Frequent remembrance of God

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ بُسْرٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلًا قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّ شَرَائِعَ الإِسْلَامِ قَدْ كَثُرَتْ عَلَيَّ، فَأَخْبِرْنِي بِشَيْءٍ أَتَشَبَّثُ بِهِ، قَالَ: «لَا يَزَالُ لِسَانُكَ رَطْبًا مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ».

تحميل الملف الصوتي

‘Abdullāh ibn Busr said that

1. A man said to the Prophet: ‘Messenger of God, Islamic teachings are too numerous for me. Point out to me something to which I can hold on.’

2. The Prophet said to him: ‘Let your tongue be always fresh with the remembrance of God’.

Understanding and Implementation

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1. A man complained to the Prophet that the recommended and voluntary acts of worship had become too many for him and he could not do them all. He requested the Prophet to point out to him one of the recommended acts that earn great reward so that he could keep it up to gain the reward he might otherwise miss.

His complaint did not imply that he included obligatory acts of worship. Indeed, this cannot be considered. The Prophet would not have approved of it. Moreover, all recommended acts of worship do not replace a single obligatory duty.

2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told him to repeat often the phrases of God’s glorification, praise and remembrance. He should keep his tongue fresh with the mention of God, as he repeated such phrases at all times.

The Prophet chose God’s remembrance because it is simple and easy to say, while its reward is indeed great.

The Prophet said:

‘Shall I tell you which of your deeds are the best and most perfect in your Lord’s sight, and which earn you the highest status? These are better for you than spending your gold and silver for God’s cause, and better than facing your enemy in battle, killing them and being killed by them’. They said: ‘Please tell us, Messenger of God’. He said: ‘Remembrance of God, Mighty and Exalted’. [1]

It is enough to appreciate the importance of God’s remembrance that

God says in a sacred hadith:

‘I am as My servant expects Me to be. I am with him when he makes mention of me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I mention him in a better assembly. 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’. [2]

1. If you find that recommended acts of worship are too many for you, choose the most rewarding ones and do the best of them in the time available to you.

2. Advocates of Islam should explain to people the reward of voluntary and recommended acts of worship so that they are motivated to keep them up.

3. Educators and advocates of Islam should select for people the recommended acts of worship that suit their situations and that earn rich reward from God.

4. Remembrance of God is the simplest act of worship. Everyone can do it without difficulty. The person who is keen to practise this frequently, is indeed a happy person.

5. Everyone should keep up their remembrance of God, as it is the means to the forgiveness of sins, elevating one’s status and turning Satan away. It also pleases God, removes distress, ensures that provisions are blessed, and that strength is given to one’s body and heart.

6. The distinctive sign of love is to remember and not forget. Everyone should test their hearts to establish whether they love their Lord, remembering Him all the time, or whether they merely claim to love Him.

7. God’s remembrance is of different levels. The highest is to remember God by tongue and heart. The next is to remember him by heart, and the last is to mention Him verbally without paying attention to what one is saying. The gap between each two of these levels is great, and likewise, the difference in reward is great.

8. God’s remembrance breathes life into souls.

Hence, the Prophet said:

‘The one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember his Lord are like one who is alive and one who is dead’. [3]