DHIKR- REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH (SWT)

BismillahirRahmanirRaheem
'O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.' (Surah 33: 41)Al
Ahzab

...And for men and women who engage much in Allah's remembrance, for them
has Allah SWT prepared forgiveness and great reward.(Surah Al Ahzab:35)

The Nabiyy SAW said "Allah SWT says: Indeed I am as My servant presumes Me
to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me, so if he remembers Me to
himself I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers Me amongst a company I
remember him amongst a company greater than it, and if he approaches Me with
a distance of palm lenght I shall approach him a distance of arm lenght, and
if he approaches Me a distance of arm lenght I shall approach him the
distance of two outstretched arms, and if he takes a step towards Me I
hastily step towards him."

The Prophet SAW also said " Shall I not inform you of the best of deeds and
the most sanctifying of deeds before your Lord, which does more to raise
your positions with Him and are better for you than the disbursement of gold
and money or battle with the enemy?" The companions said: Indeed! Inform us,
The Nabiyy SAW then said: "Remembrance of Allah SWT".

In the Qur'an, Surah 7:205 Sura Araf
'And do thou bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul with humility
and reverence without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and
be not of those who are unheedful'

'And glorify Him morning and evening' (33:42)

 A man came to the Nabiyy SAW and said 'O Messenger of Allah SWT, The rites
of Islam are too much for me, so tell me of something that I might hold fast
to.  The Prophet SAW said to him; "Let not your tongue cease from the
remembrance of Allah"

The Nabiyy also said, "The comparison of one who remembers Allah and one who
does not is like that of the living and the dead."

The Prophet SAW said, "Whenever a group of people sit in a gathering and
they fail to remember Allah and send prayers upon the Nabiyy SAW, they incur
a loss upon themselves and if Allah willed, He would punish them, and if He
willed He would forgive them"

The Prophet SAW said, "Whoever takes a seat and fails to remember Allah, has
incurred upon himself a loss from Allah, and whoever lies down (relaxes) and
fails to remember Allah has incurred upon himself a loss from Allah Ta'ala."

Reciting the Holy Qur'an is one of the beautiful ways of remembering Allah
Ta'ala.  The recital of the Qur'an either with understanding or mere recital
without understanding are all acts of worship. Regarding the reward of mere
recital, the Nabiyy SAW said; "  Whoever recites a letter from the Qur'an,
there is for him a reward for it, and every good deed is multiplied ten
times.  I do not say that Alif Laam Miim is a letter, but 'Alif' is a
letter, 'Laam' is a letter and Miim is a letter.  (However, an earnest
effort must be made in understanding the Qur'an as Allah exhorts in Surah
38:39).

The Nabiyy SAW said, "Whoever recites 'Subhanallah wa bihamdihi a hundred
times daily, his sins shall be forgiven (wa in kana mithla zabadil bahri)
(Rw. Bukhari and Muslim)

The prophet SAw also admonishes that we should repent unto our Lord for He
SAW also seeks for repentance a hundred times daily. ( Rw. Muslim)

Notes
* Always be among those who remembert Allah constantly as this will grant us
the opportunity of being amongst those remembered by Allah Ta'ala.
* Whosoever is being remebered by Allah will be granted Allah's protection
and security against Shaytan.  These are also the people who will enjoy
Allah's Mercies and Generosity and inshaAllah, his prayers and requests
shall be granted.
* Men and women alike are enjoined to endeavour to get nearer Allah Ta'ala
i.e., all should cultivate the desire to get nearer to Allah.
* We should remember Allah Ta'ala with the heart and the tongue
* Remembrance of Allah SWT sanitises the heart
* Repeating La ilaha ilallah many times and performing it with your heart.
This blessed or beautiful word sanitises the heart.
* Dhikr can take the form of Istigfar, Salaat on the Nabiyy SAW, Invocation
of Allah's name and Praises of Allah, Recitation of the Qur'an Al Kareem
etc.
* We should always remember Allah at all times, it should be a natural
habit, when we eat and drink, when we go to sleep and when we wake, when
alone or in groups, at work and at home, when we are happy or miserable or
bored, when we are sick and when healthy.  And MashaAllah Barakallah, for
the women to keep busy (?)in the kitchen while preparing or waiting for the
meal to cook, we should try to remember Allah and thank Him on High, The
Sustener for the sustenance..

'Therefore remember Me, I will remember you and be grateful to Me and reject
not faith' 2:152.



Wasalallahu 'ala nabiyyul Kareem wa 'ala hahlihi wasahbihi wasalam.
MLGhandi