Dhikr in Dim Surroundings
- Allah said to the Prophet: "Wa min al-layli fa tahajjad bihi nafilatan laka" : "And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee" (17:79), and He said: "Lo! the vigil of the night is a time when impression is more keen and speech more certain." (73:6).
The superiority of prayer at night is known in all books of hadith and fiqh because of the elimination of worldly distractions at that time. That is why Imam Ghazali wrote on that topic: "The root of thought is the eye... He whose niyyat (intention) is fine and who aims high cannot be diverted by what occurs in front of him, but he who is weak falls prey to it. The medicine is to cut off the roots of these distractions and to shut up the eyes, to pray in a dark room, not to keep anything in front which may attract attention and not to pray in a decorated place. For this reason, the saints used to worship in dark, narrow and unspacious rooms." Ihya' `Ulum al-Din, Book of Salat.
Movement during dhikr
We have already mentioned above the version of the hadith of Muslim whereby the Prophet praised the mufarridun or those who are single-minded in their remembrance of Allah: Nawawi said:
Another narration has: "They are those who shake or are moved at the mention or remembrance of Allah (hum al-ladhina ihtazzu fi dhikrillah), that is, they have become fervently devoted and attached to His remembrance."
Imam Habib al-Haddad said in Key to the Garden (p. 116):
Dhikr returns from the outward feature which is the tongue to the inward which is the heart, where it becomes solidly rooted, so that it takes firm hold of its members. The sweetness of this is tasted by the one who has taken to dhikr with the whole of himself, so that his skin and heart are softened. As Allah said: "Then their skins and their hearts soften to the remembrance of Allah" (39:23).
The "softening of the heart" consists in the sensitivity and timidity that occur as a result of nearness and tajalli [manifestation of one or more divine attributes]. Sufficient is it to have Allah as one's intimate companion!
As for the "softening of the skin" this is the ecstasy and swaying from side to side which result from intimacy and manifestation, or from fear and awe. No blame is attached to someone who has reached this rank if he sways and chants, for in the painful throes of love and passion he finds something which arouses the highest yearning....
The exhortation provided by fear and awe brings forth tears and forces one to tremble and be humble. These are the states of the righteous believers (abrar) when they hear the Speech and dhikr of Allah the Exalted. "Their skins shiver" (39:23), and then soften with their hearts and incline to dhikr of Him, as they are covered in serenity and dignity, so that they are neither frivolous, pretentious, noisy, or ostentatious. Allah the Exalted has not described them as people whose sense of reason has departed, who faint, dance, or jump about.
More Hadiths on the Virtues of Dhikr
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "When a servant of Allah utters the words la ilaha illallah (there is no god except Allah) sincerely, the doors of heaven open up for these words until they reach the Throne of Allah, so long as its utterer keeps away from the major sins." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, who says it is hasan gharib. al-Mundhiri included in al-Targhib 2:414)
Abu Hurayra also reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Renew your faith." "How can we renew our faith?" they asked. The Prophet replied: "Say always: la ilaha illallah." (Narrated by Ahmad with a fair chain of authorities)
Jabir reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "The best remembrance of Allah is to repeat la ilaha illallah and the best prayer (du'a) is al-hamdu lillah (all praise belongs to Allah)." (Narrated by Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Hakim who declared its chain sound)
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "There are two phrases that are light on the tongue but heavy on the scale of rewards and are dear to the Gracious One. These are: subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi, "Glorified is Allah with all praise to Him," and subhan Allah al-`azim, "Glorified is Allah, the Great." (Narrated by Bukhari, Muslim, and Tirmidhi)
Abu Hurayra also reported that the Prophet said: "I love repeating: subhan Allah, wa al-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar: "Glorified is Allah, and Praise be to Allah, and There is no God but Allah, and Allah is most Great," more than all that the sun shines upon." (Narrated by Muslim and Tirmidhi)
Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet said: "Shall I tell you the words that Allah loves the most?" I said: "Yes, tell me, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "The words dearest to Allah are: subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi "Glorified is Allah with all praise to Him." (Narrated by Muslim and Tirmidhi)
In Tirmidhi's version, we also find the following: "The words most dear to Allah which He has chosen for His angels are: subhana rabbi wa bi hamdihi subhana rabbi wa bi hamdihi, "Glorified is my Lord with all praise to Him, Glorified is my Lord with all praise to Him!"
Jabir reported that the Prophet said: "Whoever says: "Glorified is Allah, the Great, with all praise to Him" will have a palm tree planted for him in Paradise." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, who said it is hasan)
Abu Sa`id reported that the Prophet said: "Perform the enduring goods deeds (al-baqiyat al-salihat) more frequently." They asked, "What are these enduring good deeds?" The Prophet replied: Takbir [allahu akbar], Tahlil [la ilaha illallah], Tasbih [subhan allah], al-hamdu lillah, and la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. (Narrated by Nasa'i and Hakim, who said its chain is sahih.)
`Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud reported that the Prophet said: "During the Night Journey I met Ibrahim who said to me: O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Community, and tell them that the Paradise is of pure land, its water is sweet, and its expanse is vast, spacious and even. And its seedlings are:
subhan allah: Glory to Allah
wa al-hamdu lillah: and Praise to Allah
wa la ilaha illallah: and there is no god but Allah
wallahu akbar: and Allah is greatest.
(Narrated by Tirmidhi and Tabarani whose version adds: "There is no power nor strength save through Allah.")
Samura ibn Jundub reported that the Prophet said: "The dearest phrases to Allah are four: subhan Allah, wa al-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar: "Glorified is Allah, and Praise be to Allah, and There is no God but Allah, and Allah is most Great," There is no harm in beginning them in any order you choose while remembering Allah." (Narrated by Muslim)
Ibn Mas`ud reported that the Prophet said: "If anyone recites the last two verses of Surat al- Baqara at night (2:285-286), they will suffice for him." (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim). That is, these two verses will bring him a reward equivalent to that of a night prayer, and will safeguard him from any hurt during that night. Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih mentioned it under the chapter "The Recitation of the Qur'an Equivalent in Reward to a Night Prayer."
Abu Sa`id al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet asked: "Can anyone of you recite a third of the Qur'an during the night?" The Companions considered this difficult and they said: "Who among us can do so, O Prophet of Allah?" Thereupon the Prophet said: "Allah, the One, the Eternally-Besought [i.e. surat al-Ikhlas] is a third of the Qur'an." (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "Whoever says: la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, wa huwa `ala kulli shay'in qadir -- There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner. His is the sovereignty, and His the praise, and He has power over everything -- a hundred times a day will have a reward equivalent to the reward for freeing ten slaves. In addition, a hundred good deeds will be recorded for him and a hundred bad deeds of his will be wiped off, and it will be a safeguard for him from Satan that day until evening, and no one will be better in deeds than such a person except he who does more than that." (Narrated by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)
In the version of Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Nasa'i, we find this addition: "Whoever says: subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi -- Glorified is Allah with all praise to Him -- a hundred times during a day, will have all his sins wiped off even if they were as numerous as the foam on the surface of the sea."
Istighfar
Anas reported that he heard the Prophet saying that Allah says, "O son of Adam, whatever you asked Me and expect from Me I forgave -- respecting that which you owed to Me -- and I don't care (how great this was). O Son of Adam, even if your sins pile up to the sky and then you seek My forgiveness I will forgive you, and O son of Adam, even if you have an earthful of sins but you meet Me without associating any other thing with Me I will forgive you." (Narrated by Tirmidhi who said it is hasan sahih.)
`Abd Allah ibn `Abbas said: "If one supplicates without fail for forgiveness from Allah, He finds a way out for him to get out of every distress and difficulty, and gives him sustenance through ways utterly unthought of." (Narrated by Abu Dawud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Hakim, who said its chain of authorities is sound.)
Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, one of the wives of the Prophet, reported that one day the Prophet left her apartment in the morning as she was busy observing her dawn prayer in her place of worship. He came back in the forenoon and she was still sitting there. The Prophet said to her: "You have been in the same place since I left you?" She said: "Yes." Thereupon the Prophet said: "I recited four words three times after I left you and if these are to be weighed against what you have recited since morning these would outweigh them, and these words are:
subhan allahi wa bi hamdihi `adada khalqihi wa rida nafsihi wa zinata `arshihi wa midada kalimaihi
"Glory to Allah and praise to Him to the number of His creation and to the extent of His pleasure and to the extent of the weight of His Throne and to the extent of ink used in recording words for His Praise." (Muslim and Abu Dawud)
Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet told them, "A servant of Allah said: ya rabbi laka al-hamdu kama yanbaghi li jalali wajhika wa li `azimi sultanik. My Lord! All praise belongs to You as much as befits Your Glory and Sublime Majesty. This was too much for the two angels to record. They did not know how to record it. So they soared to the heaven and said: Our Lord! Your servant has said something which we don't know how to record. Allah asked them -- and, of course, He knew what the servant had said: What did My servant say? They said: He said: My Lord! All praise belongs to You as much as befits Your Glory and Sublime Majesty. Allah said to them: Write it down as My servant has said until he should meet Me and I reward him for it." (Narrated by Ibn Majah)
Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn al-As said: "I saw the Prophet counting the glorifications of Allah on his right hand's fingers." (Narrated by Tirmidhi who said hasan gharib, Nasa'i, Abu Dawud, and Ahmad.)
Yusayra bint Yasir reported that the Prophet commanded them (the Emigrant women) to be regular in remembering Allah by saying tahlil (la ilaha illallah) and tasbih (subhan allah) and taqdis (allahu akbar) and never to be forgetful of Allah and His Mercy, and to count them on their fingers, for the fingers will be questioned and will speak. (Narrated by Ahmad, Tirmidhi who said it is gharib, Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim. Shawkani in Nayl al-awtar 2:316 said that Suyuti declared sound (sahih) its chain of transmission.)
Use of dhikr-beads (masbaha, sibha, tasbih)
Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas reported that once the Prophet saw a woman who had some date-stones or pebbles which she was using as beads to glorify Allah. The Prophet said to her, "Let me tell you something which would be easier or more excellent for you than that." So he told her to say instead:
subhan allahi `adada ma khalaqa fi s-sama',
subhan allahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-ard,
subhan allahi `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
subhan allahi `adada ma huwa khaliq,
Allahu akbaru `adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
Allahu akbaru `adada ma khalaqa fi l-'ard,
Allahu akbaru `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
Allahu akbaru `adada ma huwa khaliq,
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma khalaqa fi l-'ard,
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
al-hamdu lillahi `adada ma huwa khaliq,
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma khalaqa fi al-ard,
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
la ilaha illallahu `adada ma huwa khaliq,
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-sama',
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma khalaqa fi al-ard,
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma khalaqa bayna dhalik,
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi `adada ma huwa khaliq.
"Glory be to Allah as many times as the number of what He has created in Heaven,
Glory be to Allah as many times as the number of what He has created on Earth,
Glory be to Allah as many times as the number of what He has created between them,
Glory be to Allah as many times as the number of that which He is creating."
and then repeat all of the above four times but substituting "Glory be to Allah" by:
- "Allah is the most great" in the first repetition,
- "Praise be to Allah" in the second repetition,
- "There is no god but Allah" in the third repetition, and
- "There is no change and no power except with Allah" in the fourth repetition. (Narrated by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi who said it is hasan, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, al-Nasa'i, and al-Hakim, who said it is sahih according to the criterion of Muslim. Dhahabi concurred.)
Safiyya bint Huyayy the Prophet's wife said: The Prophet came in to see me and in front of me there were four thousand date-stones with which I was making tasbih [counting subhan Allah]. He said: "You make tasbih with so many! Shall I teach you what surpasses your number of tasbih?" She said: "Teach me!" He said: "Say: Subhan Allah `adada khalqihi -- Glory to Allah the number of His creation." Narrated by Tirmidhi who said it is gharib, and both al-Hakim and Suyuti declared it sahih.
Allah says in His Holy Book to His Holy Prophet, "Remind people, for reminding benefits them" (51:55). The reminder of Muslims has various forms, public and private. A public form of this reminder is the adhan. The masbaha or sibha or tasbih, or dhikr-beads, has had since the earliest Companions the function of a private reminder. It is for that reason that the tasbih was called by them mudhakkir or mudhakkira -- "reminder," and there is a narration traced to the Prophet whereby he said: ni`ma al-mudhakkir al-sibha: "What a good reminder are the dhikr-beads!" Shawkani narrates it from `Ali ibn Abi Talib as evidence for the usefulness of dhikr-beads in Nayl al-awtar (2:317) from Daylami's narration in Musnad al-firdaws with his chain, and Suyuti cites it in his fatwa on dhikr-beads in al-Hawi li al-fatawi (2:38).
The statement propagated nowadays by "Salafis" whereby counting dhikr on beads is an innovation, is undoubtedly false. The use of beads for counting dhikr is definitely established as a practice allowed by the Prophet and a Sunna of the Companions. This is proven by the sahih hadith of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, who related that the Prophet once saw a woman using some datestones or pebbles (nawan aw hasan), and did not prohibit her to use them. This hadith is found in Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nisa'i, Ibn Maja, Ibn Hibban, and Hakim. Dhahabi declared it sahih. Another sahih hadith to that effect was related by Safiyya, who was seen by the Prophet, Peace be upon him, counting "Subhan Allah" on four thousand date stones. This hadith is found in Tirmidhi, Hakim, and Tabarani, and was confirmed as sahih by Suyuti. It is also related from the Prophet's freedman, Abu Safiyya, that a mat would be spread for him (Abu Safiyya) and a basket made of palm leaves brought which was filled with pebbles with which he would make tasbih until mid-day. Then it would be taken away, and then brought back after he had prayed, and he would make tasbih again until evening. This is narrated in Ibn Hajar's Isaba (7:106 #652) with his chain, who says that Bukhari narrates it [in his Tarikh], as well as al-Baghawi through two chains. Shawkani cites it, as seen below.
Shawkani said in Nayl al-awtar (2:316-317):
The Prophet justified the counting of dhikr on the fingers by the fact that the fingers will be questioned and will speak, that is, they will witness to that effect. It follows that counting tasbih on them, because of this aspect, is better than using dhikr-beads or pebbles. But the two other hadiths [of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas and Safiyya bint Huyayy] indicate the permissibility of counting tasbih with date-stones and pebbles, and similarly with dhikr-beads because there is no distinguishing factor between them in the Prophet's stipulation to the two women concerning it, and no disapproval of it. As for directing to what is better: this does not negate permissibility (la yunafi al-jawaz). There are reports to that effect.
It is related in Hilal al-Haffar's monograph through Mu`tamar ibn Sulayman from Abu Safiyya the Prophet's freedman that a mat would be spread for him (Abu Safiyya) and a basket made of palm leaves brought which was filled with pebbles with which he would make tasbih until mid-day. Then it would be taken away, and then brought back after he had prayed, and he would make tasbih again until evening. Imam Ahmad narrates it in Kitab al-zuhd [with his chain].
Ahmad also narrates from al-Qasim ibn `Abd al-Rahman that Abu al-Darda' had a bag filled with date-stones and that whenever he prayed the noon prayer he would bring them out one by one and make tasbih on them until they were finished.
Ibn Sa`d in his Tabaqat narrates [with his chains] that Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas used to count tasbih on pebbles, and that Fatima bint al-Husayn ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib used to make tasbih with a thread stringed with knots, and that Abu Hurayra made tasbih with a string of pebbles (al-nawa al-majmu`).
`Abd Allah the son of Imam Ahmad narrated in Zawa'id al-zuhd that Abu Hurayra had a thread stringed with one thousand knots and that he would not sleep until he had counted tasbih on them.
al-Daylami narrates in Musnad al-firdaws through Zaynab bint Sulayman ibn `Ali, and from Umm al-Hasan bint Ja`far from her father from her grandfather from `Ali, and it is traced back to the Prophet: "What a good reminder are the dhikr-beads!"
Suyuti related reports with their chains in his monograph on the subject entitled al-Minha min al-sibha and it is part of his collected fatwas. He says towards the end of it: "It is not related from any one of the Salaf nor the Khalaf that it is forbidden to count tasbih on the sibha (dhikr-beads). On the contrary, most of them used to count tasbih on it, and they did not consider it disliked."
The Indian hadith scholar Zakariyya al-Khandlawi similarly relates in his book Hayat al-sahaba that Abu Hurayra said: "I recite istighfar (formula of asking forgiveness) 12,000 times daily" and that, according to his grandson, he had a piece of thread with 1,000 knots and would not go to sleep until he had said subhan allah (Glory to Allah) on all of these knots. According to her grand-daughter through Imam al-Husayn, Fatima also used to count her dhikr on a thread with knots.
Mawlana Zakariyya continues, "It is well-known that many other Companions of the Prophet, Peace be upon him, used beads in their private devotions, such as Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas himself, Abu Safiyya the slave of the Prophet, Abu Sa`d, Abu Darda', and Fatima, May Allah be pleased with them all. Stringing or not stringing the beads together does not make any difference."
It is well-established that counting dhikr is a Sunna of the Prophet, Peace be upon him. He himself advised his wives, `Ali, and Fatima to count tasbih (subhan allah), tahmid (al-hamdu lillah), and takbir (allahu akbar) thirty-three times each before going to bed at night. Ibn `Amr relates that he saw the Prophet, count the times he said subhan allah on his right hand. This does not mean that it is not allowed to use the left also, as the Prophet simply said: "Count [the dhikr] on your fingers."
Imam Suyuti recounted in one of his fatwas entitled al-Minha fi al-sibha (The profit derived from using dhikr-beads) the story of `Ikrima, who asked his teacher `Umar al-Maliki about dhikr-beads. `Umar answered him that he had also asked his teacher Hasan al-Basri about it and was told: "Something we have used at the beginning of the road we are not desirous to leave at the end. I love to remember Allah with my heart, my hand, and my tongue." Suyuti comments: "And how should it be otherwise, when the dhikr-beads remind one of Allah Most High, and a person seldom sees dhikr-beads except he remembers Allah, which is among the greatest of its benefits."
As for Albani's statements against the dhikr-beads, his rejection of the hadith ni`ma al-mudhakkir al-sibha (see his Silsila da`ifa #83), and his astounding claim that whoever carries dhikr-beads in his hand to remember Allah is misguided and innovating, then we direct the reader to their refutation in Mahmud Sa`id's Wusul al-tahani bi ithbat sunniyyat al-sibha wa al-radd `ala al-albani (The alighting of mutual benefit and the confirmation that the dhikr-beads are a Sunna, and the refutation of Albani).
The claim that the dhikr-beads come from Buddhism or Christianity is not countenanced by the ulama but is only one of the Hungarian Jewish scholar Ignaz Goldziher's (d. 1921 CE) legacies to orientalist literature.
Refutation of a dubious objection: the weak report against dhikr in Darimi's Sunan
"Salafis" sometimes adduce the following weak narration in their attacks against collective dhikr:
al-Darimi in the Muqaddima of his Sunan narrated from al-Hakam ibn al-Mubarak who narrates from `Amr ibn Salima al-Hamadani:
We used to sit by the door of `Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud before the Morning Prayer, so that when he came out we would walk with him to the mosque. (One day) Abu Musa al-Ash`ari came to us and said: "Has Abu `Abd al-Rahman come out yet?" We replied No. So he sat down with us until he came out. When he came out, we all stood along with him, so Abu Musa said to him: "O Abu `Abd al-Rahman! I have just seen something in the mosque which I considered wrong, but all praise is for Allah, I did not see anything except good in it." He inquired: "What is it?" Abu Musa replied: "If you live you will see it. I saw in the mosque people sitting in circles awaiting the Prayer. In each circle they had pebbles in their hands and a man would say: Repeat allahu akbar a hundred times. So they would repeat it a hundred times. Then he would say: say la ilaha illallah a hundred times. So they would say it a hundred times. Then he would say: say subhanallah a hundred times. So they would say it a hundred times." Ibn Mas`ud asked: "What did you say to them?" Abu Musa said: "I did not say anything to them. Instead I waited to hear your view on it." Ibn Mas`ud replied: "Would that you had ordered them to count their evil deeds and assured them that their good deeds would not be lost!" Then we went along with him until he came to one of these circles whereby he stood and said: "What is this I see you doing?" They replied: "O Abu `Abd al-Rahman! These are pebbles upon which we are counting takbir, tahlil and tasbih." He said: "Count your evil deeds instead. I assure you that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O Umma of Muhammad, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, how quickly you go to destruction! Here are your Prophet's Companions available in abundance (mutawafirun). And there are his clothes which have not yet decayed and his bowl which is unbroken. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! Either you are following a Religion that is better guided than the Religion of Muhammad sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, or you are opening a door of misguidance." They said: "O Abu `Abd al-Rahman! By Allah, we only intend good!" He said: "How many are there who intend good but do not achieve it. Indeed Allah's Messenger said to us: A people will recite the Qur'an but it will not pass beyond their throats. By Allah! I do not know, but perhaps most of them are from among you." Then he left them. `Amr ibn Salima said: We saw most of those people fighting against us on the day of Nahrawan, on the side of the Khawarij.
The chain of the above report contains `Amr ibn Yahya al-Hamadani -- `Amr ibn Salima's grandson -- and he is da`if. Ibn Ma`in saw him and said: "his narrations are worth nothing"; Ibn Kharrash said: "he is not accepted"; Dhahabi listed him among those who are weak and whose hadith is not retained in al-Du`afa' wa al-matrukin (p. 212 #3229), Mizan al-i`tidal (3:293), and al-Mughni fi al-du`afa' (2:491); and al-Haythami declared him weak (da`if) in Majma` al-zawa'id, chapter entitled Bab al-`ummal `ala al-sadaqa.
Furthermore, even if the report were not weak, it would not constitute evidence to support an innovative stance against gatherings of dhikr, or against gathering for dhikr in a circle, or against counting dhikr, or against using pebbles for counting dhikr! The reason is that a single weak report can never overrule something which is established by many sound reports which we have already cited, such as the following:
On collective gatherings for dhikr:
Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira's report from the Prophet: "When any group of men remember Allah, angels surround them and mercy covers them," etc.
Abu Hanifa narrates from Musa ibn Kathir from `Umar ibn al-Khattab that the latter saw some people saying la ilaha illallah and allahu akbar and he said: "That is it, that is it (hiya hiya)." He was asked: "What is it?" He said: "The affirmation of godwariness (kalima al-taqwa), and they are the most deserving of it, and they are its people."
`Ata' said - may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him: "Whoever sits in a gathering in which Allah is remembered, Allah will remit for him ten evil gatherings of his."
Shahr ibn Hawshab's relation of Abu al-Darda' joining a gathering of dhikr in the Masjid of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).
On gathering for dhikr in a circle:
Muslim, Ahmad, and Tirmidhi narrate from Mu`awiya that the Prophet went out to a circle of his Companions who were making dhikr and tahmid (saying: al-hamdu lillah) and to whom he said: "Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, is telling the angels that He is proud of you!"
Ibn `Umar's report from the Prophet: "When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, avail yourselves of them." The Companions asked: "What are the gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "The circles of dhikr."
On counting dhikr by the hundreds:
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "Whoever says: la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, wa huwa `ala kulli shay'in qadir -- There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner. His is the sovereignty, and His the praise, and He has power over everything -- a hundred times a day will have a reward equivalent to the reward for freeing ten slaves," etc. and in another version: "Whoever says: subhan Allah wa bi hamdihi -- Glorified is Allah with all praise to Him -- a hundred times during a day, will have all his sins wiped off even if they were as numerous as the foam on the surface of the sea."
On using pebbles while counting dhikr:
The Prophet said: ni`ma al-mudhakkir al-sibha: "What a good reminder are the dhikr-beads"; Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas reported that once the Prophet saw a woman who had some date-stones or pebbles which she was using as beads to glorify Allah. The Prophet did not rebuke her for doing so; Safiyya bint Huyayy the Prophet's wife said: The Prophet came in to see me and in front of me there were four thousand date-stones with which I was making tasbih [counting subhan Allah], and he did not rebuke her; from the Prophet's freedman, Abu Safiyya: a mat would be spread for him and a basket made of palm leaves brought which was filled with pebbles with which he would make tasbih until mid-day. Then it would be taken away, and then brought back after he had prayed, and he would make tasbih again until evening; Abu al-Darda' had a bag filled with date-stones and that whenever he prayed the noon prayer he would bring them out one by one and make tasbih on them until they were finished; Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas used to count tasbih on pebbles; Fatima bint al-Husayn ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib used to make tasbih with a thread stringed with knots, and that Abu Hurayra made tasbih with a string of one thousand knots and would not sleep until he had counted tasbih on them.
Shawkani said in Nayl al-awtar (2:316-317):
The Prophet justified the counting of dhikr on the fingers by the fact that the fingers will be questioned and will speak, that is, they will witness to that effect. It follows that counting tasbih on them, because of this aspect, is better than using dhikr-beads or pebbles. But the two other hadiths [of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas and Safiyya bint Huyayy] indicate the permissibility of counting tasbih with date-stones and pebbles, and similarly with dhikr-beads because there is no distinguishing factor between them in the Prophet's stipulation to the two women concerning it, and no disapproval of it. As for directing to what is better: this does not negate permissibility (la yunafi al-jawaz). There are reports to that effect....
Suyuti related reports with their chains in his monograph on the subject entitled al-Minha min al-sibha and it is part of his collected fatwas. He says towards the end of it: "It is not related from any one of the Salaf nor the Khalaf that it is forbidden to count tasbih on the sibha (dhikr-beads). On the contrary, most of them used to count tasbih on it, and they did not consider it disliked."
All the above shows that the meaning of the report narrated by Darimi can never be adduced to contest the lawfulness of gathering for dhikr, or sitting in a circle of dhikr, or counting dhikr, or using pebbles to count dhikr, and whoever says this is ignorant of the Sunna on this issue. If it is authentic, then the key to Darimi's report which the "Salafis" have misunderstood -- either from ignorance or from feigned ignorance -- lies in the following passages:
- Abu Musa al-Ash`ari's words: "I have just seen something in the mosque which I considered wrong, but I did not see anything except good in it";
- Ibn Mas`ud's words: "Here are your Prophet's Companions available in abundance";
- Ibn Mas`ud's words: "Allah's Messenger said to us: A people will recite the Qur'an but it will not pass beyond their throats. By Allah! I do not know, but perhaps most of them are from among you."
- `Amr ibn Salima's words: "We saw most of those people fighting against us on the day of Nahrawan, on the side of the Khawarij."
It is clear that Abu Musa's reaction was mixed because on the one hand he disapproved of the people themselves but not of their dhikr, but the reason for the disapproval is left unsaid, while Ibn Mas`ud alludes to it by blaming the people in question for their isolationist stance away from the Companions This is confirmed by Ibn Mas`ud's citing of one of the most famous hadiths concerning the Khawarij -- Separatists -- and it is known that these Separatists considered themselves more pious than all the Muslims and better than even the Companions. This is again confirmed beyond the shadow of a doubt by `Amr ibn Salima's explicit identification of the people in question as allies of the Khawarij on the day of Nahrawan. This shows that the view of Abu Musa and the condemnation of Ibn Mas`ud are directed against the fact that the people in question were Separatists, not that they were making dhikr. The scandal of separating oneself from the Companions is underlined by Ibn Mas`ud's exclamation: "Here are your Prophet's Companions available in abundance." The hadith master Abu Zur`a al-Razi (d. 262) said: "At the time the Prophet's soul was taken back, the Companions who had narrated from and/or heard him directly (including his tacit presence) numbered 114,000." This is related by the hadith master Ibn Jama`a in his book al-Manhal al-rawi fi mukhtasar `ulum al-hadith al-nabawi (The quenching spring: Abridged manual of the sciences of the prophetic hadith), 3rd ed., ed. Muhyiddin `Abd al-Rahman Ramadan (Damascus: Dar al-fikr, 1406/1986) p. 113.
The Khawarij are those from among the tribes of Banu Hanifa, Banu Tamim, and Wa'il in the Najd area of Eastern Arabia who committed baghi (rebellion) against Amir al-Mu'minin, Sayyidina `Ali, and opposed the larger group of Muslims. They declared both `Ali and Mu`awiya disbelievers and declared licit their blood and property as well as the blood and property of those with them. They made the land of the former a land of war and declared their own land an abode of faith. They only accepted from the Prophet's Sunna what agreed with their own doctrine and deduced evidence for their doctrine from what was not perspicuous in the Qur'an. They used to transfer the Qur'anic verses meant to refer to unbelievers and make them refer to the believers as predicted by the Prophet [See Bukhari, English ed. 9:50]. Ibn `Abbas debated them until four thousand returned to the truth. They were the first to separate from the Congregation of Muslims. The Prophet referred to them as "The dogs of the people in Hell" [A sound narration related through various chains by Ibn Majah, and Ahmad] and he ordered to fight and kill them by saying: "They will pass through Islam like an arrow passes through its quarry. Wherever you meet them, kill them!" [Bukhari and Muslim].
A final note on the Khawarij of our time. Imam Muhammad ibn `Abidin (d. 1252/1836) said in his Hashiyat radd al-muhtar `ala al-durr al-mukhtar (3:309), Chapter entitled Bab al-Bughat [Chapter on Rebels]:
The name of Khawarij is applied to those who part ways with Muslims and declare them disbelievers, as took place in our time with the followers of Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab who came out of Najd and attacked the Two Noble Sanctuaries (Mecca and Madina). They (Wahhabis) claimed to follow the Hanbali school, but their belief was such that, in their view, they alone are Muslims and everyone else is a mushrik (polytheist). Under this guise, they said that killing Ahl al-Sunna and their scholars was permissible, until Allah the Exalted destroyed them in the year 1233/1818 at the hands of the Muslim army.
Invoking blessings on the Prophet (salawat)
Allahumma salli `ala muhammadin wa `ala ali muhammadin wa sallim. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the Family of Muhammad, and grant them peace!
Sakhawi in al-Qawl al-badi` (p. 179), chapter on the salawat after adhan says:
`Abd Allah ibn `Amr ibn al-`As said that he heard the Prophet say: "When you hear the mu'adhdhin, repeat his words after him, then invoke blessings upon me. Whoever invokes blessings upon me once, Allah bestows blessings upon him ten times. Then ask Allah for the wasila to be granted to me. It is a position in Paradise which may not be granted to any but one of Allah's servants, and I dearly hope that I will be that servant. Whoever asks Allah the wasila for me, my intercession is guaranteed for him.
Sakhawi continues: "It is narrated by Muslim and the Four (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Nasa'i) except Ibn Majah, and also by Bayhaqi, Ibn Zanjawayh, and others."
We have already expounded elsewhere on the fact that there is no such thing as invoking too much salawat on the Prophet and that we should be clear of anyone who makes such a claim. We will only mention here some evidence on this topic by way of a reminder.
Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet said: "Dust for the face of the one before whom I am mentioned, and he does not invoke blessings upon me." A sound hadith narrated by Tirmidhi (hasan gharib) and al-Hakim.
Abu Hurayra also reported that the Prophet said: "If people sit in an assembly in which they do not remember Allah nor invoke a blessing on the Prophet, it will be a cause of grief for them on the Day of Judgment." Narrated by Tirmidhi, who graded it hasan.
The author of Fath al-`allam said: "This hadith proves that it is incumbent on one to remember Allah and invoke blessings on the Prophet while sitting in an assembly, for whether we take the words "cause of grief" to mean torment of fire or any other chastisement, obviously a punishment is incurred only when an obligatory act is neglected or a forbidden act is committed, and here it is both the remembrance of Allah and the invoking of blessings on His Prophet that are apparently incumbent."
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali said in his book on love of Allah and love of the Prophet entitled Istinshaq nasim al-uns min nafahat riyad al-quds (Inhaling the breeze of intimacy from the whiffs of the gardens of sanctity):
Love for the Prophet is on two levels: The first level is obligatory. This is the love that requires one to accept whatever the Prophet brought from Allah and to receive it with love, pleasure, esteem and submission, without seeking guidance from any other source whatsoever.... The second level is superior. This type of love requires following his example in an excellent way and fulfilling the following of his Sunna with respect to his behavior, manners, voluntary deeds, superogatory actions, eating, drinking, dressing, excellent behavior with his wives and other aspects of his perfect manners and pure behavior. It also includes learning about his life and days. It also includes the heart trembling when mentioning him, saying prayers and blessings upon him often out of what resides in the heart of love for him, esteem for him and respect for him. It also includes loving to listen to his words and preferring them over the words of the rest of creation. And one of the greatest aspects of this love is to follow him in his abstinence of this world, to suffice with little, and to desire and pine after the everlasting Hereafter.
EXCERPTS ON THE REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH
FROM `ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-SUFURI'S (d. 894)
NUZHAT AL-MAJALIS WA MUNTAKHAB AL-NAFA'IS
(The Pleasant Gatherings and the Select Precious Matters)
Allah, the Exalted, said: "Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!" (13:28). If it is asked: How is the meaning of this verse reconciled with that of His saying: "They only are the true believers whose hearts feel fear (wajilat = tremble or shake) when Allah is mentioned" (8:2), the answer is that in the latter the purpose of Allah's mention is to bring to mind His greatness and the intensity of His vengeance against those who disobey Him. This verse was revealed at a time when the Companions had a disagreement concerning the spoils of the battle of Badr. Therefore the mention or the remembrance of what is fearsome became appropriate. As for the former verse, it concerns whoever Allah guided and who has turned to Allah with love. Therefore the mention of Allah's mercy became appropriate.
The two meanings of fearsomeness and mercy are reunited in Surat al-Zumar: "Allah hath now revealed the fairest of statements, a Scripture consistent, wherein promises of reward are paired with threats of punishment, whereat doth creep the flesh of those who fear their Lord, so that (thumma = and then) their flesh and their hearts soften to Allah's reminder (or: to the celebration of Allah's praises; or: to Allah's remembrance)" (39:23), meaning, to Allah's mercy and generosity.
The Prophet said: "He who remembers Allah much, Allah loves him," and he said: "The night that I was enraptured to my Lord I passed by a man extinguished within the light of Allah's Throne. I asked, Who is this, and is he an angel? I was told No, and I asked again, Is it a Prophet? I was told No, and I said, Who then? It was said: This is a man who, while he was in the world, his tongue was constantly moist with the mention of Allah and his heart was attached to the mosques."
On the authority of Mu`adh ibn Jabal, the Prophet said that Allah said: "No servant of Mine mentions Me in himself except I mention him in an assembly of My angels, and he does not mention Me in an assembly except I mention him in the Highest Company."
On the authority of Abu Hurayra who said that while on the road to Mecca the Prophet passed on top of a mountain called Jumdan, at which time he said: "Move on, for here is Jumdan which has overtaken the single-minded." They said: "What are the single-minded (mufarridun)? He said: "The men and women who remember Allah much" (33:35). Muslim related it.
The version in Tirmidhi has: "It was said: And what are the single-minded? He replied: Those who dote on the remembrance of Allah and are ridiculed because of it, whose burden the dhikr removes from them, so that they come to Allah fluttering!"
Al-Mundhiri said in al-Targhib wa al-tarhib (The encouragement to good and the discouragement from evil]: "The single-minded and those who dote on the dhikr and are ridiculed for it: these are the ones set afire with the remembrance of Allah."
The Prophet said:
"The-one-who-mentions-or-remembers-Allah among those who forget Him is like a green tree in the midst of dry ones";
"The one who mentions or remembers Allah among those who forget Him, Allah shows him his seat in Paradise during his life";
"The one who mentions or remembers Allah among those who forget Him is like the fighter behind those who run away";
"The one who mentions or remembers Allah among those who forget Him, Allah looks at him with a look after which He will never punish him";
"The one who mentions or remembers Allah among those who forget Him is like a light inside a dark house";
"The one who mentions or remembers Allah among those who forget Him, Allah forgives him his sins to the amount of every eloquent and non-eloquent speaker," that is, the number of animals and human beings;
"The one who mentions or remembers Allah in the marketplace, will have light in every hair of his on the Day of Resurrection."
The Sufis say that:
- it has a middle, which is a light that strikes;
- its has an end, which is a piercing difficulty;
- it has a principle, which is purity;
- it has a branch, which is loyalty;
- it has a condition, which is presence;
- it has a carpet, which is righteous action;
- it has a peculiar characteristic, which is the Manifest
Opening [cf. 48:1].
Abu Sa`id al-Kharraz[2] said: "When Allah desires to befriend a servant of His, He opens the door of dhikr for that servant. After the latter takes pleasure in dhikr, He opens the door of proximity for him. After that, He raises him to the meetings of intimacy and after that he makes him sit on a throne of Oneness. Then He removes the veils from him and He makes him enter the abode of Singleness and unveils Majesty and Sublimity to him. When the servant beholds Majesty and Sublimity, he remains without "he". He becomes extinguished, immune to the claims and pretensions of his ego, and protected for Allah's sake."
Someone else said: "Dhikr is the medicine (lit. tiryaq = triacle) of the sinners, the familiarity of the estranged, the treasure of those who practice reliance, the repast of those who possess certitude, the adornment of those who are connected, the starting-point of knowers, the carpet of those brought near Him, and the intoxicant of lovers."
The Prophet also said: "Remembrance of Allah is firm knowledge of one's belief, immunity from hypocrisy, a fortress against satan, and a guarded refuge from the fire." It was mentioned by al-Layth al-Samarqandi.
Ibn al-Salah was asked about the measure by which the servant is estimated to be among "those who remember Allah much" (33:35). He said: "If he perseveres in the forms of dhikr inherited in the Sunna morning and evening and in the various times and occasions, then he is of those who remember Allah much."
Musa said: "O my Lord! Are you near, so that I may speak to you intimately, or are you far, so that I may call out to you?" Allah inspired to him: "I am sitting next to the one who remembers Me." He said: "O my Lord, we are sometimes in a state of major impurity and we hold You in too high regard to dare remember You at that time." He replied: "Remember me in every state." Ghazali mentioned it in the "Ihya".
(`Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Hasan) al-Isnawi (al-Shafi`i, 1305-1370 CE) said in his Alghaz (Riddles): "A man in a state of minor impurity is forbidden from certain forms of dhikr, as illustrated by the nullification of the act of worship incurred when entering such a state during the Friday sermon, because ritual purity is a condition for its validity."
Someone related in Qushayri's Risala (Treatise on tasawwuf) that he entered a jungle and found a man remembering Allah while attended by a huge beast. He asked: "What is this?" The man replied: "I have asked Allah to empower one of His dogs to watch me in case I became heedless from remembering Him."...
On the Dhikr of Inanimate Objects
"The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymneth his praise; but ye understand not their praise. Lo! He is ever Clement, Forgiving." (17:44)
Ibrahim al-Nakha`i[3] said concerning Allah's saying: "There is not a thing but hymneth his praise" (17:44): "Everything praises Him, including the door when it squeaks." Someone else said: "The verse is general, and it applies particularly to the one endowed with speech, as in Allah's saying: "Everything was destroyed,"[4] whereas the houses of `Ad were not destroyed, and in His saying concerning Sheba (Balqis) : "And she has been given from all things" (27:23) whereas she had not been given anything from Sulayman's kingdom.
It was also said that the verse (17:44) has a universal meaning whereby the one endowed with speech glorifies Allah by word, while the silent one glorifies through his state. This is by virtue of his being in existence: he testifies to His Maker through having been made.
I have seen in Taj al-Din Ibn al-Subki's Tabaqat al-shafi`iyya al-kubra -- may Allah be pleased with him, that the interpretation favored by our school (Shafi`is) is that all things make glorification through actual utterance, because such a thing is not impossible and it is indicated by many proof-texts. Allah the Exalted said: "We have placed the mountains under his dominion, they praise Allah at nightfall and at sunrise" (38:18). The mountains' glorification through actual utterance does not necessitate that we hear it. I have seen in al-Wujuh al-musfira `an ittisa` al-maghfira [The Faces Made Radiant By the Vastness of Mercy] the following commentary: "It is more likely that they literally glorify, except that this phenomenon is hidden from the people and is not perceived except through the rupture of natural laws. The Companions heard the glorification of food and other objects placed before the Prophet.
Concerning Allah's saying at the end of the verse: "Lo! He is ever Clement, Forgiving" (17:44): it applies to the state of those addressed by the verse in three ways. First, in the vast majority of cases people are distracted from glorifying Allah the Exalted, unlike the heavens and the earth and all that is therein: these distracted ones become in need of clemency and forgiveness. Second, they do not understand the praise of all these objects, and this may be because they do not sufficiently contemplate and reflect upon them: they then become in need of clemency and forgiveness. Third, the fact that they do not hear the praises may cause them to feel contempt towards these objects and drive them to deny the rights of creation: they again become in need of clemency and forgiveness.
Without doubt he who beholds with full understanding the glorification of things in existence, honors and magnifies them in respect to this glorification, even if the Lawgiver ordered him to disdain them in another respect.
The author of al-Wujuh al-musfira cited the following story: "One of Allah's slaves sought to perform the purification from going to stool with stones. He took one stone, and Allah removed the veil from his hearing so that he was now able to hear the stone's praise. Out of shame he left it and took another one, but he heard that one praising Allah also. And every time he took another stone he heard it glorifying Allah. Seeing this, at last he turned to Allah so that He would veil from him their praise to enable him to purify himself. Allah then veiled him from hearing them. He proceeded to purify himself despite his knowledge that the stones were making tasbih, because the one who reported about their tasbih is the same Law-giver who ordered to use them for purification. Therefore in the concealment of tasbih there is a far-reaching wisdom."
This is true, and I also saw in Fakhr al-Din Razi's Tafsir that what the scholars have agreed upon is that whoever is not alive is not empowered with speech, and it has been firmly established that inanimate objects praise Allah through the medium of their state. And Allah knows best.[5]
Six Benefits of Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah)
1. The Ranks of Dhikr
One of the commentators of Qur'an said concerning Allah's saying: "But among them are some who wrong themselves and among them are some who are lukewarm, and among them are some who outstrip others through good deeds, by Allah's leave" (35:32) that they are respectively the rememberer by tongue, the rememberer by heart, and the one who never forgets his Lord.
Ibn `Ata' Allah[6] said: "The one who utters the Word of Oneness needs three lights: the light of guidance, the light of sufficiency, and the light of divine help. Whoever Allah graces with the first light, he is immune (ma`sum) from associating a partner to Allah; whoever Allah graces with the second light, he is immune from committing great sins and indecencies; and whoever Allah graces with the third light, he is protected (mahfuz) from the corrupt thoughts and motions that typify those given to heedless actions. The first light belongs to "the ones who wrong themselves," the second to "those that are lukewarm," and the third to "the ones who outstrip others through good deeds."
Al-Wasiti[7] was asked about the remembrance of Allah, may Allah have mercy on him. He said: "It is the exiting from the battlefield of heedlessness into the outer space of direct vision (mushahada) on the mount of victory over fear and intensity of love."
One of the special attributes of the remembrance of Allah is that it has been placed in direct correspondence with Allah's own remembrance of us. Allah the Exalted said: "Remember Me, and I shall remember you" (2:152). Musa said - peace be upon him: "O my Lord, where do you dwell?" He replied: "In the heart of my believing servant."[8] The meaning of this is the heart's rest brought about by His remembrance.
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya[9] said - may Allah be well pleased with him: "Verily the angels lower their gaze in the presence of the rememberer of Allah, just as the people lower their gaze before lightning."
2. Remittance of Sins Through Dhikr
It is related that a servant of Allah will join the gatherings of dhikr with sins the like of mountains and then rise and leave one such gathering with nothing left of them to his name. This is why the Prophet called it one of the groves of Paradise when he said: "If you pass by the groves of Paradise, be sure to graze in them," and someone said: "What are the groves of Paradise?" to which he replied: "The circles of dhikr."
`Ata' said - may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him: "Whoever sits in a gathering in which Allah is remembered, Allah will remit for him ten evil gatherings of his."
Abu Yazid al-Bistami was told - may Allah be well pleased with him: "I have entrusted you with a secret for which you shall render Me an account under the Tree of Bliss (shajarat tuba)," whereupon he said: "We are under that tree as long as we remain in the remembrance of Allah."
It is related on `Ali's authority - may Allah be well pleased with him - that Allah manifests Himself (yatajalla) to the rememberers during dhikr and the recitation of Qur'an. The Prophet said: "No group gathers and remembers Allah seeking nothing other than Him except a caller from heaven calls out to them: Arise forgiven, for your bad deeds have been turned into good ones!" Abu al-Darda' said that the Prophet said: "Allah verily will raise on the Day of Resurrection people bearing light in their faces, carried aloft on pulpits of pearl, whom the people will envy. They are neither prophets nor martyrs." Upon hearing this a Bedouin Arab fell to his knees and said: "Show them to us (ajlihim), O Prophet of Allah!" - that is: "describe them for us." He replied: "They are those who love one another for Allah's sake alone. They come from many different tribes, countries, and cities. They gather together for the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, remembering Him."
Someone said concerning Allah's saying with reference to Sulayman -- peace be upon him: "I verily will punish him with hard punishment" (27:21) that it means: "Verily I shall drive him far from the gatherings of dhikr"... Al-Junayd said -- may Allah be well pleased with him -- concerning Allah's saying: "And (He is the One) Who causeth me to die, then giveth me life again" (26:81), that this means: "He causes me to die with heedlessness (of Him), then He causes me to live with remembrance (of Him)." Al-Hasan al-Basri said -- may Allah have mercy on him: "No people sit remembering Allah the Exalted with one of the people of Paradise in their midst except Allah grants him to intercede for all of them."
3. Dhikr of the Frogs
Dawud said - peace be upon him: "I shall praise Allah with a kind of praise that none among his creatures ever used before." Thereupon a frog called out to him: "Do you pride yourself before Allah for your praise, while for seventy years my tongue has been moist from remembering Him, and I have eaten nothing in the past ten nights because I kept busy uttering two words?" Dawud said: "What are these two words?" The frog replied: "O Praiser of Thyself with every tongue, O remembered One in every place!"
It is related in Nuzhat al-nufus wa al-afkar [The Recreation of Minds and Thoughts] that an angel once said to Dawud: "O Dawud, understand what the frog is saying!" whereupon he heard it saying: "Glory and praise to You to the farthest boundary of Your knowledge!" Dawud said: "By the One Who made me a Prophet, verily I shall sing my Lord's praise in this way." The commentators have said that the frogs' words are: "Glory to the King, the Holy One!" (subhan al-malik al-quddus) while al-Baghawi has: "Glory to my Lord Most Holy!" (subhana rabbi al-quddus), and of `Ali's words - may Allah be well pleased with him - is "Glory to the One Who is worshipped in the abysses of the sea!"
4. Dhikr of the Prophet Jonah
`Ali said - may Allah be well pleased with him: "In the time of Jonah - peace be upon him - was a frog which had lived past the age of four thousand years. It never rested from glorifying Allah. One day it said: "O my Lord, no-one glorifies You like I do!" Jonah said: "O my Lord, I say what it says!" and he said: "Glory to You by the number of times each of your creatures says "Glory to You," and glory to You by the number of times each of Your creatures does not say "Glory to You," and glory to You according to the expanse of Your knowledge and the light of Your countenance and the adornment of Your throne and the reach of Yours words!"
5. The Plagues of Egypt
The frog in a dream represents the righteous person. The frog poured water over Ibrahim's fire - peace be upon him - to help put it out. As for a multitude of frogs, they represent punishment.
The Exalted said: "So We sent them the flood and the locusts and the vermin and the frogs and the blood -- a succession of clear signs. But they were arrogant and became guilty" (7:133). Al-Razi said: "... The nation of Pharaoh said to Musa - peace be upon him: "Whatever signs you bring us, to us it is nothing other than mere magic and we shall not believe in you." Musa invoked Allah against them, and Allah sent down the flood upon them day and night. They sought help from Pharaoh, who sought help from Musa, who sought help from Allah. Allah then withheld the rain from them and sent down the winds. The earth grew vegetation and fruit in over-abundance. When they saw this they said: "Is this what we were anxious about? It is a great good for us!" and they disbelieved again. Allah then sent the locusts upon them, and they ate up all the vegetation until hardship became extreme and the sun was covered by the swarm of locusts. They sought help from Musa who sought help from his Lord. Allah then sent a wind which hurled the locusts into the sea. At this they said: "Whatever is left from what we had planted is enough for us," and they disbelieved again. Allah then sent the lice upon them. Sa`id ibn Jubayr said this is the maggot which issues from wheat. Tha`labi said it is a kind of tick. `Ata' al-Khurasani said it is the well-known lice, and it was also said that it means mosquitoes, and also wingless locusts. They did not leave a single green leaf except they ate it, and something like smallpox smote the bodies of the people. They sought help from Musa who sought help from his Lord. Allah sent a hot wind which burnt the lice. They still did not believe, so Allah sent upon them a swarm of frogs as thick as a pitch-dark night. The frogs entered their plantations, their food, and their beds cubit by cubit. They sought help from Musa again, and he sought help from his Lord. Allah caused the frogs to die and he sent down rain which carried them to the sea. They still disbelieved. Allah then sent down blood upon them so that their rivers ran red with blood. It is also said that Allah inflicted a state of permanent nosebleed upon them. For seven days they drank blood. Then they said: "O Musa, if you remove the filth (al-rijz) from us verily we shall pledge our belief for you." [Cf. 7:134: "If thou removest the terror from us we verily will trust thee and will let the Children of Israel go with thee."] Sa`eed ibn Jabir said that the "filth" (or "terror") was a sixth kind of punishment which is the plague, while others said that it is an expression for the five kinds already mentioned. Al-Razi said - and this is the strongest opinion: "Wahb said that they underwent each affliction for a period of forty days."
6. Lengthening the Pronunciation of LA ILAHA ILLALLAH
Ibn `Abbas said -- may Allah be well pleased with him and his father -- that the Prophet said: "The day Allah created the heavens and the earth He created an angel and ordered him to say: "There is no god except Allah alone" (LA ILAHA ILLALLAH). The angel lengthens his delivery as he utters it and will not rest from this until the trumpet is blown." One of the Companions said that whoever says: "No god except Allah" and lengthens his pronunciation intending thereby to magnify Allah, Allah will remit four thousand grave sins for him, and if he did not commit four thousand, Allah will remit the difference for his family and neighbors. It is related in the hadith: "Whoever says "No god except Allah" and lengthens his pronunciation intending thereby to magnify Allah, four thousand of his sins are struck thereby from the register of his sins." Hence it is praiseworthy to lengthen one's pronunciation upon uttering it, as Nawawi said, may Allah the Exalted have mercy upon him. The Prophet also said: "Whoever lengthens his pronunciation upon saying "No god except Allah," Allah will make him dwell in Paradise in the Abode of Majesty by which he has named Himself when He said: "There remaineth but the countenance of thy Lord of Might and Glory" (55:27), and Allah will grant him to behold His gracious countenance."
Anas ibn Malik said - may Allah be well pleased with him - from the Prophet: "O human beings! Whoever says "No god except Allah" in astonishment at something, Allah creates from each letter of his utterance a tree with as many leaves as the days of this world, each leaf asking forgiveness for him and praising Allah on his behalf until the Day of judgment."... It has been related that this phrase has on the side of Iblis the effect which a gangrenous sore would have on the side of a human being. al-Qadi `Iyad[10] relates in the "Shifa" from Ibn `Abbas that written on the door of Paradise is the inscription: "There is no god but Allah alone, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah: Whoever says this, I shall not punish him."
I saw the following account as part of the explanation of Allah's saying: "And speak (O Musa and Aaron) unto him (Pharaoh) a gentle word" (20:44). Musa said: "O Lord, how can a word be gentle?" Allah replied: "Say to him: "Would you like a good compromise? You have followed your own self for four hundred and fifty years; follow our intent but for one year, and Allah will forgive you all your sins. If not one year, then one month; if not, one week; if not, one single day; if not, one single hour. If you do not (wish to humor us) for all of an hour, then say in a single breath: "There is no god but Allah" so that I shall be able to bring peace to you."
After Musa conveyed the message, Pharaoh gathered his armies and said to them: "I am your Most High Lord!" (79:24) At this the heavens and the earth shook and pleaded before Allah the Glorious and Exalted that Pharaoh be put to death. Allah said: "He is like the dog: only the stick is good for him. O Musa, cast your staff" (cf. 7:117, 27:10, 28:31). Musa cast his staff (which became a huge snake or dragon) and the magicians (of Pharaoh's court) immediately submitted. Pharaoh fled to his bedchamber. Musa said: "If you don't come out, I shall order it to enter where you are." Pharaoh said: "Give me a little respite." Musa answered: "I have no permission to respite you." But Allah the Exalted inspired to him: "Respite him, for verily I am the Clement, I do not hasten to punish."
Pharaoh began to relieve himself forty times a day while previously he would relieve himself only once every forty days. Musa gave him a respite. When the day came Pharaoh exceeded his bounds and rebelled. Allah therefore "seized him and made him an example for the afterlife and the former" (79:25); that is, He punished him with drowning because of his former word ("I am your Most High Lord") and He punished him with Gehenna because of his latter word, when he said: "I know not that ye have a god other than me" (28:38). Ibn `Abbas said: "This is the former word, while the other came later, and between them lay forty years."
I saw mentioned in the book Zumrat al-`ulum wa zuhrat al-nujum (The Array of the Sciences and the Brightness of Stars) from the Prophet: He said: Gabriel told me: I stood in wait before Allah at the time Pharaoh said: "And what is the Lord of the Worlds?" (26:23) whereupon I outstretched two of my wings to smite him with punishment, but Allah the Exalted said: "Wait, O Gabriel! He hastens to punish who fears the lapse of time."
It was also mentioned in that book that when Pharaoh said: "I am your Lord the Most High" (79:24) Gabriel wanted to shake the earth from under his feet, but when he sought permission from his Lord the Exalted He did not give it to him and ordered him to ignore Pharaoh instead.
Al-`Ala'i[11] said in his explanation of the sura of the Story (al-qasas) that Iblis entered Pharaoh's presence as the latter was in the bath and said: "O Pharaoh, I enticed you with every transgression, but I never told you to claim absolute Lordship!" Then he gave him forty lashes and left him in anger. Pharaoh said to him: "O Iblis, should I take back this claim?" He replied: "It would not be right for you to take it back after making it."
A group of the disbelievers of Quraysh gathered among whom was the Pharaoh of this Community -- Abu Jahl -- at Abu Talib's house during the latter's last illness. Abu Jahl said to him: "You know what has taken place between us and your brother's son. Therefore obtain what is rightfully ours from him and what is righfully his from us before you die." Abu Talib called the Prophet and said: "O my nephew, these are the nobility of your people, so leave them be and they shall leave you be." He replied: "Do they agree to obey me if I ask them to say but one word?" Abu Jahl said -- may Allah curse him: "Nay, we shall obey you if you ask us to say ten!" The Prophet then said: "Say: La ilaha illallah," whereupon they said: "Are you asking us to reduce all our gods to only one? Truly you are asking us for the strangest thing!" and they dispersed. Abu Talib said: "O Muhammad, you have asked them for nothing excessive." That is: You have not asked them for anything difficult.
Concerning Allah's saying: "Judge aright between us and be not unjust (lit. do not exceed the proper bounds)" (38:22) -- that is: Do not swerve in your judgment -- the Prophet hoped that his uncle would profess Islam, so he said to him: "Say it (the phrase: There is no god but Allah alone), so that I will be permitted to intercede for you on the Day of the Rising." Abu Talib replied: "Were it not that people -- that is: the Quraysh -- might think that I said it out of fear (of death), indeed I would say it."
Al-Razi said in his explanation of the sura of Cattle (al-An`am): "Abu Talib said: "Ask me to say other than this because your people hate it." The Prophet replied: "I will never say other than this even if they were to dislodge the sun from its place and put it in my hand." They said: "Then stop cursing our gods, otherwise we will curse you and Him Who orders you to do this," whereupon Allah's saying was revealed: "Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance" (6:108).
If it is said: "To curse the idols is among the most meritorious acts of obedience to Allah; why then did Allah forbid it?" The answer is: Allah forbade it because cursing them might lead to the gravest of transgressions -- exalted is Allah far above the saying of wrong-doers -- namely cursing Allah and His Messenger, and it is an obligation to take precautions against it.
Allah's Similes For the Phrase of Oneness
Allah compared the Phrase of Declaring Oneness (kalima al-tawhid):
- to water because water cleanses: similarly this phrase cleanses from sins;
- to soil because the soil gives forth much in exchange for a single seed: similarly this phrase multiplies its return;
- to fire because fire burns and this phrase burns sins;
- to the sun because the latter sheds light on the worlds, and this phrase illumines even the grave;
- to the moon because it dispels the darkness of night, and this phrase sheds light with the same certainty;
- to the stars because they are guides for travellers, and this phrase is a guide for the people of misguidance to follow the right way;
- to the date palm when He said: "A goodly tree, its root set firm, its branches reaching into heaven, giving its fruit at every season by permission of its Lord" (14:24-25).
- The date palm does not grow in every land; similarly this phrase does not grow in every heart.
- The date palm is the tallest fruit tree: similarly the root of this phrase is in the heart and the top of its branches are under the Throne.
- The value of the fruit does not diminish because of the pit: similarly the value of the believer does not diminish despite the disobedience lodged between himself and Allah the Exalted.
- The bottom of the date palm is thorns while its top is moist dates; similarly the initial stages of this phrase are duties, and whoever fulfills them reaches the fruit which is to behold Allah the Exalted.
The Phrase of Oneness is the key to the Garden of Paradise; "every key must have teeth,"[12] and its teeth are to forsake all that is forbidden and do what is ordained. Allah the Exalted says: "Therefore know that there is no god but Allah alone" (47:19) and the Prophet said: "Whoever said: There is no god but Allah alone, taking care that it is unalloyed (mukhlisan bihi) and from the heart, enters Paradise." It was asked in what being-unalloyed (ikhlas) consisted. He said: "In barring one from what Allah the Exalted has declared forbidden." The Prophet also said: "O Abu Hurayra! Every good deed on your part shall be weighed on the Day of Rising except the Witnessing that there is no god but Allah alone, for verily it can never be placed in the Balance."
The king of the Byzantines wrote to our Master `Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be well pleased with him: "O Commander of the Faithful, Allah's Messenger has related to me that you have a certain tree whose fruit grows like the ears of donkeys, then splits into clusters more beautiful than pearls, then turns green so that it resembles emerald, then reddens and yellows like fragments of gold and ruby, and when it ripens it is more delicious than the soft honey-cake (faludhaj), and when it dries it is nourishment for the dwellers and provision for the travellers. If he spoke the truth, then verily this is a tree from Paradise!" `Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote back: "Yes, he spoke the truth, and this is also the tree under which `Isa was born (cf. 19:23) and therefore it never invokes another god together with Allah."
Al-Razi said that there is a relation and a resemblance between the palm tree on the one hand and animals and human beings on the other which does not exist between the latter and the other types of trees; this is why the Prophet said: "Honor your stepmother the palm tree for she was created from the remainder of Adam's clay." This is because when Adam fell to earth his hair grew long and his body became soiled, whereupon Gabriel came with scissors, cut his hair and nails, removed the dirt from his body, and buried everything in the ground. Then Adam slept and when he woke up he saw that Allah had created the palm tree by his side: its body-- that is its trunk -- was from his body, its fiber or luffa was from his hair, and its stalks were from his nails. It drinks from the top down while other trees drink from the bottom up.
Our Master `Ali said -- may Allah be well pleased with him: "The first tree that stood on the face of the earth is the palm-tree." Allah the Exalted mentioned it in the Qur'an : "Tall date-palms with shoots of fruit stalks, piled one over another" (50:10).[13]
The Prophet used to tell people to eat balah or green dates together with tamr or dried ripe dates [14] for when the sons of Adam eat them shaytan is angry and says: "The sons of Adam are eating the new together with the old!" This is because green dates are cold and dry while dried ripe ones are hot and moist, and each possesses benefits that complement those of the other. The Prophet would join together cucumbers, rutab or fresh ripe dates, sha`ir or barley bread, and tamr or dry ripe dates, as well as mix cold water with honey and drink it on an empty stomach. All this makes for lasting good health, because good health endures when (foods of) hot and cold (elements) are joined. Physicians forbid eating fish together with eggs, or fish together with yogurt, and they forbid drinking honey with cold water after eating fish or before sleep, also drinking water after sexual intercourse, and entering the bath after drinking milk. Al-Samarqandi said in "Bustan al-`arifin" (The Orchard of Gnostics): "Whoever enters the bath on a full stomach and becomes afflicted with colic has no-one to blame but himself."
The Prophet said: "Let the one who fasts break his fast with rutab or fresh ripe dates," for fasting weakens the stomach and the liver, and sugar reaches the liver fastest because it likes sugar and accepts it, especially rutab. The Prophet said: "When the (time of) rutab comes, wish me well, O `A'isha."
Tamr or dry ripe dates are the best food in any land. The pith of the palm (jummar) confines the stomach and helps against jaundice and fever. Adding to its benefit is the consumption of ginger preserve following it. Finally, there is nothing better than rutab for the menstruating woman, and nothing better than honey for the sick.
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