I Don’t Get It
Here is what I don’t get about Muslims. I don’t mean bad Muslims, but I mean Good Muslims – those Muslims who pray and fast and do good things.
Why can’t they, after each Fard prayer – five times a day – do the simple Dhikr of Subhanallah (33 times), Alhamdulillah (33 times) and Allahu Akbar (34 times)?
And do it without fail – every day, after every Fard prayer, for the rest of their lives?
What is keeping them from following that routine?
Additional Dhikr
If you want, and especially if you need additional things from Allah in your life, you can throw in some additional Dhikr like La Ilaha Illallah (11 times) and La Hawula wa La Quwwata Illa Billah (11 times).
You can say these things 11 times – or any number of times that you wish or can. Make them an odd number if you can – for that is an Islamic tradition. Allah likes odd numbers, according to Hadith Sharif.
Let the angels hear and record this Dhikr from you as much as you can. Let your voice become a familiar voice in heaven among the angels who are in charge of monitoring these activities.
Let those at Allah’s gates know and recognize your voice when you call him next time with some Du’a or some special request and allow your petition go through right away.
I Just Don’t Get It
I just don’t get it.
It doesn’t take more than, maybe, five minutes total for doing this kind of Dhikr. And the blessings and benefits of it both in this world and the next world will be such – both for themselves and others – that no one can calculate.
Why can’t they then, the Good Muslims I mean, after each Fard prayer – five times a day – do the simple Dhikr of Subhanallah (33 times), Alhamdulillah (33 times) and Allahu Akbar (34 times)?
And do any and all sorts of additional Dhikr that they wish or can?
So, get on with it Good Muslims of the World! Start on it today.
And don’t ever stop!
A Secret about Allah’s Dhikr
And let me tell you a secret about Allah’s Dhikr: It gets easier as you go along. And then there comes a time, when your soul begins to crave it.
This is a real craving of the soul that you can feel and see and that will go on till you feed your soul what it is craving – Allah’s Dhikr – and what you have gotten it used to.
So, just stay with it; keep doing it; and watch it become easier and easier as time passes – provided your intentions are pure and your body and mind are clean.
And so long, additionally, as you are hurting, just a tiny little bit, deep down in your heart, from the love of Allah, and for the good of Islam and Muslims, and for the good of all of humanity, and of all of the creation of Allah on earth.
For, don’t forget, if you love Allah, you must learn to care about his creation, in all its full range and rich diversity, and, to the extent you can, you must find ways to serve them all.
And remember, while True Love brings you unlimited joy and bliss, it also hurts – even if it is just a little bit.
You Are Allah’s Khaleefah on Earth, Remember?
And don’t for one moment take your eye off the fact that you are Allah Almighty’s Khaleefah – Representative – on earth.
Remember, he made you for that purpose: To Be His Khaleefah on Earth? And that is how your birth was announced by him into this world.
Innee Jaa-ilun Fil-Ardi Khaleefah, is what he said to the angels when he wished to make you? Remember that big birthday announcement?
And Don’t Forget What the Angels Said
At the same time, also, don’t forget what the angels said. They said, in a sense, there was perhaps no obvious and pressing need for you. And, in a sense, they were already busy doing a better job than you could.
And they said they were doing all kinds of Dhikr all the time.
They said:
Wa Nahnu Nusabbihu Bihamdika wa Nuqaddisu Laka!
“We do your Tasbeeh and your Tahmeed and we do your Taqdees all the time,” they said.
God Took Your Side
It was a delicate moment, anyone could tell.
There seemed to be, among those present, some reservation about your announced arrival into this world. There was a hint, it appears, that maybe, somehow, you were superfluous – and were not really needed.
And, maybe, you will somehow not be up to the task anyway.
And what was it that you will do that others were not doing already – and maybe even better than you ever could?
That maybe because you were too playful; too lost in the pursuit of your own perceived self-interest of the moment; too indifferent to your own genuine wellbeing; too forgetful; and too, too prone to violence and bloodshed; or whatever.
And it was then that God took your side. He gave you Ilm – he practically taught you everything there was to know.
“Superior” to Angels, Do You Think?
He then asked the angels to match that knowledge level and that expertise, which clearly they could not.
That, maybe, clearly established your “superiority” over the angels. Or maybe it just showed, you were not that bad, that useless and that superfluous after all.
So, Good Muslims, don’t blow it!
I am so tempted to say: Don’t let Allah down! He stood up for you when no one will. Make him proud.
Don’t worry what anyone else in the world may or may not be doing, you just get on with all the Dhikr that you can possibly manage – and do it.
Let unceasing and perpetual Dhikr become your motto on earth – along with all the other responsibilities of being Allah’s Khaleefah on earth that you have to carry out in your lives on a daily basis.
Rasulullah, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, Teaches You Dhikr
And then your God, Rahman and Raheem that he is, sent his very, very special Rasul, Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, as an embodiment of his Rahmat – to you and to all the worlds.
Not just to one or to any particular world, but to the many and all the world he seemed to have created and continues to be creating.
For, he is Al-Khallaaqul 'Aleem: the wheel of his creation is ever moving forward and it never stops.
And he knows what he is doing and he knows how to do it all.
And among the items of Dhikr Allah’s Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, taught you are two that are very special – like everything else.
On Par with the Angels
Didn’t the angels say they were doing Tasbeeh combined with Tahmeed (Nusabbihu Bihamdika) and they were doing Taqdees (Wa Nuqaddisu Laka)?
Isn’t that what the angels said, hinting perhaps, ever so slightly, that why do we need him? They seemed to suggest, what is it he can do that we cannot do and that we are not already doing?
Well, watch this now.
Along comes Allah’s very special Rasul, Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and teaches you, guess what? Just precisely those two things – along with a billion other things that he taught you – that put you on par with the angels.
Which other human being ever did or does or can do anything like that?
And what are those two very special items of Dhikr?
(a) Subhanallahi wa Bihamdihi – answer to the angels’ Wa Nahnu Nusabbih Bihandika.
And:
(b) Subhanal Malikil Quddoos – answer to the angels’ Wa Nuqaddisu Laka.
So Good Muslims, Get On With It!
So, Good Muslim, get on with it and don’t lose a day or a moment more!
And also, work to make this happen in all the mosques and Muslim communities that you know everywhere – in your own mosque and community and in every other mosque and Muslim community that you visit, or come across, and in which you happen to know some people.
If you don’t know anyone already, then get to know them. And share with them the joys and wonders of doing Dhikr after every Fard prayer.
Ever heard of writing your own ticket? This will be writing your own ticket into the never-ceasing and limitless Rahmat of Allah – the Rahman and the Raheemm!
END
© 2012 Syed Husain Pasha
Dr. Pasha is an educator and scholar of exceptional
talent, training and experience. He can be reached at DrSyedPasha [at]
AOL [dot] com or www.IslamicSolutions.com.
