What Is Dhikr in Islam, and What Is Its Importance?
Answered By Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad
Question
What is Dhikr in Islam, and what is its importance?
Answer
In the name of Allah, peace and blessings be upon His noble messenger, his family, and all his companions.
Among the best, easy-righteous deeds that bring a Muslim closer to his Lord (Most High) is Dhikr (remembrance of Allah). Allah (Most High) has mentioned those who remember Him in His Book with the highest of praise, saying:
“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people of reason. (They are) those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth (and pray), ‘Our Lord! You have not created (all of) this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire.’” [Quran, 3:190-191]
The remembrance of Allah (Most High) is the soul of all acts of worship, the aim behind all acts of obedience and closeness to Allah, superior to all other righteous deeds, and it is the pinnacle of a believer’s life, its light, its purpose, and its essence in this world and the Hereafter. Allah (Most High) says:
“The remembrance of Allah is (an) even greater (deterrent).” [Quran, 29:45]
He also says:
“And establish prayer for My remembrance.” [Quran, 20:14], and
“And remember Allah during (these) appointed days. (The 11th-13th of Dhu al-Hijja, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. These days are part of pilgrimage rituals.)” [Quran, 2:203],
“Remember Me; I will remember you. And thank Me, and never be ungrateful.” [Quran, 2:152], and also says:
“Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort.” [Quran, 13:28]
Types of Dhikr
- Remembering the names of Allah (Most High), His attributes, praising Him, and extolling Him with them, like: (SubhanAllah), (Alhamdulillah), and (La ilaha illallah).
- Informing about Allah (Most High) through His names and attributes, for example, Allah (Most High) hears the voices of His servants and sees their movements.
- Remembering His commands and prohibitions, such as saying: Allah (Most High) has commanded this and prohibited that.
- Remembering His blessings and benevolence.
The benefits of Dhikr are innumerable and invaluable, starting with attaining the pleasure of Allah (Most High) and drawing closer to Him in a manner He loves, and ending with joining the caravan of those who are successful in entering Paradise and attaining eternal bliss.
Benefits of Remembering Allah (Most High)
Ibn Qayyim (Allah have mercy on him) mentioned more than a hundred benefits of remembering Allah (Most High), which can be summarized as follows:
- Remembering Allah (Most High) repels Satan and pleases the Most Merciful (Most High).
- Remembering Allah (Most High) removes worry and sorrow from the heart, bringing joy and happiness instead.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) brings sustenance and blessings to the servant, and wards off evils and calamities.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) illuminates the face and heart of the servant and adorns the rememberer with dignity and sweetness.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) instills love, which is the essence of Islam, and makes difficult tasks easy.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) leads the servant to vigilance, opening the door to excellence in worship.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) leads to turning to Allah (Most High) in repentance.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) opens great doors of knowledge for the servant.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) instills awe and reverence for the Lord (Most High) in the rememberer.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) erases sins and does away with them, as it is among the greatest good deeds.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) is among the easiest, most noble, and best forms of worship.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) keeps the servant away from backbiting, slander, lying, and obscene speech.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) secures one from regret on the Day of Resurrection, for every assembly without remembrance is a source of regret.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) is a light for the servant in this world, in their grave, and on the Day of Resurrection.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) makes the servant close to Allah, and Allah close to him, which is a special companionship.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) is equivalent to freeing slaves, spending wealth, and striving for the cause of Allah (Most High).
- Remembering Allah (Most High) is a cure for the hearts and a remedy for their diseases.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) is the pinnacle of gratitude, and all acts of worship are prescribed for the purpose of remembering Allah (Most High).
- Remembering Allah (Most High) with tears in solitude is a reason for Allah (Most High) to shade the servant on the day of the greatest heat.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) necessitates Allah’s blessings and the angels’ prayers upon the remembering servant.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) is a plantation of Paradise, and it is among the assemblies attended by angels.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) assists in obeying Allah, and it is a protection for the servant from hypocrisy.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) gives the servant strength so that he can do with remembrance what he cannot do without it.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) ensures safety from forgetting Allah, which is the cause of misery for the servant.
- Remembering Allah (Most High) is a reason for Allah (Most High) to boast about the remembering servant to the angels. [Ibn Qayyim, al-Wabil al-Sayyib]
The Best of Good Deeds
It was narrated by Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) that a man asked him which of the mujahidin was greatest in reward.
He said, “The ones who remember Allah (Most High) the most.” He asked, “Which of the righteous is greatest in reward?” He said, “The ones who remember Allah (Most High) the most.” Then he mentioned prayer, almsgiving, pilgrimage, and charity; all the while, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) was saying, “The ones who remember Allah (Most High) the most.” So Abu Bakr said to ‘Umar, “O Abu Hafs, the ones who remember (Allah) have taken all the good,” and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Indeed.” [Ahmad; Tabarani]
Abu Darda (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Shall I not inform you of your best deeds, the purest in the sight of your King, the highest in rank, better for you than giving gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks, and they strike yours?” They said, “And what is that, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “The remembrance of Allah (Most High).” [Malik; Hakim; Tirmidhi; Ahmad]
Mu‘adh ibn Jabal said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), ‘Which of the deeds are most beloved to Allah?’ He said, ‘That you die and your tongue is moist from remembering Allah.’” [Ibn Hibban; Tabarani]
Not Confined
Each act of worship has its specific time and conditions, but the remembrance of Allah (Most High) is not confined to any place or time; rather, it is required in all states and at all times. Allah (Most High) says,
“(They are) those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides.” [Quran, 3:191]
‘Aisha said, “The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to remember Allah at all times.” [Muslim; Ibn Khuzayma; Ibn Hibban]
Moses (peace be upon him) said, “My Lord, are You near so I may whisper to You, or are You far so I may call out to You?” He said, “O Moses, I am sitting with whoever remembers Me.” [Ibn Abi Shayba]
Allah (Most High) did not ask His servants to do much of anything except for the remembrance of Allah, saying,
“O believers! Always remember Allah often, and glorify Him morning and evening.” [Quran, 33:41-42]
And He said,
“And remember Allah often so you may triumph.” [Quran, 8:45]
And He said,
“And men and women who remember Allah often—for (all of) them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” [Quran, 33:35]
Mufridun
Abu Huraira said,
“The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) was walking towards Mecca, and when he passed a mountain called Jumdan, he said, ‘Proceed, this is Jumdan; the Mufridun have taken the lead.’ They asked, ‘And who are the Mufridun, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘Those men and women who make frequent remembrance of God.’” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (Allah be pleased with him) said,
“The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘The people of Paradise will only regret one thing: the hour that passed without remembering Allah.’” [Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir]
Indeed, He made one of the signs of the hypocrites that they remember Allah (Most High) but little, which does not produce love, nor does it bring about fear, nor does it create piety or faith. Allah (Most High) says,
“Surely the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but He outwits them. When they stand up for prayer, they do it half-heartedly only to be seen by people—hardly remembering Allah at all.” [Quran, 4:142]
If faith is a flourishing tree whose roots are faith in Allah, whose branches are beneficial righteous deeds, and whose fruit is noble and good manners, then its water that it is irrigated with and which sustains its life is none other than the remembrance of Allah (Most High). Abu Musa reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“The example of the house in which Allah is remembered and the house in which Allah is not remembered is like the living and the dead.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Most Beneficial Righteous Deeds
Among the righteous deeds in Islam that should be upheld, its first teacher, the Messenger of Allah, selected the most beneficial and necessary one to adhere to and remain steadfast upon.
Abdullah ibn Busr reported that a Bedouin said to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace),
“The laws of Islam have become too many for me, so tell me something I can hold on to tightly.” He said, “Let your tongue always be moist with the remembrance of Allah.” [Ibn Hibban; Hakim; Tirmidhi; Ahmad]
And why not, when the one who remembers Allah (Most High) sits in the company of his Lord, who bestows upon him from His knowledge, wisdom, and vigilance, according to his connection and his earnestness towards Him? Allah (Most High) says,
“Remember Me; I will remember you.” [Quran, 2:152]
And in a hadith Qudsi, He said,
“I am with My servant as long as he remembers Me and his lips move with My remembrance.” [Ibn Hibban; Ibn Majah; Ahmad]
Abdullah ibn ‘Awn said, “The remembrance of people is a disease, and the remembrance of Allah is the cure.”
Dhahabi commented, “Yes, by Allah, it is astonishing how we leave the cure and plunge into the disease? Allah (Most High) says: ‘Remember Me; I will remember you.’ [Quran, 2:152], and ‘The remembrance of Allah is (an) even greater (deterrent).’ [Quran, 29:45], and ‘Those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort.’ [Quran, 13:28]. But this is only made possible by Allah’s enabling grace, and whoever persistently supplicates and continuously knocks on the door, it will be opened for him.” [Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’]
Thabit al-Bunani (Allah have mercy on him) said, “I know when my Lord remembers me.” When they were shocked and asked, “How do you know that?” He replied, “When I remember Him, He remembers me.” [Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din]
The Transformative Power of Remembrance
The remembrance of Allah (Most High) is what protects one from committing sins and serves as a conscience that prevents one from heedlessness, turning towards falsehood, and following desires. Allah (Most High) says,
“And do not obey those whose hearts We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follow (only) their desires and whose state is (total) loss.” [Quran, 18:28]
The remembrance of Allah (Most High) is the hoped-for action for salvation from the torment of Allah (Most High), for the severest of punishments that afflict a person comes due to being heedless of Allah. No one has fallen, erred, or sinned except due to their heedlessness of Allah (Most High). Allah (Most High) says,
“And whoever turns a blind eye to the Reminder of the Most Compassionate, We place at the disposal of each a devilish one as their close associate.” [Quran, 43:36], and
“But whoever turns away from My Reminder will certainly have a miserable life, then We will raise them up blind on the Day of Judgment. They will cry, ‘My Lord! Why have you raised me up blind, although I used to see?’ Allah will respond, ‘It is so, just as Our revelations came to you and you neglected them, so Today you are neglected.’” [Quran, 20:124-126]
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Mu‘adh ibn Jabal said,
“The son of Adam does no action that saves him from the punishment of Allah more than the remembrance of Allah.” [Malik; Hakim; Ahmad]
The Blessings of Gatherings of Remembrance
The gatherings of remembrance where those who remember meet, and their spirits converge in a single crucible, the weak among them drawing strength from the strong, and all drawing from the source of goodness, perfection, grace, giving, light, guidance, and faith, are the gardens of Paradise and the gatherings of Divine pleasure. Allah (Most High) says,
“And patiently stick with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure. Do not let your eyes look beyond them.” [Quran, 18:28]
And the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“No people sit in a gathering remembering Allah, but the angels surround them, mercy covers them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him.” [Muslim; Ibn Hibban; Abu Dawud; Ahmad]
And what greater honor is there for this weak human being than for the Almighty, the Generous, the Forbearing to address him in a hadith Qudsi saying,
“I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me a hand’s span, I draw near to him an arm’s length; and if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
And He says, “Whoever is too occupied with My remembrance to ask from Me, I will give him more than I give those who ask.” [‘Abd al-Razzaq; Ibn Abi Shayba]
May Allah make us all truly among those who remember Allah, who steadfastly adhere to His obedience and worship sincerely, and guide us all to the closest path of righteousness; indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the One in whom we place our hope, and He is sufficient for us and the best protector.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad
