Zikr-e-Qalbi (Remembrance of Allah by Heart)

Esha :)

Magrib :)

Asar :)

Zuhr :)

Fajr :)

:)

Some people imagine a very abstract relationship with the Divine, picturing a Lord who is distant and transcendent, far above and removed from us. They think of Allah Almighty as if He created the world, left it to unfold on its own for a time, and then returned later to see how matters had developed. Yet this conception is contrary to the teachings of the Messenger ﷺ. In the hadith we have spoken about in recent weeks, Allah ﷻ says that on the Day of Judgement He will declare to someone, “I was sick and you did not visit Me.” The person will reply, “How could I visit You, when You are the Lord of all the worlds, exalted be He?” And He ﷻ will answer, “My servant was sick, and had you visited him, you would have found Me with him.”

The question, then, is how do you encounter the Lord of all the worlds, exalted be He, day by day? Certainly, you encounter Him in spiritual practice. There is intimacy in the daily salah, which is obligatory upon us, for the Lord of all the worlds wishes to draw His servants into that intimacy and into that conversation. You encounter Him in the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, where a direct connection is felt. You encounter Him in dhikr, for He ﷻ has promised, “Remember Me and I will remember you. If you remember Me within yourself, I will remember you within Myself.” The lines between servant and Lord are therefore not distant. Allah ﷻ says in the Holy Qur’an, “I am closer to you than your jugular vein.”

You encounter Him through His signs, through His ayat. You encounter Him through His Names, for all of existence is nothing but a manifestation of those Names. The Lord of all the worlds, exalted be He, governs the black ant upon the black rock in the black desert on the darkest of nights. He governs every leaf that falls from a tree. There is no power, no strength, no creative force except by Allah ﷻ. This means that in every moment He is revealing Himself to you, showing Himself to you, whether through the wind, through the leaves that dance in the breeze, through the call of a cat in the street, or through any other sign in creation.

He is the Creator of all matters and all affairs. None understood this more perfectly than the Messenger ﷺ. When someone approached him, he would turn fully towards that person and give his entire attention. Why? Because that person was not a mere instrument for worldly advantage. Rather, that person carried a trust, a secret, or a gift that Allah ﷻ in His eternal wisdom had chosen to deliver to you through that very encounter. There is something in every interaction, something in every person who comes before you, that is intended to reach you. Otherwise, it would not have come to you.

We are commanded by our 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 to seek His guidance by turning to Him five times a day. In every prayer and in every rakah, we are obliged to recite Surah Al-Fatiha, the chapter that begins with Allah’s blessed name and His most exalted attributes, including Ar-Rahman (𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥), Ar-Raheem (𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥), Rabb (𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝/𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫), and Maalik (𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫) or Malik (𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧).

In the middle of this Surah, we declare our exclusive devotion to Him, affirming that we seek help from none but Him. We supplicate for guidance toward As-Sirat al-Mustaqeem - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡; Sirat al-ladhina an‘amta ‘alayhim - 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡’𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬; Ghairil magdube 'alayhim - 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡; Waladwalleen - 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲. Immediately after this supplication, we begin reciting another portion of the Quran in our Salah.

Remarkably, the supplication in Surah Al-Fatiha is answered right at the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah, where Allah defines As-Sirat al-Mustaqeem as "Dhalik al-Kitab, that Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz) about which there is no doubt," a guidance (Hidayah) specifically for the Muttaqeen - the righteous and God-conscious. It is evident that this guidance is exclusively for those who are mindful of their Creator, those who seek the truth, strive to avoid wrongdoing by choosing righteous actions, and willingly submit to their Creator. This connects directly with the verse in Surah Al-Fatiha: Sirat al-ladhina an‘amta ‘alayhim - the path of those whom Allah has blessed. These Muttaqeen recognize divine guidance, which has been revealed progressively and finalized in the Quran.

[It is important to understand that while most Mufassirun interpret Dhalik al-Kitab in Surah Al-Baqarah as referring specifically to the Quran, the Arabic linguistic structure of Dhalik (ذلك) typically denotes something distant rather than near. This suggests that the reference is not solely to the Quran but rather to all the divinely revealed scriptures, which ultimately originate from Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet or the Source Book). All the books sent by Allah are manifestations of this eternal and unalterable source of divine knowledge.]

Allah further describes these people as those who believe in the unseen - acknowledging the hidden reality that 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝑮𝑶𝑶𝑫 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝘼𝒍𝙡𝒂𝙝 𝙞𝒔 𝒑𝙧𝒆𝙨𝒆𝙣𝒕. They establish Salah, spend from what they have been given, believe in the revelation sent to the final Prophet as well as those before him, and are certain of the consequences of their deeds.

The next verses of Surah Al-Baqarah define those who have chosen the path of Allah’s wrath: 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡, rendering them incapable of receiving DIVINE guidance - whether they are warned or not. Then, there are those who have gone astray: the hypocrites who claim faith in Allah and the Last Day, yet their actions contradict their professed faith. These individuals create their own ideologies, selectively accepting and rejecting divine revelation, thus remaining lost in their self-imposed darkness with no return to faith.

We are commanded by Allah to seek His help through Surah Al-Fatiha throughout the day. To truly benefit from this supplication, we must deeply reflect on every verse of the Quran to understand the divine truth.

In our modern era, we witness a vast majority who are blind to the truth, as if the divine seal has already been placed upon their hearts, eyes, and ears. Likewise, hypocrisy is rampant in almost every faith, with 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 while secretly rejecting the truth of totality. Let us sincerely ask Allah to protect us from becoming such people.

May Allah bless the reader of this post with Noor, the Divine Light that unveils reality and enables the heart to recognize the truth. Ameen :)