❖ Shar‘i Ruling on Forming Circles for Loud Dhikr Gatherings ❖
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil fī Ḍawʾ al-Qurʾān wal-Ḥadīth, Vol. 1, p. 492
✿ Question:
In common dhikr gatherings, people sit in a circle and perform dhikr together, either loudly or softly. Is this permissible? If not, please explain with evidence.
✿ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
- The adhkār for which the Qur’an and Sunnah establish loud recitation (jahr) — such as talbiyah in Ḥajj/ʿUmrah, takbīrāt of Eid, and adhān — should indeed be performed aloud.
- As for other forms of dhikr, the principle is what Allah has commanded:
﴿وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعٗا وَخِيفَةٗ وَدُونَ ٱلۡجَهۡرِ مِنَ ٱلۡقَوۡلِ بِٱلۡغُدُوِّ وَٱلۡأٓصَالِ وَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ ٱلۡغَٰفِلِينَ﴾
[al-Aʿrāf 7:205]
Translation:
“And remember your Lord within yourself, in humility and in fear, and without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and do not be among the heedless.”
Conclusion:- Dhikr circles in which people sit collectively and perform dhikr aloud in unison have no basis in Qur’an or Sunnah.
- The general rule is that dhikr should be performed individually, with humility, and without exaggerated loudness — except for the few specific acts of worship where the Sunnah prescribes loud recitation.
