DHIKR
IS THE GREATEST OBLIGATION AND A PERPETUAL DIVINE ORDER
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Dhikr of Allah SWT is the most excellent
act of Allah's servants and is stressed over a hundred times
in the Noble Qur'an. It is the most praiseworthy work to earn
Allah's pleasure, the most effective weapon to overcome the
enemy, and the most deserving of deeds in reward. It is the
flag of Islam, the polish of hearts, the essence of the science
of faith, the immunization against hypocrisy, the head of
worship, and the key of all success.
There
are no restrictions on the modality, frequency, or timing
of Dhikr whatsoever. The restrictions on modality
pertain to certain specific obligatory acts that are not the
issue here, such as Salaah. The Shari'ah is clear and everyone
knows what he or she has to do. Indeed, Rasulullah SAW said
that the People of Paradise would only regret one thing: not
having made enough Dhikr in the world! Are not those
who are making up reasons to discourage others from making
Dhikr afraid of Allah SWT in this tremendous matter?
Allah
SWT says in His Noble Qur'an: "O Believers make abundant
mention of ALLAH!" (33:41) And He mentions of His servants
"Those who remember their Lord standing, and sitting,
and lying on their sides" (3:191), in other words at
all times of the day and night. He said (3:190-191): "
The creation of heaven and earth and the changes of night
and day are signs for people who have wisdom: -- consider
who is described as having wisdom -- Those who remember
(and recite and call) Allah standing up, sitting, and lying
on their sides." `A'isha RA said, as narrated by
Muslim, that the Prophet mentioned/remembered Allah at all
times of the day and night.
The
Prophet said: "If your hearts were always in the state
that they are in during dhikr , the angels would
come to see you to the point that they would greet you in
the middle of the road." Muslim narrated it. Imam Nawawi
in his Sharh sahih muslim commented on this hadith
saying: "This kind of sight is shown to someone who persists
in meditation (muraqaba) , reflection (fikr)
, and anticipation (iqbal) of the next world."
Mu`adh ibn Jabal RA said that Rasulullah SAW also said: "The
People of Paradise will not regret except one thing alone:
the hour that passed them by and in which they made no remembrance
of Allah." Narrated by Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-iman
(1:392 #512-513) and by Tabarani. Haythami in Majma`
al-zawa'id (10:74) said that its narrators are all trustworthy
(thiqat) , while Suyuti declared it hasan
in his Jami` al-saghir (#7701).
Allah
SWT placed His remembrance above prayer in value by making
prayer the means and remembrance the goal. He said: "Lo!
Worship guards one from lewdness and iniquity, but verily,
remembrance of Allah is greater/more important." (29:45)
"He is successful who purifies himself, and remembers
the name of his Lord, and so prays." (87:14-15) "So
establish prayer for My remembrance." (20:14)
Ibn
Hajar in his Fath al-bari (1989 ed. 11:251) relates
Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-`Arabi's explanation that there
is no good deed except with dhikr as a precondition for its
validity, and whoever does not remember Allah in his heart
at the time of his sadaqa or fasting, for example,
then his deed is incomplete: therefore dhikr is the best of
deeds because of this.
Dhikr
is, therefore, something of tremendous importance. Abu Hurayra
RA said that Rasulullah SAW said, Peace be upon him: "The
earth and everything in it is cursed, except for dhikr and
what attends dhikr, and a teacher (of dhikr) and a student
(of dhikr)." Narrated by Tirmidhi. By the words "the
world and everything in it" is meant here all that claims
status or existence apart from Allah SWT instead of in Him.
In fact, all creation does dhikr because Allah said that all
creation does praise to Him constantly, and tasbih
is a kind of dhikr. Allah said of the Prophet Yunus, when
the whale swallowed him: "Had he not been one of My glorifiers
(musabbihin) , he would have remained inside the
whale's stomach until Judgment Day." (37:143-144)
The
one who engages in dhikr has the highest rank of all before
Allah SWT. The people who call on Allah without distraction
have been mentioned in Qur'an, as well as the effect that
calling has on their heart: "In houses which Allah has
allowed to be raised to honour and for His Name to be remembered
in them; He is glorified there day and night by men whom neither
trade nor sale can divert from the remembrance of Allah SWT
" (24:36-37).”Those who believe and their hearts find
satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: By remembering Allah,
truly satisfaction comes to the heart" (13:28).
During
the night of Isra' and Mi`raj, the Prophet was taken up to
a point where he heard the screeching of the Pens (writing
the divine Decree). He saw a man who had disappeared into
the light of the Throne. He said: "Who is this? Is this
an angel?" It was said to him, no. He said: "Is
it a Prophet?" Again the answer was no. He said: "Who
is it then?" The answer was: "This is a man, whose
tongue was moist with Allah's remembrance in the world, and
his heart was attached to the masjid, and he never incurred
the curse of his father and mother."
A
man came to Rasulullah SAW and said, "O Rasulallah, the
laws and conditions of Islam have become too many for me.
Tell me something that I can always keep (i.e. in particular,
as opposed to the many rules and conditions that must be kept
in general)." By reading that the man said there were
too many conditions to keep, one must understand that he was
unsure that he could keep them all. He wanted something that
he would be sure to keep always. The Prophet said: "(I
am advising you in one thing :) Keep your tongue always
moist with dhikrullah ."
It
is well-known in Islam that the best work in the path of Allah
is jihad. Yet Rasulullah SAW placed dhikr even above jihad
in the following authentic hadiths:
Abu
al-Darda' narrates: The Prophet once asked his companions:
"Shall I tell you about the best of all deeds, the best
act of piety in the eyes of your Lord, which will elevate
your status in the Hereafter, and carries more virtue than
the spending of gold and silver in the service of Allah SWT
or taking part in jihad and slaying or being slain in the
path of Allah? The dhikr of Allah." Related in the Malik's
Muwatta' , the Musnad of Ahmad, the Sunan
of Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and the Mustadrak
of Hakim. Al-Bayhaqi, Hakim and others declared it sahih
.
Abu
Sa`id RA narrates: Rasulullah SAW was asked, "Which of
the servants of Allah is best in rank before Allah on the
Day of resurrection?" He said: "The ones who remember
him much." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what about
the fighter in the way of Allah?" He answered: "Even
if he strikes the unbelievers and mushrikin with
his sword until it broke, and becomes red with their blood,
truly those who do dhikr are better than him in rank."
Related in Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Bayhaqi.
Abd
Allah ibn `Umar said that Rasulullah SAW used to say: "Everything
has a polish, and the polish of hearts is dhikr
of Allah. Nothing is more calculated to rescue from Allah's
punishment than dhikr of Allah." He was asked
whether this did not apply also to jihad in Allah's
path, and he replied: "Not even if one should ply his
sword until it breaks." |