Essay on Zikrullah - by Ms.Amena Ufaira

 بِسْمِٱللّٰهِٱلرَّحْمٰنِٱلرَّحِيمِ

[In the name of Allah, The most Beneficent and the most Merciful]

O ye who believed, remember Allah with much remembrance And exalt Him day and night. [33:41,42]

Zikrullah [Remembrance of Allah^swt] is the soul of all the worships in Islam. It is the foundation of all the good deeds. Any act performed without the remembrance of Allah is like a tree without fruits or a body without soul which is of no importance.

In the above cited verse of the holy Quran, Allah^swt commands the believers to remember Him all the time and praise Him perpetually.

It may be noted from this verse of the Holy Quran that a believer is the one who remembers Allah^swt day and night perpetually. The greatest example and role model, The last messenger of Allah-Prophet Mohammed^pbuh always remained in the remembrance of Allah^swt as narrated by Bibi Ayesha^rz.

Hence, HazratImamuna Mahdi-e-Maood^as-Khalifatullah, Muraadullah, Mubayyin-e-KalaamUllah, by the command of Allah^swt obligated Zikr-e-Kaseer [abundant remembrance of Allah] on all in accordance with the verse of the Quran:

Remember Allah standing, sitting, or [lying] on your sides. [4:103]

It is narrated that Mahdi^as said, 'wherever you go, be in the remembrance of Allah. '

He also said, 'a perfect believer is the one who is in the remembrance of Allah^swt for 8 pahars' [24 hours].

Allah^swt obligated Zikrullah, as Salat and Sawm were obligated.

And the Prophet ^pbuh describing the importance of Zikrullah said, "Shall I tell you about the best of deeds, the purest in the Sight of your Lord, about the one that is of the highest order and is far better for you than spending gold and silver, even better for you than meeting your enemies in the battlefield where you strike at their necks and they at yours?" The companions replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" He replied, ‘Remembrance of Allah^swt’.

He also commanded saying, ‘Keep your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah^swt’.

Many people mistake Salat as the meaning of zikr. No doubt salat is time bound communion with Allah but Zikr is perpetual communion with Allah. To clear this misunderstanding Allah^swt himself mentioned the importance of zikr in the Holy Quran:

‘Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is the greatest.’ [29:45]

This is why  Zikrullah called Akbar-ul-Furooz.

Hence Allah^swt emphasized the status of Zakireen asking the Prophet^pbuh to remain in their company:

Allah^swt said, “And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord day and night, seeking His countenance.” [33:28]

It’s narrated in Hadith Qudsi by Abu Huraira^rz that Huzoor^pbuh said that Allah^swt says, ‘I am as my slave thinks of me, and I am with him when he remembers me. If he remembers me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than that’. [muttafiqalaih]

As Allah^swt said in the Holy Quran, ‘So, remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.’ [2:152]

See the greatness zikrullah, Allah^swt remembers a person who remembers him. Did Allah say anywhere you keep fast for me and I will fast for you, you offer salat for me and I will offer salat for you? - NO

Therefore, zikrullah is indeed the greatest!

One cannot achieve salvation without Zikrullah as Allah^swt says: "And remember Allah often that you may succeed." [62:10]

And the SUCCESS of a momin is nothing but the seeing Allah^swt. As HazratImamuna Mahdi-e-Maood^as  said, ‘Seeking vision of Allah is the basic principle of the call of this servant of Allah’.

A prominent feature of the teachings of the Promised Mahdi is that he urged everyone whether a man or woman, scholar or an illiterate, to safeguard breaths through concealed remembrance of Allah, La ilahaillaLlah, because the hidden remembrance Zikr-e-Khafi is the supreme form of Zikrullah, as Prophet^pbuh  said, ‘Afzal-uz-zikr Zikr-ul-khafi’. Through Zikr-e-Khafi only we can attain the divine vision of Allah. Hence Allah^swt  himself teaches his servants Zikr-e-khafi:

And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - day and night. And do not be among the heedless. [7:205]

While perpetual Zikrullah is obligatory, to encourage the beginners Mahdi^as ordered Zikrullah at least from Fajr to Sunrise and Asr to Isha. Explaining its importance Mahdi^as said, “one time is the emperor of the day [Sultan-un-Nahar] and the other is Emperor of night [ Sultan-ul-Lail]. The person, who protects the two occasions for zikr, will not waste his days and night. The faqir, who wastes them without zikr, is not a faqir of the religion”

The Prophet^pbuh also mentioned that, ‘Performing Zikrullah in a group from fajr to sunrise and from asr to maghrib is dearer than the world and it’s constituents.’ It is mentioned in Hadees-e-Qudsi that, ‘O My servant! Remember me for an hour each in the morning and evening and I will complete that which is between these times’.

It is also narrated by Hazrat Jabir ^rz that Prophet ^pbuh would sit on his prayer mat after offering Fajr Salat until sunrise’.

Remember opposite of Zikrullah is to forget Allah^swt, And there are a large number of Quranic verses warning those who neglect Zikrullah. Some verses are quoted here:

• Then woe to those whose hearts are hardened against Zikrullah. Those are in manifest error. [39:22]
• And whoever is blinded from remembrance of the Most Merciful - We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion. [43:36]
• And whoever turns away from My Remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life. [20:124]
• And whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord He will put into arduous punishment. [72:17]

Prophet^pbuh also states, "The similitude of one who remembers his Lord and one who does not remember Him, is like that of the living and the dead.' (Bukhari & Muslim).

Mahdi^as said that 'if a person is heedless of Zikrullah even for a single breath, then he is a kafir [infidel] during that breath although it is hidden and one who is always headless will have the doors of Islam closed upon him’ [Ma’arij-ul-Vilayat].

Allah^swt gave glad tidings to those who do Zikrullah through the Prophet^pbuh as is narrated by Mu’adh ibn Jabal, the Prophet^pbuh said “There is nothing that is a greater cause of salvation from the punishment of Allah than Zikrullah” [Tirimidhi].

It is narrated by Hazrat Bandagi Miyan Bhai Muhajir ^rz that Mahdi ^as came to his hujra from his house twice or thrice and saw two of his companions sitting together. He asked, "what are you doing sitting here?”. They replied, ‘we are telling stories about religion, Miranji’. Imamuna^as said: 'Brothers! Without the Zikrullah you will not reach Allah^swt’.

Hence, we can infer that, without the Zikrullah, we cannot attain the Vision of Allah^swt

Lastly, I pray to Allah^swt to grant His Vision through Zikrullah. Aameen.

I am very thankful to Mehdavia Ties for orgaising the Essay last year and giving the students like us an oppurtunity to get in touch with the Mehdavia Books available. Looking forward for more such opportunities in future.

REFERENCES:

1. Noor-e-Imaan, By: Shams-ul-ulema Syed Miranji Abid Khundmiri.
2. Practice with Purity of Heart in the Mahdavia teachings, By: HazratAllamaMiyanAbusayeed Syed Mahmood^ra.
3. Zikr-e-Dawam, By: HazratMoulvi Muhammed Nooruddin Arabi.
4. Zikrullah, By: Hazrat Abu Sayeed Syed Mahmood Tashrifullahi^rh.
5. Izhaar-e-HaqDawat-e-Mehdavia, By: Syed KhundmirMehdavi.
6. khalifatullahmehdi.info

About the writer and write-up/Essay: Ms. Amena Ufaira d/o Janab Mohammed Neymath Ullah Mehdavi Saheb, Director Splendid Planners & Developers, an active member in Markazi Anjuman-Mahdavia Chanchalguda and Idara-e-Hayath-o-Mamath. She is a Mureed of Hazrat Peer-o-Murshid Maulana Baqtiyar Alam Sahab Qibla Ahle Hyderabad. She is a resident of Musheerabad, Hyderabad, Telangana State. Ms.Amena is currently pursuing Intermediate 2nd Year from M.S Junior College, Hyderabad. This Essay is a part of the International Essay Writing Competition conducted by MehdaviaTimes & IGM during the last year Ramazan i.e; Ramazan of 1441 hijri / 2020 taking the opportunity of the Pandemic Lock-down. Ms Amena Ufaira had secured the First Price in this Competition in the in Junior English Category. We Wish All the Best for her future endeavors, and may she follow the footsteps of her father in social service and deeni qidmat. May Allah Bless her with success in both the worlds. Aameen.  

The results of the competition can be seen here;  https://mehdaviatimes.blogspot.com/2020/05/announcement-of-results-of.html

Note: We will be publishing daily one selected essay in this Ramazan for you to read. We take this opportunity to thank and congratulate all the participants, winners and evaluators and those who were directly or indirectly involved to make this initiative a grand success. Fresh Write-ups/Articles/Essays are always solicited you may send them to MehdaviaTimes@gmail.com. 

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