How to Listen to God

by Shaykh Ibrahim

I bet you think only crazy people hear God's voice. Maybe, perhaps, it is the other way around- only crazy people do not hear the voice of Allah.

Let's take another angle and look at this question differently. When did you stop listening to Allah? All Creation intersects Allah. Everything is related- whether you look at it atomically, molecularly, the Big Bang or as God's creation, everything is connected at the source.

When did you have the arrogance to imagine that you are isolated and alone? Maybe it is time to leave that teenage prideful existential angst behind and rejoin the rest of creation that is in continuous conversation with Allah.

Imagine seeing everything around you as manifestations of Allah. You are here to learn about Allah directly and through Allah's manifestations.

"What!" You might yell, "That fly, these dirty plates, the tree are speaking? Oh, please! Don't insult me with this New Age crap!"

Well, my friend, they are speaking- in their language, just as you speak in yours.

"Whoa," you say, "What's this about the dirty plate? Are you telling me it's talking, too?"

That depends. Are you listening? Does the plate or the situation have something to say to you? Its message may be fairly simple, like, "Clean me." Allah doesn't have to use biblical terms to speak. Allah speaks through the creation. For you to hear, you must use the ears of your heart.

The first step to hear God is to quiet the self and shut down the mind's blathering. In sufism we use Zikr to focus the mind. Other disciplines use different forms of meditation or focusing to gain control over the mind. The mind is a wonderful tool. But like any tool, is only useful if it is mastered and used properly. Who is the master of your mind? Do you control the tool or does the tool control you? The mind-tool must be brought under your control. Otherwise you will not be able to distinguish between Allah and your imagination.

Next: Listen. Listening is different from hearing. Listening requires active participation of the ears, heart and mind. These parts cannot be going in opposite directions. They must be united and focused to listen. Listening requires that you be present enough to participate in creation.

Third: Be open and do not have expectations of what is going to happen or how the message will be transmitted. Your heart is like a radio receiver- tuned to the Allah channel. Expectations are like the hills in front of a receiving antenna. They interfere with getting the message. Expectations block the signal. If you expect to hear something, you may miss how the message is actually delivered. For example, let's say you trip over your shoes (while you were waiting for God to talk to you) and then it dawns on you that the actual message could be "Be more aware of being present. Take each step at a time." It could also come from an intense discussion in which you know you were right, but internally your heart says, "Protect friendship above pride."

Allah is Here, all around us and within us. By putting aside our logical mind's restrictions we can begin to participate more actively in the ongoing symphony of Creation.