Translation and benefits: Hafiz Nadeem Zaheer
❀ Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Every person among the children of Adam has three hundred and sixty joints. Whoever glorifies Allah, azza wa jal, praises Allah, azza wa jal, declares His oneness, saying لا الٰه الا الله, glorifies Allah, saying سبحان الله, and says استغفر الله; and removes a stone, a thorn, or a bone (or the like) from the path of the people, and enjoins good or forbids evil, then he walks that day with a count equal to the three hundred and sixty joints, and he has saved himself from the (Hellfire) fire.”
Benefits:
↰ This hadith contains the virtue of remembrance (dhikr) in particular of La ilaha illa Allah, Subhan Allah and Astaghfir Allah, and their explanations are reported in their proper place. Second, it is also known that no good deed should be considered insignificant, nor should it be abandoned on the grounds that it is minor. The importance of enjoining good and forbidding evil is also established. Many hadiths have been reported from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on this subject, both encouraging and warning.
❀ The Prophet ﷺ said:
“By the One in whose hand is my soul, you must enjoin good and forbid evil, or else it is near that Allah will send down a punishment upon you. Then you will supplicate to Him, but your supplications will not be accepted.”
Benefits:
↰ Therefore, one should save oneself from the Fire of Hell through the remembrance of Allah, the rights of the road, and enjoining good and forbidding evil.
❀ Sayyidna Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Allah is pleased with the servant who, after eating a (single) meal, thanks Allah, or after drinking anything, thanks Him for it.
Benefits:
↰ One should thank Allah, the Lord of Honour, after eating and drinking, for this not only earns the pleasure of Allah but also increases provision. The statement of Allah the Exalted is لئن شكرتم لا زيدنكم “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you.”
❀ Sayyidna Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
When Allah bestows a blessing upon His servant and he says: الحمد الله, then what he (the servant) has given is better than what he has received.
Benefits:
↰ The saying of “Alhamdulillah” by the servant is so important in the sight of Allah that the word “Alhamdulillah” is better than the blessing which Allah has granted to His servant; that is, the remembrance of Allah is better than the blessing of Allah.
❀ Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by him while he was planting a tree. The Prophet ﷺ said: “O Abu Hurairah! What are you planting?” I said: “I am planting a tree.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Shall I not tell you of a tree better for you than this?” He said: “Why not, O Messenger of Allah.” He ﷺ said: “Say سبحان الله و الحمد لله و لا إلٰه إلا الله والله أكبر; for each (word) a tree will be planted for you in Paradise.”
Benefits:
↰ The chain of this narration is weak because of Isa ibn Sinan Abu Sinan, since the majority of muhaddithun have declared him weak. However, the virtue of the aforementioned words is also established from authentic hadiths, as has already passed in the first hadith.
❀ Sayyidna Nu’man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Of the majesty of Allah, what you mention is glorification (tasbih), declaration of oneness (tahlil), and praise (tahmid). (These words) revolve around the Throne, with a humming like that of bees, and they mention their sayer (before Allah). Would any of you like to have (something like) this, or to have someone constantly mentioning him (before Allah)?”
Benefits:
↰ The virtue of remembrance and of the one who remembers is evident.
❀ Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Busr (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that a man said: “O Messenger of Allah! The rules of Islam have become many for me, so tell me one thing that I may hold to consistently.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Let your tongue always remain moist with the remembrance of Allah.”
Benefits:
↰ “The rules of Islam have become many for me” refers to voluntary matters. To take it to mean prayer, fasting, zakat and hajj and the like is absolutely wrong, as some people say that whether or not one prays or fasts, one should never abandon gatherings of remembrance. Let it be known that Allah is not pleased by abandoning obligations and being consistent in voluntary acts unless the obligations are upheld first and then attention is given to the voluntary acts. This hadith also establishes the virtue of the remembrance of Allah and the encouragement to keep the tongue always moist with it.
❀ Sayyidina Abu Hurairah and Sayyidina Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that both of them, bearing witness upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “No people gather to remember Allah, but the angels surround them, mercy covers them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them among His close angels.”
Benefits:
↰ This hadith contains the virtue of remembrance (dhikr) in general: whoever remembers Allah is under Allah’s protection and safekeeping, and Allah mentions him among those near to Him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah says: “I am as My servant thinks of Me. When he remembers Me, I am with him. If he remembers Me in himself, I remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it.”
✿ The Almighty said: فاذ كرو ني اذ كركم “Remember Me, and I will remember you.”
↰ Some people have also tried to use the above hadith to argue that “forming circles and performing collective dhikr with the rhythmic beating of ‘hoo hoo’ is also permissible.”
↰ It has already been clarified at several places that taking dhikr to mean “striking/beating” is absolutely incorrect. Dhikr also means prayer and recitation of the Holy Quran.
↰ When it is understood that the meaning of dhikr is not restricted, how can it be deduced from this hadith that “forming circles and beating out dhikr is permissible”, when, on the contrary, the opposition to it has also been proven from the Salaf al-Salihin?
Secondly, the explanation is present in another hadith of Sahih Muslim itself. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ما اجتمع قوم فى بيت من بيوت الله يتلون كتاب الله و يتدار سونه بينهم إلا نزلت عليهم السكينة وغشيتهم الرحمة وحفتهم الملاءكة و ذكرهم الله فيمن عنده
When a people gather in one of the houses of Allah (a mosque or similar) and recite the Book of Allah, and teach and study it among themselves, tranquility descends upon them, Allah’s mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allah mentions them among those who are with Him.
↰ It is thus known that the gatherings of dhikr refer not to the innovators’ collective, Sufi-style gatherings of dhikr, but to gatherings of recitation of the Quran, teaching and reading, and discussion of knowledge and jurisprudence.
◈ Allamah Abdur Rahman Mubarakpuri (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “Here, dhikr means uttering those words for which there are evidences regarding encouragement or frequency, such as the Al-Baqiyat al-Salihat, which are سبحان الله، الحمد لله، الله اكبر and لا الٰه الا الله. Similarly, in line with these, حسبي الله and seeking forgiveness (istighfar) etc. are commanded. Seeking the good of this world and the Hereafter is also included in it, and being constant upon an obligatory or recommended act is also remembrance of Allah, such as recitation of the Quran, reading of hadith, teaching of knowledge and voluntary prayers.”
↰ For the condemnation of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the righteous predecessors regarding forming circles for dhikr, see Sunan al-Darimi, Al-Bida’ wal-Nahy ‘anha by Ibn Wadhdhah, and Ibadat mein Bid’at aur Sunnat se un ka Radd.
