Allah, the Exalted, ordered that He should be remembered a
lot. Describing the wise men and women who ponder His signs,
the Qur'an mentions, "those who remember Allah standing,
sitting and on their sides,'' Qur'an 3.191 and "those men
and women who engage much in Allah's praise. For them has
Allah prepared forgiveness and a great reward.'' Qur'an 33.35
Mujahid explained, "A person cannot be one of 'those men
and women who remember Allah much' as mentioned in the above
verse of the Qur'an, unless he or she remembers Allah at all
times, standing, sitting, or lying in bed."
When asked how much zhikr one should do to be considered as
one of "those who remember Allah much," Ibn Al-Salah
said that "much" is "when one is constant in
supplicating, in the morning and evening and in other parts of
the day and the night as reported from the Prophet, peace be
upon him." Concerning the above Quranic verses 'Ali b.
Abi Talha relates that Ibn 'Abbas said, "All obligations
imposed upon man by Allah are clearly marked and one is
exempted from them in the presence of a genuine cause. The
only exception is the obligation of zhikr. Allah has set no
specific limits for it, and under no circumstances is one
allowed to be negligent of it. We are commanded to 'remember
Allah standing, sitting and reclining on your sides,' in the
morning, during the day, at sea or on land, on journey or at
home, in poverty and in prosperity, in sickness or in health,
openly and secretly, and, in fact, at all times throughout
one's life and in all circumstances."
Sa' id b. Jubair said, "Anyone engaged in obeying
Allah is in fact engaged in the remembrance of Allah."
Some of the earlier scholars tied it to some more specified
form. 'Ata said, "The gatherings of zhikr are the
gatherings where the lawful and the prohibited things are
discussed, for instance, selling, buying, prayers, fasting,
marriage, divorce, and pilgrimage." Al-Qurtubi said,
"Gatherings of zhikr are the gatherings for knowledge and
admonition, those in which the Word of Allah and the sunnah of
His Messenger, accounts of our righteous predecessors, and
sayings of the righteous scholars are learned and practiced
without any addition or innovation, and without any ulterior
motives or greed."
The purpose of zhikr is to purify hearts and souls and
awaken the human conscience. The Qur'an says, "And
establish regular prayer, for prayer restrains from shameful
and unjust deeds, and remembrance of Allah is the greatest
thing in life, without doubt.'' Qur'an 29.45 In other words,
the remembrance of Allah has a greater impact in restraining
one from shameful and unjust deeds than just the formal
regular prayer. This is so because when a servant opens up his
soul to his Lord, extolling His praise, Allah strengthens him
with His light, increasing thereby his faith and conviction,
and reassuring his mind and heart. This refers to "those
who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the
remembrance of Allah, for without doubt in the remembrance of
Allah do hearts find satisfaction.'' Qur'an 13.28
And when hearts are satisfied with the Truth, they turn to
the highest ideals without being deflected by impulses of
desire or lust. This underscores the importance of zhikr in
man's life. Obviously it would be unreasonable to expect these
results just by uttering certain words, for words of the
tongue unsupported by a willing heart are of no consequence.
Allah Himself has taught us the manner in which a person
should remember Him, saying, "And do bring your Lord to
remembrance in your very soul, with humility and in reverence,
without loudness in words, in the mornings and evening, and be
not of those who are unheedful.'' Qur'an 7.205
This verse indicates that doing zhikr in silence and
without raising one's voice is better. Once during a journey
the Prophet, peace be upon him, heard a group of Muslims
supplicating aloud. Thereupon the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "Give yourselves a respite, you are not calling
upon someone deaf or absent. Surely He Whom you are calling
upon is near you and He listens to all. He is nearer to you
than the neck of your mount." This hadith underlines the
love and awe a person should feel while engaged in zhikr.
A part of this etiquette is the requirement that a person
wishing to do zhikr be clean in body and dress, and smell
sweet and fragrant. This will give him a fresh zeal and he
will feel invigorated. One should face the qiblah during zhikr,
for the best assemblies are those that face the Ka'bah.
Joining the assemblies or circles of zhikr is a commendable
practice as shown by the following hadith: Ibn 'Umar reported,
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'When you pass by
a garden of Paradise, avail yourselves of it.' The Companions
asked, 'What are the gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of
Allah? ' The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, 'The
assemblies or circles of zhikr. There are some angels of Allah
who go about looking for such assemblies of zhikr, and when
they find them they surround them'."
Muslim reports that Mu'awiyyah said, "The Prophet,
peace be upon him, went out to a circle of his Companions and
asked, 'What makes you sit here?' They said, 'We are sitting
here in order to remember Allah and to praise Him because He
guided us to the path of Islam and he conferred favors upon
us.' Thereupon he adjured them by Allah and asked if that was
the only purpose of their sitting there. 'They said, By Allah,
we are sitting here for this purpose only. ' At this the
Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'I am not asking you to take
an oath because of any misapprehension against you, but only
because Gabriel came to me and informed me that Allah, the
Exalted and Glorious, was telling the angels that He is proud
of you'."
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri and Abu Hurairah reported that the
Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "When any group of men
remember Allah, angels surround them and mercy covers them,
tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to
those who are with Him."
Qatadah reported that Anas ibn Malik said, "The
Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'When a human is laid in his
grave and his companions return and he hears their footsteps,
two angels will come to him and make him sit and ask him,
"What did you say about this man, Muhammad, may peace be
upon him?" He will say, "I testify that he is
Allah's servant and His Messenger." Then it will be said
to him, "Look at your place in Hell-Fire. Allah has
exchanged for you a place in Paradise instead of it".'
The Prophet, peace be upon him, added, 'The dead person will
see both his places. As for a non-believer or a hypocrite, he
will respond to the angels, "I do not know, but I used to
say what the people used to say ! " It will be said to
him, "Neither did you know nor did you seek guidance from
those who had knowledge." Then he will be hit with an
iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry and that cry
will be heard by all except human beings and jinns'." (Bukhari
and Muslim)
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "When a servant of Allah utters the words la ilaha
illa'Allah (there is none worthy of worship except Allah)
sincerely, the doors of heaven open up for these words until
they reach the Throne of Allah, so long as its utterer keeps
away from the major sins.'' (Tirmizhi, who says it is a hasan
gharib hadith)
Abu Hurairah also reported that the Prophet, peace be upon
him, said, "Renew your faith." "How can we
renew our faith?" they asked. The Prophet, peace be upon
him, replied, "Say always, 'La ilaha ill-Allah'.''
(Reported by Ahmad with a sound chain of authorities)
Jabir reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"The best remembrance of Allah is to repeat La ilaha
ill-Allah and the best prayer is alhamdu li-Allah (All Praise
is due to Allah).'' (Reported by Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Al-Hakim,
who considers its chain sound)
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "There are two phrases that are light on the tongue
but heavy on the scale of rewards and are dear to (Allah) the
Gracious One. These are, subhanallah wa bi-hamdihi (All Glory
is to Allah and all Praise to Him), and subhanallah al-azim
(Glorified is Allah, the Great).'' (Muslim, Bukhari, and
Tirmizhi) Abu Hurairah also reported that the Prophet, peace
be upon him, said, "I love repeating subhanallah,
wal-hamdulillah, wa la-ilaha ill-Allah, wa-Allahu akbar
(Glorified is Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and there is
no God but Allah, Allah is the greatest) more than all that
the sun shines upon.'' (Muslim and Tirmizhi)
Abu Zharr reported, "the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, 'Shall I tell you the words that Allah loves the most?'
I said, 'Yes, tell me, O Messenger of Allah.' He said, 'The
words most dear to Allah are subhan-Allah wa bihamdihi
(Glorified is Allah with all praise due to Him)'." This
is narrated by Muslim and Tirmizhi. In Tirmizhi's version, we
also find the following: "The words most dear to Allah
which He has chosen for His angels are subhana Rabbi wa
bihamdihi, subhana Rabbi wa bihamdihi (Glorified is my Lord
with all praise due to Him, Glorified is my Lord with all
praise due to Him)."
Jabir reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"Whoever says Subhan-Allah-al-Azim wa bihamdihi
(Glorified is Allah, the Great, with all praise due to Him),
will have a palm tree planted for him in Paradise.'' (Reported
by Tirmizhi who considers it a sound hadith.)
Abu Sa'id reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "Perform the enduring goods deeds more
frequently." The asked, "What are these enduring
deeds?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, At-Takbir,
(Saying Allahu akbar i.e., Allah is the greatest) At-Tahlil,
(Saying la ilaha ill-Allah, i.e., there is no god but Allah)
At-Tasbih, (Saying subhan-Allah meaning, Exalted and far
removed is Allah from any weakness) al-hamdu li-Allah, (This
means: All praise belongs to Allah alone) and la hawla wala
quwwata illa billah. (There is no power nor any authority
except with the permission of Allah) This is reported by An-Nasa'i
and Al-Hakim, who consider its chain of authorities sound.
Abdallah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "During the Night Journey I met Ibrahim who said to
me, 'O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your ummah, and tell
them that the Paradise is of pure land, its water is sweet,
and its expanse is vast, spacious and even. And its plants are
Subhan-Allah, wal-hamdulillah, wala ilah illallah, wa-Allahu
akbar'.''
Samura ibn Jundab reported that the Prophet, peace be upon
him, said, "The dearest phrases to Allah are four: Subhan
Allah, (Glorified is Allah), al-Hamdulillah (All praise be to
Allah), Wa la ilaha ill-Allah (There is no God but Allah), and
Allah-o-Akbar (Allah is the Greatest). There is no harm in
beginning them in any order you choose while remembering
Allah.'' (Muslim)
Abu Mas'ud reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "If anyone recites the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah,
they will suffice for him,'' (Bukhariand Muslim) that is,
these two verses will bring him a reward equivalent to that of
a night prayer, and will safeguard him from any hurt during
that night. Ibn Khuzaimah in his Sahih has also mentioned it
under the chapter "The Recitation of the Qur'an
Equivalent in Reward to a Night Prayer."
Abu Sa'id reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
asked, "Can anyone of you recite a third of the Qur'an
during the night?" The Companions considered this rather
difficult and they said, "Who among us can do so, O
Prophet of Allah?" Thereupon the Prophet, peace be upon
him, said, "(Say:) He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah,
the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is he begotten;
and there is none like unto Him.'' (The reference here is to
recitation of Surah 112 (Suratul Ikhlas) of the Qur'an, which
the Prophet, peace be upon him, described as equivalent to
reciting one-third of the Qur'an. This hadith is reported by
Bukhari, Muslim, and Nasa'i)
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "Whoever says, 'La llaha illa-Allahu wahdahu la
sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamd wa huwa 'ala kulli
shai'in qadir' a hundred times during a day will have a reward
equivalent to the reward for freeing ten slaves. Besides, a
hundred good deeds will be recorded for him and a hundred bad
deeds of his will be wiped off, and it will be a safeguard for
him from Satan that day until evening, and no one will be
better in deeds than such a person except he who does more
than that.'' (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizhi, Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah)
In the version of Muslim, Tirmizhi, and Nasa'i, we find this
addition: "And whoever says subhan Allah wa bi-hamdihi a
hundred times during a day, will have all his sins wiped off
even if they were as numerous as the foam on the surface of
the sea."
Anas reported that he heard the Prophet, peace be upon him,
saying that Allah says, "O son of Adam, whatever you
asked Me and expect from Me I forgave - respecting that which
you owed to Me - and I don't care [how great this was]. O Son
of Adam, even if your sins pile up to the sky and then you
seek My forgiveness I will forgive you, and O son of Adam,
even if you have an earthful of sins but you meet Me without
associating any other thing with Me I will forgive you.'
(Reported by Tirmizhi, who considers it a hasan sahih hadith)
Abdallah b. 'Abbas said, "If one supplicates without
fail for forgiveness from Allah, He finds a way out for him to
get out of every distress and difficulty, and gives him
sustenance through ways utterly unthought of.'' (Reported by
Abu Daw'ud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Al-Hakim, who says its
chain of authorities is sound.)
Juwairiyah (One of the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon
him) reported that one day the Prophet, peace be upon him,
left her apartment in the morning as she was busy observing
her dawn prayer in her place of worship. He came back in the
forenoon and she was still sitting there. The Prophet, peace
be upon him, said to her, "You have been in the same
place since I left you?" She said, "Yes."
Thereupon the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "I
recited four words three times after I left you and if these
were to be weighed against what you have recited since morning
these would outweigh them, and these words are: Subhanallah wa
bihamdihi 'adada khalqihi wa rida' nafsihi wa zinata 'arshihi
wa midada kalimatihi (hallowed be Allah and praise is due to
Him to the extent of the number of His creation and to the
extent of His pleasure and to the extent of the weight of His
Throne and to the extent of ink used in recording words for
His Praise).'' (Reported by Muslim and Abu Daw'ud)
Sa'd ibn Abu Waqqas reported that once the Prophet, peace
be upon him, saw a woman who had some date-stones or pebbles
which she was using as beads to glorify Allah. The Prophet,
peace be upon him, said to her, "Let me tell you
something which would be easier and more excellent for you
than that." So he told her to say instead Subhan-Allah 'adada
ma khalaqa fil-ard wa subhan Allah 'adada ma khalaqa bayna
zhalika wa subhan-Allah 'adada ma huwa khaliq wa Allahu akhar
mithla zhalik wa la ilaha illa-Allahu mithla zhalik wa la
hawla wa la quwwata illa mithla zhalik (Glory be to Allah as
many times as the number of what He has created in Heaven,
Glory be to Allah as many times as the number of what He has
created on Earth, Glory be to Allah as many times as the
number of what He has created between them, Glory be to Allah
as many times as the number of that which He is creating,
Allah is the most great a similar number of times, praise be
to Allah a similar number of times, and There is no god but
Allah a similar number of times, and there is no might and no
power except with Allah a similar number of times).''
(Reported by the Compilers of the Sunan and Al-Hakim, who says
it is a sound hadith according to the criterion of Muslim)
Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
told them, "A servant of Allah said 'My Lord! All praise
is for You as much as Your Glory and Sublime Majesty rightly
deserve. ' This was too much for the two angels to record.
They did not know how to record it. So they soared to the
heaven and said, 'Our Lord! Your servant has said something
which we don't know how to record?' Allah asked them--and, of
course, He knew what the servant had said--'What did My
servant say?' They said, 'He has said, "My Lord! All
praise is for You as much as Your Glory and Sublime Majesty
rightly deserve." Allah said to them, ' Write it down as
My servant has said until he should meet Me and I reward him
for it'.' (Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Majah)
Yusairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
commanded them (the emigrant women) to be regular in
remembering Allah by saying, "Allah is the most
great," "Glory be to Allah, the Holy," and
"There is no God but Allah," and never to be
forgetful of Allah and His Mercy, and to count them on their
fingers, for the fingers will be questioned and will speak.
(Reported in the Sunan and by Al-Hakim with a sound chain of
authorities)
Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'As reported, "I saw the
Prophet, peace be upon him, counting the glorifications of
Allah on his right hand's fingers.'' (Reported in the Sunan)
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "If peopie sit in an assembly in which they do not
remember Allah nor invoke a blessing on the Prophet, it will
be a cause of grief for them on the Day of Judgment."
This is reported by Tirmizhi, who says it is a sound hadith.
In the version of Ahmad, however, we read, "If people
sit in an assembly in which they do not remember Allah, it
will be a cause of sorrow for them, and if a man is walking
and does not remember Allah, it will be a cause of sorrow for
him, and if a man lies down on his bed and does not remember
Allah, it will be a cause of sorrow for him." Another
version says, "It will be a sorrow for them, even if they
are given Paradise in reward."
The author of Fath al-'Allam says, "This hadith proves
that it is incumbent on one to remember Allah and invoke
blessings on the Prophet while sittmg in an assembly, for
whether we take the words 'cause of grief or sorrow' to mean
torment of fire or any other chastisement, obviously a
punishment is incurred only when an obligatory act is
neglected or a forbidden act is committed, and here it is both
the remembrance of Allah and the invoking of blessings on His
Prophet that are apparently incumbent."
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "If anyone sits in an assembly where there is much
clamor and says before getting up to leave, Subhanaka
Allahumma wa bihamdika, ashadu an-la illaha illa-anta,
astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayka (Glory be to You, O Allah, and I
begin with declaring all praise is due to You, I testify that
there is no god but You; I ask Your pardon and turn to You in
repentance), he will be forgiven any sin that he might have
committed while in that assembly. (Tirmizhi and Al-Baihaqi, (Kitab
ad-D'wat Al-kabir))
It is related that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"The atonement for backbiting [and slander] is to pray
for forgiveness of the person who was slandered and to say, 'O
Allah, forgive us and him'."
The preferable course in this regard is to pray for
forgiveness of the person who was the target of the slander
and to mention his good qualities. This will wipe off the
effects of such backbiting, and it is not necessary to
announce such a thing.
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