Precautions & Proper Times for Dhikr

Necessary Precautions for Dhikr

1. The first precaution that Holy Prophet (sas) has stated is to never engage in dhikr to such an extreme that your heart becomes weary.

2. Do not engage in dhikr when the heart is not at peace. For example, if a person sits down to perform dhikr in the midst of some important work that must be done, then his attention will not remain focused in the dhikr. Thus, disrespect would be shown to the words of God Almighty and the person would be deemed a sinner. Thus, the first precaution regarding the performance of dhikr is that one should not prolong dhikr to the extent that his heart becomes weary, and secondly, he should not engage in dhikr at such a time when his mind is distracted in some other thoughts so that, instead of earning merit, one is deemed to be a sinner. On the contrary, he should engage in dhikr with brevity and at such a time as he can maintain his focus on the dhikr.

   Once, when the Holy Prophet (sas) came home, a lady was talking to Hazrat A‘ishah (ra). He asked her what she was saying. Hazrat A‘ishah (ra) told the Holy Prophet (sas) that the lady was telling her how much worship she does and the manner in which she does it. Having heard this, he said that it was not a matter of virtue that she worshipped so much. Allah the Exalted likes the worship that is routinely done.1

   Allah the Exalted does not get tired on account of lengthy worship, but a person does grow weary of excessive worship and when he gets fatigued, his worship becomes unworthy. Thus, if someone exceeds the limit, he invites distress [upon himself].

   It is said regarding Hazrat Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin al-As (ra) that he was a strong man. He prayed all night, fasted during the day, and recited the entire Holy Quran in one day. When the Holy Prophet (sas) found out about it, he said, ‘This is not allowed. Pray for one-sixth, one-third, or—at the most—one-half of the night; and fast—at the most—on alternate days; and a complete recitation of the Holy Quran should not be done in less than three days.’2

   Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin al-As (ra) tried very hard to be allowed to do more, but the Holy Prophet (sas) did not permit it. Accordingly, he continued doing the maximum allowed, but in his old age he regretted that he had pledged to the Holy Prophet (sas) that he would go on doing so all his life, albeit no longer being able to [in his old age]. Thus, going to extremes places one in a predicament. Dhikr is indeed a very good thing but, look, just like too much pilaf will upset the stomach, similarly, to go on increasing dhikr to the extent that it becomes such a burden upon the soul, will cause it to become averse to it. So, burden yourself gradually and only as much as can be tolerated.

3. The third precaution that should be exercised is that if initially one is not inclined to attend to the remembrance of Allah— still steeling one’s heart—man should keep engaging in it and firmly resolve that he will indeed complete it and hold the intention that no matter how much force Satan brings to bear on the matter, he will never give in to his bidding. If a person resolves to carry things out this way, then he can persuade his own disposition to come around.

   It is said that Roy Tacon was a famous lawyer who once came to face an opposing lawyer who feared that Tacon would win the case. This lawyer employed a clever stratagem. While speaking with the magistrate, he said that it is the claim of Tacon that he can win over any magistrate no matter how clever he may be. Upon hearing this, the magistrate made up his mind that he would not accept whatever Roy Tacon would say. Thus, when the trial started, the magistrate would deny every submission that Tacon would make. Ultimately, he indeed gave a verdict in favour of the other lawyer. Thus, when a man makes up his mind that he will absolutely not accept the influence of a certain person, then that person cannot bring him under his control. In the initial stages, therefore, at the time of doing dhikr, one must cultivate this very state of mind.

4. The fourth precaution is that at the time of doing dhikr, one should not be in an uncomfortable state. For example, if there is something jabbing you while you are sitting on the floor, or if there is some other similar type of pain, you should remove it and then engage in the remembrance of Allah.

5. Fifthly, adopt a state of mind that you will accept cheerfully whatever you are granted. Even if there is lack of concentration in the beginning, a time will come at some point when the habit of dhikr will become well established in you.

6. Sixthly, perform dhikr with humility and fear of Allah. If a state of fearfulness of Allah does not develop, adopt an appearance that manifests a state of fear of Allah, because some things that are initially adopted artificially, gradually become reality. Thus, when someone attempts to develop humility and fabricates a state of crying and weeping, it happens that at a certain time, a state of supplication evolves in him.

   It is narrated that a professor was very kind-hearted, but later became very hard-hearted. The cause of this was that one day, due to his mild nature, he suffered some difficulty and so he resolved from that point on that he would be firm. So he adopted a firm demeanour, even though he still had the same kindness at heart. However, he appeared to be harsh and stern.

   Gradually, what transpired is that he became hard-hearted. Although that professor inclined himself towards evil, if you act like this to move towards virtue, then you will see that, step by step, the fear of God will actually begin to develop in you such that if one day the true fear of God develops in you even for a second, then the second day it will last a bit longer and if you try to attain this you will certainly succeed.

Proper Times for Dhikr

Now that it has been proven that engaging in dhikr is very important as I have said, God Almighty says:

—Surah an-Nisa’, 4:1043

So it is important to know at what times one should engage in the remembrance of Allah. Of course it is clear that one should be occupied in the doing of dhikr at all times. Thus, Hazrat ‘Aishah Siddiqah (ra) says about the Holy Prophet (sas):

The Holy Prophet used to be occupied in the remembrance of God Almighty at all times (Sunan at-Tirmidhī, Kitābud-Da‘wāt, Bāb mā jā’ anna Da‘watal-Muslimi Mustajābatun; Hadith 3384).

However, there are some specific times mentioned by God Almighty in the Holy Quran and those are as follows:

— Surah al-Ahzab, 33:42–434

That is to say, remember Allah at the time of [bukra] and [asil]. Both these times are of a very high rank. In Arabic [bukra] describes the period from the first appearance of light in the sky until the sun rises. According to this, therefore, the meaning would be to engage in dhikr from the morning obligatory Prayer till the rise of the sun. So one time for the remembrance of Allah is this and the second time is that of [asil]. We learn from the lexicon that [asil] describes the time from the ‘Asr obligatory Prayer till the time of the setting of the sun. The third, fourth, and fifth times are mentioned in this verse:

—Surah Ta Ha, 20:131

Meaning, bear patiently what these people say, and glorify and praise your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting (both these times have been mentioned already); and in the hours of the night and at both sides of these, so that your wishes may be fulfilled. In this verse, apart from the two times previously mentioned, the time after the rising of the sun and the early part of the night and its latter part are also mentioned as being beneficial for dhikr.

The sixth time is the time after every obligatory Prayer. The Holy Prophet (sas) always used to continue this dhikr so much so that it was as if it had become his practice [Sunnah]. Ibn Abbas (ra) relates that, ‘When we used to be at some distance we would learn that the Salat had ended upon hearing the dhikr: [Allahumma antas-salamo wa minkas-salamo, tabarakta ya Dhal-Jalali wal-Ikram].’ Translation: ‘O our Allah! You are the [Embodiment of ] Peace, and true peace comes from You. Blessed are You, O Lord of Majesty and Bounty! [Sahih Muslim, Kitabul-Masajid wa mawadhi‘us-Salata, Bab Istihbabudhikri ba‘das Salat Hadith 591].

So this is one dhikr to be recited after the completion of the Salat; that is to say, one should recite: .

The second is that one should recite thirty-three times each [Subhan-Allah, i.e. ‘Holy is Allah’], [alhamdulillah, i.e. ‘All praise belongs to Allah’], and thirty-four times [Allaho Akbar, i.e. ‘Allah is the Greatest’].5

There are many methods narrated for performing these remembrances of Allah, but the most authentic way is indeed that the first two sentences should each be said separately thirty-three times and the third should be said thirty-four times.6 The time after Salat is a most highly esteemed period for dhikr and dhikr must be done at that time. Some people may think upon seeing me and Hazrat Maulawi [Noor-ud-Deen] Sahib, Khalifatul-Masih I, and the Promised Messiah (as) that perhaps we do not do dhikr after Salat. They should know that the Promised Messiah (as) and Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih I also used to engage in dhikr, and I do it too. But yes, it was not done in a loud voice by them, nor do I do it out loud. I say it in my heart. Thus, dhikr must be performed after Salat.

There are also other precautions relating to dhikr and those are that apart from those occasions that are proven from the Hadith, dhikr should not be done loudly in gatherings. This can give rise to pretence on some occasions, and in some situations causes difficulty for other people engaged in the remembrance of Allah or the performance of Salat.

Then, it should also be remembered that whatever new activity is undertaken, it initially proves to be a heavy burden and the heart shrinks from its performance and this is the reason why some people say that their heart is not inclined to the performance of dhikr. But can one become perfectly proficient in a new skill in one day? Certainly not! On the contrary, it happens gradually and it takes some time for this to become the case. Therefore, if someone’s heart is not inclined to it in the beginning and he finds it to be a sort of burden, he should not become troubled. The heart will accept it gradually but the condition is that dhikr must be maintained ongoing.

Then, some people say that they do come to relish dhikr but they should not seek pleasure for their self in the performance of dhikr, and their intent in the performance of dhikr must not be to derive pleasure from it, but rather they should do it considering it an act of worship, because pleasure is not the real issue. Worship is the true objective, and worship is accepted only when it is performed with that understanding.

Then, some people say that with regard to engaging in the remembrance of Allah, some days they feel costive and on other days they feel much inclined to doing it. Such people should not be troubled. This inhibition happens to every kind of people. Once a Companion came to the Holy Prophet (sas) and said, ‘Huzoor, I am a hypocrite.’

The Holy Prophet responded, ‘No, you are indeed a Muslim.’ The Companion submitted, ‘When I come in your presence, I behold Heaven and Hell before my very eyes, but when I go home, that condition dissipates.’

The Holy Prophet said, ‘If you remain in that same condition all the time, you will die.’7

The fact of the matter is that if one remains at all times in the same condition, then the capacity to advance and make progress would be impaired. It is for this reason that, at times, God Almighty lowers a person from his true status to make him advance beyond his previous station by leaping ahead; and similarly, He sometimes raises him to a higher station.

One particular thing should, however, be remembered regarding costiveness, and that is that one kind of it is good and another kind is bad. The difference between the two can be recognized by setting a standard of deriving pleasure. For example, there is a stage one and above it are stages two, three, four, and five. Now, if some person is at stage two, and diffidence takes him to stage one, then it should be understood that it is a rewarding kind of costiveness. However, if he is at stage three and experiences costiveness, then it should be ascertained whether it has taken him to stage two, one, or absolute zero. If he is at stage two, it should be deemed to be the one (costiveness) that will bring progress; but, if it is at stage one or zero, then it is a dangerous level and a special struggle and effort should be employed toward it.