The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, God Almighty says, “Whoever draws near to Me by a span, I will draw near to him by a cubit,”

This is a specific closeness that refers to the actions and conditions by which one draws near to Him, Glory be to Him, for the general closeness is His Almighty’s saying, “And We are nearer to Him than a rope.” And We are closer to Him than you are, but you do not see, so double the closeness with the cubit, for the cubit is weakness for human beings. That is, His saying, “Pray,” is drawing near to Him, then draw closer to Him by a span, and it will appear to you that you would not have drawn closer to Him except through Him, because if He had not called you and shown you the path of nearness, and taken your forelock in it, it would not have been possible for you to know the path. What brings you close to Him is what it is, and if you knew it, you would have no power or strength except through Him, and since closen