Dhikr

Allah (SWT) has commanded us to remember him always. He says: "Remember Me, I shall remember you." (Qur'an 2:152) So it is very important for us, as Muslims, to perform dhikr, or remembrance, of Allah (SWT).

I feel the most at peace on the days when I am reading my Salah on time and taking time out to do dhikr, I know you can do dhikr at any point in the day as you are going about your daily activities but i like i need to allocate some time in the day that I feel is my way of being thankful to my creator by remembering him. I am ashamed to say that I have been slacking a little, however at the start of this week, I made sure that I became refocused and Alhamdulillah it has been going well so far I make sure I take time out and really reconnect with Allah (SWT).

The purpose of dhikr is to purify our hearts and souls and uplift our spirits. All words of praise and glory to Allah (SWT), whether spoken out loud, or silently in one's heart, are known as dhikr. So when people do dhikr, their hearts turn to the highest ideals and are free from the temptations of sin. Obviously this is true only if the words come from the heart and not just from the tongue.

The Quran says;

"And establish regular prayer, for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds, and remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing in life, without doubt." (Surah al-Ankabut 29:45)
In other words, dhikr has an even greater impact in protecting us from shameful and unjust deeds than regular prayers do. This is because when a person opens his heart to Allah (SWT) and utters words in His praise, Allah (SWT) fills him with strength and inner peace, comforting his mind and his heart. The Prophet (PBUH) once said, "When any group of men remember Allah, angels surround them and mercy covers them, tranquillity descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him." (Reported by Abu Hurairiah)

This quote from the book “Fiqh us-Sunnah” by as-Sayyud Sabiq. The saying if lbn Abbas;

Ali b. Abi Talha relates that Ibn Abbas said, "All obligations imposed upon man by Allah are clearly marked and one is exempted from them in the presence of a genuine cause. The only exception is the obligation of dhikr. Allah has set no specific limits for it, and under no circumstances is one allowed to be negligent of it. We are commanded to `remember Allah standing, sitting, and reclining on your sides,' [Qur'an 3:191] in the morning, during the day, at sea or on land, on journey or at home, in poverty and in prosperity, in sickness or in health, openly and secretly, and, in fact, at all times throughout one's life and in all circumstances."

Dhikr is a very blessed practice, praised in the Qur'an and hadiths.  May Allah help bring us satisfaction in our hearts through remembrance of Him. As i mentioned i like to take some me time out and do dhikr quietly with my little dhikr companion pictured below, as its helps me focus and reflect on my creator, though I am aware that It is better to count the phrases on the fingers than counting beads or electronic calculators, because the fingers will be questioned and will speak on your behalf on the Day of Judgment and I always ensure that after Salah I perform dhikr on my fingers but this little digital counter really does help me so I continue to use it, I hope that Allah gives us ALL the ability to continually remember him at every moment in our life’s.