“Those who believe and whose hearts find rest
in the remembrance of Allah:
Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find
rest.” (Ar-Rad, 13: 29).
Zikrullah
(Remembrance of Allah) is the true nourishment of the hearts. The heart, mind
and soul of man thrive on Zikrullah
and shrink without it. Zikrullah is
not difficult. It is indeed a most simple duty and the reward and significance
of Zikrullah are indeed great. One
who is neglectful of such an important, yet simple and most rewarding practice
is most unfortunate. Indifference to Zikrullah
is an invitation to calamity upon oneself.
Allah describes in the Holy
Quran those who have let go of Zikrullah
and relegated it to oblivion:
“Satan has gained the mastery
over them, so he has caused them to forget the remembrance of Allah. They are
the party of Satan. Verily, it is the party of Satan that will be the losers.”
(Al-Mujadila, 58: 20).
Therefore, we Muslims should
strive to remain in the remembrance of Allah (swt) even if it becomes increasingly
hard when we engage ourselves in our worldly activities. Zikrullah is a powerful weapon against Satan’s whispers which
slowly try to overtake our hearts and lead us to self-deception. Today we
notice how even though technology is supposed to help people gain extra time
and better quality of life, people are more and more restless, sad, stressed
and anxious. This is because Satan is winning them over by distracting their
attention from Allah (swt) and misleading them in their decisions. Staying in
constant Zikrullah makes us fear
Allah (swt), always allowing us to put life matters into perspective by
rearranging priorities accordingly to Allah’s commands in order to maintain
individual, social as well as environmental harmony. Consequently, evil deeds
are wiped out by sincerity of the heart to enjoin what is good and forbid evil
acts, permitting us to find tranquillity of heart.
Allah advises His servants
as follows:
“And seek by means of what Allah
has given you, the Home of the Hereafter, and do not neglect your portion of
this world, and do good (to others) as Allah has done good to you, and do not
seek to make mischief in the land, surely Allah does not love the
mischief-makers.” (Al-Qasas, 28: 78).
While the tongue remains
fresh with Zikr, we also become
steadfast to fight away despair, like I explained last Friday. The Zikr of Allah kills despair and open up
the heart with new avenues of hope and trust in Allah. Moreover, this trust in
Allah creates tranquillity which reinforces the servant of Allah in faith and
duty, both towards Allah and the people also. We thus submit our wills to Allah
(swt) alone and no one else; we believe and trust that He will take care of us,
no matter what happens, and as long as we strive to stay on the right path. So,
while we admit our limitation as human beings, but nevertheless we look ahead positively,
by leaving the rest to Allah’s wisdom.
Despair is thus replaced by confidence
in Allah (swt) Himself; He who is in charge of everything; He who possesses all
the best attributes; He who is All-Seeing, All-Knowing, All-Fair and All-Wise.
“And for those who fear Allah, He
always prepares a way out. And He will provide for him from where he does not
expect. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him.
Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for
all things.” (At-Talaq, 65: 3-4).
Hence, as Muslims, we need
to believe that whatever happens is out of His will and He only does what is
good for us. We are convinced that for any of our problem there is always a way
out!
“So, verily, with every difficulty,
there is relief. Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.”
(Ash-Sharh, 94: 6-7).
In reinforcement to the teachings
of the Quran, the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh) also highlighted the
importance of Zikrullah in many Hadiths.
One of his companions, Abu Musa (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) said:
“The comparison between a
man who makes Zikr of his Rab (i.e. one who invokes the remembrance of His Lord
(Allah)) and one who does not make Zikr is like the comparison between a living
person and a dead person.” (Bukhari & Muslim).
The one who engages in Zikr has been compared to a living
person because the existence of the Ruh
(soul) is in fact the remembrance of Allah (swt) while the one who refrains
from Zikr has been compared to a dead
person. Also, Allah (swt) remembers those who remember Him. Another close
companion of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), Abu Huraira (ra) narrated that the
Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Allah
(swt) says:
‘I am with My servant when he remembers Me. When he remembers Me in
his heart, I too remember him in Me. When he remembers Me in a gathering, I
remember (and mention) him in a superior gathering (i.e. the assembly of
angels).” (Bukhari & Muslim).
On the other hand, for those
who are self-satisfied, it should not be imagined that material possessions of
comfort, wealth and luxury are negative to Zikrullah.
Such possessions too are favours of Allah (swt) bestowed upon him for a limited
time. Thus, those indulging in luxury should not abstain from Zikrullah. They should also be
constantly engaged in the remembrance of Allah (swt), thanking Him whilst
enjoying the comforts of the bounties which Allah (swt) has bestowed upon them,
and also join His good cause by spending part of what they have amassed as
fortune in the path of Allah. This kind of financial sacrifice for the cause of
Allah, to please Allah is also a form of Zikrullah, for one is remembering
Allah and dedicating part (or all) of his wealth in the path of Allah, for the
works of Deen-i-Islam, to help in
progressing Islam further.
Hence, let us all adopt the
habit of remembering Allah (swt), be it with our tongue, mind and deeds
repetitively for Mu’aaz Ibn Jabal (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) said:
“The people of Paradise will not grieve over anything but
the moments in which they did not engage in Zikrullah (while they were on
earth). They will regret for such (wasted) moments.” (Tabarani, Baihaqi).
And remember this type of
regret will not be similar to any regret of the world for it will neither cause
hardship nor sorrow. Fortunate shall be these people who despite gaining access
to Paradise would have loved to have done the maximum Zikr of Allah so that they could have acceded to the higher stages
of Paradise.
May Allah help each one of
us remember Him in the most glorious ways so that He may always be pleased with
us, think about us and extol our deeds and the love we have for Him with His
angels and all His creatures in the Heavens and Earth. Ameen. Indeed, our priority is Allah, to seek Allah and get Allah
as our reward. This should be our real goal in life, come what may. May Allah
enable us to accede to Him in His embrace and love. Ameen, Summa Ameen, Ya Rabbal Aalameen.
---Friday Sermon of 05
August 2016 ~ (01 Dhul Qaddah 1437 AH) delivered by Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.