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DHIKR (RECITATION OF GOD’S NAMES)
Literally meaning mentioning, remembrance, and recollection, in the speech of
the Sufis dhikr denotes regular recitation of one or some of God’s Names in
the same recitation session. Some spiritual or Sufi orders prefer to recite:
Allah (the proper Name of the Divine Being); others recite: There is no god but
God, the declaration of Divine Unity; and others recite one or a few of the
other Names according to the choice of the order’s master.
Like thankfulness, such recitation is a duty of servanthood to be performed both
verbally and actively, and also with one’s heart and other faculties of
conscience. Verbal recitation ranges from mentioning God Almighty with all His
Beautiful Names and sacred Attributes; praising, exalting, and glorifying Him;
proclaiming one’s helplessness and destitution before Him in prayer and
supplication; reciting and following His Book (the Qur’an); and voicing His
signs in nature and the seal special to Him on each thing and event.
Recitation by the faculties of conscience, primarily the heart, consists of
reflecting on the proofs of His Existence and Unity, and His Names and
Attributes radiating in the book of creation (the universe); meditating on His
orders and prohibitions, His promises and threats, and the reward and punishment
issuing from His Lordship to design or order our lives; and trying to penetrate
the mysteries behind the veil of visible existence by studying creation and
following certain spiritual disciplines. In addition, one repeatedly observes
the heavenly beauties manifested as a result of such instances of penetration;
and thinks that whatever exists in the universe pulses with messages from the
high empyrean world, manifesting the meaning of the invisible world and
functioning as a window upon the Truth of Truths.
Those who feel this constant pulsing existence, hear the invisible world
speaking eloquently, and observe the manifestations of Grace and Majesty through
those windows are so enraptured with such unimaginable spiritual pleasure that
one hour spent with such pleasure is equal to hundreds of years spent without
it. As a result, they advance along their way to eternity lost in Divine gifts
and spiritual delight. When the one reciting feels the light of His Glorified
Face surrounding all existence, he or she is rewarded with the sight of
indescribable scenes and, becoming aware of all other beings reciting God’s
Names in its own tongue, begins to mention Him with many of His Names.
Reciting God’s Names sometimes causes the reciter to enter a trance-like state
in which one’s self is lost. Those who enter this entranced state or ecstatic
contemplation utter such phrases as: There is no existent save He, There is
nothing seen save He, and There is no god but God. There are others who, meaning
and keeping in mind all Divine Names according to the inclu-siveness of their
consciousness, pronounce only save God and continue to declare His Unity. These
seconds spent in this atmosphere of nearness to God and His company, the seconds
of light and radiance, are much happier and more rewarding with respect to
eternal life (in the Hereafter) than years spent with no light. This is what is
referred to in a saying attributed to the Prophet, upon him be peace and
blessings: I have a time with my God when neither any angel nearest to God nor
any Prophet sent as Messenger can compete with me.
Active or bodily recitation consists in practicing religion with utmost care,
enthusiastically performing all obligations, and consciously refraining from all
prohibitions. Verbal profundity and awareness largely depend on active
recitation, which also means knocking on the door of Divinity, searching for
admittance, proclaiming one’s helplessness and destitution, and taking refuge
in Divine Power and Wealth.
One who regularly and intensively mentions God or recites one or some of His
Names is taken under His protection and supported by Him, as if having made a
contract with Him. The verse: Remember and mention Me, and I will remember and
mention you (2:152) expresses this degree of recitation, by which one’s innate
destitution becomes the source of wealth, and helplessness the source of power.
This verse also means that one’s regular remembrance and worship of God will
result in His bestowal of favors and bounties.
Invoking and calling upon Him bring forth His favors. One who remembers Him even
while going about his or her daily affairs and pre-occupations will find all
obstacles removed in both this world and the next. His company will always be
felt, and He will befriend one left alone and in need of friendship. If one
remembers and mentions Him during times of ease and comfort, His Mercy will
reach one during times of trouble and pain. Those who struggle in His way to
spread His Name will be saved from humiliation in both this world and the
Hereafter. Such sincere endeavors will be rewarded with special favors and ranks
that one cannot now imagine.
The desire to mention Him and recite His Names will be rewarded with Divine
help, so that such activities can continue and guidance can be increased. The
continuation of the second part of the above verse (2:152), that is: Give thanks
to Me and do not show ingratitude to Me, suggests a virtuous circle in which a
believer passes from recitation to thankfulness, and from thankfulness to
recitation.
Recitation is the essence of all types or acts of worship, and the origin of
this essence is the Qur’an. Then come the luminous, celebrated words of the
Prophet, to whom the Islamic Shari‘a was sent. All recitation, whether audible
or silent, attracts and embodies the manifestations of the light of God’s
Glorified “Face.” It also denotes proclaiming God to all human beings and
jinn, and spreading His Name throughout the world in order to show one’s
thankfulness for His manifest and hidden favors. When there is almost no one
left to proclaim His Name, existence will be meaningless. According to the
Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, the universe’s total destruction
will take place when there exist almost no people to proclaim His Name.
Recitation, irrespective of its style, is the safest and soundest way leading to
God. Without it, it is difficult to reach God. When the traveler remembers Him
in his or her conscience and puts this remembrance into words with his or her
tongue and other faculties, an inexhaustible source of support and (spiritual)
provision is tapped.
Recitation signifies a journey toward Him. When one starts to mention Him or
recites His Names both verbally and through feelings and actions, as well as in
one’s heart as a chorus, one enters a mysterious lift ascending to the realm
where spirits fly. Through the slightly opened doors of the heavens,
indescribable scenes are beheld.
There is not a specific time for reciting God’s Names. Although the five
prescribed daily prayers, the chief act of worship, are performed at the five
appointed times and cannot be performed at certain times (e.g., during sunrise
and sunset, and when the Sun is at zenith at noon), a believer can mention God
and recite His Names whenever he or she wishes: They mention God standing,
sitting, and lying down (3:190). There is no restriction of time or manner on
reciting God’s Names.
It is hard to find in the Qur’an, the Sunna, and the books of the early
righteous scholars anything more strongly recommended than the recitation God’s
Names. From daily prayers to holy struggle in His way, it is like the soul or
blood of all worship. The profundity of recitation is proportional to the depth
of feeling for God. Sufis call this “peace of heart” or” witnessing.”
Some mention God Almighty and reach
Him in their hearts by a mysterious way; others know Him by
their conscience and feel His constant company by means of
the point of reliance upon Him and seeking His help in their
inner worlds. Since they remember Him uninterruptedly, always
mention Him with their heart and conscience, always feel Him
in their being, and live fully aware of His constant Presence,
they regard mentioning Him (verbally) as heedlessness and
ignorance of Him. One who has reached this degree of dhikr
says: God knows that I do not remember Him to mention Him
just now. How should I remember and mention Him now, seeing
that I have never forgotten Him?
 
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