Allah’s Dhikr
Dr. Firdaus Kamalodeen
Allah's Dhikr, in this world, is the only thing that makes sense to me.
In this world of lies, innuendos, half-truths, spin, and plain blatant lies; in this world in which various media of communication are used to plant and grow someone's lies and their depraved sense of what is upright; where you repeat your propaganda often enough and you distort reality and truth long enough; in such a world it is only Allah's Dhikr that makes sense to me.
You know, I often wonder what a beautiful and wonderful world would look like, what a better place means. What would the ingredients of this world be (by the way there is a wonderful description of such a world in the book Four Words that Changed the World by Dr. Pasha); what would be its central features and what would life be like in a society and a world in which say equity, justice, love, peace, truth, meritocracy, compassion are the order of the day.
In such a world at the end of the day as it were, for me, in such a world everyone would be engaged in Allah's Dhikr. There can't be anything else, to me. That seems to be the natural default in such a world. That seems to be what the world would be like if all the efforts to make this world a better place are successful.
Allah's world is full of inhabitants who are hymning his praises and glory and grace all the time. In the right kind of world, in the world shaped by Allah’s Dhikr, people too would be, like all other inhabitants, doing their Salaat and Tasbeeh. As the Qur’an says: kullun qad 'alima salaatuhoo wa tasbeehah.
Subhanallah, what a world that would be!
So, at the end of the day as it were, if we achieve that world, it cannot be anything but an embodiment of Allah's Dhikr. Interestingly, to get there, it starts with Allah's Dhikr right now and in between too. The Qur’an paints a beautiful picture of that world: "Da'waahum feehaa subhaanakallahumma, wa taheyyatuhum feehaa salaamun, wa aakhiru da'waahum anil-hamdu lillaahi rabbil 'alameen"
It seems to me that another name for such a world, a world in which Allah’s Dhikr is the order of the day by the people who inhabit it, is Jannat. So while everyone seems to be looking for real estate in Jannat, it seems to me that you could start getting Jannat right here – just start doing Allah's Dhikr.
It's the only thing that keeps you grounded; that keeps you sane; that helps with perspective; that establishes your equilibrium; that settles your heart and eases the pain that resides there.
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