بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
Everyone wants to feel alive and relaxed, and also never have any problems for the rest of their existence.
That might actually sound like a delusion but all of this possible. And it can be attained in a very simple manner – through dhikr (remembrance of Allah),
عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم : مَثَلُ الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ رَبَّهُ وَالَّذِي لاَ يَذْكُرُ مَثَلُ الْحَىِّ وَالْمَيِّتِ
Narrated Abu Musa (radiallahu anhu): The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “The example of one who remembers his Lord and one who does not remember Him, is like that of the living and the dead.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadeeth No. 416]
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. [Surah Ar-Raad (13) : 28]
عَنْ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم : أَلاَ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِخَيْرِ أَعْمَالِكُمْ وَأَزْكَاهَا عِنْدَ مَلِيكِكُمْ وَأَرْفَعِهَا فِي دَرَجَاتِكُمْ وَخَيْرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِنْفَاقِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْوَرِقِ وَخَيْرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْ تَلْقَوْا عَدُوَّكُمْ فَتَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَهُمْ وَيَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَكُمْ . قَالُوا بَلَى . قَالَ : ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى . فَقَالَ مُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ رضى الله عنه مَا شَيْءٌ أَنْجَى مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ
Abu Ad-Darda (radiallahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Should I not inform you of the best of your deeds, and the purest of them with your Master, and the highest of them in your ranks, and what is better for you than spending gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks, and they strike your necks?” They said: “Of course.” He said, “The remembrance of Allah, the Most High.” [Then] Muadh bin Jabal (radiallahu anhu) said: “There is nothing that brings more salvation from the punishment of Allah than the remembrance of Allah.” [Jaami At-Tirmidhi, Hadeeth No. 3377. Graded “sahih” (authentic) by Al-Albani.]
Now, there are many etiquettes that one needs to follow when doing dhikr, some of which are mentioned in the following verse:
وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ وَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ الْغَافِلِينَ
And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech – in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless. [Surah Al-Araaf (7) : 205]
Shaikh Abdur Razzaq Al-Abbad, in his book ‘Fiqh al-Adiyah wal Adhkaar” mentions seven etiquettes of dhikr that are derived from this verse (which I’ve summarised below into my own words):
- That the remembrance be within oneself because concealing dhikr shows sincerity and reduces the chances of showing off. It also increases the chances of the dua (supplication) being answered.
2. That it be done with humility.
3. That it be done in fear including fear that the supplication will not be accepted. The following verse and hadeeth show that this is a characteristic of the believers.
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ
أُولَـٰئِكَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ
And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear (whether their alms and charities, etc., have been accepted or not), because they are sure to return to their Lord (for reckoning).
It is these who race for the good deeds, and they are foremost in them [e.g. offering the compulsory Salat (prayers) in their (early) stated, fixed times and so on]. [Surah Al-Muminoon (23) : 60-61]
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ {وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ} أَهُوَ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يَزْنِي وَيَسْرِقُ وَيَشْرَبُ الْخَمْرَ قَالَ : لاَ يَا بِنْتَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ – أَوْ يَا بِنْتَ الصِّدِّيقِ – وَلَكِنَّهُ الرَّجُلُ يَصُومُ وَيَتَصَدَّقُ وَيُصَلِّي وَهُوَ يَخَافُ أَنْ لاَ يُتَقَبَّلَ مِنْهُ
It was narrated that Aishah (radiallahu anha) said “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah:
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ
And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear [Surah Al-Muminoon (23) : 61]
Is this the one who commits adultery, steals and drinks alcohol?’ He (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: ‘No, O daughter of Abu Bakr’ – or ‘O daughter of Siddiq’ – rather it is a man who fasts and gives charity and prays, but he fears that those will not be accepted from him.’” [Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadeeth No. 4198. Graded “hasan” (good) by Al-Albani.]
4. That it not be done in a loud voice, because that is better for pondering.
Imam Ibn Kathir states in his explanation of this verse:
“This is why Allah said next,
﴿وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ﴾
(and without loudness in words). Therefore, it is recommended that remembering Allah in Dhikr is not performed in a loud voice.”
عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى، قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي غَزَاةٍ فَجَعَلْنَا لاَ نَصْعَدُ شَرَفًا، وَلاَ نَعْلُو شَرَفًا، وَلاَ نَهْبِطُ فِي وَادٍ، إِلاَّ رَفَعْنَا أَصْوَاتَنَا بِالتَّكْبِيرِ ـ قَالَ ـ فَدَنَا مِنَّا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ : يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ارْبَعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَإِنَّكُمْ لاَ تَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلاَ غَائِبًا إِنَّمَا تَدْعُونَ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا . ثُمَّ قَالَ : يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ قَيْسٍ، أَلاَ أُعَلِّمُكَ كَلِمَةً هِيَ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْجَنَّةِ، لاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ
Narrated Abu Musa (radiallahu anhu): While we were with Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) in a battle, we never went up a hill or reached its peak or went down a valley but raised our voices with Takbir (i.e. saying “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is Great)) . Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) came close to us and said, “O people! Don’t exert yourselves, for you do not call a deaf or an absent one, but you call the All- Listener, the All-Seer.” The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) then said, “O Abdullah bin Qais! Shall I teach you a sentence which is from the treasures of Paradise? ( It is): ‘La hawla wala quwwata illa billah. (There is neither might nor power except with Allah). [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadeeth No. 607]
5. It that be done with the tongue and not just with the heart alone. It’s apparent from the verse that dhikr is done with both the heart and the tongue.
(Note: Many people have the habit of doing dua (supplication) with the heart alone and that is not correct. It needs to be stated as well i.e. the tongue needs to be used.)
6. That it be in the mornings and the evenings. Of course, Allah should be remembered all the time but this verse indicates the importance of these two times of the day, as does the following hadeeth:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ : يَتَعَاقَبُونَ فِيكُمْ مَلاَئِكَةٌ بِاللَّيْلِ وَمَلاَئِكَةٌ بِالنَّهَارِ، وَيَجْتَمِعُونَ فِي صَلاَةِ الْفَجْرِ وَصَلاَةِ الْعَصْرِ، ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ الَّذِينَ بَاتُوا فِيكُمْ، فَيَسْأَلُهُمْ وَهْوَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ كَيْفَ تَرَكْتُمْ عِبَادِي فَيَقُولُونَ تَرَكْنَاهُمْ وَهُمْ يُصَلُّونَ، وَأَتَيْنَاهُمْ وَهُمْ يُصَلُّونَ
Narrated Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu): Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Angels come to you in succession by night and day and all of them get together at the time of the Fajr and Asr prayers. Those who have passed the night with you (or stayed with you) ascend (to the Heaven) and Allah asks them, though He knows everything about you, well, “In what state did you leave my slaves?” The angels reply: “When we left them they were praying and when we reached them, they were praying.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Hadeeth No. 530]
(Note: Many people seem to forget about the supplications that are meant to be recited in the mornings and the evenings. Believe me, they are too important to miss.)
7. That one should not be heedless i.e. those who do not remember Allah. This is an indication that one should be consistent in dhikr.
Subhan Allah, this is just one verse but it contains multiple etiquettes. We need to remember these if possible when doing dhikr.
As for the reward for dhikr, here’s a wonderful chart that summarises the reward for different adhkaar.
Need more motivation to remember Allah frequently?
Here you go:
إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّـهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّـهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
Verily, the Muslims (those who submit to Allah in Islam) men and women, the believers men and women (who believe in Islamic Monotheism), the men and the women who are obedient (to Allah), the men and women who are truthful (in their speech and deeds), the men and the women who are patient (in performing all the duties which Allah has ordered and in abstaining from all that Allah has forbidden), the men and the women who are humble (before their Lord Allah), the men and the women who give Sadaqaat (i.e. Zakah, and alms, etc.), the men and the women who observe Saum (fast) (the obligatory fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the optional Nawafil fasting), the men and the women who guard their chastity (from illegal sexual acts) and the men and the women who remember Allah much, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise). [Surah Al-Ahzab (33) : 35]
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَسِيرُ فِي طَرِيقِ مَكَّةَ فَمَرَّ عَلَى جَبَلٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ جُمْدَانُ فَقَالَ : سِيرُوا هَذَا جُمْدَانُ سَبَقَ الْمُفَرِّدُونَ . قَالُوا وَمَا الْمُفَرِّدُونَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ : الذَّاكِرُونَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتُ
Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu) reported that Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was travelling along the path leading to Makkah and happened to pass by a mountain called Jumdaan. He said: Proceed on, it is Jumdaan, Al-Mufarridoon have gone ahead. They (the Companions of the Prophet) said: Allah’s Messenger, who are Mufarridoon? He said: They are those men and women who remember Allah much. [Sahih Muslim, Hadeeth No. 6474]
May Allah make us of those who remember Him frequently.