Sufism: Remembering "ALLAH"

The Qur'an instructs Muslims to remember God, whose reality encompasses and pervades both the unmanifest and manifest worlds (al-ghayb wa-al-shahadah). Sufis have developed this into the quintessential Sufi practice of silent and vocal dhikr (remembrance). An inherent problem in dhikr, however, is the difficulty in remembering God when one has little or no awareness of God. To start with, Muslims begin with a name of God, such as "Allah," which is often called the "comprehensive" name (al-ism al-jami'). It is comprehensive in the sense that it comprises all of the infinite names of God, which refer to the source of the awareness of all of reality. In down to earth terms, the ultimate source of one's awareness of the words on this page, for example, is the reality of one of the names of God, all of which are encompassed by the name Allah. In short, the source of one's present awareness--whatever that awareness may be--is encompassed by the name Allah. Thus, remembering God can begin quite simply and ordinarily with the awareness of two things: one's present awareness and the name Allah--even when one has no awareness of the reality to which the name Allah refers. (to be continued...)
The hadith scholar al-Mundhiri (d. 656/1258) compiled a collection of hadith that could inspire desire for God and those that could inspire fear of God. This collection, called the al-Targhib wal-al-tarhib, was abridged by the scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. The hadiths that are related to dhikr in Ibn Hajar's work can be accessed in English translation on the web page of the Muslim scholar Ayesha Bewley called
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The Chapter on Dhikr
from at-Targhib wa at-Tarhib

by Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani


1. Encouragement to remember Allah often, secretly and openly, and to presevere in it; what is reported about someone who does not remember Allah often
1. Abu Huryara reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Allah Almighty says, 'I am in My slave's opinion of Me and I am with Him when He remembers Me. When he remembers Me in himself, I mention him in Myself. If he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in a better assembly than them.' If he comes near Me by a handspan, I come near him a cubit. If he comes near Me by a cubit, I come near a fathom. When he comes to walking, I come to him running."

(Muslim and al-Bukhari, Ahmad has at the end of it, Qatada said, "Allah is quicker to forgive.")

2. 'Abdullah ibn Busr reported a man said, "Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam are too much for me. Tell me something I can cling to." He said, "Your tongue should remain moist with the remembrance of Allah." (at-Tirmidhi)

3. Abu'd-Darda' reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Shall I inform you of the best of your actions and the purest of your property and the highest of your degrees and what is better for you than spending gold and silver and better for you than encountering the enemy and striking their necks and their striking your necks?" They said, "Yes, indeed!" He said, "Remembrance of Allah Almighty." Mu�adh ibn Jabal said, "There is nothing which saves from the punishment of Allah more than remembrance of Allah." (Ahmad, Ibn Abi'd-Dunya, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

4. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Do a lot of remembrance of Allah until they say, 'He is mad.'" (Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and Ibn Hibban)

5. Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If one man has some dirhams in his possession which he divides and another remembers Allah, the one who remembers Allah is better." One variant has, "There is no sadaqa better than remembrance of Allah." (at-Tabarani)

6. Umm Anas reported that she said, "Messenger of Allah, command me." He said, "Avoid acts of disobedience: that is the best jihad. Do a lot of invoking Allah. You do not bring Allah anything he loves more than a lot of remembrance." (at-Tabarani. In one variant, "Remember Allah a lot. It is the action which Allah loves most to reveive." At-Tabarani notes that Umm Anas is not the mother of Anas ibn Malik.)


2. Encouraging attending gatherings of dhikr and meeting together to remember Allah
7. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Allah Almighty has angels who travel the highways and by-ways seeking out the people of dhikr. When they find people remembering Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, they call out to one another, 'Come to what you hunger for!' and they enfold them with their wings stretching up to the lowest heaven. Their Lord - who knows them better - asks them, 'What are My slaves saying?' They say, 'They are glorifying You, proclaiming Your greatness, praising You and magnifying You.' He says, 'Have they seen Me?' They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen You.' He says, 'How would it be if they were to see Me?' [extra 'He said's deleted] They say, 'If they were to see You, they would worship You even more intensely and magnify You even more intensely and glorify You even more intensely.' He says, 'What are they asking Me for?'They say, 'They are asking You for the Garden.' He says, 'Have they seen it?' They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen it.'" He says, 'How would it be if they were to see it?' They say, 'If they were to see it, they would yearn for it even more strongly and seek it even more assiduously and would have an even greater desire for it.' He says, 'What are they seeking refuge from?' 'They are seeking refuge from the Fire.' He says, 'Have they seen it?' He says, 'How would it be if they were to see it?' They say, 'If they were to see it, they would flee from it even harder and have an even greater fear of it.' He says, 'I testify to you that I have forgiven them.' One of angels says, 'Among them is so-and-so who is not one of them. He came to get something he needed.' He says, 'They are sitting and the one sitting with them will not be wretched.'" (al-Bukhari)

8. �Abdullah ibn 'Umar reported: "I asked, 'Messenger of Allah, what is the booty of the assemblies of dhikr?' He replied, 'The booty of the asemblies of dhikr is the Garden.'" (Ahmad)

9. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "When you come upon the meadows of the Garden, graze in them." He was asked, "What are the meadows of the Garden?" "Circles of dhikr." he replied. (at-Tirmidhi)

10. 'Amr ibn �Abasa said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say about the right hand of the All-Merciful, 'Both His hands are right hands. There are men who are not Prophets or martyrs the whiteness of whose faces overpowers the sight of those who look. The Prophets and martyrs envy their seat and proximity to Allah Almighty.' He was asked, 'Messenger of Allah, who are they?' He replied, 'A mixture of isolated people from the tribes who meet to remember Allah and select the best words as someone who eats dates selects the best ones.'" (at-Tabarani)


3. Warning against sitting where Allah is not mentioned nor the prayer said on His Prophet
11. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said, "Whenever people sit in a place where they do not mention Allah or bless their Prophet, loss descends on them. If He wishes, He will punish them. If He wishes, He will forgive them." (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi)


4. Encouraging words which expiate the hubbub of the assembly
12. Rafi' ibn Khadij reported that when his Companions met with him, at the end of it when the Messenger of Allah wanted to get up, he said, "Glory be to You, O Allah, and by Your praise. I testify that there is no god but Allah. I ask forgiveness of You and repent to You. I have acted badly and have wronged myself, so forgive me. Only You forgive wrong actions." They said, "Messenger of Allah, are these words which you originated?" "Yes," he replied, "Jibra'il came to me and said, "O Muhammad, they are the expiations of the gathering." (an-Nasa'i)

13. �Abdullah ibn �Amr ibn al-�As said that he said, "There are certain words which someone can say in a gathering devoted to good or a gathering of dhikr by which Allah will seal the gathering as the page is sealed with a seal. They are: 'Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise. There is no god but You. I ask You for forgiveness and turn to You.'" (Abu Dawud and Ibn Hibban


5. Encouraging saying "la ilaha illa'llah" and its excellence
14. Abu Hurayra said, "I asked, 'Messenger of Allah, who will be the person happiest with your intercession on the Day of Rising?' The Messenger of Allah replied, 'I think that none would ask about this before you since I know your eagerness for hadith [learning]. The person happiest with my intercession on the Day of Rising will be the one who says: "There is no god but Allah" sincerely from his heart.'" (al-Bukhari)

15. Jabir reported that the Prophet said, "The best dhikr is 'La ilaha illa'llah,' and the best supplication is 'al-hamdu lillah'." (an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)

16. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Do a lot of the shahada, testifying that there is no god but Allah before there comes a barrier between you and it." (Abu Ya'la)

17. He reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Renew your faith." He was asked, "Messenger of Allah, how do we renew our faith?" He replied, "Say often: 'There is no god but Allah.'" (Ahmad and at-Tabarani)

18. �Amr said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say, "I know some words which, if a person says it truly from his heart and dies on that, he will be unlawful to the Fire: 'There is no god but Allah'." (al-Hakim)


Encouraging saying "There is no god but Allah alone with no partner"
19. Abu Ayyub reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Anyone who says, 'There is no god but Allah alone with no partner. His is the kingdom and His is the praise. He has power over everything' ten times, it is as if he had set free four slaves of the descendants of Isma'il." (Agreed upon)

20. Ya'qub ibn �Asim reported that two of the Companions of the Prophet heard the Prophet say, "No one at all says "There is no god but Allah alone with no partner. The kingdom and praise belong to Him and He has power over everything" sincerely with his soul, affirming it with his heart, articulating it with his tongue but that Allah splits open the heaven so that He can look at the one on the earth who says it, and it is a right of the slave at whom Allah looks that He grant him his request." (an-Nasa'i)


6. Encouraging glorification, takbir, the shahada, and praise in its various forms
21. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Two words are light on the tongue, heavy in the balance, beloved to the Merciful: 'Glory be to Allah and by His praise. Glory be to Allah, the Immense.'" (Agreed upon)

22. Abu Umama reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Whoever dreads to endure the night, or is miserly about spending money, or is too cowardly to fight the enemy should say often: 'Glory be to Allah and with His praise.' It is more beloved to Allah than a mountain of gold spent in the Way of Allah." (at-Tabarani)

23. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Anyone who says, 'Glory be to Allah and with His praise' a hundred times a day will have his sins fall away, even if they are like the froth of the sea." (Muslim and at-Tirmidhi)

24. Mus'ab ibn Sa�d (ibn Abi Waqqas) said that his father said, "We were with the Messenger of Allah when he asked, 'Are any of you able to earn a thousand good deeds every day?' One of those who was sitting there asked him, 'How can someone earn a thousand good deeds?' He said, 'Glorifying a hundred times is written as a thousand good deeds or a thousand errors fall away from him.'" (Muslim and an-Nasa'i)

25. Samura ibn Jundub reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "The dearest of words to Allah are four: 'Glory be to Allah; Praise be to Allah; There is no god but Allah; and Allah is greater.' It does not matter whichever of them you say first."(Muslim and an-Nasa'i, He added, "They are part of the Qur'an.".)

26. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet passed by him when he was planting a seedling and he asked, "Abu Hurayra, what is that which you are planting?" He said, "Seedlings." He said, "Shall I not direct you to a seedling better than this? 'Glory be to Allah. Praise be to Allah. Allah is greater, and there is no god but Allah.' Each word of them will plant a tree for you in the Garden." (Ibn Majah)

27. Umm Hani' said, "The Messenger of Allah passed by me one day and I said, 'Messenger of Allah, I am old and weak, so command me something I can do sitting.' He said, 'Say "Glory be to Allah" a hundred times: it is equal to a hundred slaves of the descendants of Isma�il you set free. Say "Praise be to Allah" a hundred times: it is equal to a hundred horses saddled and bridled and ridden in the Way of Allah. Say "Allah is greater" a hundred times: it is equal to a hundred camels garlanded and facing qibla. Say "There is no god but Allah" a hundred times. (I think he said) It fills up what is between heaven and earth. On that day no one will have a better action presented that which will be presented for you unless he brings the like of what you bring.'" (Ahmad, at-Tabarani and al-Bayhaqi)

28. Abu Dharr reported that some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah *said, "Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have appropriated the rewards. They pray as we pray and they fast as we fast, but they give sadaqa since they have more wealth."He said, "Did not Allah give you that which you can give as sadaqa? Every glorification is sadaqa. Every takbir is sadaqa. Every praise is sadaqa. Every 'la ilaha illa'llah' is sadaqa. Commanding the right is sadaqa. Forbidding the wrong is sadaqa." (Muslim and Ibn Majah)

29. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Take your protection."They asked, "Messenger of Allah, from an enemy present?" He replied, "No, but your protection against the Fire. Say: 'Glory be to Allah. There is no god but Allah, and Allah is greater.' They will come on the Day of Rising in front and behind you. They are lasting righteous ones." (an-Nasa'i and al-Bayhaqi. At-Tabarani has it in al-Awsat and adds, "There is no strength or power except by Allah.")

30. �Abdullah ibn Mas�ud said, "Anyone who is tight-fisted about giving money, fears the struggle against the enemy and is wearied by the night should often say, "There is no god but Allah. Allah is greater. Praise be to Allah and glory be to Allah.'" (At-Tabarani)

31. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Any words which do not with praise are mutilated." (Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah)


7. Encouraging saying, "Glory be to Allah," "Praise be to Allah", "There is no god but Allah" and "Allah is greater" in mosques
32. Umm al-Mu'minin Juwayriyya bint al-Harith reported that the Prophet left her and then he returned after the sun was well risen and she was still sitting there. He said, "You are still in the state you were when I left you?" She said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "I said four words three times after I left you. If they were to be weighed against everything you have recited today they would outweigh it: 'Glory be to Allah and by His praise in number as great as His creation and His own pleasure, the weight of His Throne and the ink of His words.'"(Muslim and the Four)

33. 'A'isha bint Sa�d ibn Abi Waqqas related from her father that, together with the Messenger of Allah, he visited a woman and in front of her were some date-stones - or pebbles - which she was using to glorify Allah. He said, 'Shall I inform you what is easier for you than this - or better?' He said, 'Glory be to Allah by the number of things He has created in the heaven and glory be to Allah by the number of things He has created in the earth and glory be to Allah by the number of things in between them and glory be to Allah by the number of things He has created. Then say, "Allah is greater" in the same way and "Praise be to Allah" in the same way, and "There is no god but Allah" in the same way and "There is no power nor strength except by Allah" in the same way.'" (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi)


8. Encouraging saying "There is no power nor strength except by Allah"
34. Abu Musa said that the Prophet said, "Say: 'There is no power nor strength except by Allah.' It is one of the treasures of the Garden." (Agreed upon, and in the transmission of an-Nasa'i: "Whoever says 'There is no strength nor power except by Allah', it is the cure for ninety-nine illnesses, the least of which is worry.")


9. Encouraging the dhikrs which are said in the morning and the evening
35. Mu'adh ibn �Abdullah ibn Khubayb reported that his father said, "We went out on a very dark and rainy night looking for the Messenger of Allah to lead us in the prayer. We found him and he said, 'Speak.' I did not say anything,.' Then he said, 'Say,' and I did not say anything. Then he said, 'Say,' and I said, 'Messenger of Allah, what shall I say?' He said, 'Recite, "Say: He is God, One," and the suras of seeking refuge in the evening and the morning three times, it will be enough to protect you in respect of everything.'" (Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i)

36. Shaddad ibn Aws reported that the Prophet said, "The best way to ask forgiveness is to say, 'O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no god but You. You created me and I am Your slave. I comply with Your covenant and Your promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with you from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me. Only You can forgive sins.' Anyone who says it during the night having confidence in it and dies before morning will enter the Garden. Anyone who says this during the day having confidence in it and dies on that day before evening will enter the Garden. "

(Al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and at-Tirmidhi who has: "No one says it in the evening and then the decree comes to him before morning but that the Garden is mandatory for him. He does not say it in the morning and then the decree comes to him before evening but that the Garden is mandatory for him.")

37. Abu Hurayra said, "A man came to the Prophet and said, 'Messenger of Allah, what agony I suffered last night from a scorpion which stung me yesterday!' He said, 'If you had said in the evening, "I seek refuge with the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He has created," it would not have harmed you."(Muslim and the four;)

38. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "On the Day of Rising no one will bring anything better than someone who says in the morning and evening, 'Glory be to Allah and by His praise' a hundred times except someone who says the same as he says or more."

(Muslim, the people of the three Sunans, and Ibn Abi'd-Dunya. In Abu Dawud, "Glory be to Allah the Immense." Al-Hakim said "Anyone who says in the morning 'Glory be to Allah and by His praise,' a hundred times, and a hundred times in the evening, his sins will be forgiven even if they more than the forth of the sea.")

39. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said,"Anyone who says, 'There is no god but Allah alone with no partner. His is the kingdom and His is the praise, and He has power over everything' a hundred times a day has the same reward as if he had freed ten slaves, and a hundred good deeds are written for him and a hundred bad deeds are effaced from him and he has protection from Shaytan on that day until evening. No one will do anything better than he does except a man who does it more than he did." (Agreed upon)

40. Aban ibn 'Uthman said that he heard 'Uthman ibn 'Affan say that the Messenger of Allah said, "No slave of Allah says in the morning every day and the evening every night, 'In the name of Allah by whose name nothing in the earth or the heaven can be harmed. He is the Hearing, the Knowing,' three times without that ensuring that nothing will harm him." Aban suffered from a stroke which left him semi-paralysed on one side. He was asked about it and said, "I did not say it that day so that Allah could carry out His decree." (The four)

41. Abu'd-Darda' said, "If anyone says in the morning and evening, 'Allah is enough for me. There is no god but Him. I have relied on Him and He is the Lord of the Immense Throne' seven times, Allah will spare him what worries him (whether he is truthful or lying)." (Abu Dawud)

42. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If anyone says in the morning or the evening, 'O Allah, I testify to You and I testify to the bearers of Your throne, Your angels and all Your creation that You are Allah and there is no god but You and Muhammad is Your slave and Messenger,' Allah will free a quarter of him from the fire. If anyone says it twice, Allah will free half of him from the Fire. If anyone says it three times, Allah will free three-quarters of him from the Fire. If anyone says it four times, Allah will free all of him from the Fire.'"

43. Al-Mundhir, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah, said when he was in North Africa, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'If anyone says in the morning "I am pleased with with Allah as a Lord, Islam with a deen and Muhammad as a Prophet" I am the leader who will take his hand to admit him to the Garden."'" (at-Tabarani)

44. 'Abdullah ibn Ghannam al-Bayadi reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If anyone says in the morning, 'O Allah, whatever blessing comes to me or any of Your creation in the morning is from You alone with no partner; praise is Yours and thanks is to You' has fulfilled the thankfulness due for the day. If he says the like of that in the evening, he has fulfilled the thankfulness due for the night. " (Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i)

45. Ibn 'Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah did not omit these words in the evening and morning: 'O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in this world and the Next. O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in my deen and this world, my family and my property. O Allah, veil my defects and protect me from what I fear. O Allah, preserve me in front of me and behind me, to my right and to my left, and above me. I seek refuge with Your might from unexpected harm from under me." (Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)

46. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said to Fatima, "What will prevent you from listening to my advice to you? You should say in the morning and evening: 'O Living, O Self-Sustaining, I seek help by Your mercy. Put all my affairs in order for me. Do not entrust me to myself for the blink of an eye.'" (an-Nasa'i)

47. Al-Hasan stated that Samura ibn Jundub said, "Shall I inform you of a hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah several times, and from Abu Bakr several times and from �Umar several times?" "Yes," was the reply. He said, "If anyone says in the morning and the evening, 'O Allah, You created me and You guide me; You give me food and drink; You make me die and give me life,' he will not ask for anything but that He will give it to him." He said, "I met �Abdullah ibn Salam and said, 'Shall I inform you of a hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah several times, and from Abu Bakr several times and from �Umar several times?' He said, 'Yes,' and recounted this hadith. He said, 'By my mother and father, the Messenger of Allah said those words. Allah Almighty gave them to Musa, peace be upon him and he used to pray with them seven times every day, and he never asked Allah for something but that Allah gave it to him." (At-Tabarani)

48. Abu'd-Darda' reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Anyone who says the prayer on me ten times in the morning and ten times in the evening will obtain my intercession on the Day of Rising,"

(At-Tabarani with two isnads, one of which is excellent)

49. Zayd ibn Thabit reported that the Messenger of Allah taught him a supplication and commanded him to promise to do it and that his family should do it every day. He said: "He should say in the morning, 'O Allah, at Your service. Good is in Your hand and from You to You. O Allah, whatever word I say, oath I make or vow I make, You will is before it, What You wish will be and what you do not wish will not be. There is no power or strength except by You. You have power over everything. O Allah, whatever prayer I pray is for the on whom I pray and whatever curse I make is against the one I curse. You are my Protector in this world and the Next. Make me die a Muslim and join me to the righteous. O Allah, I ask you for pleasure with the Decree, pleasant life after death, the pleasure of looking at Your face, and yearning to meet You without harmful distress or misleading sedition. I seek refuge with You, O Allah, lest I wrong or be wronged, or transgress or be transgressed against, or acquire a wrong action or a sin which is not forgiven, O Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, O Master of Majesty and Generosity, I entrust to You in this life and I call on You to testify. Allah is enough of a witness. I testify that there is no god but You alone with no partner. Yours is the kingdom and praise is Yours. You have power over everything. I testify that Muhammad is Your slave and Messenger. I testify that Your promise is true, meeting Your is true, the Garden is true, the Fire is true and the Hour is true. It is coming without doubt. You will raise whoever is in the graves. If You entrust me to myself, You entrust me to weakness, disgrace, sin and error. I can only trust in Your mercy, so forgive me all my sins. None but You forgive sins. Turn to me. You are the Ever-Turning, All-Merciful.'" (Ahmad and at-Tabarani)


10. Encouraging words which are said when one goes to bed and what has come about someone who rises from sleep without mentioning Allah
50. Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib said, "The Prophet said, 'When you go to your bed, do wudu' as you do for the prayer and then lie down on your right side and said, 'O Allah, I have surrendered my soul to You, I have turned my face towards You, I have entrusted my affair to You and I have sought refuge in You out of desire for You and fear of You. There is no shelter nor place of safety from You except with You. I have believed in Your Book which You sent down and Your Prophet whom You sent.' Then if you die in the night, you will die in the natural harmonious form of man. Make them the last thing that you say." He said, "I repeated them to the Prophet and when I reached the words, 'Your Book which You sent down,' I said, 'and your Message.' He said, 'No: "Your Prophet whom You sent.'" (Agreed upon. In al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi, "If you die in the night, you die on the natural form. If you reach the morning, you obtain good.")

51. �Abdullah ibn �Amr ib al-'As reported that the Prophet said, "There are two qualities in which a Muslim does not persevere in but that he will enter the Garden. They are easy but those who do them are few: After every prayer, he should glorify Allah ten times, praise Him ten times, and say the takbir ten times. That is 150 on the tongue and 150,000 in the balance. When he goes to bed, he should say the takbir 34 times, praise Allah 33 times and glorify Him 33 times. That is 100 on the tongue and a thousand in the balance.' I saw the Messenger of Allah count them. They asked, 'Messenger of Allah, how is it that they are easy and those who do them few?' He said, 'Shaytan comes to one of you when he goes to sleep and makes him fall asleep before he says them, and he comes when he is praying and reminds him of a need before he says them." (Abu Dawud, and at-Tirmidhi)

52. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If, when someone retires to his bed and says. 'There is no god but Allah alone with no partner. His is the Kingdom and praise is His. He has power over everything and there is no power nor strength except by Allah. Glory be to Allah and praise be to Allah. There is no god but Allah, and Allah is greater,' he will be forgiven his sins or errors, even if they are like the froth of the sea." (an-Nasa'i)


11. Encouraging words said when someone wakes up in the night
53. 'Ubada ibn as-Samit reported that the Prophet said, "If someone wakes up at night and says, 'There is no god but Allah alone with no partner. The kingdom is His and His is the praise. He has power over everything. Praise belongs to Allah. Glory be to Allah. There is no god but Allah. Allah is greater. There is no strength nor power except by Allah,' and then says, 'O Allah, forgive me' or makes supplication to Allah,' it will be answered. If he does wudu', then his prayer will be accepted." (al-Bukhari and the Four)


12. Encouraging dhikrs said after Subh, 'Asr and Maghrib
54. Abu Dharr reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If, after the Fajr prayer, anyone says while his feet are still folded before speaking, 'There is no god ut Allah alone with no partner. His is the kingdom and praise is His. He gives life and makes die, and He has power over everything' ten times, Allah will write for him ten good deeds, efface ten evil deeds from him, and raise him ten degrees, and that day he is protected from every very disliked thing, guarded against shaytan, and no sin will overtake him in that day unless it is associating with Allah." (At-Tirmidhi)

55. Al-Harith ibn Muslim at-Tamimi said, "The Prophet said to me, 'When you pray Subh, say seven times before speaking, 'O Allah, protect me from the Fire.' If you die on that day, Allah will write for you protection from the Fire. When you pray Maghrib, say seven times before speaking, 'O Allah, protect me from the Fire.' If you die that night, Allah will write for you protection from the Fire.' (an-Nasa'i, and Abu Dawud)


13. Encouraging what is said and done by someone who has a dream he dislikes
56. Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "When one of you has a dream he dislikes, he should spit to his left three times and seek refuge with Allah from the Accursed Shaytan three times and then turn over onto his other side." (Muslim, Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i)

57. Abu Qatada reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "The true dream is from Allah and the confused dream is from Shaytan. Whoever sees something he dsilieks should spit three times to his left and seek refuge from shaytan. It will not harm him" (Agreed upon. The four relate it. In one variant, "When he sees something he dislikes, he should seek refuge in Allah from its evil and from shaytan. He should spit three times to his left and not tell anyone about it." They have the like of it from Abu Hurayra which says, "Ésomething he dislikes should not recount it to anyone, and he should get up and pray.")


14. Encouraging ayats and dhikrs said after the obligatory prayers
58. Sumayy reported from Abu Salih that Abu Hurayra reported that the poor of the Muhajirun came to the Messenger of Allah and said, "The wealthy have appropriated the high degrees and abiding bliss." He said, "How is that?" He said, "They pray as we pray and they fast as we fast, but they give sadaqa and we do not give sadaqa and they set free slaves and we do not set free slaves." The Messenger of Allah said, "Shall I inform you of something by which you will overtake those who have preceded you and precede those who come after you and no one will be better than you unless he does the same as you do?" They said, "By all means, Messenger of Allah." He said, "You should say 'Glory be to Allah,' 'Praise be to Allah,' and 'Allah is greater' thirty-three times after every prayer."

Abu Salih said, "The poor Muhajirun then returned to the Messenger of Allah and said, "Our brothers who possess property heard about what we were doing and they have done the same." The Messenger of Allah said, "That is a favour which Allah gives to anyone He wills."

Sumayya said, "Some of my family related this hadith and said., "I was weak. He told you: Say 'Glory be to Allah' 33 times, 'Praise be to Allah' 33 times, and the takbir 34 times." He said, "I returned to Abu Salih and said that to him and he took my hand and said, 'Allah is great; Glory be to Allah, and Praise be to Allah' until he said them all 33 times."

(Agreed upon. This is the version of Muslim, He also has, "Anyone who say after every prayer, 'Glory be to Allah' thirty-three times, 'Praise belongs to Allah' thirty-three times and 'Allah is greater' thirty-three times and says to complete the hundred, 'There is no god but Allah alone with no partner. He has the kingdom and He has the praise and He has power over everything,' will be forgiven his errors, even if they are like the foam of the sea." Malik and Ibn Khuzayma transmitted it, but Malik said, "His sins will be forgiven, even if they are like the foam of the sea." Abu Dawud transmitted it. Abu Dharr said, "Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have appropriated the rewards." In it he said, "They have excess wealth which they give sadaqa and we do not have wealth to give as sadaqa." He said, "Abu Dharr, shall I teach you words by which you will catch those before you?" He said in it, "Say the takbir 33 times after every prayer ." He said in it, "Complete it with 'There is no god but Allah.'" At-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i transmitted it.")

59. Mu'adh ibn Jabal reported that the Messenger of Allah took him by the hand and said, "Mu'adh, by Allah, I love you." Mu'adh said, "May my mother and father be your ransom, Messenger of Allah. By Allah, I love you." He said, "Mu'adh, I advise you not to fail to say after every prayer, 'O Allah, help me to remember You and thank You and worship You well.'" Mu'adh advised as-Sanabihi to do that. (Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i)


15. Encouraging words said by someone who is alarmed at night
60. 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb reported from his father from his grandfather that the Messenger of Allah said, "When one you is alarmed in sleep, he should say, 'I seek refuge with the perfect words of Allah from His anger, from the evil of His servants and from the whisperings of shaytan and lest they be present,' and they will not harm him." 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr used to teach it those of his children who were sensible, and in the case of those who were not, he wrote it in a page and then hung it from their necks." (The three)

61. Abu't-Tayyah said, "I asked 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Khanbash at-Tamimi, who was old, 'Did you met the Messenger of Allah ?' 'Yes,' he replied. I asked, 'What did he act do the night when the shaytans of the jinn came at him?' He said, 'The shaytan came down that night to the Messenger of Allah from the valleys and ravines. Among them was a shaytan with a fiery torch in his hand with which he intended to burn the face of the Messenger of Allah. Jibril descended to him and said, 'Muhammad, speak.' He asked, 'What should I say?' He said, 'Say: "I seek refuge with the complete words of Allah from the evil of what He created, originated, and produced, and from the evil of what descends from the sky and from the evil of what ascends in it, and from the evil of the trials of the night and day, and from the evil of from the evil of every visitant at night except that which knocks with good, O All-Mericiful."' The fire was put out and Allah Almighty defeated them." (Ahmad and Abu Ya'la)


16. Encouraging what is said when one leaves his house for the mosque and elsewhere and when he enters it
62. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If, when a man leaveshis house, he says, 'In the name of Allah. I have relied on Allah and there is no power nor strength except by Allah,' he will he told, 'It is enough for you. You have been guided, spared and protected,' and Shaytan will be kept far from him."

(At-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i; and Ibn Hibban)

63. Jabir reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah say, "When a man enters his house and mentions the name of Allah both when he enters and when he eats, Shaytan says to his companions, 'You have no lodging and no meal.' When he enters and does not mention Allah when he enters, Shaytan says, 'You have lodging.' When he does not mention Allah Almighty when he eats, he says, 'You have lodging and a meal.'"(Muslim and the four)


17. Encouraging what is said when there is whispering in the prayers and at other times
64. 'Uthman ibn Abi'l-'As reported that he went to the Prophet and said, 'Messenger of Allah, Shaytan comes between me and my prayer and my recitation and confuses me.' He said, "That is a Shaytan called Khinzab. When you feel that, seek refuge in Allah from him and spit to your left three times.' I did that and Allah removed it from me." (Muslim.)

65. 'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Shaytan comes to one of you and asks, 'Who created you?' He says, 'Allah. Then he says, 'Who created Allah?' If one of you experiences that, he should say, 'I believe in Allah and His Messenger.' That will remove it.'" (Ahmad, Abu Ya'la, and al-Bazzar)

67. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Shaytan comes to one you and says, 'Who created such-and-such? Who created such-and-such?' until he says, 'Who created your Lord?' When it reaches that, seek refuge with Allah and leave it."

(Agreed upon. In the varant of Muslim, "Say: 'I believe in Allah and His Messenger.'" In the variant of Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i, "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.' Then he should spit to his left three times and seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan." In the variant of an-Nasa'i, "He should seek refuge from him and his temptations.")
-----On Dhikr
From Miftah al-Falah (The Key to Success)

by Ibn 'Ata'llah al-Iskandari




Dhikr is a fire which does not stay or spread – so if it enters a house saying, "Me and nothing other than me," which is one of the meanings of "la ilaha illa'llah' (There is no god but Allah), and there is firewood in the house, it burns it up and it becomes fire. If there is darkness in the house, it becomes light. If there is light in the house, it becomes 'light upon light'.

Dhikr expels from the body impure substances produced by excess in eating or from the consumption of unlawful food. As for food which is lawful, it does not touch it. So the harmful components are burned up and the good components remain.

Dhikr is heard by every part as if it were blowing on a trumpet. When dhikr first occurs in the head, the sound of trumpets and cymbals is experienced there. Dhikr is a sultan – when it descends in a place, it descends with its trumpets and cymbals because dhikr is opposed to all that is other than the Truth. When it descends in a place, it occupies itself with negating what is contrary to the Truth, as we find in the union of water and fire. After these sounds, different sounds are heard: like the ripple of water, the sound of the wind, the sound of fire when it is kindled, the sounds of galloping of horses, and the sound of leaves of the trees rustling in the wind.

This is because man is a combination of every noble and low substance: dust, water, fire, air and earth, and heaven and earth and what is between them: these sounds issue from every source and element of these substances. Whoever has heard these sounds in dhikr praises Allah and glorifies Him with his entire tongue. This is the result of the dhikr with the tongue with the force of complete absorption. Perhaps the worshipper will reach the state where, if he falls silent from dhikr, the heart will stir in his breast, like the movement of the child in the womb, seeking dhikr.

Some say that he heart is like 'Isa, the son of Mary, peace be upon him, and dhikr is its milk. When it grows and becomes strong, longing for the Truth audibly springs from it and pangs of yearning craving for dhikr and the One invoked. The dhikr of the heart is like the sound of the bee, neither a confused high noise nor a very low hidden sound. When the One invoked takes possession of the heart and the dhikr is obliterated and vanishes, and the invoker does not pay attention to the dhikr nor to the heart. If during this, he notices the dhikr or the heart, that is a distracting veil.

This is state is annihilation (fana') – and it is that man is annihilated in respect to his self (nafs), and he feels nothing in his limbs nor things outside of him or things inside of him. If, during that, it occurs to him that he is totally annihilated in respect to himself, that then is a blemish and turbidity. Perfection is that he be annihilated to himself and to annihilation, and the annihilation of annihilation is the goal of annihilation. Annihilation is the earliest of the Path (Tariq) since it is travelling towards Allah Almighty, and then guidance follows. By guidance I mean the guidance of Allah as the Prophet Ibrahim said, "I am going to my Lord, and He will guide me." (37:99)

This absorption is seldom stable and rarely continues. If the invoker continues, it becomes a fixed habit and a permanent state by which he may ascend to the celestial world. Then the purest real Being emerges and he is imprinted with nature of the invisible world (malakut) and the holiness of Divinity (lahut) is manifested to him. The first thing manifested to him from that world are the essences of the angels and the spirits of the Prophets and saints in beautiful forms through which some of the realities overflow onto him. That is the beginning. This continues until his degree is higher than forms and he encounters the Truth in everything with clarity.

This is the fruit of the core of dhikr. Its beginning is only the dhikr of the tongue; and then the dhikr of the heart is stimulated. Then the dhikr becomes natural; and then the One invoked takes possession and the invoker is obliterated. This is the inner secret of the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "Whoever wish to abide in the Garden of Paradise should invoke Allah much" and the secret of his words "Hidden dhikr is seventy times preferable to dhikr which is heard by listeners."

The sign of dhikr moving to the inner conscience (sirr) is the absence of the invoker from dhikr and the One invoked, and the dhikr of the inner conscience is frantic thirst and drowning in it.

Among its signs is that when you ceasing doing dhikr, it does not leave you, and the ascendancy of dhikr in you stirs you from absence to presence.

Among its signs is that dhikr presses against your heads and limbs so that they seem as if they were bound with shackles and chains.

Among its signs is that its fires do not abate and its light does not depart. Rather you always see its lights rising and descending while the fires around you are pure, aflame and brightly burning. When dhikr reaches the inner conscience when the invoker falls silent from dhikr, it is as if needles had been thrust through his tongue or as if his entire face were a tongue invoking, light pouring from it.

Subtle point: Know that every dhikr which you heart feels is heart by listeners, if their awareness match your awareness. There is a secret in it: when your dhikr vanishes from your awareness since you have departed to the One invoked, your dhikr vanishes altogether from the awareness of listeners.

Subtle point: The dhikr of the letters is without the presence of the dhikr of the tongue. The dhikr of the presence in the heart is the dhikr of the heart; and the dhikr of absence from presence with the One Invoked is the dhikr of the inner conscience (sirr), and it is hidden dhikr.
-----
DHIKR IS THE GREATEST OBLIGATION AND A PERPETUAL DIVINE ORDER

Dhikr of Allah is the most excellent act of Allah's servants and is stressed over a hundred times in the Holy 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 which are not the issue here, such as Salat. The Shari`a is clear and everyone knows what they have to do. Indeed, the Prophet said that the People of Paradise will 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 in this tremendous matter?

Allah says in His holy Book: "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 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 said that the Prophet 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 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 said that the Prophet 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 who said it is hasan, Ibn Majah who said the same, Bayhaqi, and others. Suyuti cites it in al-Jami` al-saghir from al-Bazzar's similar narration from Ibn Mas`ud and he declared it sahih. Tabarani also narrated it in al-Awsat from Abu al-Darda'.

By the words "the world and everything in it" is meant here all that claims status or existence apart from Allah 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. 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 honor 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 rememberance of Allah" (24:36-37). "Those who believe, and their hearts find satisfaction in the rememberance 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 mosques, and he never incurred the curse of his father and mother." Shaykh Muhammad `Alawi al-Malaki cited it in his collated text of the sound narrations on that topic entitled al-Anwar al-bahiyya min isra' wa mi`raj khayr al-bariyya.

In Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban declared it fair (hasan): A man came to the Prophet 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 the Prophet, Peace be upon him, 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 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 narrates: The Prophet 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 the Prophet 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." Bayhaqi narrated it in Kitab al-da`awat al-kabir as well as in his Shu`ab al-iman (1:396 #522), also al-Mundhiri in al-Targhib (2:396) and Tibrizi mentions it in Mishkat al-masabih, at the end of the book of Supplications.



Meanings of Dhikr
The word dhikr has many meanings. It means:

- Allah's Book and its recitation;

- Prayer;

- Learning and teaching: The author of Fiqh al-sunna said:

Sa'id ibn Jubayr 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 dhikr are the gatherings where the lawful and the prohibited things are discussed, for instance, selling, buying, prayers, fasting, marriage, divorce, and pilgrimage."

Qurtubi said, "Gatherings of dhikr 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 practised without any addition or innovation, and without any ulterior motives or greed."

- Invocation of Allah with the tongue according to one of the formulas taught by the Prophet or any other formula;

- Remembrance of Allah in the heart, or in both the heart and the tongue.

We are concerned here with the last two meanings, that of mention of Allah, as in the verse, "The believers are those who, when they hear Allah mentioned, their hearts tremble" (al-Anfal), and the Prophet's saying in Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah from Ibn Jubayr: "The best dhikr is La ilaha illallah." The Prophet did not say, "the best dhikr is making a lecture"; or "giving advice"; or "raising funds." We are also concerned here with the meaning of remembrance through the heart, as in the verse: "The men and women who remember Allah abundantly" (33:35). The Prophet both praised and explained what is in the latter verse when he said, as it is related in Muslim, "The single-hearted are foremost." When he was asked, "O Messenger of Allah, who are the single-hearted?" he replied, "The men and women who remember Allah abundantly." The Prophet further elucidated the role of the heart in effecting such remembrance when he said to Abu Hurayra: "Go with these two sandals of mine and whoever you meet behind this wall that witnesses that there is no god except Allah with certitude in his heart, give him glad tidings that he will enter Paradise." (Narrated by Muslim.)

Dhikr may sometimes mean both inner remembrance and outward mention, as in the verse "Remember Me, and I shall remember you" (2:152) when it is read in the light of the hadith qudsi, "Those that remember Me in their heart, I remember them in My heart; and those that remember Me in a gathering (i.e. that make mention of Me), I remember them (i.e. make mention of them) in a gathering better than theirs." We return to the explanation of that important hadith further below. Suffice it to say that, broadly speaking, there are three types of dhikr: of the heart, of the tongue, and of the two together.

Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (1989 ed. 11:251) explained that what is meant by dhikr in Abu al-Darda's narration of the primacy of dhikr over jihad is the complete dhikr and consciousness of Allah's greatness whereby one becomes better, for example, than those who battle the diebelievers without such recollection.

In another hadith narrated by Bukhari, the Prophet compared doers of dhikr among non-doers, to those who are alive among those who are dead: mathalu al-ladhi yadhkuru rabbahu wa al-ladhi la yadhkuru rabbahu mathalu al-hayyi wa al-mayyit. (Book of da`awat ch. 66 "The merit of dhikrullah") Ibn Hajar comments it thus in his Fath al-Bari (1989 ed. 11:250):

What is meant by dhikr here is the utterance of the expressions which we have been encouraged to say, and say abundantly, such as the enduring good deeds -- al-baqiyat al-salihat -- and they are: subhan allah, al-hamdu lillah, la ilaha illallah, allahu akbar and all that is related to them such as the hawqala (la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), the basmala (bismillah al-rahman al-rahim), the hasbala (hasbunallahu wa ni`ma al-wakil), istighfar, and the like, as well as invocations for the good of this world and the next.

Dhikrullah also applies to diligence in obligatory or praiseworthy acts, such as the recitation of Qur'an, the reading of hadith, the study of the Science of Islam (al-`ilm), and supererogatory prayers.

Dhikr can take place with the tongue, for which the one who utters it receives reward, and it is not necessary for this that he understand or recall its meaning, on condition that he not mean other than its meaning by its utterance; and if, in addition to its utterance, there is dhikr in the heart, then it is more complete; and if there is, added to that, the recollection of the meaning of the dhikr and what it entails such as magnifying Allah and exalting Him above defect or need, it is even more complete; and if all this takes place inside a good deed, whether an obligatory prayer, or jihad, or other than that, it is even more complete; and if one perfects one's turning to Allah and purifies one's sincerity towards Him: then that is the farthest perfection.

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi said: "What is meant by the dhikr of the tongue is the expressions that stand for tasbih, tahmid, and tamjid -- exaltation, praise, and glorification. As for the dhikr of the heart, it consists in reflection on the proof-texts that point to Allah's essence and His attributes, on those of the obligations including what is enjoined and what is forbidden so that one may examine the rulings that pertain to them, and on the secrets of Allah's creation. As for dhikr of the limbs, it consists in their being immersed in obedience, and that is why Allah named prayer: "dhikr" when He said: "When the call is proclaimed on Jum`a, hasten earnestly to the dhikr of Allah" (62:9). It is reported from some of the Knowers of Allah that dhikr has seven aspects:

dhikr of the eyes, which consists in weeping (buka');

dhikr of the ears, which consists in listening (isgha');

dhikr of the tongue, which consists in praise (thana');

dhikr of the hands, which consists in giving (`ata');

dhikr of the body, which consists in loyalty (wafa');

dhikr of the heart, which consists in fear and hope (kawf wa raja');

dhikr of the spirit, which consists of utter submission and acceptance (taslim wa rida')."



Loudness in dhikr
The Prophet praised a man who was awwah -- literally: one who says ah, ah! -- that is: loud in his dhikr, even when others censured him. Ahmad narrated with a good chain in his Musnad (4:159) from `Uqba ibn `Amir: "The Prophet said of a man named Dhu al-bijadayn: innahu awwah, He is a man who says ah a lot. This is because he was a man abundant in his dhikr of Allah in Qur'an-recitation, and he would raise his voice high when supplicating."

Allah said of the Prophet Ibrahim: "Verily, Ibrahim is awwah and halim" (9:114, 11:75), that is, according to Tafsir al-jalalayn: "Crying out and suffering much, out of fear and dread of his Lord." [halim = merciful, gentle.] The Prophet prayed to be awwah in the following invocation: rabbi ij`alni ilayka awwahan, "O Allah, make me one who often cries out ah to you." Narrated by Tirmidhi (book of da`awat #102, hasan sahih), Ibn Majah (Du`a' #2), and Ahmad (1:227) with a strong chain [Yahya ibn Sa`id al-Qattan < Sufyan al-Thawri < Shu`ba < `Amr ibn Murra < `Abd Allah ibn al-Harith < Taliq ibn Qays al-Hanafi < Ibn `Abbas] with the following wording:

The Prophet used to supplicate thus: "O my Lord! help me and do not cause me to face difficulty; grant me victory and do not grant anyone victory over me; devise for me and not against me; guide me and facilitate guidance for me; make me overcome whoever rebels against me; O my Lord! make me abundantly thankful to You (shakkaran laka), abundantly mindful of You (dhakkaran laka), abundantly devoted to You (rahhaban laka), perfectly obedient to You (mitwa`an ilayks), lowly and humble before You (mukhbitan laka), always crying out and turning back to You (awwahan muniban)!...."



Gatherings of Collective, Loud Dhikr
The hadith qudsi already quoted, "Those that remember Me in a gathering," makes gatherings of collective, loud dhikr the gateway to realizing Allah's promise "Remember Me, and I shall remember you." It is no wonder that such gatherings receive the highest praise and blessing from Allah and His Prophet, Peace be upon him, according to many excellent and authentic hadiths.

In Bukhari and Muslim: The Prophet said that Allah has angels roaming the roads to find the people of dhikr, i.e. those who say La Ilaha Illallah and similar expressions, and when they find a group of people (qawm) reciting dhikr, they call each other and encompass them in layers until the first heaven -- the location of which is in Allah's knowledge. (This is to say, an unlimited number of angels are going to be over that group. He didn't say: "when they find one person." Therefore it is a must to be in a group to get this particular reward.) Allah asks His angels, and He knows already (but he asks in order to assure it and make it understandable for us) "What are my servants saying?" (He did not say "servant," but `ibadi, "servants" in the plural.) The angels say: "They are praising You (tasbih) and magnifying Your Name (takbir) and glorifying You (tahmid), and giving You the best Attributes (tamjid)." (Can you say that all this is a lecture or a study group? Can you say that this is silent? Rather, this is saying "Alhamdulillah" and all kinds of other dhikr.) Allah says: "Have they seen Me?" The angels answer: "O our Lord! They did not see You." He says: "(They are praising Me without seeing Me,) what if they see Me!" The angels answer: "O our Lord, if they saw You, they are going to do more and more worship, more and more tasbih, more and more takbir, more and more tamjid!" He says: "What are they asking?" Angels say: "They are asking Your Paradise!" He says: "Did they see Paradise?" They say: "O our Lord, no, they have not seen it." He says: "And how will they be if they see it?" They say: "If they see Paradise, they are going to be more attached and attracted to it!" He says: "What are they fearing and running away from?" (When we are saying, "Ya Ghaffar (O Forgiver), Ya Sattar (O Concealer)," it means that we are fearing Him because of our sins. We are asking Him to hide our sins and forgive us.) They say: "They are fearing and running away from hellfire." He says: "And have they seen hellfire?" They say: "O our Lord, no, they did not see hellfire." He says: "And how will they be if they see fire and hell?" They say: "If they see your fire, they are going to be running from it more and more, and be even more afraid of it." (Now listen to this carefully:) And Allah says: "I am making you witness (and does Allah need witnesses? He needs no witness since He said: "Allah is sufficient as witness." Why make the angels witnesses? Does Allah change His word? "Making you witness" here means, "Assuring you") that I have forgiven them." (Why has Allah forgiven them? Because, as the beginning of the hadith states, they are a group of people reciting the Names of Allah and remembering Him with His dhikr.) One of the angels says: "O my Lord, someone was there who did not belong to that group, but came for some other need." (That person came for some other purpose than dhikr, to ask someone for something.) Allah says: "Those are such a group that anyone who sits with them -- no matter for what reason -- that person will also have his sins forgiven."

The late Imam Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad (d. 1416/1995) said in his book Miftah al-janna (cf. transl. Mostafa Badawi, Key to the Garden, Quilliam Press p. 107-108):

This hadith indicates what merit lies in gathering for dhikr, and in everyone present doing it aloud and in unison, because of the phrases: "They are invoking You" in the plural, and "They are the people who sit," meaning those who assemble for remembrance and do it in unison, something which can only be done aloud, since someone whose dhikr is silent has no need to seek out a session in someone else's company.

This is further indicated by the hadith qudsi which runs: "Allah says: I am to my servant as he expects of Me, I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in his heart, I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly better than his..." (Bukhari and Muslim) Thus, silent dhikr is differentiated fron dhikr said outloud by His saying: "remembers Me within himself," meaning: "silently," and "in an assembly," meaning "aloud."

Dhikr in a gathering can only be done aloud and in unison. The above hadith thus constitutes proof that dhikr done outloud in a gathering is an exalted kind of dhikr which is mentioned at the Highest Assembly (al-mala' al-a`la) by our Majestic Lord and the angels who are near to Him, "who extol Him night and day, and never tire" (21:20).

The affinity is clearly evident between those who do dhikr in the transcendent world, who have been created with an inherently obedient and remembering nature, namely the angels, and those who do dhikr in the dense world, whose natures contain lassitude and distraction; namely, human beings. The reward of the latter for their dhikr is that they be elevated to a rank similar to that of the Highest Assembly, which is sufficient honor and favor for anyone.

Allah has bestowed a special distinction upon those who remember Him. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "The single-hearted (al-mufarridun) have surpassed all." They asked, "Who are these single-hearted people, O Prophet of Allah?" He replied, "Those men and women who remember Allah unceasingly." (Muslim)

The mountain has overtaken the people because the mountain is reciting dhikr also. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in Madarij al-salikin explains that the term mufarridun has two meanings here: either the muwahidun, the people engaged in tawhid who declare Allah's Oneness as a group (i.e. not necessarily alone), or those whom he calls ahad furada, the same people as (single) individuals sitting alone (in isolation). From this example it is evident that in the explanation of Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, sittings of dhikr can be in a group, and can be all alone. In another explanation of mufarridun also cited by Ibn Qayyim, the meaning is ‘those that tremble from reciting dhikrullah, entranced with it perpetually, not caring what people say or do about them.' This is because the Prophet said: udhkur Allaha hatta yaqulu majnun "Remember / mention Allah as much as you want, until people say that you are crazy and foolish" (Narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and al-Hakim who declared it sahih); that is: do not care about them!

The mufarridun are the people who are really alive. Abu Musa reported, "The likeness of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember Him is like that of a living to a dead person." (Bukhari)

Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet said: "When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, avail yourselves of them." The Companions asked: "What are the gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "The circles of dhikr. There are roaming angels of Allah who go about looking for the circles of dhikr, and when they find them they surround them closely." Tirmidhi narrated it (hasan gharib) and Ahmad.

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet, peace by 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." Narrated by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Bayhaqi.

Muslim, Ahmad, and Tirmidhi narrate from Mu`awiya that the Prophet went out to a circle of his Companions and asked: "What made you sit here?" They said: "We are sitting here in order to remember / mention Allah (nadhkurullaha) and to glorify Him (wa nahmaduhu) because He guided us to the path of Islam and he conferred favours 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 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!" Note that the hadith stated jalasna -- we sat -- in the plural, not singular. It referred to an association of people in a group, not one person.

Shahr ibn Hawshab relates that one day Abu al-Darda' entered the Masjid of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and saw people gathered around their admonisher (mudhakkir) who was reminding them, and they were raising their voices, weeping, and maiking invocations. Abu al-Darda' said: "My father's life and my mother's be sacrificed for those who moan over their state before the Day of Moaning!" Then he said: "O Ibn Hawshab, let us hurry and sit with those people. I heard the Prophet say: If you see the groves of Paradise, graze in them, and we said: O Messenger of Allah, what are the groves of Paradise? He said: The circles of remembrance, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, no people gather for the remembrance of Allah Almighty except the angels surround them closely, and mercy covers them, and Allah mentions them in His presence, and when they desire to get up and leave, a herald calls them saying: Rise forgiven, your evil deeds have been changed into good deeds!" Then Abu al-Darda' made towards them and sat with them eagerly. The hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi relates it with his chain of transmission in the chapter entitled: "Mention of those of the elite who used to attend the gatherings of story-tellers" of his book al-Qussas wa al-mudhakkirin (The Story-tellers and the Admonishers) ed. Muhammad Basyuni Zaghlul (Beirut: dar al-kutub al-`ilmiyya, 1406/1986) p. 31.

The above shows evidence for the permissibility of loud dhikr, group dhikr, and the understanding of dhikr as including admonishment and the recounting of stories that benefit the soul. And Allah knows best.



Types and frequency of Dhikr
Because dhikr is the life of the heart, Ibn Taymiyya is quoted by his student Ibn Qayyim as saying that Dhikr is as necessary for the heart as water for the fish. Ibn Qayyim himself wrote a book, al-Wabil al-sayyib, on the virtues of dhikr, where he lists more than one hundred such virtues, among them (Quoted in Maulana M. Zakariyya Kandhalvi, Virtues of Dhikr (Lahore: Kutub Khana Faizi, n.d.) p. 74-76:

- It induces love for Allah. He who seeks access to the love of Almighty Allah should do dhikr profusely. Just as reading and repetition is the door of knowledge, so dhikr of Allah is the gateway to His love.

- Dhikr involves muraqaba or meditation, through which one reaches the state of ihsan or excellence, wherein a person worships Allah as if he is actually seeing Him.

- The gatherings for dhikr are gatherings of angels, and gatherings without dhikr are gatherings of Satan.

- By virtue of dhikr, the person doing dhikr is blessed, as also the person sitting next to him.

- In spite of the fact that dhikr is the easiest form of worship (the movement of the tongue being easier than the movement of any other part of the body), yet it is the most virtuous form.

- Dhikr is a form of Sadaqa -- charity. Abu Dharr al-Ghifari said: "The Messenger of Allah said: "Sadaqa is for every person every day the sun rises." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, from what do we give sadaqa if we do not possess property?" He said: "The doors of sadaqa are takbir (i.e. to say: Allahu Akbar, Allah is Greater); Subhan Allah (Allah is exalted high); al-hamdu lillah (all praise is for Allah); La ilaha illallah (there is no god other than Allah); Astaghfirullah (I seek forgiveness from Allah); enjoining good; forbidding evil.... These are all the doors of sadaqah from you which is prescribed for you, and there is a reward for you even in sex with your wife." Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Hibban, and there is something of similar effect in Muslim.

All words of praise and glory to Allah, extolling His Perfect Attributes of Power and Majesty, Beauty and Sublimeness, whether one utters them by tongue or says them silently in one's heart, are known as dhikr or remembrance, of Allah. He has commanded us to remember Him always and ever. Allah says:

"O you who believe! Celebrate the praises of Allah, and do so often; and glorify Him morning and evening." (33:41-42)

If anyone remembers Allah, He remembers that person:

"Remember me, I shall remember you." (2:152)

Remembrance of Allah is the foundation of good deeds. Whoever succeeds in it is blessed with the close friendship of Allah. That is why the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to make remembrance of Allah at all times. When a man complained, "The laws of Islam are too heavy for me, so tell me something that I can easily follow," the Prophet told him, "Let your tongue be always busy with the remembrance of Allah." [Narrated by Ahmad with two sound chains, also Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah through other chains, and Ibn Hibban who declared it sahih as well as al-Hakim.]

The Prophet, peace be upon him, would often tell his Companions, "Shall I tell you about the best of deeds, the most pure in the sight of your Lord, about the one that is of the highest order and is far better for you than spending gold and silver, even better for you than meeting your enemies in the battlefield where you strike at their necks and they at yours?" The Companions replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Remembrance of Allah." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Hakim who declared its chain of narrators sound.)

Remembrance of Allah is also a means of deliverance from Hell Fire. Mu'adh reported, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'No other act of man is a more effective means for his deliverance from the chastisement of Allah than the remembrance of Allah." (Narrated by Ahmad.)

Ahmad also reports that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whatever you say in celebration of Allah's Glory, Majesty, and Oneness, and all your words of Praise for Him gather around the Throne of Allah. These words resound like the buzzing of bees, and call attention to the person who uttered them to Allah. Don't you wish to have someone there in the presence of Allah who would call attention to you?"



The required amount of dhikr is as much as possible
Allah ordered that He should be remembered abundantly. Describing the wise men and women who ponder His signs, the Qur'an mentions:

"Those who remember Allah standing, sitting and on their sides," (3:191), and

"Those men and women who engage much in Allah's praise. For them has Allah prepared forgiveness and a great reward." (3:191, 33:35)

The author of Fiqh al-Sunna mentioned that 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," and that when asked how much dhikr one should do to be considered as one of "those who remember Allah much," Ibn as-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 Qur'anic verses `Ali ibn Abu Talha relates that Ibn `Abbas said, "All obligations imposed upon man by Allah are clearly marked and one is exempted from them only in the presence of a genuine cause. The only exception is the obligation of dhikr. 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 journeys 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."

We see by the above evidence that there is no such thing as too much dhikr. The Prophet is related to say: "He who loves something mentions it much." (Narrated by Abu Nu`aym in the Hilya and Daylami in Musnad al-firdaws. Sakhawi cites it in al-Maqasid al-hasana p. 393 #1050 and does not comment upon it.) We love Allah and His Prophet, and therefore we mention Allah and His Prophet. No one may declare a limit to such mention except those who do not have such love and they are undoubtedly the enemies of Islam.

Imam Ghazali said in the fortieth book of his Ihya' entitled "The Remembrance of Death and The Afterlife" (p. 124 in the translation of T.J. Winter, `Abd al-Hakim Murad):

It is man's soul and spirit that constitute his real nature... Upon death his state changes in two ways. Firstly he is now deprived of his eyes, ears and tongue, his hand, his feet and all his parts, just as he is deprived of family, children, relatives, and all the people he used to know, and of his horses and other riding-beasts, his servant-boys, his houses and property, and all that he used to own. There is no distinction to be drawn between his being taken from these things and these things being taken from him, for it is the separation itself which causes pain....

If there was anything in the world in which he had found consolation and peace, then he will greatly lament for it after he dies, and feel the greatest sorrow over losing it. His heart will turn to thoughts of everything he owned, of his power and estates, even to a shirt he used to wear, for instance, and in which he took pleasure.

However, had he taken pleasure only in the remembrance of Allah, and consoled himself with Him alone, then his will be great bliss and perfect happiness. For the barriers which lay between him and his Beloved will now be removed, and he will be free of the obstacles and cares of the world, all of which had distracted him from the remembrance of Allah. This is one of the aspects of the difference between the states of life and death.

On the same topic Imam Habib al-Haddad said (Key to the Garden p. 104):

Time and days are a man's capital, while his inclinations, desires, and various ambitions are the highway robbers. The way in which one profits on this journey lies in succeeding in coming to Allah and in attaining everlasting happiness, while one loses by being veiled from Allah, and being consigned to the painful torment of the Fire.

For this reason the intelligent believer transforms all his breaths into acts of obedience, and interrupts them only with the dhikr of Allah.



The importance of silent dhikr
The author of Fiqh al-sunna writes:

The purpose of dhikr 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." (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." (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 dhikr 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." (7:205)

This verse indicates that doing dhikr 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." [Muslim]

This hadith underlines the love and awe a person should feel while engaged in dhikr.

It is related from Sa`d that the Prophet said: "The best dhikr is the hidden dhikr, and the best money is what suffices." Ahmad narrates it in his Musnad, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-iman. Nawawi said the hadith was not firmly established.

In the Fatawa fiqhiyya of al-Haytami (p. 48): He was asked about Nawawi's saying at the end of the chapter entitled "Dhikr Gatherings" in his Commentary on Sahih Muslim: "Dhikr of the tongue with presence of the heart is preferable to dhikr of the heart [without]." Ibn Hajar said: "It is not because dhikr of the heart is an established worship in the lexical sense [i.e. consisting in specific formulae] that it is preferable, but because through it one intently means, in his heart, to exalt and magnify Allah above all else. That is the meaning both of the aforementioned saying of Nawawi and of the saying of some that "There is no reward in dhikr of the heart." By denying there is a reward in it, one means "There is no reward in the words, which are not uttered"; and by establishing that there is reward in it, one means "in the fact that the heart is present," as we have just said. Consider this, for it is important. And Allah knows best."

According to the Naqshbandi masters, dhikr in the heart is more useful for the murid or student for it is more efficient in shaking the heart from indifference and awakening it. Shah Naqshband said: "There are two methods of dhikr; one is silent and one is loud. I chose the silent one because it is stronger and therefore more preferable."

Shaykh Amin al-Kurdi said in his book Tanwir al-qulub (Enlightenment of Hearts) p. 522:

Know that there are two kinds of dhikr: "by heart" (qalbi) and "by tongue" (lisani). Each has its legal proofs in the Qur'an and the Sunna. The dhikr by tongue, which combines sounds and letters, is not easy to perform at all times, because buying and selling and other such activities altogether divert one's attention from such dhikr. The contrary is true of the dhikr by heart, which is named that way in order to signify its freedom from letters and sounds. In that way nothing distracts one from his dhikr: with the heart remember Allah, secretly from creation, wordlessly and speechlessly. That remembrance is best of all: out of it flowed the sayings of the saints.

That is why our Naqshbandi masters have chosen the dhikr of the heart. Moreover, the heart is the place where the Forgiver casts his gaze, and the seat of belief, and the receptacle of secrets, and the source of lights. If it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is unsound, the whole body is unsound, as was made clear for us by the Chosen Prophet.

Something that confirms this was narrated on the authority of `A'isha: "Allah favors dhikr above dhikr seventyfold (meaning, silent dhikr over loud dhikr). On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will bring back human beings to His account, and the Recording Angels will bring what they have recorded and written, and Allah Almighty will say: See if something that belongs to my servant was left out? The angels will say: We left nothing out concerning what we have learnt and recorded, except that we have assessed it and written it. Allah will say: O my servant, I have something good of yours for which I alone will reward you, it is your hidden remembrance of Me." Bayhaqi narrated it.

Also on the authority of `A'isha: "The dhikr not heard by the Recording Angels equals seventy times the one they hear." Bayhaqi narrated it.



On Seclusion (khalwa, `uzla)
Silent dhikr is the dhikr of the servant who secludes himself away from people. Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: A bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is the best of mankind?" The Prophet said, "A man who strives for Allah's Cause with his life and property, and also a man who lives (all alone) in a mountain path among the mountain paths to worship his Lord and save the people from his evil." (English Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 501) [Arabic: Ja'a a`rabiyyun ila al-nabi faqala ya rasulallahi ayyu khayru al-nas? qala rajulun jahidun bi nafsihi wa malih...]

Abu Sa`id al-Khudri said: I heard the Prophet say: "There will come a time upon the people when the best property of a Muslim man will be his sheep which he will take to the tops of mountains and to the places of rainfall to run away with his Religion far from trials. (English Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 502) [Arabic: ya'ti `ala al-nasi zamanun khayru mali al-rajuli al-muslim...]

Malik narrates in his Muwatta': that Humayd ibn Malik ibn Khuthaym was sitting with Abu Hurayra in his land of al-`Aqiq when a group of the people of Madina came to him. They dismounted and came to him. Humayd said: Abu Hurayra said [to me]: "Go to my mother and say to her: Your son send his salam and asks you to send us a little food." I went and she gave me three loaves of bread and some olive oil and salt. I carried it to them. When I put it in front of them Abu Hurayra said: "Allahu akbar. Praise be to Allah Who has sated us with bread after the time when our only food was the two black ones: water and dates." The people did not leave anything except they ate it. When they went away, he said: "Son of my brother: be kind to your sheep, wipe their mucus from them, improve their pastures, and pray in their vicinity, for they are from the animals of Paradise. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, there will soon come a time upon people when the flock of sheep will be dearer to its owner than the sons of Marwan [= human company?]."

Muslim and Tirmidhi narrate on the authority of Abu Hurayra who said: "While on the road to Mecca the Prophet passed on top of a mountain called Jumdan (= frozen in its place), at which time he said: Move on (siru)! Here is Jumdaan Mountain: and the single-minded (al-mufarridun) are foremost. They said: What are the single-minded? He said: The men and women who remember Allah much (al-dhakirun Allah kathiran wa al-dhakirat)." Muslim related it in his Sahih, beginning of the book of Dhikr.

The version in Tirmidhi has: The Prophet said: "The single-minded (al-mufarridun) are foremost. They said: What are the single-minded? He said: Those who dote on the remembrance of Allah and are ridiculed because of it (al-mustahtirun bi dhikr Allah), and whose burdens the dhikr removes from them (yada`u `anhum al-dhikru athqalahum), so that they come to Allah fluttering (fa ya'tun Allaha khifaqan)."

al-Mundhiri said in al-Tharghib wa al-tarhib [The Encouragement to Good and the Discouragement from Evil]: "These are the ones who are fired up with the remembrance of Allah (al-muwalla`un bi dhikrillah)."

Nawawi writes in Sharh Sahih Muslim, Bk. 48, Ch. 1, Hadith 4: "Some pronounced it mufridun (= those who isolate themselves)... Ibn Qutayba and others said: The original meaning of this is those whose relatives have died and they have become single (in the world) with regard to their passing from them, so they have remained remembering Allah the Exalted. Another narration has: They are those who are moved at the mention or remembrance of Allah (hum al-ladhina ihtazzu fi dhikrillah), that is, they have become fervently devoted and attached to His remembrance. Ibn al-I`rabi said: ‘It is said that "a man becomes single" (farada al-rajul) when he becomes learned, isolates himself, and concerns himself exclusively with the observance of Allah's orders and prohibitions.'"

Dhikr in isolation or seclusion (khalwa) is corroborated by the hadith in Bukhari: "Seven people will be shaded by Allah..." The seventh is: "A person who remembers Allah in seclusion (dhakara Allaha khaaliyan) and his eyes get flooded with tears."

In Tirmidhi: `A'isha relates: "In the beginnings of Allah's Messenger's Prophethood, at the time Allah desired to bestow honor upon him and mercy upon His servants through him, he would not have any vision except it came to pass as surely as the sun rises. He continued like this for as long as Allah wished. Most beloved to him was seclusion (al-khalwa) and there was nothing he loved more than to be alone in seclusion." Tirmidhi narrates it and said: hasan sahih gharib. Bukhari and Muslim narrate something very similar through different chains and the word khala' is used instead of khalwa.

Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari in the commentary on Bukhari's chapter on seclusion:

Ibn al-Mubarak relates in Kitab al-raqa'iq from Shu`ba from Khubayb ibn `Abd al-rahman from Hafs ibn `Asim that `Umar said: "Take your part of fortune from seclusion." And what a good saying is al-Junayd's saying, may Allah grant us the benefit of his baraka: "Undergoing the difficulty of seclusion is easier than mixing with society unscathed." al-Khattabi said in his "Book of Seclusion" (Kitab al-`uzla): "If there were not in seclusion other than safety from backbiting and the sight of what is forbidden but cannot be eliminated, it would have been enough of an immense good." Bukhari's title [Chapter on Seclusion As Rest From Keeping Company Towards Evil] refers to the hadith cited by al-Hakim from Abu Dharr from the Prophet with a fair (hasan) chain: "Isolation is better than to be sociable in committing evil." However, what is usually retained is that it is a saying of Abu Dharr or Abu al-Darda'. Ibn Abi `Asim cited it... al-Qushayri said in his Risala: "The method of the one who enters seclusion is that he must have the belief that he is keeping people from his evil, not the reverse, for the former presupposes belittlement of himself, which is the attribute of the humble, while the latter indicates that he considers himself better than others, which is the attribute of the arrogant."

Abu Bakr ibn al-`Arabi writes in Sharh Sahih Tirmidhi, Book 45 (da`awat), Ch. 4:

If it is said that the times have become so corrupt that there is nothing better than isolating oneself, we say: one isolates oneself from people in one's actions, while he keeps mixing with them with his physical body, however, if he cannot succeed, then at that time he isolates himself from them physically but without entering into monasticism (ya`taziluhum bi badanihi wa la yadkhulu fi al-rahbaniyya) which is condemned and rejected by the Sunna.



Dhikr with the name "ALLAH"
Allah said in His Book: "And mention the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with a complete devotion" (73:8). Qadi Thana'ullah Panipati said in his Tafsir Mazhari (10:111): "Know that this verse points to the repetition of the name of the Essence (ism al-dhat)," that is: "Allah." The same meaning is intimated also by the end of verse 6:91 in Surat al-An`am: "Say ALLAH. Then leave them to their play and vain wrangling."

The Prophet said: "The Hour will not rise before Allah, Allah is no longer said on earth." And through another chain: "The Hour will not rise on anyone saying: Allah, Allah." Muslim narrated both in his Sahih, Book of Iman (belief), chapter 66 entitled: dhahab al-iman akhir al-zaman "The Disappearance of Belief at the End of Times."

Imam Nawawi said in his commentary on this chapter: "Know that the narrations of this hadith are unanimous in the repetition of the name of Allah the Exalted for both versions, and that is the way it is found in all the authoritative books." (Sharh Sahih Muslim, Dar al-Qalam, Beirut ed. vol. 1/2 p. 537)

Imam Muslim placed the hadith under the chapter-heading of the disappearance of belief (iman) at the end of times although there is no mention of belief in the hadith. This shows that saying "Allah, Allah" stands for belief. Those who say it show belief, while those who don't say it, don't show belief. Therefore those who fight those who say it, are actually worse than those who merely lack belief and do not say "Allah, Allah."

Nawawi highlights the authenticity of the repetition of the form to establish that the repetition of the words "Allah, Allah" are a sunna ma'thura (practice inherited from the Prophet and the Companions) as it stands. Ibn Taymiyya's claim that the words must not be used alone but obligatorily in contruct, e.g. with a vocative form ("Ya Allah"), contradicts the Sunna.

One who knows that the dhikr "Allah, Allah" has been mentioned by the Prophet himself, is not at liberty to muse whether it was used by the Companions or not in order to establish its basis. It suffices for its basis to establish that the Prophet said it.

One who knows that Allah, Allah is a dhikr used by the Prophet, is not at liberty to object to similar forms of dhikr such as HU and HAYY and HAQQ. "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call Him by them" (7:180). As for the hadith of the ninety-nine names, it does not limit the names of Allah to only ninety-nine, as Nawawi made clear in his commentary of that hadith.

It is established that Bilal used to make the dhikr Ahad, Ahad while undergoing torture. Ibn Hisham says in his Sira: Ibn Ishaq narrates [with his chain of transmission] saying: "Bilal was a faithful Muslim, pure of heart... Umayya ibn Khalaf used to bring him out in the hottest part of the day and throw him on his back in the open valley and have a great rock put on his chest; the he would say to him: You will stay here until you die or deny Muhammadand worship al-Lat and al-`Uzza. He used to say while he was enduring this: ahad, ahad -- One, One!" Ibn Hajar cites it in al-Isaba (1:171 #732).

It is noteworthy that the Siddiqi translation of Sahih Muslim mistranslates the first narration cited above as: "The Hour (Resurrection) would not come so long as Allah is supplicated in the world" and the second as "The Hour (Resurrection) would not come upon anyone so long as he supplicates Allah." This is wrong as translation goes, although it is right as a commentary, since saying Allah, Allah is supplicating Him, as is all worship according to the hadith of the Prophet: "Supplication: that is what worship is." (Tirmidhi and others narrate it.) However, concerning accuracy in translation, the word form highlighted by Nawawi must be kept intact in any explanation of this hadith. It is not merely "supplicating Allah." It is saying: Allah, Allah according to the Prophet's own words.



Dhikr "hu", "hayy", "haqq"
- "Hu" and "Hayy" are a pronoun and name of Allah Almighty in the Qur'an according to ayat al-Kursi:

Allahu la ilaha illa HU AL-HAYY al-Qayyum (2:255)

Allah! There is no god except HE, the LIVING the Self-Subsistent

- "Haqq" is one of the names of Allah in the hadith in Bukhari and Muslim enumerating the ninety-nine Names (see below).

Furthermore, the Prophet prayed to Allah with the following invocations:

(a) "Labbayka ilah al-Haqq" [At your command, O the God of Truth]. It is narrated in the book of Hajj in al-Nasa'i's Sunan, and in the book of Manasik in Ibn Majah's.

(b) "Anta al-Haqq" [You are Truth]. Bukhari and Muslim.

- Allah said: "Wa lillahi al-asma' al-husna fad`uhu biha" : To Allah belong the Most beautiful Names, so call Him with them (7:180). These names are not confined to ninety-nine, as Nawawi explicitly stated in his commentary on the hadith in Bukhari and Muslim whereby the Prophet said: "Inna lillahi ta`ala tis`atan wa tis`ina isman, mi'atan illa wahidan, man ahsaha dakhala al-jannat...": "There are ninety-nine names which belong to Allah, one hundred less one, whoever memorizes (or recites) them enters Paradise..."

- The Prophet used to call Allah by ALL His Names: "Allahumma inni ad`uka bi asma'ika al-husna kulliha": O Allah, I invoke You with all of Your beautiful Names. Narrated by Ibn Maja, book of Du`a; and by Imam Malik in his Muwatta', Kitab al-Shi`r.



Dhikr in Dim Surroundings
- Allah said to the Prophet: "Wa min al-layli fa tahajjad bihi nafilatan laka" : "And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee" (17:79), and He said: "Lo! the vigil of the night is a time when impression is more keen and speech more certain." (73:6).

The superiority of prayer at night is knows in all books of hadith and fiqh because of the elimination of worldly distractions at that time. That is why Imam Ghazali wrote on that topic: "The root of thought is the eye... He whose niyyat (intention) is fine and who aims high cannot be diverted by what occurs in front of him, but he who is weak fall prey to it. The medicine is to cut off the roots of these distractions and to shut up the eyes, to pray in a dark room, not to keep anything in front which may attract attention and not to pray in a decorated place. For this reason, the saints used to worship in dark, narrow and unspacious rooms." Ihya' `Ulum al-Din, Book of Salat.



Movement during dhikr
We have already mentioned above the version of the hadith of Muslim whereby the Prophet praised the mufarridun or those who are single-minded in their remembrance of Allah: Nawawi said: Another narration has: "They are those who shake or are moved at the mention or remembrance of Allah (hum al-ladhina ihtazzu fi dhikrillah), that is, they have become fervently devoted and attached to His remembrance."

Imam Habib al-Haddad said in Key to the Garden (p. 116):

Dhikr returns from the outward feature which is the tongue to the inward which is the heart, in which it becomes solidly rooted, so that it takes firm hold of its members. The sweetness of this is tasted by the one who has taken to dhikr with the whole of himself, so that his skin and heart are softened. As Allah said: "Then their skins and their hearts soften to the remembrance of Allah" (39:23).

The "softening of the heart" consists in the sensitivity and timidity that come as a result of nearness and tajalli [manifestation of one or more divine attributes]. Sufficient is it to have Allah as one's intimate companion!

As for the "softening of the skin." this is the ecstasy and swaying from side to side which result from intimacy and manifestation, or from fear and awe. No blame attaches to someone who has reached this rank if he sways and chants, for in the painful throes of love and passion he finds something which arouses the highest yearning....

The exhortation provided by fear and awe brings forth tears and forces one to tremble and be humble. These are the states of the righteous believers (abrar) when they hear the Speech and dhikr of Allah the Exalted. "Their skins shiver" (39:23), and then soften with their hearts and incline to dhikr of Him, as they are covered in serenity and dignity, so that they are neither frivolous, pretentious, noisy, or ostentatious. Allah the Exalted has not described them as people whose reasons have departed, who faint, dance, or jump about.



Hadiths on the Virtues of Dhikr
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "When a servant of Allah utters the words la ilaha illallah (there is no god 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." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, who says it is hasan gharib. al-Mundhiri included in al-Targhib 2:414)

Abu Hurayra also reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Renew your faith." "How can we renew our faith?" they asked. The Prophet replied: "Say always: la ilaha illallah." (Narrated by Ahmad with a fair chain of authorities)

Jabir reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "The best remembrance of Allah is to repeat la ilaha illallah and the best prayer (du'a) is al-hamdu lillah (all praise belongs to Allah)." (Narrated by Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Hakim who declared its chain sound)

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "There are two phrases that are light on the tongue but heavy on the scale of rewards and are dear to the Gracious One. These are: subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi, "Glorified is Allah with all praise to Him," and subhan Allah al-`azim, "Glorified is Allah, the Great." (Narrated by Bukhari, Muslim, and Tirmidhi)

Abu Hurayra also reported that the Prophet said: "I love repeating: subhan Allah, wa al-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar: "Glorified is Allah, and Praise be to Allah, and There is no God but Allah, and Allah is most Great," more than all that the sun shines upon." (Narrated by Muslim and Tirmidhi)

Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet 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 dearest to Allah are: subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi "Glorified is Allah with all praise to Him." (Narrated by Muslim and Tirmidhi)

In Tirmidhi's version, we also find the following: "The words most dear to Allah which He has chosen for His angels are: subhana rabbi wa bi hamdihi subhana rabbi wa bi hamdihi, "Glorified is my Lord with all praise to Him, Glorified is my Lord with all praise to Him!"

Jabir reported that the Prophet said: "Whoever says: "Glorified is Allah, the Great, with all praise to Him" will have a palm tree planted for him in Paradise." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, who said it is hasan)

Abu Sa`id reported that the Prophet said: "Perform the enduring goods deeds (al-baqiyat al-salihat) more frequently." They asked, "What are these enduring good deeds?" The Prophet replied: Takbir [allahu akbar], Tahlil [la ilaha illallah], Tasbih [subhan allah], al-hamdu lillah, and la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. (Narrated Nasa'i and Hakim, who said its chain is sahih.)

`Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud reported that the Prophet said: "During the Night Journey I met Ibrahim who said to me: O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Community, and tell them that the Paradise is of pure land, its water is sweet, and its expanse is vast, spacious and even. And its seedlings are:

subhan allah: Glory to Allah

wa al-hamdu lillah: and Praise to Allah

wa la ilaha illallah: and there is no god but Allah

wallahu akbar: and Allah is greatest.

(Narrated by Tirmidhi and Tabarani whose version adds: "There is no power nor strength save through Allah.")

Samura ibn Jundub reported that the Prophet said: "The dearest phrases to Allah are four: subhan Allah, wa al-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar: "Glorified is Allah, and Praise be to Allah, and There is no God but Allah, and Allah is most Great," There is no harm in beginning them in any order you choose while remembering Allah." (Narrated by Muslim)

Ibn Mas`ud reported that the Prophet said: "If anyone recites the last two verses of Surat al- Baqara at night (2:285-286), they will suffice for him." (Narrated by Bukhari and 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 Khuzayma in his Sahih mentioned it under the chapter "The Recitation of the Qur'an Equivalent in Reward to a Night Prayer."

Abu Sa`id al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet asked: "Can anyone of you recite a third of the Qur'an during the night?" The Companions considered this difficult and they said: "Who among us can do so, O Prophet of Allah?" Thereupon the Prophet said: "Allah, the One, the Eternally-Besought [i.e. surat al-Ikhlas] is a third of the Qur'an." (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "Whoever says: la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, wa huwa `ala kulli shay'in qadir -- There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner. His is the sovereignty, and His the praise, and He has power over everything -- a hundred times a day will have a reward equivalent to the reward for freeing ten slaves. In addition, 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." (Narrated by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)

In the version of Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Nasa'i, we find this addition: "Whoever says: subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi -- Glorified is Allah with all praise to Him -- 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."



Istighfar
Anas reported that he heard the Prophet 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." (Narrated by Tirmidhi who said it is hasan sahih.)

`Abd Allah ibn `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." (Narrated by Abu Dawud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Hakim, who said its chain of authorities is sound.)

Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, one of the wives of the Prophet, reported that one day the Prophet 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 said to her: "You have been in the same place since I left you?" She said: "Yes." Thereupon the Prophet said: "I recited four words three times after I left you and if these are to be weighed against what you have recited since morning these would outweigh them, and these words are:

subhan allahi wa bi hamdihi `adada khalqihi wa rida nafsihi wa zinata `arshihi wa midada kalimatihi

"Glory to Allah and praise to Him to 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." (Muslim and Abu Dawud)

Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet told them, "A servant of Allah said: ya rabbi laka al-hamdu kama yanbaghi li jalali wajhika wa li `azimi sultanik. My Lord! All praise belongs to You as much as befits Your Glory and Sublime Majesty. 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 said: My Lord! All praise belongs to You as much as befits Your Glory and Sublime Majesty. Allah said to them: Write it down as My servant has said until he should meet Me and I reward him for it." (Narrated by Ibn Majah)

Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn al-As said: "I saw the Prophet counting the glorifications of Allah on his right hand's fingers." (Narrated by Tirmidhi who said hasan gharib, Nasa'i, Abu Dawud, and Ahmad.)

Yusayra bint Yasir reported that the Prophet commanded them (the Emigrant women) to be regular in remembering Allah by saying tahlil (la ilaha illallah) and tasbih (subhan allah) and taqdis (allahu akbar) 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. (Narrated by Ahmad, Tirmidhi who said it is gharib, Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim. Shawkani in Nayl al-awtar 2:316 said that Suyuti declared sound (sahih) its chain of transmission.)



Use of prayer-beads (masbaha, sibha, tasbih)
Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas reported that once the Prophet saw a woman who had some date-stones or pebbles which she was using as beads to glorify Allah. The Prophet said to her, "Let me tell you something which would be easier or more excellent for you than that." So he told her to say instead:

subhan allahi `adada ma khalaqa fi s-sama',
subhan allahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-ard,
subhan allahi `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
subhan allahi `adada ma huwa khaliq,
Allahu akbaru 'adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
Allahu akbaru 'adada ma khalaqa fi l-'ard,
Allahu akbaru 'adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
Allahu akbaru 'adada ma huwa khaliq,
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma khalaqa fi l-'ard,
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma huwa khaliq,
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma khalaqa fi al-ard,
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma huwa khaliq,
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-ard,
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma huwa khaliq.
"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."
and then repeat all of the above four times but substituting "Glory be to Allah" by:
- "Allah is the most great" in the first repetition,
- "Praise be to Allah" in the second repetition,
- "There is no god but Allah" in the third repetition, and
- "There is no change and no power except with Allah" in the fourth repetition. (Narrated by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi who said it is hasan, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, al-Nasa'i, and al-Hakim, who said it is sahih according to the criterion of Muslim. Dhahabi concurred.)
Safiyya bint Huyayy the Prophet's wife said: The Prophet came in to see me and in front of me there were four thousand date-stones with which I was making tasbih [counting subhan Allah]. He said: "You make tasbih with so many! Shall I teach you what surpasses your number of tasbih?" She said: "Teach me!" He said: "Say: Subhan Allah `adada khalqihi -- Glory to Allah the number of His creation." Narrated by Tirmidhi who said it is gharib, and both al-Hakim and Suyuti declared it sahih.

Allah says in His Holy Book to His Holy Prophet, "Remind people, for reminding benefits them." The reminder of Muslims has various forms, public and private. A public form of this reminder is the adhan. The masbaha or sibha or tasbih, or prayer-beads, has had since the earliest Companions the function of a private reminder. It is for that reason that the tasbih was called by them mudhakkir or mudhakkira -- "reminder," and there is a narration traced to the Prophet whereby he said: ni`ma al-mudhakkir al-sibha: "What a good reminder are the prayer-beads!" Shawkani narrates it from `Ali ibn Abi Talib as evidence for the usefulness of prayer-beads in Nayl al-awtar (2:317) from Daylami's narration in Musnad al-firdaws with his chain, and Suyuti cites it in his fatwa on prayer-beads in al-Hawi li al-fatawi (2:38).

The statement propagated nowadays by "Salafis" whereby counting dhikr on beads is an innovation, is undoubtedly false. The use of beads for counting dhikr is definitely established as a practice allowed by the Prophet and a Sunna of the Companions. This is proven by the sahih hadith of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, who related that the Prophet once saw a woman using some datestones or pebbles (nawan aw hasan), and did not prohibit her to use them. This hadith is found in Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nisa'i, Ibn Maja, Ibn Hibban, and Hakim. Dhahabi declared it sahih. Another sahih hadith to that effect was related by Safiyya, who was seen by the Prophet, Peace be upon him, counting "Subhan Allah" on four thousand date stones. This hadith is found in Tirmidhi, Hakim, and Tabarani, and was confirmed as sahih by Suyuti. It is also related from the Prophet's freedman, Abu Safiyya, that a mat would be spread for him and a basket made of palm leaves brought which was filled with pebbles with which he would make tasbih until mid-day. Then it would be taken away, and then brought back after he had prayed, and he would make tasbih again until evening. This is narrated in Ibn Hajar's Isaba (7:106 #652) with his chain, who says that Bukhari narrates it [in his Tarikh], as well as al-Baghawi through two chains. Shawkani cites it, as seen below.

Shawkani said in Nayl al-awtar (2:316-317):

The Prophet justified the counting of dhikr on the fingers by the fact that the fingers will be questioned and will speak, that is, they will witness to that effect. It follows that counting tasbih on them, because of this aspect, is better than using dhikr-beads or pebbles. But the two other hadiths [of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas and Safiyya bint Huyayy] indicate the permissibility of counting tasbih with date-stones and pebbles, and similarly with dhikr-beads because there is no distinguishing factor between them in the Prophet's stipulation to the two women concerning it, and no disapproval of it. As for directing to what is better: this does not negate permissibility (la yunafi al-jawaz). There are reports to that effect.

It is related in Hilal al-Haffar's monograph through Mu`tamar ibn Sulayman from Abu Safiyya the Prophet's freedman that a mat would be spread for him and a basket made of palm leaves brought which was filled with pebbles with which he would make tasbih until mid-day. Then it would be taken away, and then brought back after he had prayed, and he would make tasbih again until evening. Imam Ahmad narrates it in Kitab al-zuhd [with his chain].

Ahmad also narrates from al-Qasim ibn `Abd al-Rahman that Abu al-Darda' had a bag filled with date-stones and that whenever he prayed the noon prayer he would bring them out one by one and make tasbih on them until they were finished.

Ibn Sa`d in his Tabaqat narrates [with his chains] that Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas used to count tasbih on pebbles, and that Fatima bint al-Husayn ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib used to make tasbih with a thread stringed with knots, and that Abu Hurayra made tasbih with a string of pebbles (al-nawa al-majmu`).

`Abd Allah the son of Imam Ahmad narrated in Zawa'id al-zuhd that Abu Hurayra had a thread stringed with one thousand knots and that he would not sleep until he had counted tasbih on them.

al-Daylami narrates in Musnad al-firdaws through Zaynab bint Sulayman ibn `Ali, and from Umm al-Hasan bint Ja`far from her father from her grandfather from `Ali, and it is traced back to the Prophet: "What a good reminder are the prayer-beads!"

Suyuti related reports with their chains in his monograph on the subject entitled al-Minha min al-sibha and it is part of his collected fatwas. He says towards the end of it: "It is not related from any one of the Salaf nor the Khalaf that it is forbidden to count tasbih on the sibha (dhikr-beads). On the contrary, most of them used to count tasbih on it, and they did not consider it disliked."

The Indian hadith scholar Zakariyya al-Khandlawi similarly relates in his book Hayat al-sahaba that Abu Hurayra said: "I recite istighfar (formula of asking forgiveness) 12,000 times daily" and that, according to his grandson, he had a piece of thread with 1,000 knots and would not go to sleep until he had said subhan allah (Glory to Allah) on all of these knots. According to her grand-daughter through Imam al-Husayn, Fatima also used to count her dhikr on a thread with knots.

Mawlana Zakariyya continues, "It is well-known that many other Companions of the Prophet, Peace be upon him, used beads in their private devotions, such as Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas himself, Abu Safiyya the slave of the Prophet, Abu Sa`d, Abu Darda', and Fatima, May Allah be pleased with them all. Stringing or not stringing the beads together does not make any difference."

It is well-established that counting dhikr is a Sunna of the Prophet, Peace be upon him. He himself advised his wives, `Ali, and Fatima to count tasbih (subhan allah), tahmid (al-hamdu lillah), and takbir (allahu akbar) thirthy-three times each before going to bed at night. Ibn `Amr relates that he saw the Prophet, count the times he said subhan allah on his right hand. This does not mean that it is not allowed to use the left also, as the Prophet simply said: "Count [the dhikr] on your fingers."

Imam Suyuti recounted in one of his fatwas entitled al-Minha fi al-sibha (The profit derived from using dhikr-beads) the story of `Ikrima, who asked his teacher `Umar al-Maliki about dhikr-beads. `Umar answered him that he had also asked his teacher Hasan al-Basri about it and was told: "Something we have used at the beginning of the road we are not desirous to leave at the end. I love to remember Allah with my heart, my hand, and my tongue." Suyuti comments: "And how should it be otherwise, when the prayer-beads remind one of Allah Most High, and a person seldom sees prayer-beads except he remembers Allah, which is among the greatest of its benefits."

As for Albani's statements against the prayer-beads, his rejection of the hadith ni`ma al-mudhakkir al-sibha (see his Silsila da`ifa #83), and his astounding claim that whoever carries dhikr-beads in his hand to remember Allah is misguided and innovating, then we direct the reader to their refutation in Mahmud Sa`id's Wusul al-tahani bi ithbat sunniyyat al-sibha wa al-radd `ala al-albani (The alighting of mutual benefit and the confirmation that the dhikr-beads are a Sunna, and the refutation of Albani).

As for the idea that the prayer-beads come from Buddhism or Christianity, it was one of the Hungarian Jewish scholar Ignaz Goldziher's (fl. 1897 CE) legacies to orientalism.



Invoking blessings on the Prophet (salawat)
Allahumma salli `ala muhammadin wa `ala ali muhammadin wa sallim. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the Family of Muhammad, and grant them peace!

We have already expounded elsewhere on the fact that there is no such thing as invoking too much salawat on the Prophet and that we should be clear of anyone who makes such a claim. We will only mention here some evidence on this topic by way of a reminder.

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "If people 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." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, who graded it hasan.)

The author of Fath al-`allam said: "This hadith proves that it is incumbent on one to remember Allah and invoke blessings on the Prophet while sitting in an assembly, for whether we take the words "cause of grief" to mean torment of fire or any other chastisement, obviously a punishment is incurred only when an oblig