InZikrofAllahwillyourHeartfindPeace. 1

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Peopleinallwalksoflifearesearchingforhappiness,peaceandtranquillity.MuslimornonMuslim,blackorwhite,youngorold,eachandeverypersonwantstobeatpeace.

"Verily!OnlyintheZikrofAllahwillyourheartfindpeace."Quran(Surah13:Verse28)

Zikr,pronouncedDhikar,meansremembrance.ItisoftenassociatedwithAllahtomean"RemembranceofAllah".Zikrmeanstoabsorbone'sconsciousnessintheremembranceofAllahyoucanrememberAllahinanylanguageandinalmostinanyplace.

HadhratAbuHurairah(RadhiyallahoAnho)narratedthatRasulullah(SALLALLAHUALAIHIWASALLAM)hassaid:

"AlmightyAllah says, I treatmy slave (man)according tohisexpectationsfromMe,andIamwithhimwhenheremembersMe.IfheremembersMeinhisheart,IrememberhiminMyheart;ifheremembersMeinagathering,Irememberhim inabetterandnoblergathering (i.e.ofangels). Ifhecomescloser toMe by one span, I go towards him a cubit's length, if he comestowardsMebyacubit's length,Igotowardshimanarm's length,and ifhewalkstowardsMe,Irununtohim."

Thereareseveralpointsof interestelaborated inthisHaadith.Thefirstpoint isthatAllahdealswithamanaccordingtohisexpectationsfromHim.OneshouldthereforealwaysbehopefulofthemercyandbenevolenceofAlmightyAllahandnever be despondent of His blessings. Certainly,we are extremely sinful andjustlydeservepunishmentonaccountofourevildeeds,yetinnocaseshouldwefeeldejectedofthemercyofAllah,asHemayperhapstotallyforgiveus.

ForgivenessandMercylieswithAlmightyAllahhemayormaynotforgive;thatiswhytheUlamasaythattruebelief lies inbetweenhope (of forgivenessfromAllah)and fear (ofHiswrath).TheHolyProphet (SALLALLAHUALAIHIWASALLAM)oncevisitedayoungSahabi,whowasbreathinghislast,andaskedhimhowhewasfeeling.Hereplied:

"OMessengerofAllah,IamhopefulofthemercyofAllah,andyetIamafraidofmysins."

ThereupontheHolyProphet(SALLALLAHUALAIHIWASALLAM)said:

"Whentheheartofabelieverisfilledwiththesetwofeelingsofhopeandfear,AlmightyAllahfulfilshishopeandsaveshimfromwhatheisafraidof."

It ismentioned inoneHaadith thatabeliever thinksofhis sin,as ifhe is sittingunderahuge rock that isthreateningtofallonhim,whileforatransgressorhissinisnomorethanaflywhichiseasilyscaredoff,i.e.hetakeshis sins very lightly. In short,one shouldbeappropriatelyafraidofones sins,andat the same timeremainhopefulofAllah'smercy.

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HadhratMu'aaz (RadhiyallahoAnho)diedoftheplagueand, inthemomentsofdeath'sagony,hefaintedmanytimes.Wheneverheregainedconsciousnessforamoment,hewouldsay:

"OAllah!ThouknowestthatIloveThee.ByThyHonourandGlory,Thouknowestthisverywell."

Justbeforebreathinghislast,hesaid:

"ODeath,youareawelcomeguestbuthavecomeatatimewhenthereisnothinginthehousetoeat."

Thenhesaid,

"OAllah!ThouknowestverywellthatIalwaysfearedThee,andtodayIdiehopefulofThyforgiveness.OAllah!I enjoyed life, not in digging canals and planting gardens, but in remaining thirsty in the hotweather, inundergoinghardships for the sakeof Islam,and in takingpart in thegatheringsengaged inZikrunder thesupervisionoftheUlama."

SomeUlamahavewrittenthatthefulfilmentofexpectationspromisedbyAlmightyAllahintheaboveHaadithis in itsmost general sense. It carries assurance not only in respect of forgiveness but also in respect ofprayers,health,wealthandsafety.ForinstancewhenapersonpraystoAllahandsincerelybelievesthatAllahshallaccepthisprayer,thenhisprayerisactuallyaccepted,butifhehasdoubt(thathisprayerwouldnotbeaccepted),itisnotaccepted.Thus,inanotherHaadithitisstatedthattheprayerofapersonisgrantedsolongashedoesnotsaythathisprayerisnotgranted.Thesameistrueinthecaseofallblessingsrelatingtohealth,prosperityetc.

According tooneHaadith, ifadestitutepersondiscloseshishunger toeverybody,he isnot relievedofhispoverty,but ifhe shows submission toGraciousAllah (SWT),his conditionmay soon change for thebetter.However,hoping for thebetter fromAlmightyAllah isone thing,andbeingoverconfidentofHishelpandforgiveness isanother thing.AlmightyAllahhaswarnedusagainstsuchanattitude inseveralversesof theHolyQur'ane.g.

"Letnotthedeceiver(theSatan),beguileyouinregardtoAllah"i.e.oneshouldnotbemisledbythedeviltocommitsinsjustbecauseAllahisthemostMercifulandtheForgiver".

ThesecondpointinthisHaadithis"WheneveraslaveofmineremembersMe,Iamwithhim."InanotherHaadith,itisstated,"Solongasone'slipsmoveinMyremembranceIremainwith

him"i.e.AlmightyAllahbestowsHisspecialcareandmercyonhimduringallthistime.

Thethirdpoint isthatAlmightyAllahmentionshimwitha favourtotheangels,whichsignifiesthevalueofZikr.Firstly, this isbecauseAllah createdman such that inherentlyhe is liable tobegoodaswellas togoastray. Submission on his part therefore deserves special appreciation. Secondly, at the time of Adam'screation,theAngels(whohaveno instinctfordoingevil)couldnotunderstandthecreationofmanandhadcontendedthathewouldcausebloodshedandtroubleintheworld,whiletheyarealwaystheretopraiseandglorifyAlmightyAllah.

Thirdly,man'sworshipofAllahandsubmissiontoHiswillismorecommendablethanthatoftheAngels,becausehedoesso,onaccountofhisfaithintheunseenwhich,however,isactuallyseenbytheangels.Itisto

thisfactthatAllahrefersintheHolyBook:"HowwouldmannothaveworshippedifhehadactuallyseentheParadiseandtheHell."ItisforthisreasonthatAlmightyAllahpraisesthenoble

deedsofthosewhoworshipandglorifyHimwithoutseeingHim.

ThefourthpointcontainedintheabovementionedHaadithisthatifamanincreaseshisdevotiontoAlmightyAllah, the increase inHismercy and kindness upon him is proportionately far greater. "Gettingnear" and"running"signifyimmediateincreaseinHisblessingsandmercy.Thus,itisuptoapersonthat,ifhewantstoenjoymorekindnessandfavoursfromAlmightyAllah,heshouldincreasehisdevotiontoHim.

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This does notmean that one increases his or her effort in Zikr only and at the same time lapses in theobligatoryactsofworship.Zikrshouldformpartofaunifiedeffortinestablishinginourlivesthetruepracticeof Islam, agreed that due to the life stylewe lead in todays society onemay find themselves unable tomaintainthepracticeonaregularbasis,missingaprayerontimedoesnotmeanwetotallygiveupbutpraytoAllahforforgivenessandaskforguidance.Oneshouldofferthemissedprayerandcontinuewithanefforttoregularising all religious practice it iswith continued effort and dedication that one can attain success infulfillingonesreligiousobligations.

The fifthpoint in theabovementionedHaadith is that theAngelshavebeenstated tobesuperior toman,while it is commonly known thatman is the best creation ofAllah.One reason for this has already beenexplained inthetranslation(oftheHaadith),thattheangelsaresuperiorbecausetheyare innocentandareunabletocommitsins.Secondly,theyaresuperiorbecausetheyarebetterthanthemajorityofmen,includingeven themajority of believers; and yet some selected Believers like the Prophets (Alaihimus salaam) aresuperiortotheangels.

There aremanyother reasons aswell,which isnot covered in this article. It is important thatwedoourutmost to at leastdedicate somequite time to contemplate thewholeessenceof life and remember andthankAllah(SWT)forwhatHehasbestowedonusinthislife.

IhearyoufumbleImtoobusy,howdoImaketime?timeisonepreciouselementinthislifeandnoonehasthepowertocreatetimeexceptAllah. HoweverAllahhasgivenusthe intellecttoorganiseourdailychoresinwaythatweareabletoschedulesomeregulartimeforZikr.Ifthatissomethingthatyouarenotabletoachievebecauseyouaresobusy,thentrytousethetimeduringyourtravelstoandbackfromworkorUniversity,College,Schoolandanyotherplace. Zikr isanactofworshipwhichonecanofferandpracticeinsilentcontemplationintheirmindandheartwithoutdisturbingothers.

PurposeofZikr:WhenstartingtopractiseZikroneshouldhaveone'sthoughtsdirectedanddeterminedtoachieveadesiredgoal.Zikronlyhasonetruepurposebuttherearesevenpathswhichleadonetoreachtheultimategoal.ThroughtheregularpracticeofZikrapersoncanattainpeaceandtranquillityinhisorherlifeitaidsinachievingclearthoughtprocessandhelpsinappreciatinglifessmallwonders.ThepracticeofZikrovertimeincreasesonesimaanandallowsthepersontounderstandthatwhatevergoodorbadthathappensinlifeoccurswiththeconsentofAllahandHealonecanhelpusovercomedifficultiesandHeisworthyofpraiseintimesofjoyandsadness.

LifeisfullofupsanddownsandashumansitisoftensaidintimesofdistressWhydidthishappentome?WhatdidIdowrong?Etc.Thisisacommontraitinusallweneedtoovercomethisweaknessasitonlyhampersthefulfilmentofourimaan.InsteadoneshouldpraytoAllahforguidanceandsupportintimesofdistressasweinourlimitedcapacitycannotunderstandthewisdombehindacertainsituation.

IfitisabadsituationthenitmaybeatestfromAllahtoseehowstrongourfaithisinHim.Itmayevenbeapunishmentforasinthatwehavecommitted,itcanevenbethatsomegoodwillresultfromthatsituationwhichatthetimethatitoccursmayappeartobeacalamity

VirtuesofZikr:Virtuesofallgooddeedsarenumerousandpleasing.Butnonecanevenremotelycomparetothevastblessings,gifts,grace,stations,peaceandtranquillityreceivedbyonewhoperformsZikr.ThisarticleonlycoversthebasicsofZikrtounderstandmoreandstartyourquestintoperformingZikrreviewtheZikrsectionathttp://www.asmaulhusna.netne.net/

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InZikrofAllahwillyourHeartfindPeace. 4

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TypesofZikr:Differentpeoplehavedifferenttastes.AsZikrisforeveryone,youaresuretofindatypeofZikrwhichsuitsyouthemost.EachformofZikrhasitsownblessingsandbeauty,butallformsofZikrleadyoutothesweetestofthemall.TherearethreetypesofZikr:1.Practical2.Verbal3.Silent1.PracticalPracticalZikr,alsoknownas"ZikreFaily",isperformedwithone'sobedientactions.Itcomprisesofobedienceto:i)ThecommandmentsofAllah(SWT)i.e.Prayer,Fasting,Hajj,umrah,Zakaat,charityetcii)TheSunnahofourHolyProphet(SALLALLAHUALAIHIWASALLAM)i.e.eating,drinking,sleeping,walking,