Hadith 50: Remembrance of Allah

'Abdullah bin Busr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: One of the Companions said, `O Messenger of Allah. There are many injunctions of Islam for me. So tell me something to which I may hold fast.` He said, `Let your tongue cease to moist with the remembrance of Allah.` [Ahmad 4.188 & At-Tirmidhi 3435].

Notes:

Allah, glorious is He, orders the mu'minun to remember Him a great deal and praises those who remember Him in that way.He exalted is He says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا

O you who believe! Remember Allâh with much remembrance...and glorify Him in the morning and the evening. Al-Ahzab: 41

وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

men and the women who remember Allâh much with their hearts and tongues (while sitting, standing, lying, etc. for more than 300 times extra over the remembrance of Allâh during the five compulsory congregational prayers) or praying extra additional Nawâfil prayers of night in the last part of night, etc.) Allâh has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise). Al-Ahzab: 35

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ

Those who remember Allâh (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides. [Al-'Imran: 191]

At-Tirmidhi (3596) narrated it, and according to him they said. "Messenger of Allah, who are the utterly devoted?" He answered, "Those who are addicted to the Remembrance of Allah. The remembrance removes from them their heavy burdens and so they come light on the day of Rising."

There is in the Musnad and in the Sahih of Ibn Hibban from Abu Sa'id al-khudri also from the prophet (saws) that he said, " Do so much dhikr of Allah that they say, '[He is] mad." [Ahmad 3:68,71]

Zayd al Aslam said, "Musa (AS) said, My Lord, You have poured out many blessings upon me, show me how to thank you a great deal." He said, "Remember Me a great deal, for when you remember Me a great deal, you have shown gratitude to Me a great deal. When you forget Me, you have been ungrateful to Me."

Section: on specific appointed dhikrs in the day and the night

It is well known that Allah, mighty is He and majestic, made it obligatory for the Muslims to remember Him five times every day and night by establishing the five prayers in their prescribed times, and He prescribed for them along with these five obligations that they should remember Him with other optional (nafilah) acts. And optional (nafilah) is extra, so that that should be over and above the five prayers. This is of two sorts:

First, that which is of the same sort as the prayer, and so He laid down that they should pray along with and before the five prayers or after them, or both before and after other Sunnah prayers which are over and above the obligatory prayers, so that if there is any shortcoming in the obligatory prayers He will heal their shortcomings with these optional prayers, but if there is not [any shortcoming] then the optional prayers will be over and above the obligatory.

The longest space of time between the times of prayer in which there is no obligatory prayer is that between the prayer of 'Isha' and that of Fajr, and then that between Fajr and the prayer of Dhuhr, and so He laid down between each of these two prayers [other] prayers which would be optional so that the time of forgetfulness of the remembrance [of Allah] should not be too long. He laid down for between the prayer of 'Isha' and Fajr the prayer of the Witr and the standing of the night [in tahajjud], and between the prayer of Fajr and Dhuhr the prayer of Duha.

Some of these prayers are more firmly established than others, and the most firmly established is the Witr – and so the people of knowledge differed as to whether or not it is a duty – and then the standing in prayer at night upon which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, persisted both when resident and travelling, and then the prayer of Duha, about which people differ. There are sound hadith about it being preferable to persist and urging that we practise it. There are also [sound hadith] urging prayer just after the declining of the sun [from the meridian].

As for remembrance with the tongue, it is laid down to be done at every moment, and it is emphasised at some moments.

Examples of times when it is emphasised to remember Allah are: immediately after the obligatory prayers, and that one remember Allah after each prayer of them one hundred times with a mixture of Subhana'llah – Glory be to Allah, al-hamdu lillah – praise belongs to Allah, Allahu akbar – Allah is greater, and la ilaha illa'llah – There is no god but Allah.

It is also desirable to remember Him after the two prayers after which there are no optional prayers [allowed], which are the Fajr and 'Asr, and so it is laid down to remember Allah after the prayer of Fajr until the sun rises, and after 'Asr until the sun sets. For this reason, Allah, exalted is He, commands His remembrance in these two times in many places in the Qur'an, such as in His saying:

"and glorify Him in the morning and the evening,"{{Surat al-Ahzab: 42}} and His saying:

"Remember the Name of your Lord in the morning and the evening,"{{Surat al-Insan: 25}} and His saying:

"glorify Him in the evening and after dawn,"{{Surah Al 'Imran: 41}} and His saying:

"and gestured to them to glorify Allah in the morning and the evening,"{{Surah Maryam: 11}} and His saying:

"So glory be to Allah when you start the night and when you greet the day,"{{Surat ar-Rum: 17}} and His saying:

"Ask forgiveness for your wrong action and glorify your Lord with praise in the evening and the early morning,"{{Surat al-Ghafir: 55}} and His saying:

"Remember your Lord in yourself humbly and fearfully, without loudness of voice, morning and evening. Do not be one of the unaware,"{{Surat al-A'raf: 205}} and His saying:

"and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before its setting,"{{Surah Ta Ha: 130}} and His saying:

"and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before it sets."{{Surah Qaf: 39}}

The best remembrance done at these two times are the prayers of Fajr and of 'Asr which are the best prayers, about each of which it has been said that they are the midmost prayer, and that they are the two loved ones [lit: cool] which whoever safeguards them will enter the Garden. Next to them in the times of remembrance is the night; for this reason the glorification of the night and its salah are mentioned after the mention of these two times in the Qur'an.

[When mentioned] without any qualification remembrance includes salah, recitation of the Qur'an and learning and teaching it, useful knowledge, just as it includes glorification, praise, magnification and la ilaha illa'llah – There is no god but Allah. Among our companions there are those who regard recitation of Qur'an as being weightier than glorification and the like after Fajr and 'Asr. Al-Awza'i was asked about that and he said, "Their guidance was remembrance of Allah, but if one recites then it is good." The apparent meaning of this is that remembrance at this time is better than recitation, and Ishaq spoke similarly about glorification right after the obligatory prayers one hundred times, "It is better than recitation at that time." The acts of remembrance and supplications which are transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for morning and evening are very many.

It is also recommended to fill the time between the two night prayers [Maghrib and 'Isha'] with prayer and remembrance, and we have seen previously the hadith of Anas that about that was revealed His saying, exalted is He:

"Their sides eschew their beds."{{Surat as-Sajdah: 16}}

It is recommended to delay the prayer of 'Isha' until one third of the night as sound hadith show – and this is the madhhab of Imam Ahmad and others – so that one does this prayer in the best time for it which is the end of its time, and the person who waits for this prayer in congregation in this first third of the night occupies himself in prayer or remembrance waiting for the prayer in the mosque. Then later when he prays 'Isha' and he prays after it those established Sunnah prayers which follow it or he performs the Witr after that if he wishes to do the Witr before sleeping.

Then when he goes to his bed after that to sleep, then it is recommended for him only to sleep in purity [having done wudu'] and in remembrance, and to glorify, praise and say Allahu akbar – Allah is greater to the number of one hundred, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, taught Fatimah and 'Ali to do when they went to bed,{{Al-Bukhari (3113), Muslim (2727) and others}} and that he should do as much as he is able of the acts of remembrance transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to be done at sleep, and there are many types including recitation of Qur'an and remembrance of Allah, and then one should sleep in that state.

Then if one wakes up at night and turns about on one's bed one should remember Allah each time one turns. There is in Sahih al-Bukhari from 'Ubadah that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever wakes up at night and says:

'There is no god but Allah alone without associate. His is the kingdom and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things. Glory be to Allah, praise belongs to Allah, there is no god but Allah and Allah is greater, and there is no power and no strength but by Allah,' and then says:

'Lord forgive me,'" – or he said, "and then he supplicates, he will be answered. Then if he has a high resolve, performs wudu' and prays, his prayer will be accepted."{{Al-Bukhari (1154)}}

There is in at-Tirmidhi from Abu Umamah that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever goes to his bed in a state of purity remembering Allah until slumber overcomes him, if he turns over at some hour of the night and asks Allah for anything of the good of the world or the next life, He will give it to him."{{At-Tirmidhi (3526)}}

Abu Dawud narrated it in the same sense in a hadith of Mu'adh,{{Abu Dawud (5042)}} and an-Nasa'i narrated it in a hadith of 'Amr ibn 'Abasah.{{An-Nasa'i in 'Amal al-yawm wa'l-laylah (807-9)}}

Imam Ahmad has in the version of 'Amr ibn 'Abasah of this hadith, "…and the first of what he says when he wakes up is:

'Glory be to You! there is no god but You, forgive me,' then he will emerge out of his wrong actions as the snake emerges out of its skin [which it sheds]."{{Not found in the published version of Musnad Ahmad}}

It is firmly established that when he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, woke up from his sleep, he used to say:

"Praise belongs to Allah Who made me live after he made me die, and to Him is the raising to life."{{Al-Bukhari (6312) and Muslim (2711)}}

Then when he stands up and does wudu' and tahajjud, he does all of that according to what is transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and concludes his tahajjud by seeking forgiveness in the pre-dawn, as Allah praises those who seek forgiveness in the pre-dawn. Then when it is the dawn, he prays two rak'ahs of Fajr, and then prays the Fajr prayer, and is busy after the Fajr prayer with the remembrance which is transmitted until sunrise according to what we have already mentioned. Whoever's condition is according to what we have mentioned, then his tongue does not cease to be moist with the remembrance of Allah, and he chooses remembrance as a constant companion in his waking moments until he sleeps in that condition, and then begins again with it when he wakes up, and that is one of the sure indications of sincere love, as one of them said:

The last thing is You at every slumber

and the first thing is You at the moment when I stir.

The first thing that a person does throughout the day and the night of those things which are of benefit in his din and in his world, then in all of that generally it is laid down that he should remember the name of Allah over it. Thus it is laid down that he should remember the name of Allah over his eating and drinking, his dressing, and his sexual intercourse with his wife, his entering his house and his going out of it, his entering the toilet and leaving it, his mounting his riding beast and he should mention the name of Allah over that which he slaughters both in his rites and elsewhere; he should praise Allah, exalted is He, when he sneezes, and when he sees people who are tried in their din or in their worldly life, when he meets brothers, and when they ask each other about how they are, and in the renewal of blessings that people love and in the repulsion of misfortunes that people dislike. More perfect than that is that he should praise Allah in happiness and hardship, distress and in comfortable circumstances, and that he should praise Allah in every state.

He should supplicate Allah, exalted is He, when he enters the market, when he hears the cock crowing at night, when he hears thunder, when it rains, when heavy gales blow, when he sees the new moon and when he sees the first fruits.

He should also remember Allah and supplicate him when something distressful happens, and when worldly hardships happen, when he goes out on a journey, and when he alights at stations on his journey and when he returns from a journey.

He ought to seek refuge with Allah when he becomes angry, and when he sees something he dislikes in his sleep, and when he hears the voices of dogs and donkeys at night.

He should supplicate Allah to choose what is good for him [with the istikharah] when he is deciding on that in which the choice (or good) is not obvious.

It is a duty to turn in tawbah to Allah and to seek forgiveness from all wrong actions, whether minor or major, as He says, exalted is He:

"those who, when they act indecently or wrong themselves, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their bad actions."{{Surah Al 'Imran: 135}} Whoever safeguards all of that, then his tongue will continuously be moist with the remembrance of Allah in all of his states.
Section

We have mentioned in the beginning of the book that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sent with concise and comprehensive words. So he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace was pleased by and admired concise and comprehensive [words of] remembrance and would choose them in preference to other types of remembrance, as is in Sahih Muslim from Ibn 'Abbas from Juwayriyyah bint al-Harith that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, left her early when he went to pray the morning prayer and she was in her place of prayer. Then he returned after the first part of the morning and she was still seated. He said, "Have you remained continuously in the condition in which I left you?" She answered, "Yes." The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "After [leaving] you, I said four phrases three times which if they were weighed against what you said this day, they would outweigh them:

'Glorious is Allah and in His praise according to the number of His creations, the pleasure of His self, the weight of His throne, and the ink of His words.'"{{Muslim (2726)}}

An-Nasa'i narrated it and his wording is:

"Glorious is Allah, and praise belongs to Allah and there is no god but Allah and Allah is greater, according to the number of His creations, the pleasure of His self, the weight of His throne, and the ink of His words."{{An-Nasa'i in 'Amal al-yawm wa'l-laylah (161)}}

Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i narrated a hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas that he went in along with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace to a woman in front of whom were date stones, or he said pebbles with which she was [counting her acts of] glorifying and he asked, "Shall I not inform you of that which is easier than this and better?

'Glorious is Allah according to the number of what He created in the heaven. Glorious is Allah according to the number of what He created in the earth. Glorious is Allah according to the number of what is between them. Glorious is Allah according to the number of what He is to create [in the future] and Allah is greater the like of that, and praise belongs to Allah the like of that, and there is no power and no strength but by Allah the like of that.'"{{Abu Dawud (1500), at-Tirmidhi (3568), and an-Nasa'i in 'Amal al-yawm wa'l-laylah}}

At-Tirmidhi narrated a hadith of Safiyyah that she said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace entered to visit me while in front of me there were four thousand date stones with which I was [counting as I] glorified Allah, and I said, 'I glorify with these,' and he asked, 'Shall I not teach you something more than that with which you glorify?' and I answered, 'Teach me.' He said, 'Say:

"Glorious is Allah according to the number of His creations."'"

An-Nasa'i, and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, narrated in a hadith of Abu Umamah that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace passed by him while he was moving his lips, and he asked, "What are you saying, Abu Umamah?" He answered, "I am remembering my Lord." He asked, "Shall I not inform you of more and better than your remembrance all night along with the day and all day along with the night? It is that you say:

'Glorious is Allah according to the number of what He created. Glorious is Allah according to the volume of what He created. Glorious is Allah according to the number of what is on the earth and in the heaven. Glorious is Allah according to the volume of what is on the earth and in the heaven. Glorious is Allah according to the number of what His Book reckons. Glorious is Allah according to the volume of what His Book reckons. Glorious is Allah according to the number of every thing. Glorious is Allah according to the volume of every thing,' and that you say:

'Praise belongs to Allah' the like of that.'"{{An-Nasa'i in 'Amal al-yawm wa'l-laylah (166) and Ibn Hibban (830)}}

Al-Bazzar narrated the like of it in a hadith of Abu'd-Darda'.{{Al-Bazzar (3080)}}

Ibn Abi'd-Dunya narrated with his chain of transmission that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said to Mu'adh, "Mu'adh, how many times do you remember your Lord every day? Do you remember Him ten thousand times every day?" He answered, "All of that I do." He asked, "Shall I not show you some words which are easier for you than ten thousand and ten thousand, that you say:

'There is no god but Allah according to the number of that which He reckons. There is no god but Allah according to the number of His words. There is no god but Allah according to the number of His creations. There is no god but Allah according to the weight of His throne. There is no god but Allah according to the volume of His heavens. There is no god but Allah according to the volume of His earth. There is no god but Allah to the amount of the like of that along with it, and Allah is greater to the amount of the like of that along with it, and praise belongs to Allah to the amount of the like of that along with it.'"

There is with his chain of transmission that Ibn Mas'ud mentioned to him a woman who glorified Allah with [the use of] a string in which were tied knots, and he said, "Shall I not direct you to that which is better for you than it?

'Glorious is Allah according to the volume of land and sea. Glorious is Allah according to the volume of the heavens and the earth. Glorious is Allah according to the number of His creations, and according to the pleasure of His self,' because then you have filled the land and the sea, the heaven and the earth."

There is with his chain of transmission from al-Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman at-Taymi that he said, "My father used to narrate five hadith and then he would say, 'Leisurely!

Glorious is Allah and praise belongs to Allah and there is no god but Allah and Allah is greater and there is no power and no strength but by Allah according to the number of what He has created and the number of what He will create, and according to the weight of what He created and the weight of what He will create, and according to the volume of what He created and the volume of what He will create, and according to the volume of His heavens and the volume of His earth, and the like of that and multiples of that, and according to the number of His creations, the weight of His throne, the furthest limit of His mercy, the ink of His words, the furthest reach of His good pleasure until He is pleased and when He is pleased, and according to the number of times His creation remembered Him in all that is now past, and according to the number of times they will remember Him in what remains, in every year, every month, every week, every day, every night, every single moment, and [according to the number of times His creation] inhaled and exhaled from endless time to forever, as long as there is the world and the next life, the utmost extreme of the time of that whose first is not cut off and whose last does not come to an end.'"

There is with his chain of transmission from al-Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman that he said, "I saw 'Abd al-Malik ibn Khalid [in a dream] after his death and I asked, 'What have you done?' He said, 'Good.' I asked, 'Do you hope for anything for the one who makes mistakes?' He answered, 'That he cling to the knowledge of the glorifications of Abu'l-Mu'tamir is the best thing.'"

Ibn Abi'd-Dunya said, "Muhammad ibn al-Husayn narrated to me, 'One of the people of Basra narrated to me that Yunus ibn 'Ubayd saw in that which the dreamer sees a man who had been struck down in the land of the Byzantines, and he asked, "What is the best that you have seen there [in the next life] of actions?" He answered, "I saw that the glorifications of Abu'l-Mu'tamir have a place with Allah."'"

Similarly, concise comprehensive supplications used to please the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. There is in the Sunan of Abu Dawud that 'A'ishah said, "Concise comprehensive supplications used to please the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace and he would give up anything other than that." {{Abu Dawud (1482)}}

Al-Firyabi and others narrated a hadith of 'A'ishah also that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said to her, "'A'ishah, you should take to the concise comprehensive supplication:

'O Allah, I ask You for all good now (or in this world) and in the future (or in the next world), that which I know and that which I do not know. I seek refuge with You from all evil now (or in this world) and in the future (or in the next world), that which I know and that which I do not know. O Allah, I ask You of that good which Muhammad, Your slave and Your prophet asked of You. I seek refuge with You from that evil from which Your slave and Your prophet sought refuge. O Allah, I ask You for the Garden and that which will draw me closer to it of word and deed. I seek refuge with You from the Fire and that which will draw me closer to it of word and deed. I ask You that whatever decrees You have decreed for me, that You make its outcome rightness of action.'" Imam Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih, and al-Hakim narrated it, but none of them have mention of concise comprehensive supplication. Al-Hakim has the word "complete" supplications. Abu Bakr al-Athram narrated it and according to him the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said to her, "What stops you from taking concise comprehensive words and their opening words?" {{Opening words are words that are clear and unlock deep meanings and interpretations as opposed to words that are shallow and complicated. Ed.}} and then he mentioned this supplication.{{Ahmad (6: 134, 146-7), al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-mufrad (639), Ibn Majah (3846), Ibn Hibban (869) and al-Hakim (1: 521-522)}}

At-Tirmidhi narrated the hadith of Abu Umamah in which he said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace supplicated with many supplications of which we memorised nothing, so we said, 'Messenger of Allah, you have supplicated with many supplications of which we memorised nothing.' He said, 'Shall I not direct you to that which includes all of that? You should say:

"O Allah, we ask You for that good for which Your prophet Muhammad asked You, and we seek refuge with You from that evil from which Your prophet Muhammad sought refuge with You, and You are the One from Whom help is sought, and the fulfilment [of wishes and needs] is Your responsibility, and there is no power and no strength but by Allah."'"{{At-Tirmidhi (3521)}}

At-Tabarani and others narrated a hadith of Umm Salamah that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace used to say in a long supplication of his:

"O Allah, I ask You the matters which open up good and those which conclude it, and the concise comprehensive [good things], and its first and last, its outward and inward."{{At-Tabarani in al-Kabir (23:717) and al-Hakim (1:520)}}

There is in the Musnad that Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas heard one of his sons supplicating saying, "O Allah, I ask You for the Garden and its bliss and its silk brocade," and the like of this, "and I seek refuge with You from the Fire and its chains and manacles." So he said, "You have asked Allah for much good, and you have sought refuge with Him from much evil, but I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace saying, 'There will be people who will go beyond the limit in supplication,' and he recited this ayah:

'Call on your Lord humbly and secretly. He does not love those who overstep the limits."{{Surat al-A'raf: 55}} Indeed, it is sufficient for you to say:

'O Allah, I ask You for the Garden and what draws one nearer to it of word and deed, and I seek refuge with You from the Fire and what draws one nearer to it of word and deed.'"

There is in the two Sahih books from Ibn Mas'ud that he said, "We used to say in the prayer behind the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'Peace be upon Allah, and peace be upon Jibril and Mika'il, and peace be upon so-and-so and so-and-so.' So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said to us one day, 'Allah is Peace, so when any of you sit in the prayer, then say:

"Greetings are for Allah and the prayers and the wholesome good things. Peace be upon you, O Prophet and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the right-acting slaves of Allah," for when one says it it reaches every right-acting slave of Allah in the heaven and on earth:

"I witness that there is no god but Allah and I witness that Muhammad is His slave and His messenger," and then let him choose whatever petitions he wishes.'"{{Al-Bukhari (835) and Muslim (402)}}