20/12/2023
👉The Excellence of Zikr
Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) says:
فَاذْكُرُوْنِيْٓ اَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوْا لِيْ وَلَا تَكْفُرُوْنِ
''Therefore remember Me, I will remember you and be grateful to Me, and never be ungrateful to me''
Soorah al-Baqarah, Aayah 152
يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيْرًا
'O you who believe! Remember Allaah with much remembrance''
Soorah al-Ahzaab, Aayah 41
وَالذّٰكِرِيْنَ اللّٰهَ كَثِيْرًا وَّالذّٰكِرٰتِۙ اَعَدَّ اللّٰهُ لَهُمْ مَّغْفِرَةً وَّاَجْرًا عَظِيْمًا
'And for men and women who engage much in Allaah's remembrance, for them has Allaah prepared forgiveness and great reward''
Soorah al-Ahzaab, Aayah 35
وَاذْكُرْ رَّبَّكَ فِيْ نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَّخِيْفَةً وَّدُوْنَ الْجَــهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْاٰصَالِ وَلَا تَكُنْ مِّنَ الْغٰفِلِيْنَ
And bring your Lord to remembrance in your [very] soul, with humility and remember without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not of those who are unheedful''
Soorah al-A'raaf, Aayah 205
The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:
''The comparison of the one who remembers Allaah and the one who does not remember Allaah, is like that of the living and the dead'' [1]
''Should 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?''
They [the companions] said: ''Indeed! Inform us.''
He (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) then said:
''Remembrance of Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala)'' [2]
The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) also said:
''Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) 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 draws near to Me the span of a hand I draw near to him the span of an arm, and if he draws near to Me the span of an arm I draw near to him the span of two outstretched arms, and if he takes a step towards Me I hastily step towards him'''' [3]
On the authority of 'Abdullaah Ibn Busr (radhi-yallaahu 'anhu): ''A man said to the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam): ''O Messenger of Allaah, the rites of Islaam are much for me, so tell me of something that I might hold fast to''
He (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:
''Let not your tongue cease from the remembrance of Allaah'' [4]
The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) also said:
''Whoever recites a letter of Allaah's Book has for it, a merit and ten more like it, not to say that alif, laam, meem are one letter but rather alif is a letter, laam is a letter and meem is a letter'' [5]
'Uqbah Ibn 'Aamir (radhi-yallaahu 'anhu) relates that Allaah's Messenger (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) came out when we were in as-Suffah and said:
''Are there any of you who would wish to go every day to Buthaan or al-'Aeeq [i.e., the name of two ditches in al-Madeenah] in the early morning and return from it with two she-camels without incurring any sin or severing relations?''
We [the companions] said: ''We would indeed love that, O Messenger of Allaah''
He (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:
''Then you should go to the mosque and acquire some knowledge, or recite two aayaat from the Book of Allaah, that would be better for you than two she-camels, and three aayaat are better than three she-camels, and four aayaat are better than four she-camels, and the same for a like number of male camels'' [6]
The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) also said:
''Whoever takes a seat and fails to remember Allaah, has incurred upon himself a loss from Allaah, and whoever lies down [relaxes] and fails to remember Allaah, has incurred upon himself a loss from Allaah'' [7]
He (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) also said:
''Whenever a people sit in a gathering in which they fail to remember Allaah and send prayers upon the Prophet they incur a loss upon themselves and if Allaah willed He would punish them and if He willed He would forgive them'' [8]
Similarly, he (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:
''Whenever a people rise from a gathering in which they failed to remember Allaah, they rise as if they had arisen from the co**se of an ass and incurring upon themselves grief'' [9]
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[1] al-Bukhaaree with al-Fat.h 11/208 and Muslim 1/539
[2] at-Tirmidhee 5/459 and Ibn Maajah 2/1245, see: Saheeh Ibn Maajah 2/316 and Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/139
[3] al-Bukhaaree 8/171 and Muslim 4/2061, this specific wording is related by al-Bukhaaree
[4] at-Tirmidhee 5/458 and Ibn Maajah 2/1246, see: Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/139 and Saheeh Ibn Maajah 2/317
[5] at-Tirmidhee 5/175, see: Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/9 and Saheeh al-Jaami' as-Sagheer 5/340
[6] Muslim 1/553
[7] Abu Daawood 4/264 and others, see: Saheeh al-Jaami' 5/342.
[8] at-Tirmidhee, see: Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/140.
[9] Abu Daawood 4/264 and Ahmad 2/389, see: Saheeh al-Jaami' 5/176
