How can we deepen the bond between the human and the divine within us?

The two cannot really be separated. Whoever is godly in attitude is also truly human, and whoever is truly human reflects something divine, because God Himself takes care of His creatures.

The question sounds as if the human and the divine were two separate areas that first have to be joined together. Really one should ask the opposite, namely how they could be separated at all. Within a human being they belong together.

The first verse above describes how God breathed into man of His spirit. So from the very beginning there is something in every person that points towards God. The second verse says that God is nearer to us than our own jugular vein. The bond does not have to be created. It is already there, waiting to be lived.

In Islam, being godly does not mean becoming God. It means reflecting God’s attributes in one’s own attitude, such as mercy, justice, patience and care. God takes perfect care of His creatures. Whoever treats other people with care follows God’s example in this. That is why a person who acts in a godly way is at the same time deeply human. And whoever is truly human shows something of the divine.

This bond can be deepened in two ways that belong together. One is prayer, in which a person comes very close to God, as the hadith above shows. The other is serving people, in daily life, in the family, at work and towards strangers. Someone who only prays and neglects others remains incomplete. So does someone who only does good and forgets God. Both together make a person whole.