The Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, said to his companions: �When your path leads you into the garden of Paradise, eat of the fruit of those gardens. Gather the roses of those gardens and smell their scent!� When they asked: �What is the garden of Paradise, O Messenger of God?� he answered, �The circle of the zikr is the garden of Paradise!�

Remembrance of Allah lifts the veils of limitations and opens the door from the known to the unknown. Above the entrance to a dervish tekke in Istanbul is written: �Zikr Allah satisfies hearts.�
Zikr brings alive the power of the heart.

The Koran states: Men whom neither trading or selling diverts from the remembrance of God.

�We begin our zikr slowly,� says Halveti-Jerrahi Sheikh Muzaffer, �and each word can be understood. Soon all that is heard is a heavy breath but the zikr goes on in our hearts.� The people of the Garden regret nothing save those moments which passed by in the world without their remembering God.

There are three levels of Zikr Allah.
The Remembrance of the Typical Person

This is called �verbal remembrance,� and may be performed audibly in public or silently and in private.

The Remembrance of the Elite

This is called �Remembrance of the Heart,� and is performed by the heart and the tongue in unison.

The Remembrance of the Elite of the Elite

These have inherited the Mystery, and their hearts are not distracted from the remembrance of Allah. Such remembrance is no longer an act of will, but is performed by the heart involuntarily. It is called �The Remembrance of the Child
of the Heart.�