Invocation Of God

ISLAMIC REMEMBRANCE OF GOD: (2)
THE PERPETUAL PRAYER

Deuxième partie

ABLUTIONS

It is good to wash according to the method of Muslim ablutions (wudu) before a session of Dhikr.

STRESS

Adopt the habit of returning to the Dhikr whenever you are stressed or anxious or fearful or to combat feelings of anger. The Dhikr is centering. Return to God.

THE ABODE OF PEACE

You should associate the Dhikr with a place or state of tranquility within yourself, your centre, your heart (qalb). It is constant, steady, unperturbed, ever-present, there - Allah, Allah, Allah... This is the Abode of Peace of which the Koran speaks. Remembrance brings tranquility to the heart of man, a single, steady devotion to the One God, the Everlasting Refuge.

WALKING

You can adapt the Dhikr into a method of walking prayer. Make it your daily habit to go for a long walk. As you walk try to maintain the invocation in your bosom. The sitting posture recommended in the instructions above is just the beginning. The Koran enjoins us to continue the invocation wherever we are.

Remember ALLAH, standing, sitting, and reclining. - Koran 3:191, 4:103

IN THE WORLD

Return to the invocation of the Divine Name at every opportunity during your daily life. There are plenty of occasions during the day when we day-dream or have nothing to do - fill these spare moments with the Dhikr prayer. The method described above, where you invoke the Name while sitting quietly, eyes closed, is only a preparatory exercise. The proper mode of Dhikr is to continue the internal invocation as you go about your daily business, in all circumstances. This involves a certain degree of detachment from the world, even as one engages with the world. The ideal is to be "in the world but not of the world." It is the Dhikr that is maintained in everyday life that is most transforming. There is no need to retire from the world. The Dhikr is a mode of prayer that can be done in the midst of a busy life. There is no need that anyone be aware you are doing this inner prayer. It is a personal, inward invocation of God, established in your own personal relation to God.

EXTRANEOUS TALK

Most people can make more daily opportunities for the invocation of the Name by abandoning the habit of extraneous talk. Talk less. Cultivate silence. Similarly, escape from radio, TV, DVDs. Fill the silence with the Name of God.

It is reported - but Allah knows best - that the Prophet Muhammad - may peace be upon him - said, "Do not talk for long without remembering Allah, for talking much without remembering Allah is hardness of the heart. The most distant among man from Allah is one with a hardened heart."

WORK

The Dhikr is perfectly adapted to accompany rhythmic forms of physical labour - chopping, digging, sawing, hoeing. (The demise of such rhythmic forms of labour after industrialization is the single greatest reason for the decline of the Dhikr in the Muslim world.)

CALLIGRAPHY

It is useful to place a calligraphy of the Divine Name in Arabic in your house or some place where you are likely to encounter it often. It then serves as a reminder for the Dhikr. Whenever you see the Name of God your heart responds by returning to the invocation of His Name.

PERPETUAL PRAYER

The ultimate objective of the Dhikr invocations is to establish it as a perpetual prayer in your heart. You must establish the inner recitation of the Name as a permanent habit of mind. It is, as the sages of Islam attest, the very best of habits.

The objective is to dedicate your every heartbeat to Allah Almighty. This is the essence of submission to God. Over time the invocation will become automatic. You will find yourself doing it without thinking. You will be able to return inwardly at any time and find the Name of God beating with your heart in the centre of your being.

But you will also find that your mind will resist this. There is that nature within us - called the nafs in Arabic - that loves to be scattered and lost in forgetfulness. It is rebellious. You must overcome this tendency and remain steadfast. Establish the Name of God in your heart, constant, unerring, untiring.

It is a psychological fact that there is a constant stream of nonsense and trivia floating through our minds, idle chatter, boasts of the ego, petty melodramas, self-indulgences, flotsom and jetsom. The Name of God will silence this sewer of involuntary drivel that has possession of our minds. This has a healing effect on the mind. It brings peace.

Beyond that, you will encounter the mysteries of the Name and discover that, once you actualise its dwelling within you, it has the power to transform your soul. The Dhikr is the key to gnosis, selfless knowledge, the key to Reality and Truth.

Men who remember ALLAH much and women who remember - ALLAH has prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward. - Koran 33:35

It is reported - but Allah knows best - that a man said to the Prophet Muhammad - upon whom be peace - "Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam are too much for me. Tell me something I can cling to." He said, "Your tongue should remain moist with the remembrance of Allah."

Source : www.theabodeofpeace.com