DHIKR
Remembrance of Allah
Remembrance of Allah
We believe that dhikr is the most beneficial form of practice a person can perform while still alive on Earth. Even though dhikr is translated as "invoke" or "remembrance" of Allah, this translation is extremely insufficient.
1.Dhikr increases the capacity of brain in the direction of the meaning of words repeated in mind.
2.Dhikr transfers the wave energy generated by brain to the person's soul (ruh), which is the hologram-like spiritual body of waves, thus, it provides the person with a strong soul in the afterlife.
3.Dhikr develops brain faculties such as comprehension, understanding and assimilation of the meanings of the repeated words.
4.Dhikr brings certainty (yaqeen) about Allah.
5.Dhikr results in realization with the divine meanings.
Due to its properties, some of which we pointed out above, dhikr is mentioned as a highly regarded practice in the Qur'an ul-Kareem; and those who do not pay enough attention to dhikr are urgently warned:
"And whoever turns himself away from the dhikr of the Rahman, We set a Satan on him, then he becomes his associate. And most surely they turn them away from the true path, but they still think that they are guided aright. (43: 36/37)
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"Satan has taken them under control and made them forget the remembrance (dhikr) of Allah; they are the Satan's party, now surely, those who follow Satan will be disappointed." (58: 19)
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"Â…Practice dhikr of Allah very much." (33: 41)
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"Whoever turns away from my dhikr, verily for him is a difficult (narrowed down) living, and We raise him on the day of resurrection, as blind." (20: 124)
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"When you remember (dhikr) me, I am remembering youÂ…" (2: 152)
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"When my servants ask you of Me, I am indeed close to them. I answer the du'a of those when they pray du'a to Me." (2-186)
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"And certainly the dhikr of Allah is of the highest degree (akbaar)." (29-45)
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Take a look at Hadrat RasulAllah's words pointing out how very beneficial dhikr is for people:
His reply to the question "Which deeds are most favored by Allah?":
"To pass away while your tongue is still moist with the dhikr of Allah!"[1]
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"Would you like me to inform you of which deed of yours is of the highest benefit, which is the purest at the sight of Allah, and which will increase your degrees the most, and which is more beneficial for you than giving away gold and silver, and than encountering your enemies on battlefields and cutting off their necks and they cut off yours in the name of Allah?
That is dhikr of Allah, the highest."[2]
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"No deed can save you from the punishment of Allah more than dhikr of Allah."
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When asked "Which servant's degree is of the highest merit at the sight of Allah on the Day of Judgment?" he replied:
"The ones who do dhikr of Allah the most!"
When asked, "What about the degree of the veteran who fights in the Name of Allah?"
He replied:
"Even if he fights with infidels and polytheists until his sword shatters and is covered in blood, certainly the degree of the ones who practice dhikr of Allah is of still higher merit" .[3]
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"It is only by practicing dhikr of Allah that a servant may be safeguarded from Satan."
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"Of all the things you possess, a tongue which practices dhikr of Allah, a heart full of gratitude and a life partner who supports your faith are of the highest merit."
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"The example of people who do dhikr of Allah and who don't is like people who are alive and dead!"[4]
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"Practice dhikr of Allah so much so that people should start to question your madness."[5]
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"Practice dhikr of Allah so much so that the hypocrites (munafiqun) should think you are doing it to show off."
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"The mufarridun have surpassed all." They asked, "Who are the mufarridun, Rasul of Allah?" He replied, "Those men and women who are devoted to do dhikr of Allah abundantly. Dhikr puts off their burdens, so that they will come light-footed (agile) in the hereafter."[6]
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"Satan has his mouth on the hearts of the sons of Adam. When they do dhikr of Allah, he moves away. When they stop the dhikr due to absence of mind, he swallows their hearts!"
This hadith involves a simile meaning that as a person practices dhikr of Allah, the jinn stay away from him and they cannot cloud his judgment by inducing misgivings in his mind; but when he stops dhikr, the jinn can exert influence on his mind very easily and control him as they like.
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"It is the highest merit of all the things that Allah inspires his servants to do dhikr ".
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"No charitable deed is more meritorious than practicing dhikr of Allah."
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"The people of heaven will not be upset for anything except for the times they spent on Earth without doing dhikr ."
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"Whoever does not practice dhikr of Allah very much will get distant from faith."
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"People will feel disappointment on the Doomsday due to every moment they lived without practicing the dhikr of Allah."
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"If a group of people gathers for a meeting, and they leave this meeting without ever doing dhikr of Allah, that meeting turns out to be a reason of disappointment for them on the Doomsday."
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"Whoever practices dhikr of Allah will be distant from hypocrisy!"
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Many other hadiths of RasulAllah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam like the ones above, provide us big warnings regarding the practice of dhikr.
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[1] [Mu'az ibn Jabal (rahmatullahi alaih) said that the last words I heard from the Rasul of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam were, when I asked him: which deeds are most favored by Allah, he said: "To die and your tongue is moist with dhikr of Allah." [Tabarani and others], and El-Bazzar reported it, with good chain, as follows: Tell me of the best deeds that are most favoured by Allah (bring nearer to Allah)".
[2] [Abu Darda'a (rahmatullahi alaih) narrated that RasulAllah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said, "May I tell you what is the best of your deeds, which is the purest in the estimation of your King, the deed which is the highest and noblest among your deeds, and is better for you than spending the gold and silver, and is better for you than encountering your enemies and cut off their necks and they cut off yours (i.e. you meet them in jihad)". The Companions said: O Rasul of Allah do tell us. The RasulAllah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said, "It is the zhikr of Allah, the Most High". (Reported by Tirmidhi and El-Hakim and said: authentic; and by Ahmed with a good chain). And, Imam Malik added in his Muwata'a "Ziad ibn Abi Ziad, and Abu Abdurrahman Mu'adh ibn Jabal, both narrated: "no deed is done by the son of Adam more calculated to save him from punishment of Allah than dhikr of Allah".
[3] [Mu'adh bin Jabal (rahmatullahi alaih) narrated that, the Rasul of Allah Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam said, "The son of Adam does nothing more calculated to rescue (save) him from punishment of Allah than dhikr of Allah." They said: "O Rasul of Allah is it greater than jihad in the cause of Allah?" He replied: "It is indeed more than jihad in the cause of Allah, even if you strike with your sword until it breaks, then you strike with it until it breaks. He repeated it three times."
[4] [Abu Musa (rahmatullahi alaih) narrated that the RasulAllah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhu wa Sallam said, "The example of the one who do zhikr his Rabb (compared) to the one who does not zhikr his Rabb, is like that of a living creature to a dead one". [Agreed upon].
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[5] [Abu Saeed El-Khudari narrated that the Rasul of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhu wa Sallam said, "indulge in (do as much of) zhikr of Allah until they say (he is) mad." [Ahmed, Ibn Habban and El-Hakim who said: authentic chain].
[6] [Abu Hurayrah (rahmatullahi alaih) narrated that Rasul of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhu wa Sallam on his way to Makkah, passed by a mountain called Jamadan, so he (RasulAllah) said, "Continue walking (marching), this is Jamadan, the Mufarridun have taken lead (over the rest)". The Companions asked: who are the Mufarridun? He answered, "The men who remember Allah much and the women who do zhikr of Allah much". [Muslim].
And, Imam Ahmed reported the Hadith as follows: "Â… the Companions asked: who are the Mufarridun? He said (RasulAllah) those who debilitate (wear-out) in the zhikr of Allah." And, Tirmidhi reported it as follows: "Â… who are the Mufarridun? He said those who infatuate with the zhikr of Allah; as the zhikr puts off their burdens, so that they will come light-footed (agile) in the hereafter."
Dhikr - Remembrance
Sura Al-Baqara [Yusuf Ali Translation 2:152]
Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me and reject not faith. 156
Note 156:
The word "remember" is too pale a word for zikr, which has now acquired a large number of associations in our religious literature, especially Sufi literature. In its verbal signification it implies: to remember, to praise by frequently mentioning; to rehearse; to celebrate or commemorate; to make much of; to cherish the memory of as a precious possession. In Sufi devotions zikr represents both a solemn ritual and a spiritual state of mind or heart, in which the devotee seeks to realise the presence of God. Thus there is zikr of the mind and zikr of the heart. For beginners the one may lead to the other, but in many cases the two may be simultaneous. There is a subtler distinction, between the zikr that is open, and the zikr that is secret, corresponding to the two doors of the heart, the fleshly and the spiritual. In English some account (very imperfect) of zikr will be found in Hughes' Dictionary of Islam [see below], covering over 14 columns.
The following article is an entry under "Zikr" from the "Dictionary of Islam" by T.P. Hughes. T.P. Hughes was an eminent Christian missionary in India in 1888 C.E. We have meddled very little with the original idiom in this essay so as to preserve its old-style ambience. However, the grammatical use of (sic) has been used where we obviously have disagreed with the author.- Editor
ZIKR Lit. "Remembering." The religious ceremony, or act of devotion, which is practised by the various religious orders of Faqirs, or Dervishes. Almost every religious Muhammadan is a member of some order of Faqirs, and consequently the performance of zikr is very common in all Muhammadan countries; but it does not appear that any one method of performing the religious service of zikr is peculiar to any order.
Zikr Jali (Zikr recited aloud)
Zikrs are of two kinds: zikr jali, that which is recited aloud, and zikr khafi, that which is performed either with a low voice or mentally.
The Naqshbandiyah Order of Faqirs usually perform the latter, whilst the Chishtiyah and Qadiriyah orders celebrate the former. There are various ways of going through the exercise, but the main features of each are similar in character. The following is a zikr jali, as given in the book Qaulu 'l-Jamil, by Maulawi Shah Waliyu 'Ilah of Delhi: -
"The worshiper sits in the usual sitting posture and shouts the word 'Allah' (God), drawing his voice from his left side and then from his throat.
Sitting as at prayers he repeats the word 'Allah' still louder than before, first from his right knee, and then from his left side.
Folding his legs under him, he repeats the word 'Allah' first from his right knee and then from his left side, still louder!
Still remaining in the same position, he shouts the word 'Allah', first from the left knee, then from the right knee, then from the left side, and lastly in front, still louder!
Sitting as at prayer, with his face towards Makkah, he closes his eyes and says "La" - drawing the sound as from his navel up to his left shoulder; then he says "ilaha" drawing out the sound as from his brain; and last "illa 'llahu," repeated from his left side with great energy.
Each of these stages is called a zarb. They are, of course, recited many hundreds of times over and the changes we have described account for the variations of sound and motion of the body described by Eastern travellers who have witnessed the performance of a zikr."
SOURCE http://muslim-canada.org/sufi/zikr.htm
The Beloved Prophet Visits the Blessed Majlis of dhikr
The Beloved Prophet Muhammad
Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam
Visits The Blessed Majalis Of Zikr
BY
Siddiq Osman Noormuhammad
It is common knowledge among the faithful that the beloved Beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam visits the majalis-u'z-zikr (assemblies for the remembrance of Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted). He also attends the Mawlid-un-Nabi (celebration of his birth).
Allahumma Salli wa Sallim 'alayh
May Allah's blessings and peace be upon him.
Sometimes, he comes together with the Ahl al Bayt (His Blessed Household) and his Sahaba (Companions), Rady Allahu 'Anhum (may Allah be pleased with them).
Sometimes, he comes with houris (maidens from Paradise).
Allahumma Salli wa Sallim 'alayh
May Allah's blessings and peace be upon him.
Sometimes, he comes with the Awliya Allah (Friends of Allah) like Sayyidi wa Imami Gawth u'l A'zam Shaykh 'Abdul Qadir Jilani, Sayyidi wa Imami al-Habib 'Abdallah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad, Sayyidi wa Imami al-Habib Ahmad Mash-hur bin Taha al-Haddad, and Pir Khidr Hayaat, Naf'anAllahu bihim, may Allah make us benefit from them, Aameen.
The mashayikh (spiritual masters) who are present at these majalis (spiritual gatherings) have basira (inner sight). They can behold their presence as well as the presence of other rijaal u'l ghayb (men of the unseen) and the malaika (angels). When they behold the beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam, sometimes they go into wajd (spiritual ecstasy) as a result of which they either automatically stand up in reverential awe or they start shedding tears of joy on beholding him. Sometimes, they inform those who are close to them of these haqaaiq (spiritual realities). Word soon passes around, as a result of which the faithful are always hopeful that the beloved Prophet Muhammad and the Awliya Allah will attend their majlis (spiritual gathering). Hence, these majalis (spiritual gatherings) are held with great love and devotion.
Some people who are new to this subject find it difficult to believe that the beloved Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, actually attends zikr sessions. The mashayikh put them at ease. They tell them that this is a matter of spiritual realities, and that if they don't know about it yet, if Allah wills, they might come to know about it later. But they advise them not deny these spiritual realities because that only creates confusion and discord. And they privately supplicate to Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted, to bestow basira (inner sight) to those who question them so that they also open up to the joys of these waking visions.
Since it is common knowledge among the mashaayikh (spiritual masters) that the beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam attends these zikr sessions, one of the Fatiha is:
Al-Fatiha ilaa Hadrat i'n Nabiyy Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam
Fatiha for the blessed presence of the Noble Prophet Muhammad,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Al-Fatiha!
It is also well-known that the mashaayikh who are elsewhere or who have passed away also attend the majalis-u'z-zikr. Hence there is a Fatiha for the presence of one's own Shaykh as well. It is recited as follows:
Al-Fatiha ilaa Hadrat i'sh-Shaykh Naf'anAllahu bihi.
Fatiha for the presence of the beloved Shaykh, may Allah make us benefit from him, Aameen.
Al-Fatiha!
Siddiq Osman Noormuhammad
1422/2001, Toronto.
