[La ilaha illallah—There is no one worthy of worship but Allah] can be thrust by force!Moreover, another reason for the Promised Messiah (as) reprimanding them was that according to the saying, ‘Whatever an ill man adopts becomes an illness’, these sufis and gaddi nashins [the custodians of shrines] exploited Dhikrullah in such ways and forms that they defaced it altogether. And no trace was left of the manner in which Islam had presented it.
So what is understood by Dhikrullah nowadays? It is a heart-rending cry raised to a high pitch and shouted out so loudly that the peace of the whole neighbourhood and the worship of all those nearby is disturbed. This is what they call delivering a strike upon the heart—as if the heart, for them, is something into which [La ilaha illallah—There is no one worthy of worship but Allah] can be thrust by force!
Similarly, some others have invented the practice that they gather to listen to poetry or arrange for qawwalis [sufi devotional songs employed as a form of worship], and female dancers come and perform—yet they contend that this a gathering getting warmed up for the remembrance of Allah. They then appease the heart so that the sounds of ‘Allah, Allah’ emanate from it. In short, strange and sundry things have been invented.
At some places hearts are being enlivened; at others, blows are being struck upon hearts; while yet at others, attempts are made for sounds to emanate from the soul—and they have assigned these names themselves! At times they say that they raise the remembrance of Allah from the heart, which goes to prostrate at the very Throne of God before returning. And at other times they say that they cause the sound of ‘Allah, Allah’ to emanate from every limb of their body. These and many other such innovations have been invented by them.
There are also others who recite some verse of the Holy Quran and dance. Some engage in the remembrance of Allah in the manner that one person recites some couplets of poetry etc. and others dance and say that they are in a state of ecstasy and have become unconscious. Then, while they are seated in the gathering, they burst out yelling, ‘Allah! Allah!’ and jump suddenly. So these are the strange and sundry types of dhikr that have been introduced, whereas they have absolutely nothing to do with the religion of Islam. Notwithstanding, on account of this, it cannot be said that Dhikr-e-Ilahi is a bad thing. Yes! It can be said that these innovations which these people have created are bad.
These people, however, are not bothered in the least, despite the fact that the Holy Prophet (sas) has said: 
‘Every innovation that is introduced into the Faith is misguidance and misguidance leads to Hell’ (Sunan an-Nasa’ī, Kitāb Salātul-Īdaini, Bāb Kaifal-Khutbah; Hadith 1578).
This indeed is why the forms of dhikr invented by these people are incapable of taking them closer to Allah; on the contrary, they take them even further away from Him. Thus, ever since these types of dhikr have been introduced—precisely since then—the Muslims have been drifting farther and farther away from God Almighty. As all of these are innovations, and when people act contrary to the directives of Allah and the Holy Prophet (sas), their spirituality will inevitably weaken, and it is for this reason that spirituality is being obliterated from among the Muslims.
Secondly, these innovations have a particular quality that makes one feel pleasure and exhilaration on the surface, but because all that pleasure and exhilaration is artificial, for that reason—ignorant of true pleasures—a person chases the artificial ones and is thus destroyed. This is like a person suffering from a stomach ache who, instead of seeking proper treatment, takes opium and sleeps. The temporary result of this will be that the person will feel comfort due to the loss of consciousness but, in reality, he will be moving towards destruction and there will be a time when that very pain will kill him.
The reality is that what people refer to as Dhikr these days is actually a discipline that is called the science of al-Tarab and in English it is known as Mesmerism. And there is another science that is called Hypnotism which a doctor in France has invented. It has nothing to do with spirituality; rather, it is related to thought and God Almighty has placed such capability in thought that when it is especially drawn towards a particular direction, there develops in it a particular effect and through it, pleasure and exhilaration can be developed in the heart. However, this pleasure is just like the type attained by consuming opium, cocaine, or marijuana. In reality, however, that is not pleasure but a state of unconsciousness that is damaging for one’s health. In the same way when an effect is impressed on the nerves by focused attention, a state of drowsiness is induced which makes one feel pleasure, and these people think that this pleasure is due to saying ‘Allah, Allah’, whereas if they had been saying ‘Ram, Ram’ at the time, they would have experienced the same sort of pleasure.
It is narrated that a revered Muslim was traveling in a boat when he started doing dhikr and did so with such power that the other people who were mainly Hindus also started saying, ‘Allah, Allah.’ However, there was a Hindu ascetic present who did not recite, ‘Allah, Allah.’ Thereupon the Muslim started especially focusing his thoughts upon the Hindu ascetic, but while he was still doing this, he himself started saying ‘Ram, Ram’ uncontrollably. This was because the Hindu ascetic had started focusing his attention on him to have ‘Ram, Ram’ issue forth from his lips.
Seeing this, he was utterly amazed and from that very day he abstained from doing dhikr in that way, as he came to understand that that was the result of a discipline and not the effect of dhikr; for, had it been the result of saying ‘Allah’, the same would have issued forth involuntarily from the mouths of others as well. Then why would ‘Ram, Ram’ issue forth?
The condition of those who perform such rituals is akin to a person travelling through a wilderness in a state of extreme hunger and discovering a bag filled with what he imagines to be grains, whereas in reality the bag contains only pebbles. This is verily the condition of that man who walks along such paths and imagines that he is attaining the nearness of God Almighty. He is actually in a state of intoxication in which he becomes inebriated. And this is indeed the reason why, despite his thinking that he has attained a special lofty station, his heart remains as impure and unholy as it ever was. Thus, this is an intoxication like that of opium etc.
A sincere member of our Jama‘at would always tell me that one derives great pleasure from following these methods. I would tell him as well, that just as one derives pleasure from opium and cocaine, similarly one derives pleasure from this and the proof is that no spiritual cleanliness results from such forms of remembrances of Allah. Indeed, even those who say that their dhikr reaches right up to the very Throne of Allah, are devoid of spiritual cleanliness. Upon this, he said that this is very true. He related that there was a person who used to say he had traversed all the stages, but in spite of that, he would go around begging grain and cereals from people and I used to think that if he had attained such a lofty station then why does he go begging from people?
The Promised Messiah (as) narrated about a certain person who thought himself to have reached a very high spiritual status. However, once while visiting a follower, the pir [a spiritual mentor] demanded, ‘Bring my tax [tribute].’ There was a famine at the time. The follower, who could find nothing to offer, begged to be excused, but the pir kept on fighting and disputing with him for a long time and in the end made the follower sell something and took the proceeds, finally leaving the follower in peace.
In short, such weaknesses and impurities are found in those people who otherwise make grandiose claims.
The fact is that God Almighty has also placed a special kind of effect in the human voice and thoughts. For example, if a person keeps thinking that something has happened, his mind will be inclined to believe accordingly. Similarly, if a person thinks that ‘Allah, Allah’ is emanating from his heart, then, sitting there, he starts hearing the same kind of sound as if his heart is speaking; whereas, if his heart was actually speaking, then what is the reason that he does not become purified? Then there are many more people among the Hindus as compared to the Muslims who not only can call upon their own hearts, but call the hearts of others as well. It is my intention to write a book to tell people the difference between Prophets and conjurers. This is a rather ordinary kind of knowledge but the result of it is that man becomes heedless of his own reformation because he begins to imagine that he has reached God Almighty, whereas in reality he has not. If someone wishes to attain a particular stage and, having actually arrived at some other station, thinks that he has arrived where he had intended, he will settle right there and, as a consequence, suffer great loss. Similarly, those who indulge in such practices imagine that they have reached their true destination while, in reality, they are miles away from it and, like an opium addict, remain in a state of intoxication.
So these are the frivolous kinds of dhikr that the Promised Messiah (as) urged his followers to stay away from, and he criticized those who practiced these things; for, if even the Hindus and Christians can do the very same things, then how can it be called the remembrance of Allah?
What then about reciting dhikr aloud or listening to songs and music? So, as I have already mentioned that the human nervous system has been endowed with a unique capability to influence as well as to be influenced. And the ear is one of the doors through which these influences are conveyed. They respond to pleasing sounds, and this not only applies to human beings, but to other creatures as well. Play a flute to a snake, for example, and it starts writhing, but can this be understood to be happening under some special spiritual influence? Not at all! Similarly, if someone starts to dance upon hearing a song, it cannot be said that his spirituality has been affected thereby; on the contrary, it would be said that his senses have been influenced by something that has nothing to do with spirituality. Thus, anyone who understands singing etc. to be capable of having a spiritual effect, is mistaken and it is his folly because just as a snake sways to a flute, the sufis of today begin to dance to music and songs. Moreover, it is an innovation [in the faith of Islam] to perform any dhikr in such a loud and blaring manner.
Once, the Holy Prophet (sas) was walking along with his companions when suddenly they said Allaho Akbar, Allah o Akbar loudly. On this the Holy Prophet (sas) said: 
Hazrat Abu Musa narrates that the Holy Prophet (sas) advised them, ‘Have mercy on yourselves. Why do you not speak softly? The One Whom you are calling is neither deaf nor absent; quite the contrary, He hears you well and is near you and with you’ (Sahih al-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihādi was-Siyari, Bābu mā Yukrahu min Raf ‘is-Sauti fit-Takbīri; Hadith 2992).
However, look at the sufis of today. Wherever they hold a gathering for the remembrance of Allah, that whole neighbourhood begins to resound with noise. And they consider this to be a highly noble act, whereas it is in contravention of the Shariah. Their practice—poetry, dancing, screaming and shouting, falling, and swaying their heads—none of these are substantiated by the Holy Prophet (sas).
It is said that the Holy Prophet (sas) also used to listen to poetry, but it has not been proven from any source that he used to hear poetry by way of remembrance of Allah. The manner in which he would listen to couplets being recited was that Hassan (ra) comes and submits to him that, ‘O Messenger of Allah, such and such opponent has composed couplets against you and I have prepared a reply.’
He would listen to the reply or it would happen that a person, against whom he had issued a death sentence, presented himself and after receiving permission, recited a few couplets asking for forgiveness by stating that when he was coming to see him, the people told him that the Messenger of Allah had issued an order for him to be killed and that he would have him killed. However, he did not consider these things credible and wondered that when he would go to him and seek his forgiveness, would he still be killed? Hearing this, the Noble Messenger (sas) spread his mantle upon him forbidding anyone from killing him. After that, he said, ‘It was not out of fear of my life that I sought forgiveness like this; rather, it was the fear that I might be killed in this very state of kufr [disbelief ], whereas I have come to realize that the religion of Islam is the true faith.’
So these are the kinds of poetic couplets that the Holy Prophet (sas) used to listen to, but how does it become established from these that people used to sit in front of him and sing songs together or dance, or recite poetry about the love of God and that the Companions used to dance thereupon and lose consciousness? So all that is being perpetrated these days is an innovation which has become generally widespread.
Then, the Holy Prophet (sas) used to listen to such poetry: For example, a battle is taking place against the disbelievers and to arouse fervour, a Companion recites, ‘This day we will either be victorious or lay down our lives, but we will not retreat!’
Thus, this argument that since the Holy Prophet (sas) would listen to poetic verses, so do we listen to them as well, is totally wrong and frivolous. Then, upon listening to such poetic verses, all the behaviour that ensues is totally opposed to the Shariah. No trace of them is found in Islam.