DHIKR: REMEMBERING ALLAH WHO CREATED YOU AND TO WHOM YOU WILL RETURN

Therefore, remember Me (by praying, glorifying), I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me. – Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah 152. [1] 

In its Glossary of Islamic Terms, that appears in the final volume of each set of the Sihah Sittah it has published in English, Darussalam defines Dhikr (which simply means remembrance in Arabic) as being:

“The Mention or Remembrance of Allah through verbal or mental repetition of His Divine Attributes or various religious formulas such as Subhân-Allâh (Glorified is Allah), Al-Hamdu Lillâh (praise is due to Allah), Allâhu Akbar (Allah is the Most Great), or the recitation of special invocations."

The Sihah Sittah is a collective term for the six sets of Ahadith that Sunni Muslims accept as being authentic. ‘Sihah’ means ‘sound’ in Arabic – it is often translated as ‘authentic’ - and ‘sittah’ means six.

The six scholars who compiled the collections are named: Bukhari; Muslim; Tirmidhi; Nasa’i, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah.

The definition of Dhikr is an accurate one and there are many Islamic books on the subject.

The above quote from Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 152, stresses the importance of remembering Allah and one of the best books available that covers many of the references to Dhikr in the Qur'an and the Ahadith is called Virtues of Zikr.

It is one of seven books contained in a collection entitled Faza'il-e-a'maal by Shaikhul Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya Kaandhlawi.

For more information see my page FAZA'IL-E-A'MAAL - SEVEN BOOKS OF WISDOM BY Shaikhul Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya Kaandhlawi.

In the foreword to Virtues of Zikr (the latter is usually transliterated as either Zikr or Dhikr) the Shaykh noted that he had “divided the book into three chapters, of which the virtues of zikr in general are described in the first chapter, those of Kalimah Tayyibah in the second and those of the third Kalimah (known as Tasbeeh-Fatimah) in the third”.

In section one listing the Qur'anic verses, the Shaykh quotes the Ayat I have referred to above from Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat 152 .

It reads:

"Therefore, remember Me (by praying, glorifying)”, I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me." [2]

[1] The Noble Qur’an translated by Dr. Muḥammad Taqī-ud Dīn al-Hilālī and Dr. Muḥammad Muḥsin Khān, published by Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

[2] The Noble Qur’an translated by Dr. Muḥammad Taqī-ud Dīn al-Hilālī and Dr. Muḥammad Muḥsin Khān, published by Darussalam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

WEBCOPY 22 AUG 25

WEBCOPY 30 NOV 25