Wouldn’t you love to have a friend all to yourself; whom you feel is all yours; who makes you feel that you are the closest person to him; that no one has priority over you?
Don’t you appreciate such a friend when you are in need?
Don’t you automatically feel that your load becomes lighter as soon as you discuss your worries with this loyal and compassionate friend?
I asked my older brother once: “Do you have fifteen minutes"?
He answered: "I am all yours"!
These simple words flooded me with such comfort.
This is human nature. We like to keep those who understand us and feel our hopes and pain to ourselves. Their mere presence gives us comfort; so much so when they can solve all our problems?! What serenity will we feel then?
On the other hand, you may feel lost when you are competing with others for this friend’s attention. You worry that they will distract him from you. Siblings competing for their father’s attention know this feeling, and so does the wife who has co-wives, and the students over a favorite teacher. The father, the husband, or the teacher is not yours alone, and you may be forgotten in the crowd...
Look deep within yourself!
Did a similar feeling seep into your heart about your Lord Almighty?!
I am not asking you about your inner conviction —as it would undoubtedly reject such a notion. However, people might subconsciously hide concerns that disturb them without knowing their source. One such concern is that you may be lost in the crowds at Allah’s door!
Here's the comforting and reassuring fact: Allah the Almighty sees you, is close to you, knows your distress, hears your supplications, rejoices at your repentance, and manages your affairs as if you were alone in this universe; no man nor Jinn, only you.
Did you not hear: {Creation and resurrection of you all is no more (to Allah) than that of one single person. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.} (Qur'an translated meanings 31:28); Ibn Kathir said: "All-Hearing of what they are uttering; All-Seeing of their actions as that of a single person".
Also, in the Qudsi hadith, Allah the Almighty said: “My servants, if the first and last of you, men and jinn, were to stand in one plain and ask me and I were to give everyone what they asked, that would no more make a dent in what I possess than a needle would when dipped into the sea.”
So Exalted be He who is not distracted by a supplicant from another or a crier for help from another; {It is the same ˹to Him˺ whether any of you speaks secretly or openly, whether one hides in the darkness of night or goes about in broad daylight.} (Qur'an translated meanings 13:10).
With Him, Exalted be He, no one is ever lost in the crowd.
You won't be lost in the crowd... Rather, you could picture yourself alone in this universe, supplicating to Allah, and that He the Almighty Hears you alone, and the meanings of some of His Divine Names are manifested in His Lordship over you, as if you were alone; thus, you get to feel the blessings of His Mercy, Closeness, Pardon, Kindness, Generosity, Forbearance, Forgiveness, Responsiveness, Love, Guidance, Bestowal of grace, Benevolence, Provision, Sustenance, Concealment [of sins], Gentleness, and Favor. As if you were alone in this universe.
So you are never lost in the crowd. Note how Allah the Almighty uses the singular form of ‘supplicant’ in His Quranic statement: {When My servants ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Me: I am truly near. I respond to the [supplicant]’s prayer when they call upon Me.} (Quran translated meanings 2:186).
Mentioning this word in the singular form makes you feel the closeness and the attention given to your dua specifically, a feeling that wasn't going to be conveyed if it was mentioned in the plural form: supplicants.
So it is not a general response from Allah to all supplicants but a one-to-one response to each.
He answers your prayer as if you were alone, even if billions or countless humans, jinn, and angels ask the Almighty at the same time with you.
The same goes for:
{Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him} (Qur'an translated meanings 27:62).
He the Almighty responds to every distressed individual separately as if there were no one else but him/her.
{And never is your Lord forgetful} (Qur'an translated meanings 19:64)
Such is your Lord Almighty!
{And not absent from your Lord is any [part] of an atom's weight within the earth or within the heaven or [anything] smaller than that or greater but that it is in a clear register.} (Qur'an translated meanings 10:61)
So call upon Allah, hope for good only from Him, feel the tranquility and comfort of being with Him, reflect within yourself upon the blessings of His Names and Attributes, and feel His Presence with you as if you were alone in this universe.
Always remember: You will not be lost in the crowd.
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