The Result of Contemplation On the Issue of Voiced Remembrance and Invocation pdf download

The Result of Contemplation On the Issue of Voiced Remembrance and Invocation By Imām Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūtī    Translated by Yaser Rad

THE RESULT OF CONTEMPLATION ON THE ISSUE OF VOICED REMEMBRANCE AND INVOCATION

Issue:

All praises and thanks are due to Allah & He suffices; peace be upon His chosen servants. You asked, may Allah honor you, concerning the sūfī practice of setting up circles in the masājid for the purpose of dhikr, in particular, the raising of their voices when reciting Lā ilāha illā Allah. Is this (practice) hated or disliked (makrūh) or otherwise?

Answer:

In fact, there is nothing disliked in it at all. Many statements of the Prophet have actually suggested that open and loud dhikr (al jahr bi al-dhikr) is preferred. There are also those ahadīth that justify silent dhikr. Both these views are correct in relation to the varying nature of individuals.

Along the same lines, Imām Al-Nawawī has put forward both kinds of ahadīth in which support the open recitation of the Holy Qur’ān and those that support quiet recitation. I will expound upon this issue piece by piece.

Ahadīth which authoritatively and clearly point to the preference of loud dhikr

1. It is related in the sahīh of Imām Bukhārī ³ that Abū Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet said: “Allah says, ‘I am towards My servant as he is towards Me. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself.

If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it.’” Dhikr made in a gathering can only be aloud.⁴

2. It is reported by Bazzār and Imām Hākim⁵ in his Mustadrak⁶ that it is narrated on the authority of Jābir who said: “The Messenger of Allah came to us and said, ‘O people! Allah has a group of angels in His service who descend and join gatherings of dhikr upon the Earth. So graze well from the gardens of Paradise. We asked, ‘And where are the gardens of Paradise?’ He replied, ‘Gatherings of dhikr. So occupy yourselves in the remembrance of Allah in the morning and in the evening.’”

3. It is narrated in the Sahīh of Imām Muslim⁷ and by Hākim that it is narrated on the authority of Abū Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah said: “Allah has appointed angels whose sole purpose is to wander around in search of the gatherings of dhikr upon the earth. When they arrive at a gathering of dhikr, they join in. They gather (in such numbers) that their wings cover each other until they reach the Heavens.⁸

Then afterwards, Allah asks of them,⁹ ‘Where have you come from?’ They reply, ‘We have come from your servants who are declaring You free of all imperfections, magnifying You, praising You and exalting Your name.

 They pray to You and seek Your protection.’ ‘And what do they pray for?’ They answer, ‘They pray for Paradise.’ He says, ‘Have they seen it?’ They reply, ‘Our Lord, no.’ Allah asks, ‘How would they be had they seen it?’ Then He asks, ‘And from what do they seek My protection?’¹⁰

 Though He knew better than them. They reply, ‘From the fire.’ He asks, ‘And have they seen it?’ They say ‘No.’ He continues, ‘What if they had seen it?’

 Then he says, ‘Bear witness that I have forgiven them, granted them their request and saved them from what they fear.’ The angels beseech, ‘Our Lord.’ There is among them a sinful man who is not from them and happened to sit with them.’

To this Allah replies, ‘I have also forgiven him for they are such people that in their presence no hardship is inflicted.”

4. Muslim and Tirmidhī narrate that it is narrated on the authority of Abū Hurayrah and Abū Sa’īd who heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “No group of people who occupy themselves in the remembrance of Allah Almighty are left without being joined by the angels. They are showered with mercy and tranquility

descends upon them and Allah mentions them to those who are close to him.”

5. Imām Muslim and Imām Tirmidhī narrate that it is narrated by Mu’āwiya that the Messenger of Allah came across a circle of his companions and asked: “What made you sit here?” They replied: “We are sitting here in order to make remembrance of Allah and to praise Him.” The Holy Prophet said: “Indeed Jibrīl has come to me and informed me that Allah is well pleased with you and boasts¹¹ of you to the angels.”

6. I:Iākim narrates in his Mustadrak ¹² & Bayhaqī narrates in his Shu’ab al-Imān that it is narrated by Abū Sa’īd Al-Khudrī that the Messenger said: “Increasein the dhikr of Allah until they call you mad.”¹³

• Bayhaqī narrates in his Shu’ab al-Imān that it is narrated on the authority of Abū Jowzā that the Messenger said: “Increase in the dhikr of Allah (so much) until the hypocrites say to you, ‘You are doing this for show.’” This is a mursal l)adīth.

It is evident from this l)adīth and the one before it that others can only say these statements when they hear dhikr done loudly not silently.

• Bayhaqī relates that it is narrated on the authority of Anas that the Messenger said: “When you pass the gardens of Paradise graze well from them.” They asked: “O Messenger of Allah ! What are the gardens of Paradise?” He replied: “The gatherings of dhikr.”

• Baqī b. Mukhlad narrates on the authority of Abdullah b. ‘Amr thatthe Prophet passed by two sessions. One of them was calling upon Allah with sincere aching and want while the other was seeking knowledge. The Holy Prophet said: “Both are full of goodness, yet one is better than the other.”
• Bayhaqī relates that ‘Abdullāh b. Mughfil said that the Messenger said: “There is no group of people who gather together only for the purpose of sincere dhikr of Allah except that an angel announces to them from the Heavens, ‘All of you are forgiven. Your bad deeds have been replaced by good deeds.’”¹⁴