Importance of the Subject

What is Dhikr-e-Ilahi

These are the things that I want to mention under this topic:

What is meant by Dhikr-e-Ilahi or Dhikrullah [Remembrance of Allah]? What need is there for Dhikr-e-Ilahi? How many types of Dhikr-e-Ilahi are there? What precautions need to be taken in Dhikr-e-Ilahi? What mistakes have people made in understanding the subject of Dhikr-e-Ilahi? For those individuals who complain that they cannot remain focused during Prayers and that Satan whispers into their hearts, what are the means and methods for such people to drive Satan away and retain focus?

I shall relate something regarding these aspects of the topic today, should God Almighty grant me the ability to do so. Having heard these topics you may have realised that this is not the type of subject that pertains only to certain category of people. Rather, it pertains to every individual, be he lofty or low, rich or poor, young or old. Thus, if you hear something from me that appears ordinary, do not ignore it because when you put it into practice, you will be convinced that it was nothing ordinary, but rather, something capable of bringing about magnificent, beneficial results.

Dhikr means to remember. Dhikrullah means remembering God Almighty. Thus, Dhikr or Dhikrullah refers to the way of remembering Allah the Exalted. In other words, it means keeping the attributes of Allah the Exalted in mind, uttering them repeatedly, affirming them wholeheartedly, and reflecting upon His powers and capabilities.

How important and essential this topic is! Concerning this I would say succinctly that it is of great import. Someone might presume that I claim it to be of immense importance simply because I have started delivering a speech on it, but I don’t say it for that reason. I say this because God Almighty has called it great. Thus, Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Quran:

—Surah al-‘Ankabut, 29:46

That is, remembrance of Allah is greater than all matters and loftier than all forms of worship. Thus, when God Almighty has decreed that the remembrance of Allah is greater than everything, this is not my statement, but that of God Almighty—that this topic is greater than all and important.

Now, the question arises that if this subject is greater than all and important, then there should also be a command to pay attention to it above all things. So when we turn to the Holy Quran, we learn that attention has been drawn to it with great frequency, that people should turn their attention to the remembrance of Allah. Thus, God Almighty states:

—Surah ad-Dahr, 76:26

O My servant! Remember your Lord morning and evening.

Similarly, the Holy Prophet (sas) says that the angels surround all four sides of any gathering in which God Almighty is being remembered and rain down Allah’s mercy upon it.

This is also why I had kept this subject to deliver during the Jalsa, when thousands of people gather together from great distances, so that the angels would shower Allah’s mercy and blessings upon all. And then, when they return home and take these teachings with them, conveying them to those who did not come here, the blessings would spread throughout the Jama‘at in this very manner. So, for this purpose as well, I have chosen this day to discuss this topic.

I have just mentioned that the Holy Prophet (sas) says that the angels gather around the meeting in which the remembrance of Allah is taking place and they bring the blessings and mercy of Allah and shower it upon those sitting there. Thus, when the remembrance of Allah is so lofty a deed that even angels congregate to hear it, and shower God’s mercy upon those listening to it, it should be appreciated how valuable a commodity it is! And then, how highly would they esteem the one who is the teacher of the angels; for, the angels gather around the one who engages in the remembrance of Allah, and the more dhikr he does, the more angels come and urge him to do good and virtuous deeds.

The descent of angels is not a figment of human imagination; it is a certainty. I myself have seen angels and once, I actually conversed with them with great informality. So, the angels do come to the one who engages in the remembrance of Allah and develop a friendship and bond with him. Then, God Almighty says:

—Surah al-Munafiqun, 63:10

O ye who believe! let not wealth and children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. You should not permit any obstacle to stop you from the remembrance of Allah and there should be no occupation of yours that causes you to abandon the remembrance of Allah while performing it.

—Surah al-Ahzab, 33:42–43

O ye who believe! remember Allah with much remembrance. And glorify Him morning and evening.

Similarly, the Holy Prophet (sas) has said, as narrated by Hazrat Abu Musa Ash‘ari (ra):

(Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Kitāb ad-Da‘wāt, Bāb Fadli Dhikrillāhi ’Azza wa Jall; Hadith 6407); (Sahīh Muslim, Kitāb ad-Da‘wāt, Bāb Fadlil-Ijtimā‘ ‘Alā Tilāwatil-Qurān wa ‘Aladh-dhikr; Hadith 2700).1

The comparison between a person who remembers his Lord and one who does not is akin to the living and the dead. That is, he who remembers Allah the Exalted is alive, while he who does not is dead. This clearly shows how important and essential the remembrance of Allah is.

Then, there is a hadith reported in Tirmidhī.

Hazrat Abi Darda (ra) relates that while addressing the Companions (ra), the Holy Prophet (sas) asked them whether he should tell them something that is the best of all and most desirable, even better than spending gold and silver, and better than someone striving in the path of Allah and fighting the enemies and attaining martyrdom. The Companions (ra) replied in the affirmative and the Holy Prophet (sas) told them that it is the remembrance of Allah the Exalted (Sunan at-Tirmidhī, Abwābud-Da’wāti, Bābu ma jā’a fi Fadlidh-Dhikr; Hadith 3377).

In another hadith, it is narrated that the Holy Prophet (sas) said that the remembrance of Allah holds a very high rank. The Companions (ra) asked the Messenger of Allah whether its rank was even higher than striving in the cause of Allah? He replied in the affirmative, that it was even greater in rank than this [jihad] because the remembrance of Allah encourages one to undertake the striving.

Need of Greater Attention to Dhikr in Our Community

This, then, is the importance and necessity of dhikr. Yet there are some aspects of Dhikr-e-Ilahi towards which our Jama‘at is not paying attention, or if there is interest, it is very little. From my childhood, God Almighty has naturally inclined me to reflect and ponder. Since the very time of my maturity, I have been thinking about it and even now I am concerned that the deficiency regarding the remembrance of Allah which exists in our Jama‘at, must be removed.

The Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, has laid great emphasis on prayer. And thanks are due to God Almighty that our Jama‘at makes much use of prayer. The Promised Messiah (as) has likewise laid great stress on the remembrance of Allah, but the attention that needs to be paid to this has not yet been given to it. One primary reason for this is that British education has somewhat changed the thinking of people and under the influence of European education, people question what the utility of reciting the names of God could be. And what could be the benefit of someone sitting in solitude, repeatedly reciting [La ilaha illallah—There is no one worthy of worship except Allah] or God is Quddus [the Holy], God is ‘Alim [the All-Knowing], God is Khabir [the All-Aware], God is Qadir [the All-Powerful], or God is Khaliq [the Creator]? None whatsoever, so there is no need for this.

In addition, because the members of our Jama‘at are enrolled in Western education, they too have come under its influence. Secondly, there are people in our Jama‘at who belong to the farming community. These people had never truly understood what Dhikr-e-Ilahi is, and what its benefit is. Hence, until they are all fully informed, and unless they are made to understand in an excellent manner, they cannot pay heed to it. This is the reason why they are deficient in the remembrance of Allah.

Salat is also the remembrance of Allah which, by the grace of Allah, our Jama‘at observes very regularly. However, there are other forms of remembering Allah which are necessary and obligatory. Concerning these, although I cannot say that they are non-existent in our Jama‘at, I will definitely say that they are lacking. And some people do not put them into practice and this also is a very big flaw.

Listen! If someone has beautiful facial features, but has deformed eyes, ears, or nose, will he be called handsome? Not at all! Everyone would call him unattractive. In the same way, if some people of our Jama‘at do not employ some methods of remembering Allah, then their example is akin to a person who is wearing a very expensive coat, shirt, jacket, and trousers, but fails to wear shoes or a turban over his head. Despite his attire being decent, the missing shoes or turban will make his appearance defective. And people of high status do not accept a defect in anything of theirs.

Thus, when not engaging in the remembrance of Allah in all the ways is a defect, and on top of that, when we also prove that Allah the Exalted has commanded that methods of remembering Allah other than Salat be adopted as well—whether anyone fully comprehends the underlying wisdom or not—and the Holy Prophet (sas) has also directed along these lines, then it is essential that in order to achieve excellence in spirituality, we should also act upon these ways of remembering Allah.

The reason for proper attention not being given in our Jama‘at to the offering of Nawafil [supererogatory worship] is also that these people have not understood the benefits of this way of remembering Allah. They think that by performing the obligatory worship they have done their duty, whereas the Holy Prophet (sas) says, and he does not say so himself, but rather says that Allah the Exalted told him that:

By offering Nawafil, My servant gets so close to Me that I become ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hands with which he holds, and the feet with which he walks (Sahih al-Bukhārī, Kitābur-Riqāq, Bābut-Tawādu’; Hadith 6502).

From this you can understand the rank that God Almighty has accorded to Nawafil, and how great a status has been given to the person who performs them. It is as if through them, God Almighty elevates a human being to such a degree that he begins to absorb His attributes within himself. Therefore, Nawafil are not an ordinary matter. But alas, many people pay them no heed!

The truth of the matter is that there is immense weakness and laziness in man. Therefore, he puts in the least amount of labour. This is indeed the reason why God Almighty, who knows the weaknesses of His creatures, and who is Most Merciful towards them, has appointed some acts of worship as obligatory and others as voluntary. He appointed the obligatory acts of worship so that anyone who fulfils them will be above reproach.

Thus, it is narrated in a hadith that a person came to the Holy Prophet (sas) and enquired about Islam:

The Holy Prophet (sas) said to him, ‘Five Prayers during the day and night.’

He asked, ‘Are there any more other than these?’ The Holy Prophet (sas) said, ‘No, unless you offer by way of nafl [voluntarily].’ Then the Holy Prophet (sas) continued, ‘Fasting during the month of Ramadan.’

Again the man asked, ‘Are there any more fasts other than these?’

The Holy Prophet (sas) responded, ‘No, unless you perform it by way of nafl.’ Then the Holy Prophet (sas) told him that in Islam there is also Zakat—the giving of alms.

Upon hearing this the person left saying, ‘By God, I shall neither add anything to these, nor shall I subtract anything from them.’

The Holy Prophet (sas) said, ‘If he speaks the truth, he has attained success.’ (Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Īmān, Bāb az-Zakātu min al-Islām; Hadith 46)

From this we learn that the person who fulfils the obligatory affairs properly, achieves success. However, the prudent and farsighted person does not restrict himself to the discharge of only obligatory matters, but rather he enters the field of Nawafil so that if there remained any shortcoming in the observance of the obligatory works, they may be compensated for in this way.

For example, five daily Prayers have been prescribed for the day and night. A person who offers these Prayers but does not offer the Nawafil [Prayers] may run into a situation possibly that due to some error on his part, one of his Prayers gets rejected. So, on the Day of Judgement he will have to face the penalty for this shortcoming.

Thus, it is narrated in a hadith that once when the Holy Prophet (sas) was present in the mosque, a person came and offered his Prayer. He asked him to repeat his Prayer, so the man offered his Prayer again. The Holy Prophet (sas) asked him to repeat it again, and so the man offered his Prayer for a third time. When the Holy Prophet (sas) asked him to offer it for the fourth time, he said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, by God I do not know how to pray better than this; tell me how I should offer the Prayer.’ The Holy Prophet (sas) responded, ‘You were rushing with your Prayer and therefore it was not accepted. Pray slowly.’2

Thus, errors of this type sometimes occur, as a consequence of which the Prayer is not accepted. However, for the person who also offers the Nawafil together with the obligatory Prayers, if some Prayer of his is not accepted, then the Nawafil can come in handy and may fulfil that deficiency. The example of this is just like the case of someone who goes to take a test for which he needs just fifty marks to pass, so he goes and solves just that many questions as are worth fifty marks, walking away believing that he has passed. This would be a mistake on his part because it is possible that some question that he attempted may have been answered incorrectly and, thus, he may be unable to secure the fifty marks and he may end up failing. It is for this very reason that the students who are smart and intelligent do not do this, but rather they attempt the questions that they know, and even the ones that they don’t. They try to solve all of them thinking that perhaps the marks combined may help them to pass.

Similarly, if a traveller embarks upon a journey and takes just enough money with him as he expects will be needed, it sometimes occurs that his estimate turns out to be wrong and he ends up enduring extraordinary hardship. It is for this reason that shrewd and intelligent people begin their journey taking with them more than what they think is needed so that if they end up facing any unexpected expenses, they won’t have to face any difficulties. So, Nawafil are like the unexpected expenses and are most essential. Accordingly, special attention needs to be paid to offering them.

The second reason for why the people of our Jama‘at do not pay full attention to Dhikr-e-Ilahi is the following. The Promised Messiah (as) has written a lot to refute the so-called sufis [mystics] born in this age, who spread many kinds of innovations.

Addressing them, he said that their uttering of prayer-phrases repetitively—parrot-fashion—will produce no results: ‘What are you doing sitting on your prayer mats when Islam is being attacked from all four sides? Why don’t you get up and give a reply?’

The Promised Messiah (as) has denounced them in this way—and they indeed deserved denunciation. Nonetheless, by this, some people have mistakenly understood that perhaps the very act of sitting and engaging in the remembrance of Allah is frivolous in itself, whereas remembering Allah in this way is not pointless. Rather, the very purpose of it is that God’s holiness and praise should be proclaimed in this way.

Nevertheless, since those people merely engaged in the remembrance of Allah sitting in their homes and did nothing in the outside world where God Almighty was being condemned, it is for this reason that the Promised Messiah (as) reprimanded them and said that if those people actually love God Almighty and proclaim His holiness and praise, then just as they declare His purity and praise Him while sitting in their homes, they should do the same outside of their homes as well. Since they had abandoned performing their duty of calling people towards goodness and forbidding them from evil due to their laziness and negligence, they were reprimanded for being hypocritical; for, if they held true love and passion for God Almighty in their hearts, then what would be the reason withholding them from coming out and responding to the opponents when they were attacking God Almighty? And what was the reason for them not to glorify God Almighty on the public platform as they did in the quiet corners of their homes?