that
He has forbidden. But if you find any of these things
that He has forbidden in your life, such as drugs or
alcohol, such as having relationships with the opposite
gender outside marriage, such as taking usury, such as
backbiting and speaking ill of others, such as hurting
others with your words or hands, such as cheating or
lying, such as breaking trusts and promises, such as
gambling and excessive gaming, then try and give these
things up for Him. It may be difficult, it may be
something that you love to do, but still do it for Him.
You know that it is not good for you in the first place.
You know that He loves you more than you love yourself
and so He would never legislate for you something that
52

53. is hurtful to you. Whatever He has forbidden for you is
what He Knows is evil for you. He does not want you to
be miserable. On the contrary He wants you to be
happy. So partake freely in all those things which He has
made permissible for you. Find contentment in those
things. Not just from those things themselves but also in
the fact that these are what He has chosen to give you.
And leave what He has forbidden. Leave them for His
sake. Knowing that His Pleasure with you is much better
than that thing which you are leaving. You love Him so
much that He is all you need. This realization is Islam.
So we see from this verse how sacrificing some
of what we love is an important step in our path to the
Divine Kingdom. When sacrifice is once again thought of
as a virtue instead of as foolishness then think what a
beautiful society that would be? Today we have all
become extremely individualistic. Today we all like to
hoard what we have been given. We do not like to
spend unless it is on ourselves. Unless we can get some
benefit in this world from our spending. We do not even
like to give in charity unless we can deduct that amount
from our taxes. We have forgotten what it means to
sacrifice only for Allah (swt). But just imagine if we
could be reminded once again. Just imagine if we could
live for more than just this world. Just imagine if we
were all in the habit of giving and seeking nothing from
it except the Pleasure of Allah (swt). Imagine what a
beautiful world that would be. How far are we today?
53

54. Going back to the verse which we had been
studying we see that the third thing which Allah (swt)
commands us to dedicate to Him is our life itself. After
our prayer is only for Him, after our sacrifice is only for
Him, then we must strive to reach that level where our
life itself is only for Him. As we mentioned the Divine
Kingdom is not just a place, rather it is a state of heart.
It is a station where we have resolved to live only for
Allah (swt). At every moment we should ask ourselves
what we can do at this moment to make our Lord
pleased, what is the action which we can do at this
moment with which He would be most pleased with. It is
not about our pleasures and our desires anymore.
Rather it is only about what will make Him pleased.
This is what He asks of us in this verse. It is to
dedicate our lives to Him. It is to dedicate our lives to
pleasing Him. This is a step above worshipping Him. This
is even a step above sacrificing for Him. Because when
you reach this level then you are in essence giving to
Him every moment of your life. You are in essence
giving to Him everything that you have. You are saying
that every moment of your existence is only for Him.
This is a very high station. A station that few of us ever
reach. But if we can even approach it. If we can even
come close to it. Then we would see that we have
journeyed to a much better place than where we are
right now. So do not be daunted at how high you have
to reach. But rather trust in Him and take your first step.
54

55. Now realize that even to reach this sublime
station we need His help. Because often times we
ourselves do not know what will please Him. Often times
for a given situation we do not know which choice would
please Him. So not only should we strive to please Him,
but we should also implore His help in our striving. We
should realize that we will never be able to please Him.
We will never be able to live for Him. Unless He first
gives us His enabling grace and His guidance. So we
should strive to live only for Him and we should ask His
help in doing so. We are utterly dependent upon Him for
everything. Even for our being good. Even for our
fulfilling the purpose of our existence.
However even though we depend upon Him to
guide us, and we ask Him to guide us, this does not
mean that we do not have any free will. On the contrary
we do have this choice. The choice to choose whether
we would serve Him or not. The choice to choose
whether we would dedicate ourselves to Him or not. He
has given us this honor, this privilege, this responsibility.
But what we need to bear in mind is that even if we
choose the correct path, even if we choose to dedicate
ourselves to Him, we still would not be able to unless He
first gives us the enabling grace. So the choice is ours
to make but even if we make the right one we still need
Him to show us the way. However if we choose the
wrong path then He will allow us to go astray even
though He could have guided us.
55

56. And it also important to note that when we
speak about dedicating our lives for Allah (swt) then this
includes every action that we do. Even our interactions
with others. Even our dealings with others. Even these
should be part of our slavehood to Him. Meaning that
we should deal with everyone in a way that is pleasing
to Him. Our egos may tell us to deal with certain people
in certain ways. They may tell us to look down upon
some people and to mistreat them. We must fight this
feeling and deal with everyone in the best of ways. With
kindness and respect. With tolerance and forgiveness.
Such was the way of the Prophet (saw). He (saw) even
treated young children and slaves with dignity and
respect. He (saw) forgave others the wrong that they
did to him (saw) time and time again. Because he (saw)
knew that he was not dealing with them for his sake or
theirs, rather he (saw) was interacting for Allah (swt).
When we are at this level. This level where we
live every moment of our lives only for Allah (swt). Then
we would have established the Divine Kingdom in our
lives. Once we are at this state then we would begin to
realize what a wonderful place this truly is. It is a place
where we would never know sorrow or fear or
apprehension or anxiety. Because we do not live for
ourselves anymore. So we do not care about what may
happen to us. We do not care about what we may lose.
We do not care about what pain or humiliation that we
may feel. Because it is not about us anymore, rather it is
56

57. only about Him. In order to properly understand this we
need only to look at an incident that happened in the
lifetime of the Prophet (saw). Once he (saw) went to
carry dawah to the people of Taif. He (saw) went to
them to invite them to Allah (swt). To call them to the
purpose of their creation. To return to what would bring
them good both in this life and the next. He (saw) only
wanted the best for them. But not only did they not
accept him (saw), not only did they reject him (saw),
but they treated him (saw) in the harshest and cruelest
of ways. They threw stones at him in public. In front of
all the people to see. So not only did he (saw) have to
suffer great physical pain but there was also the
psychological pain from being publicly humiliated. After
this terrible incident. After he (saw) had escaped his
tormenters. He (saw) raised his hands in prayer to his
Lord and said “Oh my Lord, as long as you are not angry
with me or disappointed with me, then I do not care for
what the people may do to me”. These were the blessed
words that he spoke. They reveal the state of heart that
he (saw) was in. He (saw) did not care at all for what
the people had done to him (saw). All that he (saw)
desired was the contentment of his Lord. If he knew
that Allah (swt) was pleased with him, then he (saw)
was pleased. No matter how much discomfort he may
have been feeling. No matter what the people may have
said or thought about him. He (saw) did not even see
the people anymore. He did not see the world anymore.
57

58. Rather he (saw) only saw Allah (swt). He drowned
himself in the Divine Light.
Just imagine how wonderful your life would be if
you also could Insha Allah (God Willing) reach this
sublime station. You will not feel anymore pain. No
longer will the demons of anxiety or sorrow haunt your
heart. You will not be sad about what you may have
missed or what you have not received. Because you
know that what you got was only what He (swt) had
written for you and what you did not get was what He
never wrote for you. So because of your love for Him
you are content with whatever of this world you have
been given. You know that it is not about yourself. You
know that it is only about Him. So for His sake you are
happy with whatever He has chosen to give you.
You are also not apprehensive or worried about
the future. Because you know that there will only befall
you what He has ordained for you. There will only
happen to you what He allows to happen to you. Even
the slightest of harm is only by His Permission. So you
always trust in Him to keep you and your family safe.
You know that He will never abandon you or forsake
you. If you are sincere to Him then you know that He
will only allow to befall you that which is best for you.
You know that at every moment He is wrapping you in
His Protection, in His Mercy, in His Love. So what reason
then do you have to fear? When you know that there is
so Tremendous a Being Who is always so near to you.
58

59. Just think if you could live in this wonderful
place. This place where there is no fear. This place
where there is no anxiety. This place where there is no
grief. This place where you always have peace and
contentment. This place where you do not become
angry or frustrated. This place where you are not always
yearning for the material things of this world. This place
where you have a motivation to be a better person. You
have a motivation to sacrifice and to give. This place
where you always have serenity and contentment. Just
from feeling His Presence close to you.
This is why we should all seek to live in the
Divine Kingdom. Because it is the place in which we
were created to live. Because it is the place in which we
can be near to Him. Because it is the place in which we
can find true peace and contentment. Now there are
several dimensions to the Divine Kingdom. There are
several manifestations of this place. But when it comes
to you as an individual. When it comes to you as a
person then being in this place means that you must
submit yourself completely to Allah (swt). Your life must
only be for Him. You should enslave yourself willingly
and completely to Him. As long as you can do this, as
long as you are in this state, then you are in the Divine
Kingdom. Even if the world around you is heedless of
Him you would have established the Kingdom in your
life. You would have brought your body and your soul
completely under His Dominion.
59

60. Allah (swt) also says in the Quran…
[2:208] O you who have believed, enter into
Islam completely, and do not follow the footsteps
of Satan, surely he is to you a clear enemy.
In this beautiful verse Allah (swt) shows us the
kind of submission that He expects from us. He shows
us what should be our relationship to this beautiful Din
of Islam that He has sent to us. He shows us how it is
that we need to submit to Him. He shows how we need
to live this way of life that He has sent to us.
First of all notice how the command in this
verse is not directed towards all mankind, but rather it is
specifically directed to those who believe. Because in
order to enter into this Din, you first have to believe.
You have to believe in Allah (swt) as the one and only
God and Deity worthy of worship. As the one and only
Lord and Sovereign worthy of obedience. And you have
to believe in the Prophet (saw) as the Messenger of this
Entity. You have to believe with the utmost certainty and
conviction that this man (saw) speaks only on behalf of
Allah (swt). If you do not have this belief, if you do not
have this conviction then nothing else that you do will
ever be accepted. First and foremost you have to
60

61. believe. Because how could you ever dedicate yourself
to Allah (swt) if you doubt His Existence in the first
place. How can you follow completely the guidance of
the Prophet (saw) if you doubt that he (saw) is a
Representative of the Divine? So it must start with your
belief. Your journey to the Divine Kingdom must begin in
your heart. You must choose to believe in this Message
that your Lord has sent to you.
Now be honest with yourself. Deep down inside
you know that Islam is the Truth. You are certain that it
is the Truth. So why then do you not accept what you
can see to be true? You can see that this universe must
have had a Creator. A universe filled with finite and
limited things must have an Originator. A Source Who
Himself is not finite and limited. How could it be that a
universe filled with limited things, things which are not
capable of creating themselves, how could such have
come into existence by itself. Everything in this universe
is finite. How then could it have existed forever? How
could it have created itself? Similarly you know how no
one has been able to produce a Book like this Quran in
the last 1400 years. Allah (swt) has challenged all of
mankind to produce even one chapter like the chapters
in the Quran if they doubt that this Book is from Him.
And no one in all this time has even come close to
meeting this challenge. Does this not then show us that
the Prophet (saw) is indeed the Messenger? That the
words in this Book are not his own.
61

62. Once you have believed then Allah (swt)
commands you to enter into the Divine Kingdom.
However He gives this wonderful place a better name
than we ever have, He calls it Al Islam. Literally this
means “The Surrender” or “The Submission”. This is the
place which He commands us to enter. We need to enter
it as proof of our belief in Him. Because how could you
believe in Him as He truly is and then give Him anything
less than complete submission? If you find that you are
giving Him less than this, if you find that you are lax in
your worship, then you have to question your belief. You
have to work on strengthening your belief.
Notice how Allah (swt) does not simply say to
enter Islam rather He says to enter THE Islam. The
definite article is used for something that is known.
Something that is specific. So what Allah (swt) wants us
to enter into is not just any Islam, but it is a specific
Islam. Because anyone can come and say what they like
and do what they like. They can live a life where they
are simply following their desires. And then they can say
that such is how they have submitted to Allah (swt).
They can say that such is Islam. They can change our
Din completely to make it compatible with the secular
world and say that it is Islam. They can make up their
own way of submitting to Him. Their own version of the
religion. Such will never be accepted as we can see from
here. Because Allah (swt) is not asking for just any kind
of submission, rather He (swt) demands a very specific
62

63. form of submission. And which submission is this? Of
course it is the submission that He sent to us through
the Prophet (saw). It is the specific Din that He revealed
to us through the Prophet (saw). So we cannot submit
to Allah (swt) in any way that we like. In a way that
suits our desires or a way that suits the prevailing norms
of society. Rather we have to submit to Him according
to the sacred text of the Quran and Sunnah. We have to
submit to Him according to the way that He wants us to
submit to Him. Islam cannot go through a reformation.
It cannot change according to time and place. It cannot
change according to the whims of man. Because then
man would be the lord. Is this what submission means?
No rather Islam means to follow without question. It is
the human which must submit to the Divine and not the
other way around. Because He is the Creator and we are
the creation. He is the Sustainer and we the sustained.
So we have to take this Din as He gave it to us.
We cannot change it. We cannot make our own version
of it. Our Islam must be the exact same Islam of the
Prophet (saw). Only such would be acceptable to our
Lord as we from this verse. We do not care if some say
that we are “fundamentalists” or “extremists”. Just like
the Prophet (saw) it should only be His estimation of us
that matters. We should care only for pleasing Him and
not pleasing the people. Now ask yourself. Is He pleased
with a partial Islam? A secular Islam? A moderate Islam?
An Islam where you and the society live in heedlessness.
63

64. No, what He wants is complete submission. Just
look at the name that He gave to our religion. To our
way of life. To our ideology. It means submission. It
means surrender. This meaning is in accordance to what
we have said so far. We have said that entering into the
Divine Kingdom means that you do not live for yourself
anymore rather you only live for Him. You have
surrendered yourself completely to Him. You have
submitted your desires and your wants to Him. It is not
about what you want anymore. Rather it is about what
He wants. So you are content with whatever law that He
writes for you. You are content with whatever situation
in life that He decrees for you. Not only do you accept
His laws and decrees but you are pleased with them.
You are pleased with them only because of your love for
Him. So you do what He tells you to do with willingness
and enthusiasm. For example if He commands you to
pray, then you rush to prayer. If he forbids you from
taking usury and free mixing with the opposite sex then
you shun these abominations. You go out of your way to
do what He commands and you go out of your way to
flee from what He forbids. You find no reservations
whatsoever but you accept with a full acceptance. Even
if the society in which you live does not approve of some
of His laws. Even if your own desires may not approve.
You do not care. Your love for Him is far greater than
your love for yourself or for the people around you.
64

65. This is the station of a true believer. A true
Muslim. This is what it means to submit. For example if
He commands the men to fight, they fight. And if He
commands the women to be covered and secluded, this
is what they do. They submit to Him completely. They
follow every law that He has written for them. They love
Him so much. They have drowned themselves in Him.
This is what Islam is. It is to submit to the
Decree of the Divine with a complete submission. This is
why a Muslim who repeatedly commits the major sins
like drinking alcohol or committing fornication cannot be
called a true Muslim. Because a part of him has not
submitted. A part of him still rebels against the Divine. A
part of him thinks that he knows better than Allah (swt).
He thinks that can of beer or that woman is good for
him despite the fact that his Lord has forbidden these.
Or else he loves himself more than his Lord. The priority
in his life is satisfying his urges rather than submitting to
his Lord. By the same token a Muslim who finds faults or
has reservations with some of the Divine Laws also has
not perfected his submission. Those Muslims who
question the laws related to the role of women, or the
rulings on jihad, or the punishments for certain crimes.
Some of these laws may not be acceptable by the
society of today. So there are some Muslims who
question these laws. There are some Muslims who say
that Islam would do better without these laws. Even
though these laws have clear evidences in the Quran
65

66. and Sunnah they still question them. So they also have
not perfected their submission. Just like the sinner they
are also in a state of rebellion against the Divine. If they
truly loved Allah (swt). If they truly only cared for Him.
Then all that they would care about is pleasing Him.
Even if it is difficult for them. Even if a part of them does
not agree. They would struggle against this part for His
sake. Through this struggle they would submit to Him.
Through this struggle they would draw closer to Him.
They would surrender their egos and themselves to Him.
And then they would find peace. They would peace in
knowing that He is all that matters. They would find
peace in realizing that He always Knows best. In
realizing that in whatever He legislates or decrees there
is good even if they at that moment cannot see it.
Notice also the beauty of the language in this
verse. Allah (swt) does not simply tell us to accept Islam
or to become Muslim. Rather He commands us to “enter
into Islam”. Almost as if Islam is a house or a land into
which we are being ordered to enter. Now think about it
when you enter into a house or when you enter a new
land then your entire surroundings change. Nothing was
the same as how it was before. The temperature is
different. The air is different. The lighting is different.
The sounds are different. The winds are different. It is a
completely new environment to where you were before.
Such should also be the case when you enter into Islam.
Such should also be the result of your becoming Muslim.
66