Reflections from the Qur’an (14): Secrets of Dhikr Which Many of Us Have Overlooked

Introduction

Alhamdulillāh… All perfect praise and thanks are due to the Almighty Allāh. I send peace and blessings upon Ḥabībī Muḥammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path till judgement day.

This is part 14 of our ‘Reflections from the Qur’an’ series, which is posted here on GSalam.Net. It started during Ramadān 2014. This is the fourth entry for the Ramadān 2015. It’s revealing some secrets of dhikr which many of us have overlook. I pray that Allah grants us a better understanding for His book and religion.

Our Verse of Reflection

In Surah Al-Aḥzāb, 41, Allah enjoins believers to remembering Him often. For that, He says:

يَـٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا ٱذْكُرُوا ٱللَّـهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا ﴿٤١﴾ـ

“Believers, remember Allah very often.”

Unlike in our other reflections, in this reflections, I’m going to share with you, briefly, the importance of dhikr in the life of the Muslim, before moving on to reflect on the verse.

The Importance of Dhikr (Zikr)

The fact that Allah enjoins us to dhikr is an enough indication of its significance. This significance gains more weight when Allah further emphasizes the command in the same statement. In other words, the fact that Allah urges us with emphasis to engage ourselves in dhikr implies that dhikr is one of the strongest and most secured sources of salvation for the Muslim.

We all know that, in order to achieve success in life, one has to be productive. Productivity in the sense of doing that, which invites His pleasure, and gets us closer to Him, by serving the purpose of our existence.

In order to be productive, we need a peaceful environment as well as peace of mind and comfort. But what not many of us know is that, the ultimate comfort is attained when you have inner-peace. And that is earned through establishing a strong and solid bonding with Allah, which is through constant remembering of Him (dhikr). Allah affirms this in Surah al-Ra‘d, 28:

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ، أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

Those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah, surely in the remembrance of Allah hearts can find comfort.”

Since remembering Allah gives you tranquility, which earns you focus, we’re required to be engaged in dhikr even during war. For that, Allah says in Surah al-Anfāl, 45:

يَـٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا إِذَا لَقِيتُمْ فِئَةً فَٱثْبُتُوا وَٱذْكُرُوا ٱللَّـهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٤٥﴾ـ

“Believers! When you encounter a party, remain firm and remember Allah much, so that you may succeed.”

Also, even in the marketplace, where one is expected to have full attention for his trade, business, and transactions, we are required to remember Allah. We required to remember him there, always and abundantly. For that Allah says in Surah al-Jumu’ah, 10:

فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُوا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱبْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّـهِ وَٱذْكُرُوا ٱللَّـهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٠﴾ـ

When the prayer is ended, disperse in the land and seek to obtain [something] of Allah’s bounty; and remember Allah much, so that you may prosper.

At war, it’s either you lose, which means possible death or captivity, or win. At the marketplace, whether you’re the seller or the buyer, your focus is to make a good bargain. If we are required to do dhikr in the midst of these crucial situations, what other situation would we be excused from remembering Allah? This means that, whatever we’re engaged with, a Muslim should ensure that he’s engaged in dhikr as well. This eases for us our work and sees us through its success.

This also means that, anything we do, if it deters us from remembering Allah, then, it’s better that we abstain from it, and do something else, that if it’s not going to encourage us to remember Him more, it won’t deter us from doing it.

That’s why Allah has warned us beforehand, that this world is cursed, and so is anything therein, except the remembrance of Allah or anything that leads to it. This is understood from the ḥadīth of Imām al-Tirmidhī from the narration of Sayyidinā Abī Hurairah, raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu, that the Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

الدُّنْيَا مَلْعُونَةٌ، مَلْعُونٌ مَا فِيهَا؛ إِلاّ ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ وَمَا وَالاَهُ، وَعَالمٍ أَوْ مُتَعَلِّمٍ

“The world is cursed. So is everything in it; is cursed, except for the remembrance of Allah and what facilitates it, the scholar and the seeker of knowledge.”

Now, let’s reflect on the implications of the verse at hand.

Reflections on the Verse

The implication of this verse (al-Aḥzāb, 41) is repeated in several other verses in the Qur’an. All of which command that dhikr should be abundant, before one is entitled for its virtues.

Upon reflecting on this verse, we find that there are only two instances in the Qur'an where Allah enjoined us in one statement to do something and stress that it's done unconditionally and unlimited. These instances are:

1. Remembering Allah very often. Allah always loves the righteous among His servants as those who remember Him very often. And when he commands them to do dhikr, He asks that they do it abundantly.
2. Sending peace and blessings upon the prophet; very often. This is also emphasized in Sūrah al-Aḥzāb.

In addition to the verses above, among the verses that command us to often do dhikr is the verse of Sūrah al-Aḥzāb, which says:

وَٱلذَّٰكِرِينَ ٱللَّـهَ كَثِيرًا وَٱلذَّٰكِرَٰتِ أَعَدَّ ٱللَّـهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ﴿٣٥﴾ـ

“Those who remember Allah more often, males and females, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great deal of rewards.”

The Secret of Dhikr Many of Us Have Overlooked

When you sit for dhikr, it's either with one of two objectives: to gain something you're wishing for; or to get closer to Allah. Let me elaborate on this.

Dhikr with the Objective to Gain a Wish

When you do dhikr in order to achieve a particular objective, Allah will earn you that, accordingly. Therefore, if you sit for dhikr and you do a certain dhikr for a certain number of times, for a particular wish of yours to be granted, that wish will be granted, and that determines your reward for that amount of dhikr you’ve done.

Dhikr with the Objective to Get Closer to Allah.

Doing it with the objective to get close to Allah allows you to remember Him with open-mindedness. Thus, you remember Him, not because you want something material in particular. Instead, you do so because you only want His pleasure, to get closer with Him and surrender yourself to His plans. This is what the ḥadīth al-Qudsī implies:

مَنْ شَغَلَهُ ذِكْرِي عَنْ مَسْأَلَتِي؛ أَعْطَيْتُهُ أَفْضَلَ مَا أُعْطِي السَّائِلِينَ

“Whoever remembering Me engages him from asking me, I will grant him the best of what I grant those who ask.”

Therefore, if you intend to be a ‘dhikr holic’, always do it to please Him and get closer to Him. This is although, there’s nothing wrong with doing it with a wish in mind. Only that one should remember that; open-ended dhikr which is not tied to ‘agenda’ entitles you for open-ended rewards. Whiles, exclusive dhikr, which is tied to ‘agenda’ entitles you for what you do it for.

This is to say, every single aspect of our obligatory prayers consist dhikr, in addition to their respective rituals and actions. But, dhikr in its literal terms only involves the tongue and heart, or sometimes the heart alone.

Now, What’s More Important than Dhikr?

More important than dhikr, is observing Allah’s basic commands and our purpose of existence on this earth. Thus, a Muslim should, first and foremost, hold on to Imān and the pillars of Imān. He should then, next in line, hold on to Islam and the pillars of Islam. Dhikr comes in line of the importance, after he’s fulfilled the above.

Conclusion

The more you remember Allah the happier you become. The happier you are the more positive you grow. The more positive you grow, the more productive you become. A productive Muslim is an added value, and never a burden in the community. With that, you become an ally of Allah, inshā Allah.

To achieve this:

• Observe the Dos and Don’ts of Allah.
• Always make your dhikr an open-ended.
• Intend to engage in dhikr whenever you have free time.

One should always remember that, it’s with dhikr, supplication, invocations, and other righteousness, that Allah saves our societies from His punishment.

Also, dhikr is one of the powerful tools for attaining inner-peace in the Muslim’s life. People who are consistent in zikr are given brightness in the face, lightweight hearts, and acceptance in the hearts of good people.

O Allah, help us to remember You, be thankful to You, and to worship You in the best way, pleasant to You. Amīn.

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Until our next article, I leave you in Allah’s protection.

Allāh knows best.
Allāhu Ḥāfiẓ 🙂