Navigating The Labyrinth Of Life Through Adhkar (God’s Remembrance)| Dr Adekunle Mikail

Navigating The Labyrinth Of Life Through Adhkar ( God’s Remembrance)

“In the remembrance of Allah lies every medicine!” – An Islamic Scholar

In the mighty name of Allah ,the beneficent and the merciful. May the blessing of Him be incessant on the grave of the Man who remembers God the most; Muhammad (salawatullahi alehi), his companions,those that came after their generations; the dead faithful Muslims and on us,till eternity!

Brethren, it is now obvious that every sphere of our life is permeated with one problem or the other.

And when some are plagued with unemployment and its ally ,underemployment, some are enmeshed in untold poverty despite being employed properly!

Or what can one say on those whose portions of life eventualities are acute ailments! What of the category of the people who are daily faced with spiritual attacks from the Jinn , or from their own human counterparts.

It is on this thinking that I searched for the solutions embraced by the people of the past in this beautiful religion of peace! Brothers and sisters reading this piece, my aim is that if life eventualities are unavoidable roads every man that is destined to sojourn in this passing life , must trek, then we need to know how our forebears in Islam have managed to go through these roads without losing their faith in the Lord of the creation and their dear heads to Satan; the head of the misguided!

Brethren, the acceptance of the knowledge of Allah that life eventualities are unavoidable was the first thing that gave the faithful men of the past, the first edge above others in their management of life problems!

They came to the grim realization of the fact that , in life man will be tested , whether on the faith he claimed to have, for his salvation, for the opportunity given which he has misused, or for many other reasons, no matter high or low they may seem!

In the same way the people of the past realized the unavoidability of life’s ugly sides, they have come to the realization that Sabr_patience, steadfastness and holding tight to the rope of Allah , is the number one solution to whatever life has thrown to one’s own part!

This realization has been the product of serious deliberation of the people of the past on the verse:

“Ye shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in yourselves; and ye shall certainly hear much that will grieve you,from those who received Book before you and from who worship partners besides Allah.

But if you persevere patiently,and guard against evil, _then that indeed is a matter of great resolution”.
Qur’an 3 :183

Besides, we are informed in the verse above too ,that guarding against evil or working righteousness is another solution to the life unavoidable problems.

This involves a deliberate guarding against sins of all kind, worshipping God regularly and knowing God in the time of ease so that when eventuality later rears its ugly head , He will quickly provide the needed succour!

Another all-time solution to life’s grieve is constant remembrance of Allah in which Allah Himself Has vouchsafed as a temporizer of the palpitating mind!

The remembrance of Allah involves many things and is not limited to chanting His names alone. It embraces instead, the knowledge of who is Allah, His worship and the avoidance of what He dislikes!

The promise of Allah that He will remember that who remember Him is the greater succour to any life’s eventualities and it had been the shield of the faithful men of islam of the past era. Allah says in Qur’an 2:158 as follows:

“Then do remember Me;I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith(in me)”!

It is from this remembrance of the Lord of the creation that a faithful believer of the past such as Abu Muslim alKhaolaaniy was saved from the evil plotted against him by his very own wive!;

“From Sulaiman ibn Mugiirat, he said that a woman who was the wive of Abu Muslim asked Abu Muslim that what have been prevented my poison from having effect on you?

For i have been tinting your food with poison since so and so time, without adverse effect on you!”

” Abu Muslim then asked her of the reason she had for pertaking in such an evil and bad action to which she said that since Abu Muslim would not divorce her despite the fact that he could not satisfy her sexually for his old age, she had desired his death on the action to poison him!”

“Abu Muslim then told her that, whenever it is time to eat the food prepared by this woman, he constantly said:

” In the name of Allah that which cannot be harmed with any evil or ailment”

As pinpointed earlier , the remembrance of Allah is sufficient as medicine for every life’s untowardness! But there are issues or points that need to be clarified for proper understanding of the Faithfuls,around the topic! They are:

The remembrance of Allah is not limited to chanting of His names, praise or adoration. Remembrance of Allah is like a big House that encompasses many children.

It involves as-Salat(the canonical daily prayer), the nawafil (the supererogatory prayer) , Social worships like Hajj and domestic ones such as the recommended praises, remembrance and refrains that Muslims are supposed to pronounce before entering their homes, toilets, markets and the one they would say afterwards when coming out of those places as recommended by the prophet( Salawatullahi alehi)

Therefore the verse 191 of suratul- al-Imran of the glorious Quran is not for those that voluntarily ,as a tradition chose to chant the names of their Lord while on standing , sitting or while resting alone but covers those that are offering the daily Salat but who could not stand on their feet due to infirmities occasioned from diseases! The verse is:.

” Those who remember Allah standing,sitting, and lying on their sides,and contemplate the wonders of creation in the heavens and the earth,( with the saying): “Our Lord not for nothing you Have created all this! Glory to you! Give us Salvation from the Chastisement of the Fire.”

The verse of the glorious Quran above is an indication that one can offer Sallat on standing, sitting and while on his side, depends on the health of the one that is praying!

The prophet himself was reported to have offered prayer while sitting during the sickness he died on! Sheikh Nasru-dinni Albani reported in his book: “Sifaatu-salati nabiyy as follows:

” The prophet.(salla-llahu alehi wasalam) prayed while sitting during the sickness he died on”

But while doing this, if the one offering the prayer cannot use his head to touch the ground(al-sajdah) he does not need touching it with a pole or wall in his front but he is advised to use sign by making the sign or bending of the sajdah but more pronounced than that of prostration!

Forms Of Remembrance

In the mean time, remembrance in Islam according to the scholars of Fiqh, are two types. The first one is termed a” al-dhirkirul Mutlaq.”

This is the remembrance of Allah that is not limited by time, period or state of human being. It is a remembrance which can be doing irrespective of the time, date ,place or period- one can do it at any time he wants.

For examples, the reading and recitation of the glorious Quran is allowed at any time, place and period.

Besides, the chanting of Subhanallahi wa-alhamdulillah, wala-ilaha illalahu, allahu akbar, is allowed at any time, period or place!

It is on this type of remembrance that the hadith that “the prophet used to remember Allah at all his doings” is applicable! Also, it is because of this that women on their menstrual blood can read the Quran only that she cannot handle it.

She may read the one she had memorized which she does read everyday, before her menstruation and chant her daily subhanallah and others despite her menstruation!

The fact that she is excused from offering sallat at this time, does not excuse her from chanting the names or praises of her creator!
The Lord loves the people of remembrance to the extent that the prophet( Salla-llahu alehi wasalam) noted in the Hadith of Abu-Huraira (may the Lord be pleased with him) that :

” the Lone rangers have gone ( those that are contented with God) “. They asked, who are the Lone rangers, oh you the apostle of Allah? He said: “they are the men who praise the Lord profusely and women who equally praise Him effusively”

The second category of Dhikr is known among the Fuqaha (jurisprudents) as Dhikrul-Muqayyad. This is different from dhikrul- mutlaq in that , it is limited to time, space, place and period of life of the muslims.

They are the prescribed words, statement or recitals ,recommended to the faithfuls by the apostle of God Muhammad, as recipes and remedies for life problems as well as for daily domestic and social etiquettes!

The conditions for this type of remembrance is that they cannot be recited or rehearsed for conditions other than the ones they are recommended for.

Besides, they are prescribed only for certain times and given conditions.

Another point to note here is that ,this category of remembrance is fixed. A trial to recite a given remembrance to a condition which is not prescribed for may lead one to innovation!

Below are examples of the prescribed recitals and their conditions:

_ What are recited at bed time

Husaifah said that the prophet( salawatullahi alehi) used to say at bed time:” Bismika allahuma amuutu wa aayah” .i.e it is with your names i sleep and wake”

And when he woke from his sleeping, he said:
” Alhamdu-lillah ladsi ahyaana ba’da man amatana ,wa ilaehil- nusuuru
“From Amr bn Shuaib ,from his father and from his grandfather who said that the prophet used to teach a statement for those who fear for their life:

” Ahuthu bikalimati-lla min gadabihi, wa sarri ibadihi, wamin hamasati saetani, wa anyadurumi”

What is said when one leaves his house

“From Anas, may the Lord be pleased with him, who said that the prophet said: whoever says ” bismillahi, tawakalitu ala-llahi ,walahaola walaquwata illa-billahi taa’la, whenever he leaves his house, they would assure him as follows:” you would be contented with the Lord, you would be protected and you would be guided while the satan would be released away from you, while a devil will be telling another devil about you thus: what can you do to a man who has been guided, made contented with his Lord and protected”

What is recited when one returns to his house

A Muslim is enjoined to praise Allah on his return back to his house with the words “alhamdulillah” or its equivalent. It is reported from Jabbir bn Abdullahi, may the Lord be pleased with him and his father, who said that he heard the prophet saying:

” Whenever a man returns or enters his house and he remembers Allah when entering and when eating, satan will say to his cohorts: “there is no sleeping space for you here nor food to eat.” But when a man enters his house and does not remember God at his return and when sleeping, the Satan will say to his cohorts: ” there is a sleeping space for you here and the food to eat”

What are recited when entering Mosque and in leaving it

Annas may he be pleased with and others reported that the prophet(salla-llahu alehi wasalam) used to say on entering the mosque and on leaving it:” Allahuma Salli ala Muhammadin”.

Also, Abu Humaedi or abi usyidd al-ansariy said that the prophet said:” when anyone of you enter a mosque , he should utter the praise on me, then say :” Allahuma iftali abwaba- rahmatika and on leaving, he should say:” inni ashaluka min fadlika”!

There are thousands of recitals like these which the prophet had recommended for the benefits of the mankind as well as a fortification against known evils and unknown ones.

It then behoves the Muslims to learn and relearn these golden rehearsals for their own benefits and as a fortification against all evils and obstacles in life.