“Your image is before my eyes, your remembrance on my lips;
Your dwelling is within my heart—where, then, could you be absent?”

This state can grow immensely powerful, to the point that it is described as manifestation, unveiling, and the like, as all rational people agree. Along with it comes nearness to Him, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The servant is nearest to his Lord when he is prostrating.”

And Allah Most High said in the divine hadith:

“Whoever draws near to Me by a handspan, I draw near to him by a cubit.”

But does the servant’s drawing near to Allah involve movement toward Allah, or toward certain places?

They agree that the servant’s body may move toward certain exalted places where faith in Allah is manifested through knowing Him, remembering Him, and worshipping Him—for example, by making pilgrimage to His House or going to His mosques. This includes Abraham’s words:

“Indeed, I am going to my Lord; He will guide me.”

As for the movement of his soul toward places such as the heavens and elsewhere, the majority of Muslims affirm it, while the Sabian Peripatetic philosophers and those who agree with them deny it. The movement of his soul or body toward Allah is affirmed by those of sound innate disposition and the adherents of the Sunnah and the community, but denied by many practitioners of speculative theology.

As for Allah’s nearness to His servant: does it follow the servant’s drawing near and being brought near—which consists in his knowledge or action—or is there another nearness on the Lord’s part? This is a matter of discussion, but this is not the place for it.