Chapter: On the Remembrance of Allah
باب فی ذکر اللہ — اللہ کی یاد کے بارے میں
بَابٌ فِيْ ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ — On the remembrance (dhikr) of Allah
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَلَذِكْرُ اللّٰهِ أَكْبَرُ.
(al-ʿAnkabūt 29:45)
Translation: Allah Most High says: The remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing of all.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: فَاذْكُرُوْنِيْٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ.
(al-Baqara 2:152)
Vocabulary: fa-dhkurūnī — so, since I have done you so many favours, you ought not to forget Me; always remain in My remembrance; adhkurkum — I too will keep you in mind.
Translation: Allah Most High says: So remain in My remembrance; I shall always keep you in mind.
Dhikr is the opposite of forgetfulness and heedlessness. Remembering is the opposite of forgetting. For dhikr and remembrance it is not necessary to say any words. My friend is before me; I am not heedless of him — so he is remembered by me. What need is there to call him by name without necessity? Rather, it is a kind of discourtesy. — [Persian half-line:] "In the [privacy] where I am, to mention the Friend is a discourtesy." [reading uncertain]
Dhikr has different kinds, and on each, different effects follow: (1) dhikr jahrī — aloud; (2) dhikr khafī — softly; (3) dhikr lisānī — with the tongue; (4) dhikr qalbī — with the heart; (5) dhikr with ḥabs-i dam — holding the breath; (6) dhikr without ḥabs-i dam; (7) dhikr dāʾimī, or dawām-i ḥuḍūr (perpetual presence); (8) dhikr aḥyānī — remembering now and then.
Through dhikr jahrī and ḥabs-i dam, heat is produced and lassitude goes away. At the beginning, dhikr jahrī and ḥabs-i dam are needed. Through dhikr jahrī stray thoughts (khaṭarāt) are repelled; emotions rise up; force arises in passionate love (ʿishq) and love; restlessness and agitation arise. Through dhikr khafī, contentment and calm arise; fanāʾiyyat (the state of annihilation, fanāʾ) and absorption come. Those who do dhikr aloud find relish in qawwālī (devotional singing), and those of dhikr khafī find delight in reflection, absorption (istighrāq) and the Qurʾān. Upon those of dhikr jahr, fanāʾiyyat comes as though a scorpion has stung someone, or as though he is burning in fire —
he shrieks, he cries out, he gives up his life writhing. Upon those of dhikr khafī, fanāʾiyyat comes as when a snake has bitten someone, or he has died drowning in water. The poor man gave up his life — no shriek, no call, no "alas", no "woe". The helpless one did not even draw a breath, and was gone.
Through the kalima ṭayyiba (the pure word, lā ilāha illā Allāh), stray thoughts and fancies are repelled and everything other than Allah is negated. Through the Name of Majesty — that is, "Allāh, Allāh" — absorption (istighrāq) arises and self-forgetfulness comes. Through "Hū" and "Allāh" especially, absorption and self-forgetfulness come.
The image (taṣawwur) of the Shaykh comes with its sanctity and its all-comprehending human dignity. When Ḥaḍrat Imām Ḥasan al-Mujtabā (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Hind ibn Abī Hāla about the features (ḥilya) of the Beloved of God ﷺ, he also said: أَتَعَلَّقُ بِهٖ — so that I may cling to it, may form a bond with it. Materialist scholars do not accept this — let them not accept it; their simple-heartedness is welcome to them. For us there is: وَمَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيْهِمْ ("And Allah would not punish them while you are among them"). Does anyone ever burn the album of his friends' pictures? The image of the Shaykh is the door of openings (bāb al-futūḥ); it is the door of wilāya (sainthood). In the noble Miʿrāj (Ascension), did not the Beloved of the Lord of the worlds ﷺ meet the earlier prophets? If you are not granted meeting with the lovers and beloveds of God, you are welcome to that [lack]. For us:
[Urdu verse:] Though there is no cash of deeds at all in my pocket or my collar, / yet in my heart, O Lord, are the pictures of Your beloved ones. — (Ḥasrat)
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَالذّٰكِرِيْنَ اللّٰهَ كَثِيْرًا وَّالذّٰكِرٰتِ أَعَدَّ اللّٰهُ لَهُمْ مَّغْفِرَةً وَّأَجْرًا عَظِيْمًا.
(al-Aḥzāb, rukūʿ 5 [33:35])
Translation: Allah Most High says: For the men who remember Allah and the women who remember [Him], Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.
مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَرْتَعَ فِيْ رِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ فَلْيُكْثِرْ ذِكْرَ اللّٰهِ.
(Ibn Abī Shayba and al-Ṭabarānī from Muʿādh ibn Jabal — Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Vocabulary: an yartaʿa — that he graze, eat and drink, enjoy himself; riyāḍ al-janna — the gardens of Paradise.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Muʿādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Whoever wishes to enjoy himself (eat and drink) in the flower-beds of Paradise should remember Allah much. (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl)
يَقُوْلُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى "مَنْ شَغَلَهٗ ذِكْرِيْ عَنْ مَسْأَلَتِيْ أَعْطَيْتُهٗ فَوْقَ مَا أُعْطِي السَّائِلِيْنَ".
(Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ḥilya and al-Daylamī from Ḥudhayfa — Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Ḥudhayfa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Allah Most High says: The person whom My remembrance makes forget asking of Me, I shall give him more than what I give to those who ask. (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl)
إِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَعَالٰى يَقُوْلُ "أَنَا مَعَ عَبْدِيْ مَا ذَكَرَنِيْ وَتَحَرَّكَتْ بِيْ شَفَتَاهُ".
(Aḥmad, Ibn Mājah and al-Ḥākim from Abū Hurayra — Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Vocabulary: mā dhakaranī — as long as he remembers Me; shafatāhu — his lips.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Allah Most High says: I am with My servant so long as he remembers Me and his lips move for My remembrance.
مَنْ قَالَ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُخْلِصًا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ.
(al-Bazzār from Abū Saʿīd — Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Saʿīd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Whoever said with sincerity (ikhlāṣ) lā ilāha illā Allāh (that there is no object of worship except Allah), he entered Paradise.
مَنْ كَانَ آخِرُ كَلَامِهٖ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ.
(Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd and al-Ḥākim from Muʿādh — Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Muʿādh (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The one whose last word was lā ilāha illā Allāh, he entered Paradise. (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl)
مَثَلُ الْبَيْتِ الَّذِيْ يُذْكَرُ اللّٰهُ فِيْهِ وَالْبَيْتِ الَّذِيْ لَا يُذْكَرُ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى فِيْهِ مَثَلُ الْحَيِّ وَالْمَيِّتِ.
(Agreed upon [Kanz code ق = al-Bukhārī and Muslim] from Abū Mūsā — Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Mūsā (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The house in which Allah is remembered, and the house in which Allah is not remembered — the example of these two is that of the living and the dead. (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl)
أَعْظَمُ النَّاسِ دَرَجَةً الذَّاكِرُوْنَ اللّٰهَ.
(al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān from Abū Saʿīd — Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Translation: Abū Saʿīd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The highest in rank among people are those who remember Allah.
فِيْ حَلْقَةِ الذِّكْرِ — On the circle (ḥalqa) of dhikr
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: فَاسْعَوْا إِلٰى ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ذٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُوْنَ.
(al-Jumuʿa 62:9)
Translation: Allah Most High says: Hasten towards the remembrance of Allah (go with effort), and leave off buying and selling. This is better for you, if you know.
إِنَّ لِلّٰهِ مَلٰٓئِكَةً سَيَّاحِيْنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَضْلًا عَنْ كُتَّابِ النَّاسِ يَطُوْفُوْنَ فِي الطُّرُقِ يَلْتَمِسُوْنَ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ فَإِذَا وَجَدُوْا قَوْمًا يَذْكُرُوْنَ اللّٰهَ تَنَادَوْا هَلُمُّوْا إِلٰى حَاجَتِكُمْ فَيَحُفُّوْنَهُمْ بِأَجْنِحَتِهِمْ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا فَيَسْأَلُهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ مِنْهُمْ، مَا يَقُوْلُ عِبَادِيْ؟ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ يُسَبِّحُوْنَكَ وَيُمَجِّدُوْنَكَ فَيَقُوْلُ هَلْ رَأَوْنِيْ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لَا وَاللّٰهِ! مَا رَأَوْكَ فَيَقُوْلُ كَيْفَ لَوْ رَأَوْنِيْ. فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لَوْ رَأَوْكَ كَانُوْا أَشَدَّ لَكَ عِبَادَةً وَأَشَدَّ لَكَ تَمْجِيْدًا وَأَكْثَرَ لَكَ تَسْبِيْحًا فَيَقُوْلُ فَمَا يَسْأَلُوْنِيْ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ يَسْأَلُوْنَكَ الْجَنَّةَ فَيَقُوْلُ هَلْ رَأَوْهَا. فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لَا وَاللّٰهِ! يَا رَبِّ! مَا رَأَوْهَا فَيَقُوْلُ فَكَيْفَ لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ رَأَوْهَا فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ رَأَوْهَا كَانُوْا أَشَدَّ عَلَيْهَا حِرْصًا وَأَشَدَّ لَهَا طَلَبًا وَأَعْظَمَ فِيْهَا رَغْبَةً قَالَ فَمِمَّ يَتَعَوَّذُوْنَ
فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ مِنَ النَّارِ فَيَقُوْلُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَلْ رَأَوْهَا؟ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لَا وَاللهِ يَا رَبِّ! فَيَقُوْلُ فَكَيْفَ لَوْ رَأَوْهَا فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لَوْ رَأَوْهَا كَانُوْا أَشَدَّ مِنْهَا فِرَارًا وَأَشَدَّ لَهَا مَخَافَةً فَيَقُوْلُ فَأُشْهِدُكُمْ أَنِّيْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُمْ فَيَقُوْلُ مَلَكٌ مِنَ الْمَلٰئِكَةِ فِيْهِمْ فُلَانٌ لَيْسَ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّمَا جَاءَ لِحَاجَةٍ فَيَقُوْلُ هُمُ الْقَوْمُ لَا يَشْقٰى جَلِيْسُهُمْ ۔
(Reported by Aḥmad, al-Bukhārī and Muslim from Abū Hurayra; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.) [reading uncertain]
Vocabulary: sayyāḥīn — those who travel about; yaṭūfūn — they go round, they wander about; yaltamisūn — they search, they seek out; tanādaw — they call out to one another, they summon; halummū — come here; lā yashqā jalīsuhum — one who sits with them is not unfortunate, cannot remain deprived.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah has some angels who travel about the earth, apart from the angels who write down deeds. They keep going about the roads and keep searching for those who do dhikr (remembrance of Allah). Then, when they find some people remembering Allah, they call out: "Come to what you need!" and they cover them with their wings up to the lowest heaven. Then their Lord asks them — though He knows better than they do — "What are My servants saying?" They say: "They glorify You and declare Your greatness." He says: "Have they seen Me?" They submit: "No, by God, they have not seen You." He says: "How would it be if they were to see Me?" They submit: "If they were to see You, they would become more devoted and regular in Your worship, would declare Your greatness very much more, and would glorify You very much more." Then He says: "What do they ask of Me?" "They ask You for Paradise." He says: "Have they seen it?" They submit: "No, by God, O Lord, they have not seen it." He says: "How would it be if they were to see it?" They submit: "If they were to see it, their longing for it would increase further, they would begin to seek it very much more, and they would become very much more drawn towards it." He said: "From what things do they seek refuge?" They submitted: "From the Fire (of Hell)." Then the Lord of Might and Majesty says: "Have they seen it?" They submit: "No, by God, O Lord." Then He says: "What would happen if they were to see it?" They submit: "If they were to see it, they would flee from it very much more and would begin to fear it very much more." Then He says: "I make you witnesses that I have forgiven them." Then one of the angels says: "Among those people is such-and-such a person who is not one of them; he had only come for some need of his own." Then He says: "They are such people that one who sits with them cannot remain deprived." (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl)
إِنَّ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ سَيَّارَةً مِنَ الْمَلٰئِكَةِ يَبْتَغُوْنَ حِلَقَ الذِّكْرِ فَإِذَا مَرُّوْا بِحِلَقِ الذِّكْرِ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ اُقْعُدُوْا فَإِذَا دَعَا الْقَوْمُ أَمَّنُوْا عَلٰى دُعَائِهِمْ فَإِذَا صَلَّوْا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهٖ وَسَلَّمَ صَلَّوْا مَعَهُمْ حَتّٰى
يَفْرُغُوْا ثُمَّ يَقُوْلُ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ طُوْبٰى لَهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُوْنَ إِلَّا مَغْفُوْرًا لَهُمْ ۔
(Reported by Ibn al-Najjār from Abū Hurayra; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Vocabulary: sayyāra — those who go about, roaming; yabtaghūn — they seek, they search; ḥilaq al-dhikr — circles of dhikr; ammanū — they say āmīn; ṭūbā lahum — glad tidings are for them; maghfūr — one who has been forgiven.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah, the Lord of Might and Majesty, has some roaming angels who keep searching for circles of dhikr. When they pass by circles of dhikr, some of them say to others: "Sit down." Then, when those people make duʿāʾ (supplication), they say āmīn to their duʿāʾ; and when they send blessings (durūd) upon the noble Prophet ﷺ, they too send blessings along with them, until they finish. Then some of them say to others: "Glad tidings are for them: they will not return without forgiveness; they will not return without having been forgiven." (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl)
بَابٌ فِي الذِّكْرِ بِالْجَهْرِ بِغَيْرِ أَنْ يُؤْذِيَ أَحَدًا — On Doing Dhikr Aloud without Causing Anyone Discomfort
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَابْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذٰلِكَ سَبِيْلًا ۔
(Banī Isrāʾīl, rukūʿ 12 — al-Isrāʾ 17:110)
Translation: Allah Most High says: Do not recite your prayer (ṣalāh) in a loud voice, nor make it too low, and adopt a middle way between the two.
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا أَنَّ رَفْعَ الصَّوْتِ بِالذِّكْرِ حِيْنَ يَنْصَرِفُ النَّاسُ مِنَ الْمَكْتُوْبَةِ كَانَ عَلٰى عَهْدِ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ۔
(Reported by the Five except al-Tirmidhī.)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both): Doing dhikr in a loud voice when people turned away from the obligatory prayers was [the practice] in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
عَنْ أَبِيْ سَعِيْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ اِعْتَكَفَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَسَمِعَهُمْ يَجْهَرُوْنَ بِالْقُرْاٰنِ فَكَشَفَ السِّتْرَ ۔ فَقَالَ أَلَا! إِنَّ كُلَّكُمْ يُنَاجِيْ رَبَّهٗ فَلَا يُؤْذِيَنَّ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا وَلَا يَرْفَعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلٰى بَعْضٍ فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ أَوْ فِي الصَّلٰوةِ ۔
(Reported by Abū Dāwūd.)
Vocabulary: iʿtakafa — he observed iʿtikāf (seclusion for worship in the mosque); yajharūn — they recite aloud; fa-kashafa al-sitr — then he lifted the curtain; fa-lā yuʾdhiyanna — let not [one] cause discomfort to another.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Saʿīd (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ observed iʿtikāf in the mosque, and he heard that people were reciting the Qurʾān aloud
and he removed the curtain. Then he said: "Listen! Each one of you is conversing intimately with his Lord; therefore let none of you cause discomfort to another, and do not raise your voices over one another in recitation or in prayer."
عَنْ أَبِيْ مُوْسٰى رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ كُنَّا فِيْ سَفَرٍ فَجَعَلَ النَّاسُ يَجْهَرُوْنَ بِالتَّكْبِيْرِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "اِرْبَعُوْا عَلٰى أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْعُوْنَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا إِنَّكُمْ تَدْعُوْنَ سَمِيْعًا بَصِيْرًا وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ وَالَّذِيْ تَدْعُوْنَهٗ أَقْرَبُ إِلٰى أَحَدِكُمْ مِنْ عُنُقِ رَاحِلَتِهٖ" ۔
(Reported by the Five except al-Nasāʾī; al-Taysīr.)
Vocabulary: irbaʿū — adopt moderation; innakum lā tadʿūn — you are not calling; aṣamm wa-lā ghāʾiban — [not] one who is deaf nor one who is absent; samīʿan baṣīran — one who hears well and sees well.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Mūsā (may Allah be pleased with him): We were on a journey, and the people began saying the takbīr (Allāhu akbar) in loud voices. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: "Adopt moderation, for you are not calling one who is deaf or absent; you are calling One who hears well and sees well, and He is with you; and the One whom you are calling is nearer to each one of you than the neck of his mount (camel)." (Recorded by the Five, except al-Nasāʾī.)
بَابٌ فِيْ كَثْرَةِ الذِّكْرِ — On Doing Much Dhikr
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَاذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ كَثِيْرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُوْنَ ۔
(al-Anfāl 8:45)
Translation: Allah Most High says: Remember Allah much, so that you may attain well-being and success.
Never forget God; remain glad of heart in His remembrance.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: يٰٓأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيْرًا وَّسَبِّحُوْهُ بُكْرَةً وَّأَصِيْلًا ۔
(al-Aḥzāb 33:41–42)
Vocabulary: wa-sabbiḥūhu — and glorify Him, declare His purity; [that is,] perform the prayer: tasbīḥ is a part of the prayer, and by mentioning the part the whole has been meant, as in "qūmū lillāhi qānitīn" [stand before Allah devoutly] and "warkaʿū maʿa al-rākiʿīn" [bow with those who bow]; bukratan wa-aṣīlā — morning and evening, or rather constantly — night and day.
Translation: Allah Most High says: O you who believe! Remember Allah abundantly, and declare the glorification (and sanctification) of Allah morning and evening.
Friends! The opposite of dhikr is nisyān and dhuhūl (forgetfulness and heedlessness); the opposite of remembering is forgetting. Dhikr is done with the tongue and also with the heart. If a person does not utter the word "Allah" with his tongue but keeps Him in mind in his heart, that too is dhikr; it is remembrance. There are kinds of dhikr. Dhikr lisānī (dhikr of the tongue): with the tongue
uttering the name of Allah. Dhikr qalbī (dhikr of the heart): keeping Allah in mind within the heart. If the remembrance of God is done with both heart and tongue, that is best of all. If the remembrance of God remains in the heart and nothing is said with the mouth, even then it is dhikr. If one does dhikr with the tongue while the thought of God is not in the heart, this is the outward form of dhikr, not its reality. Nevertheless, dhikr lisānī does lead towards dhikr qalbī. Doing dhikr with ḥabs-e-dam (holding the breath) produces heat, and sluggishness and laziness go away. Dhikr jahrī, that is, doing dhikr forcefully [aloud], produces an extraordinary fervour. It has been found by experience that those who do dhikr sirrī — that is, remember God inwardly within the heart — come upon a kind of absorption (maḥwiyyat) and selflessness. The state of one who does dhikr jahrī is like that of a person whom a scorpion has stung, so that he writhes and cries out; and the example of one who does dhikr khafī (hidden dhikr) is that of a person whom a snake has bitten [reading uncertain], so that he neither writhes nor shows restlessness. Dhikr khafī is mostly practised by the Naqshbandī people, and dhikr jahrī mostly by the people of the Chishtiyya ṭarīqa (Sufi path). In the Qādiriyya ṭarīqa, fervour and ardour are first produced through dhikr jahrī, and then, through dhikr khafī, instruction is given in silence and stillness. Allah Most High has expressed a large number by "miʾati alfin aw yazīdūn" (a hundred thousand or more; al-Ṣāffāt 37:147). Hence reciting any Name of God Most High one hundred thousand or one hundred and twenty-five thousand times is called "giving the zakāt" [of that Name]. For details, see the Kashkūl-e-Kalīmī of Ḥaḍrat Shāh Kalīmullāh Jahānābādī and al-Qawl al-Jamīl of Ḥaḍrat Shāh Walīullāh, and, among our shaykhs, the Thamarāt-e-Makkiyya of Ḥaḍrat Shāh Rafīʿ al-Dīn (may Allah have mercy on him). In any case, whoever remembers God is alive; whoever has forgotten God is dead.
اُذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ تَعَالٰى: حَتّٰى يَقُوْلُوْنَ مَجْنُوْنٌ ۔
(Reported by Aḥmad, Abū Yaʿlā, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim and al-Bayhaqī [in Shuʿab al-Īmān] from Abū Saʿīd.) [reading uncertain]
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Saʿīd (may Allah be pleased with him): Remember Allah so much that people begin to call you mad.
أَكْثِرُوْا ذِكْرَ اللّٰهِ تَعَالٰى: حَتّٰى يَقُوْلَ الْمُنَافِقُوْنَ إِنَّكُمْ مُرَاؤُوْنَ ۔
(Reported by Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr, Aḥmad in al-Zuhd, and al-Bayhaqī [in Shuʿab al-Īmān] from Abū al-Jawzāʾ, mursal.) [reading uncertain]
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Jawzāʾ (may Allah be pleased with him): Remember Allah much, so much that the hypocrites begin to say that you people are showing off (doing riyāʾ).
بَابٌ فِيْ دَوَامِ الذِّكْرِ وَالذِّكْرِ الْخَفِيِّ — On Constant Dhikr and Hidden Dhikr
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَاذْكُرْ رَّبَّكَ فِيْ نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَّخِيْفَةً وَّدُوْنَ الْجَهْرِ ۔
(al-Aʿrāf 7:205)
Vocabulary: wa-dhkur rabbaka — and remember your God, do the dhikr of your Lord; fī nafsika — in your heart; taḍarruʿan — humbly entreating, in a low voice, with humility, with earnest pleading; wa-khīfatan — and with fear, fearfully; wa-dūna al-jahr — and not by crying out, not very loudly.
Translation: Allah Most High says: And do the dhikr of your God (remain occupied in His remembrance) within your heart, with humble entreaty and fear, not in a very loud voice. (al-Aʿrāf 7:205)
Friends! In general, dhikr should be done in a moderate voice. If one is in a separate place, if it does not disturb people's work and causes no discomfort to those who are sleeping, then one may also do dhikr jahr (aloud). It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him): We used to stay in our houses, and we would come to know that the prayer in the blessed mosque had ended by this — that people did dhikr loudly after the prayer. On the journey of Ḥajj people would say "Labbayk" so loudly that their voices would become hoarse. At last the Ḥaḍrat [the Prophet] ﷺ had to say: "Restrain yourselves; you are not calling one who is deaf."
Keep this in mind! In the beginning there is a need for dhikr jahr. When the heart begins to move, and the heart begins to remember God without words coming out of the mouth, then do dhikr sirrī or khafī. When dhikr sirrī becomes constant, one can make use of both heart and tongue. But in a moderate degree. In any case, neither is heedlessness permissible, nor is it permissible to cause people discomfort or to disturb their work.
Friends! At the time of dhikr, the clothes should be pure and clean. If possible, apply perfume; burn ʿūd (aloeswood) and the like. Sit facing the qibla. Sit on both knees (dō-zānū) as one sits in the prayer, or sit cross-legged (chār-zānū), and in the left thigh, below the knee, there is the vein kīmās [reading uncertain]; press it with the big toe and the toe next to it. Close the eyes. If stray thoughts (khaṭarāt) come, recite the kalima ṭayyiba, that is, strike the ḍarb (stroke) of "lā ilāha illa'llāh". Usually the stroke is given upon the heart. Some people give the stroke upon the various laṭāʾif (subtle spiritual centres). At the time of dhikr, place both hands on the thighs; join the fingers to the thumb and keep the little finger slightly apart — the shape of the word "Allāh" will be formed. If stray thoughts come less, or have stopped, then recite the word "Allāh", or prolong the "hū" of "Allāh". From this the ṣawt-e-sarmadī (the eternal sound) will arise, which produces tawḥīd [awareness of Divine Oneness]. In any case, remember God in whatever way you can. Heedlessness is a kind of death. Walking, moving about, rising, sitting, lying down, standing — remember God in whatever way you can.
Remember! Dhikr jahr produces the ardour of love; one finds delight in qawwālī. And dhikr khafī or sirrī brings rapture (rabūdagī) and produces fanāʾiyyat (the state of self-annihilation). The example of one who does dhikr jahr is that of a drunkard, and the example of one who does dhikr khafī is that of an opium-eater. If one drowns in water and dies, the other burns in fire and gives up his life crying out.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيْهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَّلَا بَيْعٌ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ ۔
(al-Nūr 24:37)
Translation: Allah Most High says: They are such people whom trade and buying and selling cannot make heedless of the remembrance of God.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: فَاذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ قِيٰمًا وَّقُعُوْدًا وَّعَلٰى جُنُوْبِكُمْ فَإِذَا اطْمَأْنَنْتُمْ فَأَقِيْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ إِنَّ الصَّلٰوةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ كِتٰبًا مَّوْقُوْتًا ۔
(al-Nisāʾ 4:103)
Vocabulary: fa-dhkurū Allāh — then do the dhikr of Allah, remain in His remembrance; qiyāman — standing; wa-quʿūdan — and sitting; wa-ʿalā junūbikum — and lying on your sides, turned on one side; fa-idhā iṭmaʾnantum — when you have attained calm, when you are in peace and security; fa-aqīmū al-ṣalāh — then establish the prayer, stand up to pray; inna al-ṣalāh — indeed the prayer; kānat ʿalā al-muʾminīn — is upon the Muslims; kitāban mawqūtā — obligatory at fixed times, a Divine ordinance at appointed times.
Translation: And Allah Most High says: Then remember God standing, sitting and lying down; then, when you are at peace, stand up for the prayer. Indeed the prayer is obligatory upon the believers at fixed times.
اَلذِّكْرُ الَّذِيْ لَا يَسْمَعُهُ الْحَفَظَةُ يَزِيْدُ عَلَى الذِّكْرِ الَّذِيْ يَسْمَعُهُ الْحَفَظَةُ سَبْعِيْنَ ضِعْفًا ۔
(Reported by al-Bayhaqī [in Shuʿab al-Īmān] from ʿĀʾisha; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her): The dhikr (remembrance) which even the guardian angels do not hear exceeds by seventy times the dhikr which they do hear.
اُذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ ذِكْرًا خَامِلًا قِيْلَ وَمَا الذِّكْرُ الْخَامِلُ؟ قَالَ "اَلذِّكْرُ الْخَفِيُّ" ۔
(Ibn al-Mubārak in al-Zuhd, from Ḍamra ibn Ḥabīb, mursal.)
Vocabulary: dhikran khāmilan — hidden dhikr (dhikr khafī).
Do dhikr khāmil. It was asked: What is dhikr khāmil? He said: Hidden dhikr. (Narrated from Ḥamza ibn Ḥabīb.) [reading uncertain]
بَابٌ فِي الْعُزْلَةِ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَالتَّخَلِّيْ عَنْهُمْ — On Living in Solitude Apart from People and in Seclusion from Them
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيْلًا ۔
(al-Muzzammil, rukūʿ 1 — 73:8)
Translation: Allah Most High says: Do the dhikr of the name of your Lord, and leaving everything else, become His alone.
فِيْ حَدِيْثِ بَدْءِ الْوَحْيِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ أُمِّ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ أَوَّلُ مَا بُدِئَ بِهٖ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنَ الْوَحْيِ الرُّؤْيَا الصَّالِحَةُ فِي النَّوْمِ فَكَانَ لَا يَرٰى رُؤْيَا إِلَّا جَاءَتْ مِثْلَ فَلَقِ الصُّبْحِ ثُمَّ حُبِّبَ إِلَيْهِ الْخَلَاءُ وَكَانَ يَخْلُوْ بِغَارِ حِرَاءٍ فَيَتَحَنَّثُ التَّعَبُّدَ اللَّيَالِيَ ذَوَاتِ الْعَدَدِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَنْزِعَ إِلٰى أَهْلِهٖ وَيَتَزَوَّدُ لِذٰلِكَ ثُمَّ يَرْجِعُ إِلٰى خَدِيْجَةَ فَيَتَزَوَّدُ لِمِثْلِهَا حَتّٰى جَاءَهُ الْحَقُّ فِيْ غَارِ حِرَاءٍ فَجَاءَهُ الْمَلَكُ ۔
(Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Vocabulary: awwalu mā budiʾa bihi — the very first thing with which [it] began; al-ruʾyā al-ṣāliḥa — good dreams; mithla falaqi al-ṣubḥ — like the breaking of the dawn; thumma ḥubbiba ilayhi — then it was made beloved to him; al-khalāʾ — solitude, seclusion.
Concerning the hadith of the beginning of revelation, it is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Ḥaḍrat ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her). She said: The first thing with which revelation began for the Prophet ﷺ was good dreams in sleep. He would not see any dream but that it appeared like the breaking of the dawn. Then seclusion was made beloved to him, so he would stay in seclusion in the cave of Ḥirāʾ and worship in it (for many nights) before he would go back to his family, and for this
he would take provisions with him. Then he would return to Ḥaḍrat Khadīja (may Allah be pleased with her) and take provisions for a like period again, until the Truth came to him — that is, the revelation of prophethood came — in the cave of Ḥirāʾ, and the angel came.
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ أَخْلَصَ لِلّٰهِ أَرْبَعِيْنَ صَبَاحًا ظَهَرَتْ يَنَابِيْعُ الْحِكْمَةِ مِنْ قَلْبِهٖ عَلٰى لِسَانِهٖ ۔
(Recorded by Razīn; al-Taysīr.)
Vocabulary: akhlaṣa lillāh — makes [himself] sincere for Allah; yanābīʿ al-ḥikma — springs of wisdom.
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Whoever devoted forty (40) days sincerely to Allah, springs of wisdom began to flow (became manifest) from his heart upon his tongue. (al-Taysīr)
ثَلَاثَةُ مَوَاطِنَ لَا تُرَدُّ فِيْهَا دَعْوَةٌ ۔ رَجُلٌ يَكُوْنُ فِيْ بَرِّيَّةٍ حَيْثُ لَا يَرَاهُ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ فَيَقُوْمُ وَيُصَلِّيْ، وَرَجُلٌ يَكُوْنُ مَعَهٗ فِئَةٌ فَيَفِرُّ عَنْهُ أَصْحَابُهٗ فَيَثْبُتُ وَرَجُلٌ يَقُوْمُ مِنْ اٰخِرِ اللَّيْلِ ۔
(Ibn Manda and Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ṣaḥāba, from Rabīʿa ibn Waqqāṣ; Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].)
It is narrated from Rabīʿa ibn Waqqāṣ (may Allah be pleased with him): In three places a man's duʿāʾ is not rejected: when he is in such a wilderness that no one sees him except Allah, and he stands up and prays; the duʿāʾ of such a person who has a company with him, and his companions flee and he stands firm (that is, in battle); and the duʿāʾ of such a person who stands in the last part of the night (praying the tahajjud prayer).
عَنْ عِيْسَى بْنِ وَاقِدٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا كَانَتْ سَنَةُ ثَمَانِيْنَ وَمِائَةٍ فَقَدْ أُحِلَّتِ الْغُرْبَةُ وَالتَّرَهُّبُ فِيْ رُؤُوْسِ الْجِبَالِ ۔ [reading uncertain]
(Recorded by Razīn; al-Taysīr.)
Vocabulary: sanatu thamānīna wa-miʾa — 180 years; al-ghurba wa-l-tarahhub — travelling abroad and withdrawal.
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿĪsā ibn Wāqid (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet ﷺ said: When one hundred and eighty (180) years have passed, then travelling, and going off to live in the mountains out of fear of God, will become lawful. (al-Taysīr)
بَابٌ فِي الْمُرَاقَبَةِ وَالْأَشْغَالِ — On Murāqaba (Contemplative Vigilance) and the Ashghāl (Spiritual Exercises)
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ ۔
(al-Fajr 89:14)
Vocabulary: inna — indeed, certainly; la-bi-l-mirṣād — is in ambush, lying in wait.
Translation: Allah Most High said: Your Lord is lying in wait (He is keeping watch over their states).
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَارْتَقِبُوْٓا إِنِّيْ مَعَكُمْ رَقِيْبٌ ۔
(Hūd 11:93)
Translation: And Allah Most High says: You too wait; I too am waiting along with you (that is, you will see your end and ours with your own eyes).
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: فَارْتَقِبْ إِنَّهُمْ مُّرْتَقِبُوْنَ ۔
(al-Dukhān 44:59)
Vocabulary: fa-rtaqib — then you wait; innahum murtaqibūn — they too are waiting: death is coming, the Resurrection is coming; they are waiting, and we too are waiting.
Translation: You too wait; they too are waiting.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: يَعْلَمُ خَآئِنَةَ الْأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُوْرُ ۔
(al-Muʾmin [Ghāfir] 40:19) [reading uncertain]
Translation: Allah Most High says: He knows the treachery of the eyes and all that the hearts keep hidden.
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ ۔
(al-Ḥadīd 57:4)
Translation: And Allah Most High says: He is with you wherever you may be.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَيَتَفَكَّرُوْنَ فِيْ خَلْقِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هٰذَا بَاطِلًا ۔ سُبْحٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ ۔
(Āl ʿImrān 3:191)
Vocabulary: wa-yatafakkarūn — and they reflect, they think, they ponder over the solving of difficulties; fī khalqi al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ — that is, they ponder how these heavens and the earth came into being. If their existence were essential (dhātī), it would be unchanging; night and day are produced by the sun; [yet] its existence too is not original [i.e. not self-subsisting]: it rises at its time and sets at its time — it moves by a fixed rule — from which it is known that its reins too are in the hand of Another; rabbanā — O our Lord, O our Sustainer, O You who bring everything to its perfection; mā khalaqta hādhā — You did not create this; bāṭilan — useless, in vain. Even in that which they consider bāṭil (false, vain), the power of the Ever-Living, Self-Subsisting (al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm) is becoming manifest, because whoever reflects will surely come to understand. The non-existent cannot become existent; the false cannot become the true.
Not without reason is the charm of falsehood's form — even in falsehood, before me, is the spectacle of the Truth. (Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīqī) [verse rendered in prose]
subḥānaka — You are pure; You show thousands of manifestations (jalwe) and yet are pure and free of attachment to all. Save us from failing to reach You; fa-qinā — so save us; ʿadhāb al-nār — from the punishment of the fire of Hell.
Translation: And Allah Most High says: And they reflect and ponder on the creation of the heavens and the earth (and in the end, what do they say as they rise?): "O Lord, You have not created this (workshop of power, this structure of the universe) useless and in vain. You are pure; so save us from the punishment of Hell."
Every blade of grass that grows from the earth says: "He is One; there is no god [but He]." [Persian couplet, rendered in prose]
You show thousands of spectacles and yet remain the Pure of the pure. No blemish touches Your holiness, Your Oneness. Save us from the punishment of Hell.
Let it be clear that dhikr is the opposite of nisyān (forgetfulness), and remembrance is the opposite of forgetting. Forgetting is heedlessness (ghaflat). Dhikr is done jahrī (aloud) and also sirrī (secretly); it is performed with the tongue and also remains in the heart. Constancy in dhikr, and remaining always in remembrance, is the best worship. Effort is made in order to reach the goal; once the Beloved has become manifest, no further striving (fikr) remains — dhikr remains. The best dhikr is that the Beloved be remembered and all besides be laid waste. In the presence of the Beloved, the perfection of dhikr remains. What need is there that, at the time of the remembrance of God, one should also remember that "I am remembering God"? Only God should be remembered; I should have no thought of the dhikr, nor of the one doing dhikr. The more numerous the thoughts, the more there will be only distress; ease lies in oneness alone. This rests upon the mercy of God, and this is the goal of love:
In the gathering of Oneness, the others find no room; how could the others find room, when even the Friend finds no room? (Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīqī) [Persian couplet, rendered in prose]
Translation: And Allah Most High says: Good people keep reflecting on the creation of the earth and the heavens (and they say): "O our Lord, You did not create this (all these things) in vain; You are pure (of vain things); save us from the punishment of the Fire." (Āl ʿImrān)
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: سَنُرِيْهِمْ اٰيٰتِنَا فِي الْاٰفَاقِ وَفِيْٓ أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَتّٰى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ ۔
(Ḥā Mīm al-Sajda [Fuṣṣilat] 41:53)
Vocabulary: sa-nurīhim āyātinā fī al-āfāq — We shall show them Our signs on every side; We shall show them in every land; wa-fī anfusihim — and in their own selves too: We shall show them the marvels of Our power in their surroundings and environs and within their very selves — We shall show Our signs; ḥattā yatabayyana lahum — until it becomes clearly known to them; annahu al-ḥaqq — that He alone is the Truth: He alone exists by His own essence (bi-l-dhāt); all besides Allah is an appearance without being. God is Truth; God's religion too is Truth; and His Qurʾān too is Truth.
Translation: Allah Most High says: We shall show them Our signs in the surrounding horizons of the world and within their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that He alone is the Truth. (Ḥā Mīm al-Sajda)
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَفِيْٓ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُوْنَ ۔
(al-Dhāriyāt 51:21)
Translation: And Allah Most High says: [He] is within your own selves; do you then not see?
عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقْرَأُ هٰذِهِ الْاٰيَةَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَنْ تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمٰنٰتِ إِلٰٓى أَهْلِهَا إِلٰى قَوْلِهٖ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ سَمِيْعًا بَصِيْرًا فَرَأَيْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَضَعُ إِبْهَامَهٗ عَلٰٓى أُذُنِهٖ وَالَّتِيْ تَلِيْهَا عَلٰى عَيْنِهٖ ۔
(Recorded by Abū Dāwūd; al-Taysīr.) [The verse quoted is al-Nisāʾ 4:58.]
Vocabulary: inna Allāha yaʾmurukum — indeed Allah commands you; an tuʾaddū al-amānāt — that you render back the trusts.
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting this verse: "Indeed Allah commands you to hand over trusts to those to whom they belong" and "when you judge between people, judge with justice; indeed Allah admonishes you excellently; indeed Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing." Then I saw that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would place his thumbs on his ears and the finger next to it on his eyes.
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ أَخَذَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَنْكِبَيَّ وَقَالَ كُنْ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّكَ غَرِيْبٌ أَوْ عَابِرُ سَبِيْلٍ ۔
(Recorded by al-Bukhārī; and al-Tirmidhī, who added after his words "or a passer-by on the road": "and count yourself among the people of the graves.")
Vocabulary: kun fī al-dunyā — live in the world thus; kaʾannaka — as though you were; gharīb — a traveller, a stranger; ʿābiru sabīl — one passing along the road.
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took hold of my shoulders and said: Live in the world in such a way as though you were a traveller, or one passing along the road. (Al-Tirmidhī has recorded this narration, and in it these words are added after "ʿābiru sabīl": "and count yourself among those of the graves.")
عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمٰنِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ يَحْكِيْ صَلٰوةَ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ أَشَارَ بِإِصْبَعِهِ الَّتِيْ تَلِي الْإِبْهَامَ فِي الْقِبْلَةِ وَرَمٰى بِبَصَرِهٖٓ إِلَيْهَا ۔
(Recorded by al-Nasāʾī; al-Taysīr.)
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (may Allah be pleased with him) [reading uncertain]: Ibn ʿUmar, describing the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, pointed with that finger of his which is next to the thumb towards the qibla, and cast his gaze upon it.
عَنِ ابْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ فِيْ صَلٰوةِ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا يُجَاوِزُ بَصَرُهٗ إِشَارَتَهٗ ۔
(Recorded by Abū Dāwūd; al-Taysīr.)
Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him), describing the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said that his gaze did not go beyond his pointing [finger].
وَفِيْ حَدِيْثِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ (جِبْرِيْلُ) فَأَخْبِرْنِيْ عَنِ الْإِحْسَانِ قَالَ (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللّٰهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ فَإِنْ لَّمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهٗ يَرَاكَ ۔
(Reported by Muslim.)
Vocabulary: an taʿbuda Allāh — that you worship Allah; kaʾannaka tarāhu — as though you are seeing Him.
In the hadith of ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him): Jibrīl (peace be upon him) said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about iḥsān." The Prophet ﷺ said: "That you worship Allah in such a way as though you are seeing Him; and if you cannot see Him, then understand that He is seeing you."
بَابٌ فِيْ كَيْفِيَّةِ الْإِلْقَاءِ — On the Nature of Ilqāʾ (Casting One's Thought into Another's Heart)
فِيْ حَدِيْثِ بَدْءِ الْوَحْيِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ أُمِّ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ فَجَاءَهُ الْمَلَكُ فَقَالَ اقْرَأْ قَالَ مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ قَالَ فَأَخَذَنِيْ فَغَطَّنِيْ حَتّٰى بَلَغَ مِنِّي الْجُهْدُ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَنِيْ فَقَالَ اقْرَأْ فَقُلْتُ مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ فَأَخَذَنِيْ فَغَطَّنِي الثَّانِيَةَ حَتّٰى بَلَغَ مِنِّي الْجُهْدُ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَنِيْ فَقَالَ اقْرَأْ فَقُلْتُ مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ فَأَخَذَنِي الثَّالِثَةَ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَنِيْ فَقَالَ اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِيْ خَلَقَ خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ فَرَجَعَ بِهَا رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَرْجُفُ فُؤَادُهٗ ۔
(Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Vocabulary: iqraʾ — read; mā ana bi-qāriʾ — I am not one who reads, I am not one who has been taught to read; fa-akhadhanī fa-ghaṭṭanī — then he seized me and pressed me tight; balagha minnī al-juhd — I became exhausted; thumma arsalanī — then he let me go.
Translation: In the hadith of the beginning of revelation it is narrated from Bībī ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her). She said: Then the angel came to him and said, "Read." He said, "I am not one who reads (lettered)." He said: Then he seized me and pressed me tight until I became exhausted; then he let me go. Then he said, "Read." I said, "I am not lettered." Then he seized me and pressed me a second time until I became exhausted; then he let me go. Then he said, "Read." I said, "I am not lettered." Then he seized me and the third time embraced me (overwhelmed me); then he let me go and said: "Read in the name of your Lord who created; He created man from a clot; read, and your Lord is Most Generous." Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned in that very state, with his heart trembling.
فِيْ حَدِيْثِ إِسْلَامِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ فَخَرَجَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَخَذَ بِمَجَامِعِ ثِيَابِيْ ثُمَّ نَتَرَنِيْ نَتْرَةً فَمَا تَمَالَكْتُ أَنْ وَقَعْتُ عَلٰى رُكْبَتَيَّ فَقَالَ "مَا أَنْتَ بِمُنْتَهٍ يَا عُمَرُ!" فَقُلْتُ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهٗ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهٗ وَرَسُوْلُهٗ ۔ فَكَبَّرَ أَهْلُ الدَّارِ تَكْبِيْرَةً سَمِعَهَا أَهْلُ الْمَسْجِدِ ۔
(Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ḥilya and Ibn ʿAsākir; Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].) [reading uncertain]
Vocabulary: fa-akhadha bi-majāmiʿi thiyābī — then he seized my clothes [where they gather]; thumma natāranī natratan — then he pulled me forcefully; fa-mā tamālaktu — then I could not keep control of myself.
Translation: In the hadith of Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar's (may Allah be pleased with him) acceptance of Islam: Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out and seized the gathered part of my clothes (the collar or the shawl) and then pulled me forcefully, so that I could not steady myself and fell on my knees. Then he said: "O ʿUmar! Will you not desist?" Then I said: "I bear witness that there is no object of worship except Allah, and Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger." Then all the people of the house said the takbīr, which the people in the mosque also heard.
عَنْ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ فِيْ حَدِيْثٍ طَوِيْلٍ فَسَقَطَ فِيْ نَفْسِيْ مِنَ التَّكْذِيْبِ وَلَا إِذْ كُنْتُ فِي
الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ فَلَمَّا رَأٰى رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا قَدْ غَشِيَنِيْ ضَرَبَ فِيْ صَدْرِيْ فَفِضْتُ عَرَقًا وَكَأَنَّمَا أَنْظُرُ إِلَى اللّٰهِ فَرَقًا ۔
(Reported by Muslim; Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him) in a long hadith (he says) that when I found myself in utmost grief and remorse (and said) "Would that I had not been among the deniers in the time of Jāhiliyya (pre-Islamic ignorance)!", when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw (me) in this overwhelmed state, (he) struck my chest; then (I), in a state of being drenched in my sweat, as though trembling with dread, was seeing Allah before me.
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ ضَمَّنِيْ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ "اَللّٰهُمَّ عَلِّمْهُ الْكِتَابَ" ۔
(al-Bukhārī; al-Tajrīd.)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ hugged me tight and said: "O Allah, give him knowledge of the Book."
عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! إِنِّيْ أَسْمَعُ مِنْكَ حَدِيْثًا كَثِيْرًا أَنْسَاهُ قَالَ اُبْسُطْ رِدَاءَكَ فَبَسَطْتُهٗ فَغَرَفَ بِيَدِهٖ ثُمَّ قَالَ ضُمَّهٗ فَضَمَمْتُهٗ فَمَا نَسِيْتُ شَيْئًا بَعْدَهٗ ۔
(al-Bukhārī; al-Tajrīd.)
Vocabulary: asmaʿu minka — I hear from you; ansāhu — I forget it; ubsuṭ — spread out; ḍummahu — fold it up, press it [to yourself].
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: "O Messenger of Allah, I hear many things from you, then I forget them." He said: "Spread out your shawl." So I spread it out, and he put [something] into it with his hand [as if scooping]; then he said: "Fold it up." Then I folded it up, and I did not forget anything after that. (Tajrīd al-Bukhārī)
بَابٌ فِي الْاِسْتِخَارَةِ — On Istikhāra (Seeking Allah's Choice of What Is Best)
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَيَخْتَارُ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ ۔ سُبْحٰنَ اللّٰهِ وَتَعٰلٰى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُوْنَ ۔
(al-Qaṣaṣ 28:68)
Translation: Allah Most High says: Your Lord creates whatever He wills, and chooses (whomever) He wills. These people have no choice. Allah is pure, and exalted above those things which they associate [with Him].
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَّلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللّٰهُ وَرَسُوْلُهٗٓ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَّكُوْنَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۔
(al-Aḥzāb 33:36)
Translation: Allah Most High says: When Allah and the Messenger have decided some matter, it is not fitting for any believing man or woman to have any choice in his own affair.
اِسْتَفْتِ نَفْسَكَ وَإِنْ أَفْتَاكَ الْمُفْتُوْنَ ۔
(al-Bukhārī in al-Tārīkh, from Wābiṣa; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl, Kitāb al-ʿIlm.) [reading uncertain]
Vocabulary: istafti nafsaka — ask your own heart.
Translation: Ask your own self, and be at peace [only then], even if those who give fatwās (legal rulings) also give you a fatwā.
عَنْ سَعْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "مِنْ سَعَادَةِ ابْنِ اٰدَمَ رِضَاهُ بِمَا قَضَى اللّٰهُ لَهٗ وَمِنْ شَقَاوَةِ ابْنِ اٰدَمَ تَرْكُهُ اسْتِخَارَةَ وَمِنْ شَقَاوَةِ ابْنِ اٰدَمَ سَخَطُهٗ بِمَا قَضَى اللّٰهُ لَهٗ" ۔
(Reported by Aḥmad, al-Tirmidhī and al-Ḥākim; Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Vocabulary: min saʿādati ibni Ādam — [part] of a person's good fortune; riḍāhu — his being content; wa-min shaqāwati ibni Ādam — and [part] of a person's misfortune; sakhaṭuhu — his displeasure, his discontent.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Saʿd (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet ﷺ said: A person's good fortune lies in this, that he remains content with that which Allah has decided for him; and a person's misfortune lies in this, that he gives up seeking what is good [istikhāra]; and a person's misfortune lies in being displeased with that which Allah has decided [for him].
عَنِ النَّوَّاسِ بْنِ سَمْعَانَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْبِرِّ وَالْإِثْمِ فَقَالَ "اَلْبِرُّ حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ وَالْإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ فِيْ صَدْرِكَ وَكَرِهْتَ أَنْ يَّطَّلِعَ عَلَيْهِ النَّاسُ" ۔
(Recorded by Muslim and al-Tirmidhī; al-Taysīr.)
Vocabulary: ʿani al-birri wa-l-ithm — about virtue and evil; ḥusn al-khuluq — good character; wa-l-ithm — and sin, evil; mā ḥāka fī ṣadrika — that which pricks in your heart; wa-karihta — and you dislike, find it unwelcome.
Translation: It is narrated from Nawwās ibn Samʿān (may Allah be pleased with him): I asked the Prophet ﷺ about virtue and vice. He said: Good character is virtue, and evil is that which pricks in your heart and which you dislike people coming to know of. (Al-Tirmidhī and Muslim recorded it; al-Taysīr.)
يَا أَنَسُ إِذَا هَمَمْتَ بِأَمْرٍ فَاسْتَخِرْ رَبَّكَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيْهِ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ ثُمَّ انْظُرْ إِلَى الَّذِيْ سَبَقَ إِلٰى قَلْبِكَ فَإِنَّ الْخَيْرَ فِيْهِ ۔
(Ibn al-Sunnī in ʿAmal al-Yawm wa-l-Layla, from Anas; Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].)
Vocabulary: idhā hamamta — when you intend; fa-stakhir — then seek what is good.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet ﷺ said: O Anas, when you intend to do some task, then seek good in it seven times from your Lord of Might and Majesty; then reflect on that thing towards which your heart inclines first, for the good lies in that very thing. (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl)
إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالْأَمْرِ فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيْضَةِ ثُمَّ لِيَقُلِ اللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَسْتَخِيْرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيْمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوْبِ ۔ اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هٰذَا الْأَمْرَ (وَيُسَمِّيْهِ بِاسْمِهٖ) خَيْرٌ لِّيْ فِيْ دِيْنِيْ وَمَعَاشِيْ وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِيْ فَاقْدُرْهُ لِيْ وَيَسِّرْهُ لِيْ ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِيْ فِيْهِ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هٰذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِّيْ فِيْ دِيْنِيْ وَمَعَاشِيْ وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِيْ فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّيْ وَاصْرِفْنِيْ عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِيْ بِهٖ ۔
(Aḥmad and al-Bukhārī from Jābir; Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].)
Vocabulary: idhā hamma — when some important matter comes up; min ghayri al-farīḍa — supererogatory (nafl); astakhīruka — I ask You for what is good; astaqdiruka — I ask You for ability; min faḍlika — from Your grace; fī dīnī wa-maʿāshī — in my religion and in my life [livelihood]; fa-qdurhu lī — then decree it for me; wa-yassirhu — and make it easy; fa-ṣrifnī ʿanhu — then turn me away from it.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him): When any one of you intends some task, let him pray two rakʿas apart from the obligatory prayer (that is, pray two rakʿas of nafl); then he should say: "O Allah, I ask You for what is good, through Your knowledge, and I ask You for ability, through Your power, and I ask of You from Your immense grace, for You have power and I have no power, and You know and I do not know, and You are the One who knows well all that is unseen. O Allah, if You know that this task (let him name it) is better for me with respect to my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs, then decree it for me and make it easy for me, then grant me blessing in it. O Allah, if You know that this task is bad for me with respect to my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs, then turn me away from it and turn it away from me, and decree good for me wherever it may be, and make me content in doing this task, and be pleased with me."
بَابٌ فِي الْوَسْوَسَةِ وَحَدِيْثِ النَّفْسِ وَتَقَلُّبِ الْقَلْبِ — On Whisperings (Waswasa), the Talk of the Self, and the Changing of the Heart
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: اَلشَّيْطٰنُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْفَحْشَآءِ وَاللّٰهُ يَعِدُكُمْ مَّغْفِرَةً مِّنْهُ وَفَضْلًا ۔
(al-Baqara 2:268) [reading uncertain]
Vocabulary: al-shayṭānu yaʿidukum — Satan promises you, frightens you; al-faqr — with poverty, with destitution, with hardship — and he incites [you, saying] that if you give in charity you will become penniless and destitute; wa-yaʾmurukum bi-l-faḥshāʾ — and he commands you to what is plainly evil; wa-Allāhu yaʿidukum — and Allah promises you, gives you hope; maghfiratan minhu wa-faḍlā — of His pardoning of faults, and of grace and generosity.
Translation: Allah Most High says: Satan frightens you with poverty and commands you to shameless things, and Allah promises you His covering of faults and forgiveness, and grace and generosity.
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: قُلْ أَعُوْذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ إِلٰهِ النَّاسِ مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ الَّذِيْ يُوَسْوِسُ فِيْ صُدُوْرِ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ
(al-Nās 114:1–6)
Translation: Allah Most High says: Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of people (the Sustainer of all) — (He is not merely the One who feeds and gives drink) — (who is) the King of people (He is the absolute Ruler), the God (object of worship) of all people (the God of all), from the evil of the one who casts whisperings and then hides, who casts whisperings into the breasts of people (or of the heedless); they are from among the jinn and also from among men.
Most whisperings are of good eating, good dressing and sexual intercourse, which belong to lowliness and baseness. According to the Sufis, khaṭarāt (passing thoughts) are of four kinds: shayṭānī (satanic), nafsānī (of the lower self), malakī (angelic) and raḥmānī (from the Most Merciful).
Khaṭra-e-shayṭānī (the satanic thought): it incites to wrong belief, sin, impatience, lack of trust in God (tawakkul), and displeasure with the Divine decree.
Khaṭra-e-nafsānī (the thought of the lower self): it is for eating, drinking and intercourse. Since the demand of the nafs is natural, this thought does not go away even if you push it away a thousand times. Satan makes a conspiracy with the nafs, and provokes and incites it to obtain the nafs's goal by unlawful means. The poor nafs is a kind of animal; its quality is bestial. It has no concern with lawful or unlawful — its goal should be fulfilled however it may be. But in the nafs there is also a praiseworthy trait: whatever it is made accustomed to — however it is trained — it will thereafter act accordingly. Make it a habit to pray for a few days; then see how, when the time of prayer comes, the nafs is ready. Rise for tahajjud for a few days; then the time comes and the eye opens. The nafs is ready to bathe or do wuḍūʾ with cold water and pray — without "why" or "wherefore."
al-nās — people. It is possible that the lām [of al-nās] is the lām of istighrāq (comprehensiveness), and that the root of al-nās is al-nāsī — that is, the forgetful. In this there is an indication that those who always keep pās-e-anfās (watchfulness over every breath), whose characteristic is constant presence [with God], remain absorbed in the remembrance of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). Satan cannot come near them, nor can his whisperings prevail over them. "An empty house is taken over by a demon." [Persian proverb]
In whose heart the Lord (Sāʾīṉ) dwells — who else can find room there? (Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīqī) [Hindi verse, rendered in prose]
Remember that heat spreads from fire and cold from ice; fragrance spreads from perfume, and stench from filth. In the same way, from the good, waves of goodness arise, and from the bad, waves of evil. If two pebbles are thrown onto the surface of water — one of them large and the other small — then from their falling, waves will form and circles will be produced; the large one's circle will be large and strong, and it will weaken the small one's circle and absorb it into its own circle. In the same way, through the company of a very good person an ordinary bad person will become good, and through the company of a very bad person even an ordinary good person will become bad. "Al-ṭabʿu yasriqu min al-ṭabʿ" — temperament steals from temperament: temperament takes effect from temperament.
— whether it be from Satan or from a human being with the qualities of Satan. Guarding oneself from Satan is not as difficult as guarding oneself from these human beings with satanic qualities.
"Oh, many an Iblīs there is who wears the face of Ādam." [Persian half-verse]
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَإِمَّا يَنْزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطٰنِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّٰهِ إِنَّهٗ سَمِيْعٌ عَلِيْمٌ ۔
(Page reference: "Āl ʿImrān, āyat 200.") [reading uncertain]
Vocabulary: wa-immā yanzaghannaka — and if [he] provokes you, troubles you; min al-shayṭān — from Satan; nazgh — provocation, whispering (close to it in meaning are naghz, nakhs and nasgh); fa-staʿidh billāh — then seek the refuge of Allah, come into His protection; innahu samīʿun ʿalīm — indeed He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing: He hears everyone and has knowledge of everything.
Translation: And Allah Most High says: And if Satan provokes you in some way, then seek the refuge of Allah. Indeed He hears and knows everything. (He will save you from his evil.)
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلٰكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوْبُ الَّتِيْ فِي الصُّدُوْرِ ۔
(al-Ḥajj 22:46)
Vocabulary: fa-innahā lā taʿmā al-abṣār — this "hā" is the pronoun of the matter (ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa): the fact is that the eyes do not go blind; wa-lākin taʿmā al-qulūb — but the hearts go blind; allatī fī al-ṣudūr — which are in the breasts. These people are not blind of eye; they are blind of heart. They are not sightless, they are ignorant.
Translation: Allah Most High says: The fact is that the eyes do not go blind; rather the hearts go blind, which are in the breasts.
إِنِّيْ لَأَعْلَمُ كَلِمَةً لَّوْ قَالَهَا لَذَهَبَ عَنْهُ مَا يَجِدُ لَوْ قَالَ "أَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطٰنِ الرَّجِيْمِ" ۔
(Reported from Ibn ʿAbbās.) [reading uncertain]
Vocabulary: innī la-aʿlamu kalimatan — indeed I know a word; law qālahā — if he were to say it; la-dhahaba ʿanhu — it would surely go away from him, be removed.
Translation: (It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him).) Indeed I know a thing such that, if someone were to say it, that thing which he finds (in his heart, of evil) would go away from him — if he were to say: "Aʿūdhu billāhi min al-shayṭān al-rajīm" (I seek the refuge of Allah from the accursed Satan).
عَنْ شَهْرِ بْنِ حَوْشَبٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ دَخَلْتُ أَنَا وَخَالِيْ عَلٰى عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا قَالَ إِنَّ أَحَدَنَا يَعْرِضُ فِيْ صَدْرِهٖ مَا لَوْ تَكَلَّمَ بِهٖ ذَهَبَتْ اٰخِرَتُهٗ وَلَوْ ظَهَرَ لَقُتِلَ بِهٖ فَكَبَّرَتْ ثَلَاثًا قَالَتْ سُئِلَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ ذٰلِكَ فَقَالَ إِذَا كَانَ ذٰلِكَ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ فَلْيُكَبِّرْ ثَلَاثًا فَإِنَّهٗ لَنْ يُحِسَّ ذٰلِكَ إِلَّا مُؤْمِنٌ ۔
(al-Adab al-Mufrad.)
Vocabulary: yaʿriḍu fī ṣadrihi — comes up in his heart; law takallama bihi — if he were to speak it; dhahabat ākhiratuhu — his Hereafter would be lost, that is, ruined; wa-law ẓahara — and if he were to reveal it; la-qutila bihi — he would be killed because of it.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Shahr ibn Ḥawshab (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: I and my maternal uncle went to our lady ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her). He said: For some of us, such a thing comes up in our breast that, if he were to say it, his Hereafter would be ruined, and if it were to become manifest he would be killed because of it. Then Bībī
ṣāḥiba (may Allah be pleased with her) said the takbīr three times (Allāhu akbar), then said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about this, and he said: "When this happens to any one of you, let him say the takbīr three times, for only a believer has such feelings." [reading uncertain]
عَنْ اَبِیْ هُرَيْرَةَ رضى الله عنه قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه وسلّم اِنَّ اللهَ تَجَاوَزَ عَنْ اُمَّتِیْ مَاوَسْوَسَتْ بِهٖ صُدُوْرُهَا مَالَمْ يَعْمَلْ بِهٖ اَوْيَتَكَلَّمْ ـ
(Agreed upon [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]; Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Vocabulary: tajāwaza — He has overlooked [pardoned]; mā waswasat bihī ṣudūruhā — the whisperings (waswasa) that come into their hearts.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah Most High has overlooked for my umma whatever whispering has come into their hearts, so long as one does not act upon it and does not speak it."
عَنْ اَبِیْ هُرَيْرَةَ رضى الله عنه قَالَ جَاءَ نَاسٌ مِنْ اَصْحَابِ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه وسلّم اِلَى النَّبِیِّ صلّى الله عليه وسلّم فَسَاَلُوْهُ اِنَّا نَجِدُ فِیْ اَنْفُسِنَا مَايَتَعَاظَمُ اَحَدُنَا اَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ بِهٖ قَالَ اَوَقَدْ وَجَدْتُمُوْهُ قَالُوْا نَعَمْ ـ قَالَ ذَاكَ صَرِيْحُ الْاِيْمَانِ ـ
(Reported by Muslim; Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): some people from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him: "We find in our hearts something such that each one of us considers it a very grave matter even to bring it onto the tongue." He said: "Have you truly found such a feeling [have you clearly found this]?" They submitted: "Yes, indeed!" He said: "That is pure [clear] faith (īmān)."
وَعَنْ اَبِیْ هُرَيْرَةَ رضى الله عنه قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه وسلّم لَايَزَالُ النَّاسُ يَتَسَاءَلُوْنَ حَتّٰى يُقَالَ هٰذَا خَلَقَ اللهُ الْخَلْقَ فَمَنْ خَلَقَ اللهَ فَمَنْ وَجَدَ ذٰلِكَ شَيْئًا فَلْيَقُلْ اٰمَنْتُ بِاللهِ وَرَسُوْلِهٖ ـ
(Agreed upon [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]; Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Vocabulary: lā yazālu al-nāsu yatasāʾalūn — people will keep on asking, will go on questioning; ḥattā yuqāl — until it will be said; fa-l-yaqul — then let him say; āmantu bi-llāhi wa-rasūlih — I believe in Allah and in His Messenger.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet ﷺ said: "People will keep on asking questions until they will say: 'This creation was created by Allah — then who created Allah?' So whoever finds anything of this, let him say: āmantu bi-llāhi wa-rasūlih (I have believed in Allah and His Messenger)." (Agreed upon [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]; Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
وَعَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُوْدٍ رضى الله عنه قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه وسلّم اِنَّ لِلشَّيْطَانِ لَمَّةً بِابْنِ اٰدَمَ وَلِلْمَلَكِ لَمَّةً فَاَمَّا لَمَّةُ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاِيْعَادٌ بِالشَّرِّ وَ تَكْذِيْبٌ بِالْحَقِّ وَاَمَّا لَمَّةُ الْمَلَكِ فَاِيْعَادٌ بِالْخَيْرِ وَ تَصْدِيْقٌ بِالْحَقِّ فَمَنْ وَجَدَ ذٰلِكَ فَلْيَعْلَمْ اَنَّهٗ مِنَ اللهِ فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللهَ وَمَنْ وَجَدَ الْاُخْرٰى فَلْيَتَعَوَّذْ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطٰنِ ثُمَّ قَرَاَ "اَلشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَاْمُرُكُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ" ـ
(Reported by al-Tirmidhī; Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.)
Vocabulary: lamma — a prompting [an inner suggestion]; fa-īʿādun bi-l-sharri wa-takdhībun bi-l-ḥaqq — it makes promises of evil things and gives the lie to the truth; fa-īʿādun bi-l-khayri wa-taṣdīqun bi-l-ḥaqq — promises of good things and confirmation of the truth.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet ﷺ said: "Indeed, a person receives a prompting from the side of Shayṭān, and the angel too has a prompting. The prompting of Shayṭān is that it makes promises of evil things and gives the lie to the truth; and the prompting of the angel is that it makes promises of good things and confirms the truth. So whoever feels the latter kind, let him know that it is from Allah, and let him therefore praise Allah; and whoever feels the other, let him seek Allah's refuge from Shayṭān." Then he recited this verse: "al-shayṭānu yaʿidukumu al-faqra wa-yaʾmurukum bi-l-faḥshāʾ" [Shayṭān threatens you with poverty and bids you to indecency].
مَا مِنَ الْقَلْبِ اِلَّا وَلَهٗ سَحَابَةٌ كَسَحَابَةِ الْقَمَرِ بَيْنَمَا يُضِيْءُ اِذْ عَلَتْهُ سَحَابَةٌ فَاَظْلَمَ ـــــ الخ عَنْ عَلِیٍّ ـ
(Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him): a cloud covers every heart, just as a cloud covers the moon; while it is giving light, suddenly a cloud covers it and makes it dark. . . .
اِنَّ الْقُلُوْبَ بَيْنَ اِصْبَعَيْنِ مِنْ اَصَابِعِ الرَّحْمٰنِ يُقَلِّبُهَا ـ
(Ḥm, T, K, from Anas; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.) [reading uncertain]
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): truly the heart is between two of the fingers of al-Raḥmān [the All-Merciful]; He turns it about (as He wills). (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
لَيْسَ الْاَعْمٰى مَنْ يَعْمٰى بَصَرُهٗ اِنَّمَا الْاَعْمٰى مَنْ تَعْمٰى بَصِيْرَتُهٗ ـ
(al-Ḥakīm [al-Tirmidhī] and Hb [al-Bayhaqī?] from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jarād; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.) [reading uncertain]
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jarād: the blind one is not he whose eyesight has gone; the blind one is only he whose inner sight (baṣīra) has become blind.
اِنَّ لِلّٰهِ تَعَالٰى اٰنِيَةً مِنْ اَهْلِ الْاَرْضِ وَاٰنِيَةُ رَبِّكُمْ قُلُوْبُ عِبَادِهِ الصَّالِحِيْنَ وَاَحَبُّهَا اَرَقُّهَا ـ
(Ṭb [al-Ṭabarānī] from Ibn ʿUyayna; Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].) [reading uncertain]
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿUyayna (may Allah be pleased with him): truly Allah Most High has certain vessels among the people of the earth, and the vessels of your Lord are the hearts of His righteous servants; and the most beloved of them is the one that is most tender.
اِذَا طَابَ قَلْبُ الْمَرْءِ طَابَ جَسَدُهٗ وَاِذَا خَبُثَ الْقَلْبُ خَبُثَ الْجَسَدُ ـ
(Ibn al-Sunnī and Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ṭibb, from Abū Hurayra; Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].)
Vocabulary: idhā ṭāba — when it became pure; wa-idhā khabutha — when it became foul.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): when a person's heart has become pure, his body too has become pure; and when
the heart has become foul, the body too has become foul.
اِذَا وَجَدْتَ ذٰلِكَ يَعْنِی الْوَسْوَسَةَ فَارْفَعْ اِصْبَعَكَ السَّبَّابَةَ الْيُمْنٰى فَاطْعَنْهُ فِیْ فَخِذِكَ الْيُمْنٰى ـ وَقُلْ بِسْمِ اللهِ فَاِنَّهٗ سِكِّيْنُ الشَّيْطَانِ ـ
(al-Ḥakīm, al-Bāwardī and Ṭb [al-Ṭabarānī] from Abū al-Malīḥ, from his father; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
Vocabulary: fa-rfaʿ iṣbaʿaka al-sabbāba — then raise your index finger [lit. the finger of testimony]; fa-ṭʿanhu — and prod it in; sikkīn — a knife.
Translation: Abū al-Malīḥ narrated from his father: when you find it — that is, waswasa (whispering) — then raise the finger of the kalima [the index finger] of your right hand and prod it into your right thigh, and say "Bismi'llāh," for it is a knife for Shayṭān. (Kanz al-ʿUmmāl.)
مَامِنْ اَحَدٍ اِلَّا جُعِلَ مَعَهٗ قَرِيْنٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ قَالُوْا وَلَا اَنْتَ يَارَسُوْلَ اللهِ (قَالَ) وَلَا اَنَا اِلَّا اَنَّ اللهَ تَعَالٰى اَعَانَنِیْ عَلَيْهِ فَاَسْلَمَ فَلَا يَاْمُرُنِیْ اِلَّا بِخَيْرٍ ـ
(Ṭb [al-Ṭabarānī] from al-Mughīra.)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Mughīra (may Allah be pleased with him): "There is none among you but that a hidden companion has been attached to him." They said: "Even with you (as well), O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "And with me (as well), except that Allah has helped me against him, so he has submitted [become obedient]; thus he commands me with nothing but good."
وَلَوْ رَاَيْتُمُوْنِیْ وَاِبْلِيْسَ فَاَهْوَيْتُ بِيَدِیْ فَمَازِلْتُ اَخْنُقُهٗ حَتّٰى وَجَدْتُ بَرْدَ لُعَابِهٖ بَيْنَ اِصْبَعَیَّ هَاتَيْنِ وَلَوْلَا دَعْوَةُ اَخِیْ سُلَيْمَانَ لَاَصْبَحَ مَرْبُوْطًا بِسَارِيَةٍ مِنْ سَوَارِی الْمَسْجِدِ يَتَلَاعَبُ بِهٖ صِبْيَانُ الْمَدِيْنَةِ فَمَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْكُمْ اَنْ لَايَحُوْلَ بَيْنَهٗ وَبَيْنَ الْقِبْلَةِ اَحَدٌ فَلْيَفْعَلْ ـ
(Ḥm [Aḥmad] from Abū Saʿīd; Kanz [al-ʿUmmāl].)
Vocabulary: fa-ahwaytu bi-yadī — so I swung my hand down [towards him]; akhnuquhū — I kept pressing his throat; barda luʿābihī — the coolness of his saliva.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Saʿīd (may Allah be pleased with him): "If you had seen me and Iblīs — I swung my hand down and kept pressing his throat until I felt the coolness of his saliva between these two fingers of mine. Had it not been for the prayer of my brother Sulaymān [Solomon] (peace be upon him), by morning he would have been tied to one of the pillars of the mosque, and the boys of Madīna would have played with him. So whoever among you is able to ensure that no one comes between him and the qibla [the direction of prayer], let him do so."
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضى الله عنه قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه وسلّم اَلشَّيْطٰنُ جَاثِمٌ عَلٰى قَلْبِ ابْنِ اٰدَمَ فَاِذَا ذَكَرَ اللهَ تَعَالٰى خَنَسَ وَ اِذَا غَفَلَ وَسْوَسَ ـ
(Narrated by al-Bukhārī, taʿlīqan [without a full chain].)
Vocabulary: jāthim — sitting [crouching]; khanasa — he slinks back.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet ﷺ said: "Shayṭān sits [crouched] upon the heart of a person. Then when he remembers Allah, he slinks back; and when he is heedless, he whispers."