The Prophet, , said: “Allah The Exalted Says, 'I will declare war against him who shows hostility to an ally of Mine. The dearest thing to Me with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing voluntary acts of worship until I love him. If I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks (something) of Me, I shall give him, and if he asks for My protection, I shall protect him.’” [Al-Bukhari]

　　Dear brothers and sisters, it is common knowledge that whoever wants to win the admiration of his teacher should do his homework and study hard.

　　However, this student will never be like the one who prepares and studies what the teacher will explain in advance and makes related research and reads additional material to widen his horizons. There is no doubt that such a person will be closer to his teacher and favored by him.

　　This stands true even for the relationship between Allah The Almighty and His slaves, and for Allah is the highest attribute.

　　You will not obtain the satisfaction of Allah The Almighty unless you perform your duties first, but if you want to ascend the stairs of servitude to Allah The Almighty and move from being a slave who loves his Lord to a slave who is loved by his Lord and who is considered His ally, then you must perform voluntary acts of worship as much as you can.

　　Dear brother, can you imagine your condition if you become an ally of Allah The Almighty?

　　What will be your condition if Allah The Almighty pledges to fight your enemies?

　　What will be your condition when all your limbs become obedient to Allah The Almighty?

　　What will be your condition when you hear nothing but what pleases Allah The Almighty, see nothing but what pleases Allah The Almighty, and walk to no place but a place that is loved by Allah The Almighty?

　　This is the true companionship of Allah The Exalted that is granted to His close friends in this world and the Hereafter.

　　That is why Allah The Almighty Says: {…and if he asks (something) of Me, I shall give him, and if he asks ‎for My protection (refuge), I shall protect him…}

　　This strong relationship between you and your Lord makes your supplication eligible to be answered immediately, just as was the case with the righteous predecessors including Sa‘eed ibn Zayd . Once a woman falsely accused him of seizing a piece of land belonging to her. At this, he raised his hands and supplicated Allah The Almighty saying, “O Allah, if she is lying, then blind her and kill her in her land.” Indeed, the woman became blind, and she fell into a well while she was walking one day in her land and died.

　　Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas was one of the righteous people whose supplication was immediately answered. Once, he heard a man defaming ‘Ali so he supplicated against him. Soon, a furious camel came and kept kicking that man until he died even before he had left his place.

　　A man from the Khawarij used to come to the gatherings of Al-Hasan Al-Basri to hurt the attendees with his words. When he went beyond the limit of extreme behavior, Al-Hasan supplicated against him saying, “O Allah! You know how this man harms us, so protect us from his harm in any way You choose.” On saying so, the man immediately fell dead.

　　The examples are numerous and we cannot mention all of them here, but the point is that Allah The Almighty loved those men, as they were His allies (this is our opinion about them but Allah The Almighty alone knows the truth, and we do not confirm anybody's good conduct before Allah The Almighty).

　　Before ending this article, let me remind you of the voluntary prayers that the Muslim is recommended to perform every day and night to be included in the aforementioned Hadeeth (narration):

　　1- Two Rak’ahs after the Maghrib (sunset) Prayer

　　- Witr Prayer: The Prophet, , said: “Allah is Witr (single, one) and loves what is Witr.”

　　He also said: “Make Witr prayer the last of your prayer at night.”

　　These are some voluntary prayers that can make you a close friend of Allah The Almighty if you observe them. So, be keen on doing your best to observe them as much as you can, because their reward is great and the best outcome is for the righteous.