The Servants Who Turn to Allah

The Noble Qur'an emphasizes the importance of turning to Allah. In fact, ‘Turning to Allah’ is one of the most important lessons (derived from the Noble Qur'an) and is described as turning with a sound heart and observing the rida of Allah, meaning His absolute divine pleasure and satisfaction, in all situations and conditions. The people of tasawwuf recognize this essential point - a servant’s recognition of his Rabb and complete submission to Him. The only way to attain guidance and eternal bliss is to turn to Allah the Most Merciful with repentance and sincere good deeds.

In Arabic, the verb “anaba” means “to turn, go towards.” The active participle of this verb, also known as ism al-faa’il, is “munib,” which is used in some ayahs to denote “Those who turn to Allah, those who go towards Allah.” For example, the 27th ayah of surah Ar-Ra’d reads as follows:

“The disbelievers say, “Why is it that no sign (of their choice) has been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say, “Allah lets go astray whom He wills and gives guidance to those who turn to Him.”

Raghib al-Isfahani (rahmatullahi alayh) predicates his following argument on the fact that the masdar (infinitive) of the verb “anaba” is “inaba” and says, “inaba to Allah the Exalted is to return to Him with tawbah and sincere good deeds” (Al-Mufradat).

The Command “Turn to Allah”

Our Rabb used particular words in these ayahs derived from the verb “anaba” to emphasize the command to His servants to follow Him.

“And return (in repentance) to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.” (Az-Zumar, 54)

“...turning in repentance to Him, and fear Him and establish prayer and do not be of those who associate others with Allah.” (Ar-Rum, 31)

The way to turn to Allah is briefly outlined below:

• Believe in Allah, the angels, the books, the prophets, the last day, and divine predestination

• Live without associating partners with Allah

• Avoid denial, discord, and rebellion

• Pray only to Allah (and only ask Him for help)

• Dedicate one’s religious life only to Him

• Follow Allah’s commands and avoid His prohibitions as much as possible

• Keep away from all superstitious, fallacious things and bidahs (innovations that are intended to degrade Islam). 

Muslims must put their trust solely in Allah and turn to Him alone. Those who place their trust in and turn to others alongside Allah should ponder over the following ayah:

“He said, ‘...And I do not intend to differ from you in that which I have forbidden you; I only intend reform as much as I am able. And my success is not but through Allah. Upon Him, I have relied, and to Him, I return.’” (Hud, 88)

The next ayah is in a similar context:

“And in anything over which you disagree - its ruling is (to be referred) to Allah. (Say), "That is Allah, my Lord; upon Him, I have relied, and to Him, I turn back.” (Ash-Shuraa, 10)

In the 15th ayah of surahLuqman, our Rabb commands us to follow the path of those who turn to Him:

“However, if they force you to ascribe partners to Me about whom you (can) have no (source of) knowledge, then do not obey them. Remain with them in this world with due fairness, but follow the way of the one who has turned himself towards Me. Then, towards Me is your return, so I shall tell you what you had been doing.”

Regarding the command, “follow the way of those who turn to Me,” those “who turn to Me” are the ones who do not associate any partners with Allah and do not attribute any aspect of religion to anyone other than Him. This command refers to the Prophets, sahabah, tabi’un, and righteous believers (mumins) that possessed these characteristics in the generations that followed. It is erroneous to restrict and limit this command to scholars and murshids. Allah knows best.

Munib Servants

The active participle of the verb “anaba” is “munib,” meaning one who turns or directs oneself. It is stated in the Noble Qur’an that Ibrahim (alayhissalam) is halim, awwah, and munib:

“Indeed, Ibrahim was forbearing, grieving, and (frequently) returning (to Allah)” (Al-Hud, 75)

The ayah in Arabic reads: “Inna Ibrahima la halimun awwahun munib.”

Regarding Jannah, our Rabb mentions in surah Al-Qaf, ayahs 31-33, it is a place for the muttaqi, awwab, hafiz, and munib servants:

31. “And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous, not far.”

32. “(It will be said), "This is what you were promised - for every returner (to Allah) and keeper (of His covenant).”

33. “Who feared the Most Merciful without seeing Him and came with a heart returning (in repentance).”

İsmail Karagöz gives concise information about the words muttaqi, awwab, hafiz, and munib found in these ayahs:

“According to the ayahs, the believers who will enter Jannah (Paradise) are those who refrain from opposing Allah, committing shirk, blasphemy, hypocrisy, and rebellion (muttaqi), turn to Allah’s command in all their affairs (awwab), uphold the religious rules (hafiz), fear Allah, and are sincere in their faith and worship (munib).”

The meaning of the word “munib” is explained in the 31st ayah of surah Ar-Rum, as follows:

“...turning in repentance to Him, and fear Him and establish prayer and do not be of those who associate others with Allah.”

In the 9th ayah of surah Saba and the 8th ayah of surahAl-Kahf, the expression “abdin munibin,” i.e., “directed servant,” is used. In other words, the intended meaning of the expression is “the servant who turns completely towards Allah.”

When Hearts Turn to Allah

Allah guides those who turn to Him.

“Allah guides to Himself anyone who turns to Him (to seek guidance).” (Ash-Shuraa, 13)

“The disbelievers say, “Why is it that no sign has been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say, “Allah lets go astray whom He wills and gives guidance to those who turn to Him” (Ar-Ra’d, 27)

Only those who turn to Allah contemplate and extract lessons.

“He is the One Who shows you His signs and sends down (rain as) a provision for you from the sky. (But) none will be mindful except those who turn to Him.” (Al-Mu’min, 13)

Salvation is to turn towards Allah. Anyone who desires to attain eternal salvation must turn to Allah with sincerity. The following ayah emphasizes this point succinctly:

“And those who abstain from worshipping the taghut and turn to Allah for them are good tidings. So give good tidings to My servants” (Az-Zumar, 17)

Prayers of those who turn to Allah

The ayahs below highlight two prayers that contain the verb used to emphasize turning to Allah:

1. Ibrahim (alayhissalam) and those who were with him (that is, those who believed with him together) prayed to Allah as follows, which we can recite in our prayers with this ayah:

“Rabbana alayka tawakkalna wa ilayka anabna wa ilaykal masir” (Mumtahina, 4).

Meaning: “O our Rabb! We relied solely on You; we sincerely turned to You alone. And the return is only to you.”

2. At the end of the 88th ayah of surah Hud, we can also recite the following prayer of Shuayb (alayhissalam) frequently:

“Ma tawfiqi  illa billah, alayhi tawakkaltu wa ilayhi unib.”

This means: “My success is only with the help of Allah. I placed my trust in Him only and only turn to Him.”

Salih Selçuk