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ZIKR – REMENBRANCE OF ALLAH
Zikr means Remembrance of Allah. Zikr in different forms had
been used in the Noble.
Allah’s remembrance takes away any mental disturbances and
forces one to perform good and virtuous deeds, both in private
or public and keeps him away from evil-doing.
A prayer is the source for the remembrance of Allah.
“And the faithful ones whose hearts are comforted by the
remembrance of Allah.
Remembrance of Allah certainly brings comfort to all hearts”
(13:28)
“Whoever ignores My guidance will live a destitute life and on
the Day of Judgment
We will raise him blind (unable to see Paradise)” (20:124)
“And whoever turns away from remembrance of the Beneficent God,
We appoint for him a Shaitaan, so he becomes his associate.”
“Do not be like those who forget about Allah. He will make them
forget themselves.
These are the sinful people.” (59:19)
“They have forgotten all about Allah, Who also has ignored
them.” (9:67)
“When a Satanic thought starts to bother the pious ones, they
understand and see “Remember your Lord deep within yourselves,
humbly and privately – instead of shouting out loud – (in
prayers) in the mornings and evenings and do not be of heedless
ones.” (7:205)
Factors affecting God’s remembrance:
1. The Noble Qur’an and its beautiful Ayah is a good factor,
e.g.
“This is a reminder so that any one who wants to seek guidance
from his Lord can do so.” (73:19)
2. “I am Allah, the only ‘Ilah (one deserving to be worshiped).
Worship Me and be steadfast in prayer to have My name (always)
in your mind.” (20:14)
3. “Believers, do
not your wealth and children divert you from remembering Allah.
Whoever is diverted will suffer a great loss.” (63:9)
4. “Shaitaan has dominated them and has made them forget the
guidance of Allah.
They are shaitaan’s party and the party of Shaitaan will
certainly suffer a great loss.” (58:19)
5. Committing sins and following one’s desires are also among
the factors that make us forget Allah. (Ghurar al-Hikam)
How a pious man confronts Shaitan:
Whenever a Satanic thought enters his mind, the pious man busies
himself with Allah’s remembrance. He thinks that if he commits
the sin he will be pushed away from His Blessings. Shaitan
misguides him by reminding that door of repentance was still
open.
The pious man argues that what was the guarantee that he will
get chance of repentance, and its acceptance by Allah.
Sometimes, Shaitaan tries to remind the pious about his
abundance of prayer and love of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and assures
their intercession. But the mumin instead of being proud and
conceited by such praise should reply: “If I commit any sins, my
intercessors will be upset with me. This sin will become a
curtain between me and Imam Hussayn (a.s.)
When two angry persons are fighting and if one of them uses foul
language, the Shaitaan inspires the other to reciprocate with
foul language. If the other person is a mumin, then he pauses
and thinks that if he also uses foul language then there is no
difference between them. A real man is one who always keeps the
end in view!
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: “One who recalls Allah at
market place, with sincerity, in the midst of the people’s
obliviousness and their engagement in its affairs, Allah writes
for him a thousand merits and forgives him on the Day of
Judgment with a forgiveness that has not occurred to any human
heart.” (Uddat al-Dai’) “Therefore, remember Me; I will remember
you with My bounty; you remember Me with obedience and worship I
will remember you with beneficence, comfort and (My) pleasure. (Uddat
al-Dai’)
Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “Remember Allah
at two places, one at the time of distress and when you are
about to commit a small sin and to remember Allah at the time of
sin is more important because His remembrance is a hindrance
between the person and the sin.” “Truly felicitous person is one
who is the preacher and sermonizer for himself.”
Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) said: “Always remember Allah, because
His remembrance is a hindrance between him and unlawful deeds.”
Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “Surely Allah, the Blessed,
the High, says: ‘Whoever is too pre-occupied with My Remembrance
to be able to ask Me (for his needs), I give him the best of
what I give to him who asks Me.” (al-Mahasin, ad-Dawat)
The Complete Zikr or Remembrance:
Although the remembrance of Allah and the Zikr of that Sacred
Essence is a quality of the heart, and if the heart is immersed
in Zikr, all the benefits that accrue from it are obtained by
the heart, it is better that the remembrance in the heart be
followed by oral Zikr. The most perfect and the meritorious of
the degree of Zikr is that it should be present in all levels of
a man’s, that its domain should extend to the outward and the
inward, the manifest and the concealed realms of his being.
If attention is diverted to Ayah 152 of Surah al-Baqarah which
says: “therefore remember Me and I shall remember you. Thank Me
and do not hide truth about Me.”
What is “Remembrance”? Ayatullah Shaikh Abdullah Mamkani
addresses his son, saying “Son! Always, every moment, remember
Allah. It increases your life-span and wealth, saves you from
calamities, distances you from Shaitaan, and brings you near
Allah.
Our A’immah has stated: “The identity of our Shia is that he
always remembers Allah in solitude (when he is alone). He is
saved from “Nifaaq” and Hell and is rewarded a place in
Paradise. If there is no remembrance of Allah and us in any
meeting, then participants are liable to befall calamities.” (Usul-e-Kafi
2 page 980). Remembrance should be through heart, which is
seventy times more than through tongue only.
If we remember Allah as much as possible, say 16 hours a day
while we are awake, we
will not commit any sin. The very fact that we have committed a
sin shows we forgot Allah. Choice is ours!
Wasiyatnama-Last will & Testament Ayatulla Shaikh Abdulla
Mamkani
Imam Ali’s First Treatise on the Islamic
Ethics & Education Zainal Abideen Qurbani Lahiji
Seeking Allah’s Protection from Shaitaan Ayatulla Sayyid Abdul
Husayn Dastaghaib
Forty Hadith Imam Khumaini (r.a.)
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