The Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, said to his companions: “When your path leads you into the garden of Paradise, eat of the fruit of those gardens. Gather the roses of those gardens and smell their scent!” When they asked: “What is the garden of Paradise, O Messenger of God?” he answered, “The circle of the zikr is the garden of Paradise!”
Remembrance of Allah
lifts the veils of limitations and opens the door from the known to the unknown.
Above the entrance to a dervish tekke in Istanbul is written: “Zikr Allah
satisfies hearts.”
Zikr brings alive the power of the heart.
The Koran states: Men whom neither trading or selling diverts from the remembrance of God.
“We begin our zikr slowly,” says Halveti-Jerrahi Sheikh Muzaffer, “and each word can be understood. Soon all that is heard is a heavy breath but the zikr goes on in our hearts.” The people of the Garden regret nothing save those moments which passed by in the world without their remembering God.
There are three levels
of Zikr Allah.
The Remembrance of the Typical Person
This is called “verbal remembrance,” and may be performed audibly in public or silently and in private.
The Remembrance of the Elite
This is called “Remembrance of the Heart,” and is performed by the heart and the tongue in unison.
The Remembrance of the Elite of the Elite
These have inherited
the Mystery, and their hearts are not distracted from the remembrance of Allah.
Such remembrance is no longer an act of will, but is performed by the heart
involuntarily. It is called “The Remembrance of the Child
of the Heart.”
There are seven classes of Zikr.
Audible Zikr (public)
Silent Zikr (private)
Zikr of the Heart
Zikr of the Soul
Zikr of the Soul’s Secret
Zikr of the Inner Heart’s Secret
Zikr of the Secret of the Secret
Those who frequent the circles of Zikr must follow the prescription of the Sheikh. This includes fasting, night vigils, restraint in speech, compassion for created beings, remembrance, reflection, living on permitted things and avoiding forbidden things.
When the seeker of perfection
is at the lowest degree (bestial man) the remedy by which he can ascend to
the degree of the Heart is La ilaha illa ‘Llah. He must constantly use
this invocation loudly and forcefully, to awaken himself from distraction.
When the seeker of perfection is at the degree of the Heart then his remedy
which will raise him to the degree of the Spirit, is to eat sparingly, and
use the invocation of Allah in abundance. The inward of a thing is its reality
and substance.
The followers of Jalaluddin Rumi, known as the Mevlevis, or Whirling Dervishes perform a zikr ceremony which externally appears as a dance. Internally it is a meditation on Allah. As they turn they subvocally repeat the Name.
According to the Zad ul-Ma’ad, it is permissible to partake of a musical zikr, sama. The Almighty’s dear friend did sama with his noble companions, and when one of the companions exclaimed on seeing this that it was a fine dance, the Messenger of God replied that it was not a dance but a Remembrance of the Love of the Friend.
A Hadith Kudsi on the authority of Abu Hurayrah and related by al-Bukhari, states: I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me a hand’s span, I draw near to him an arm’s length; and if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
Photographs © Shems Friedlander
