The Remembrance of Allah - ذكر الله
by Imaam al Madinah al Munawwarah 'Ali 'AbdurRahmaan al Hudhaifi
All praise is due to Allah. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his household and companions.
Dear Muslims! Fear Allah and obey Him. Beware of His wrath and retribution, for His punishment is severe and none of your actions or deeds are hidden from Him.
Allah says:
“O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.” (Al Ahzaab:41).
Fellow Muslims! Allah enjoins you to remember Him, commands you to be consistent in your remembrance, makes His remembrance a means to achieve His pleasure, and promises a great reward and safety from punishment for those who remember Him. He says:
“And the men and women who remember Allah much (with their hearts and tongues), Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise).”(Al Ahzaab:35).
Remembrance of Allah, though easy to do is nevertheless heavy on the scale (of one’s good deeds). The Prophet of Guidance told us that remembrance of Allah is the best and the purest deed. Aboo Dardaa narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
“Shall I tell you of the best and purest of your deeds before your King, the one that elevates your position the most; that is better for you than meeting your enemies whose necks you strike and they also strike your necks?” The companions said, “O Yes.” The Prophet then said, “Remembrance of Allaah, the Exalted.” (Ahmad, Tirmidhee and others).
The meaning of remembrance of Allah is to Praise Him with His names and perfect attributes, to supplicate to Him and to deem Him free from all that does not benefit His greatness. Remembrance of Allah can be through physical acts of worship, or it can be with the tongue or in the heart. The best Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) is the one done with the body, tongue and heart; like prayer, hajj and jihad (fighting in the cause of Allah) followed by the one done with the tongue and heart alone. The best oral act of remembrance is recitation of the Glorious Qur’an, for the Qur’an is the life of the hearts and minds and the guide to Allah’s pleasure and the blissful Paradise. It is also the protection against the accursed shaytan. Recitation of it is an act of worship; reflecting on its meanings is victory and happiness. Ibn Mas’ood narrated that the Prophet said:
“Whoever reads a letter of the Book of Allah will have a good reward for that and ten more like it. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, rather that Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Meem is a letter.” (At-Tirmidhee).
Aboo Saeed Al-Khudree said:
“The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Our Lord, the Exalted says: “Whoever is distracted by the recitation of the Qur’an from doing Dhikr and asking me (of his needs), I shall give him what is better than what I give those who ask me. The superiority of Allah’s Word (Qur’an) over other words is like the superiority of Allah over His creatures.” (At-Tirmidhee).
Dear Brothers! The form of your Dhikr should be in accordance with what is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah, like saying Subhaan Allah (Glory be to Allah), Alhamdu Lillah (Praise be to Allah), Laa Ilaaha Illa Allah (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah), Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest), Laa Hawla wa laa Quwwata Illaa Billahil 'Aliyyil 'Atheem (there is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great), and the like.
The Messenger of Allaah said:
“The most beloved words to Allaah are four: ‘Subhaan Allah, Al Hamdu Lillah, Laa Illaaha Illa Allah and Allahu Akbar.’ It does not matter with which one you start, nor in what order you say them.” (Muslim).
He also said:
“They (those four statements) are the best word after the Qur’an and they are from the Qur’an.” (Ahmad).
Aboo Moosa Al-Ash’aree narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
“Say Laa Hawla Wa Laa Quwwata illa Billah, for it is one of the treasures of Paradise.” (Bukhaaree and Muslim).
Further, invoking blessings and peace upon the Prophet is also a form of Dhikr but it should be noted that acts of remembrance of Allah should be done according to the authentically reported forms and not in innovative forms. 'Aa’isha narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
“Whoever performs a deed upon which there is no command from us will have it rejected.” (Muslim)
Brothers in faith! There are some Dhikr that are restricted to certain periods like the ones said after the five obligatory prayers, the ones said in the morning and the evening and the ones that have specific reasons. Also, there are some Dhikr that can be made any time. A Muslim should therefore remember Allah as frequently as possible in all conditions he may be.
Mu'aadh bin Jabal narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
“The Son of Aadam (i.e. man) does not do a deed that saves him from the punishment of Allah more than remembrance of Allaah.” The companions said, “Even Jihad in the way of Allah?” He replied, “Even Jihad in the way of Allah except in the case of one who fights with his sword until it is broken.” (Ibn Abee Shaybah).
It is recommended for a Muslim to be constantly reciting Dhikr in its authentically reported forms. Juwayriyah (a mother of the faithful) narrated that:
The Messenger of Allah went out of her apartment after performing Fajr prayer while she was making Tasbeeh (i.e. Subhaan Allah etc.) then came back after performing Duhaa supererogatory prayer and still found her sitting. He then said, “Are you still in the same position in which I left you?” She answered, “Yes.” He said, “Since I left you I have said four statements three times; if weighed against all that you have been saying today, it will outweigh it. They are, “ Subhan Allah Wa BiHamdihi, ‘Adada Khalqihi, Warida Nafsihi, Wa Zinata ‘Arshihi, Wa Midaada Kalimaatihi.” (Muslim).
Aboo Umaamah narrated that the Messenger of Allah told him:
“Shall I inform you of what is more and better than remembering Allah in the night and day? You say, ‘Subhan Allah Wa BiHamdihi, ‘Adada Maa Khalaqa, Subhan Allah mil’a maa Khalaqa fissSamaa’, Wa Subhan Allah ‘adada maa Ahsaa Kitaabuh Wa Subhan Allah ‘adada maa Ahsaa Kitaabuh Wa Subhaan Allah ‘adada Kulli Shay’in, wa Subhaan Allah Mil’a Kulli Shay’in, Wal Hamduliilaahi Mil’a Dhaalik.’
Meaning,
“Glory be to Allah, as much as the number of all that He created; glory be to Allah, as much as His creatures can fill; glory be to Allah as much as the number of His creatures in heaven; glory be to Allah as much as his Book can keep count of; glory be to Allaah as much as the reckoning of His Book can fill; glory be to Allah as much as the number of all things; glory be to Allah as much as all things can fill; praise be to Allah in the like manner.”
Dear Brother! Know that however much you remember Allah and praise Him, you cannot enumerate His praise and cannot praise Him as is due. Also remember that all that is in the heavens and the earth do remember Him and glorify Him and there is nothing but glorifies His praise.
“But you understand not their glorification. Truly, He is ever-forebearing, Oft-forgiving.”(Al Israa’:44).
He also says,
“And remember your Lord by your tongue and within yourself, humbly and with fear, without loudness in words, in the morning and in the afternoon and be not of those who are neglectful.” (Al A’raaf:205).
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allah and do not be misled by your whims. Know that Allah gives in recompense for remembering Him inestimable rewards in this world and the next.
Among the rewards of the remembrance of Allah is what He says in this verse:
“Remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.) I will remember you, and be grateful to me (for my countless favours on you) and never be ungrateful to me.” (Al Baqarah: 152).
Further, the Messenger of Allah said:
“Allah says:‘Indeed I am as my servant presumes Me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. So if he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers Me amongst a company, I remember him among a company greater than it.” (Al Bukhari & Muslim).
Of the rewards of the remembrance of Allah is peace of mind. Allah says:
“Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” (Ar Ra’d:28).
Among the rewards of remembrance of Allah also is that it makes one love Allah, increases him in faith, makes his affairs easy, and protects him from tricks and evil doings of shaytan. The Prophet said:
“Allah commanded Yahya son of Zakariah to enjoin five words on the children of Israel, one of which was the remembrance of Allah. A parable of that is like a man who is being hotly pursued by the enemy, who then enters a well-fortified enclave and thereby protects himself from them. A servant does not protect himself against shaytan except with the remembrance of Allah.” (At-Tirmidhee).
It is also part of the rewards of remembrance of Allah that it erases one’s sins and removes distress.
said:
