(9) Dhikr – Remembrance of God
Another form of Islamic prayer is dhikr, the remembrance of God. The definition given by some Muslim mystics is “forgetting everything other than God”. Exhortations to this remembrance of God are found frequently in the Qur’an:
Remember the name of your Lord at dawn and in the evening (Q 76: 25).
Celebrate the name of the Lord and devote yourself wholeheartedly to Him (Q 73: 8).
This last verse, as Saritoprak points out, would suggest that the remembrance of God would flow out from prayer into daily life: “Believers perform actions that are directly related to their dhikr: giving charity, doing good deeds, etc.” (Zeki SRITOPRAK, Islamic Spirituality, p.36, see pp.36-39).
The practice of dhikr may be individual, but it is often a community exercise performed by Sufi Orders or Confraternities (AR 19). Members of such groups gather weekly for special prayers. These often include chanting, accompanied by bodily movement and sometimes by drums or tambourines (the Whirling Dervishes are a well-known example).
Central to this practice of the remembrance of God is praise. The very first chapter of the Qur’an says:
Praise belongs to God (al-ḥamdu li-Llâhi Q 1: 3).
One of the phrases often used is: lâ ilâha illâ Llâh: “There is no divinity except God” or one of the Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God (AR 26) may be repeated.
As an aid to this recitation a rosary (ṣubḥa) is often used. This may have 99 beads, or more usually 33.
Make A Comment
Comments (0)