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Dhikr-Remembrance
of Allah
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From Ibn Juzayy's Tafseer
Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said, "Its meaning is 'Remember
Me with obedience and I will remember you with
reward'." It has been said that it means 'Remember Me
with supplication and glorification and the like of
that.
The commentators, particularly the Sufis, have said a
great deal in commentary on this subject using words
with restricted and qualified meanings, and there is no
proof of restriction. In general this ayah is an
explanation of the nobility of dhikr, which the saying
of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, made clear, as he narrated it from his
Lord, "I am in My slave's opinion of Me, and I am with
him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in
himself, I remember him in My self. If he remembers Me
in an assembly, I will remember him in an assembly
better than them."
There are three types of dhikr:
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the dhikr of the heart,
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dhikr with the tongue,
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with the two of them together.
Know that dhikr is the best of actions in general, even
if in some hadith there is related some superiority to
some other action, such as the prayer, etc., for that
is only because of what they contain of the meaning of
dhikr and being present with Allah ta'ala.
There are three aspects to the proof of the superiority
of dhikr:
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First, the texts which have been narrated
about its superiority over all other actions. The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "Shall I not tell you of the best of
your actions, and the most pure of them with your
King, and the most exalted of them in your ranks,
[those which are] better for you than your meeting
your enemy and striking their necks and they striking
your necks?" They said, "Certainly, Messenger of
Allah." He said, "Dhikr of Allah." The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was
asked, "Which actions are the best?" He said, "Dhikr
of Allah." Someone said, "Is dhikr better or jihad in
the way of Allah?" He said, "Even if the mujahid were
to strike at the kuffar until his sword broke and he
was coloured with the blood, the person of dhikr
would be better than him."
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Second, that Allah exalted is He, wherever He
commands us to do dhikr or praises dhikr, He has
stipulated a great deal of it, so He says,
"Remember Allah with much remembrance" and
"those who remember Allah a great deal" and He
does not stipulate that for any other action.
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Third, that dhikr has something extra which
belongs to it especially and does not belong to
anything else, which is presence in the Highest
Presence, and arrival to nearness which is indicated
by that which is narrated in the hadith which mention
'sitting with' and 'withness', for Allah, exalted is
He, says [in the hadith Qudsi], "I sit with
the one who remembers Me", and He says, "I am in My
slave's opinion of Me, and I am with him when
he remembers Me."
People have two stations with respect to their
intentions in dhikr:
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the intention of the generality is to earn rewards,
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the intention of the elect is nearness and presence.
How great a distance there is between the two stations,
and how great it is between one who takes his reward
and he is behind a veil, and one who draws near until
he is one of the elect of the beloved ones.
Know that dhikr has many types, of which there is "La
ilaha illa'llah", and tasbeeh, takbir, praise, "La
hawla wa law quwwata illa billah", "husbuna'llahu wa
ni'ma'l-wakeel" and the dhikr of every name of Allah ta'ala, and sending blessings on the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, and seeking forgiveness,
etc. Each dhikr has its special quality and its fruit.
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As for "La ilaha illa'llah - There is no god but
Allah", its fruit is
tawhid, and I mean the tawhid of the elect
because every believer obtains the tawhid of the
ordinary people.
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As for takbir "Allahu Akbar - Allah is greater", its
fruit is exaltation of the Possessor of Majesty.
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As for praise and the
[Divine] Names whose meanings are good treatment and
mercy such as ar-Rahman "The Universally Merciful"
and ar-Raheem "The Specifically Compassionate" and al-Kareem "The Nobly Generous", and
al-Ghaffar "The
Oft Forgiving" and the like of them, their fruit is
three stations, gratitude, strength of hope, and
love, for the One Who Treats [us] Well is unavoidably
beloved.
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As for "La hawla wa law quwwata illa billah - There
is no power and no strength but by Allah" and "husbuna'llahu wa ni'ma'l-wakeel - Allah is enough
for us and an excellent guardian" their fruit is
dependence on Allah and surrendering [all affairs] to
Him, and strong trust in Allah.
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As for the [Divine] Names whose meanings are showing
and grasping, such as al-'Aleem "the All-Knowing" and as-Samee' "the All-Hearing" and
al-Baseer "the
All-Seeing" and al-Qareeb "the Near" and the like of
them, their fruit is muraqabah "fearful
watchfulness".
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As for sending blessings on the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, its fruit is strong
love for him, and carefully guarding the following of
his sunnah.
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As for istighfar "seeking forgiveness" its fruit is
going straight in taqwa, and
guarding the preconditions of turning in penitence
[to Allah from one's wrongdoing] along with the
hearts rejection of the causes which led to previous
wrong actions.
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Then the fruit of the dhikr which unites the names
and attributes is gathered together in the unique
dhikr which is our saying, "Allah, Allah". This is
the goal and the limit.
Source: Book & Web Design
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