The Excellence of Remembrance |

Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) says:

{Therefore remember Me, I will remember you and be grateful to Me, and never be ungrateful to me}, [Soorah al-Baqarah, Aayah 152]

{O you who believe! Remember Allaah with much remembrance}, [Soorah al-Ahzaab, Aayah 41]

{And for men and women who engage much in Allaah's remembrance, for them has Allaah prepared forgiveness and great reward}, [Soorah al-Ahzaab, Aayah 35]

{And bring your Lord to remembrance in your [very] soul, with humility and remember without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not of those who are unheedful}, [Soorah al-A'raaf, Aayah 205]

The Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) said:

«The comparison of the one who remembers Allaah and the one who does not remember Allaah, is like that of the living and the dead», [al-Bukhaaree with al-Fat.h 11/208 and Muslim 1/539]

He (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) also said:

«Should I not inform you of the best of deeds, and the most sanctifying of deeds before your Lord, which does more to raise your positions [with Him], and are better for you than the disbursement of gold and money or battle with the enemy?»

They [the companions] said: "Indeed! Inform us."

He (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) then said:

«Remembrance of Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala)», [at-Tirmidhee 5/459 and Ibn Maajah 2/1245, see: Saheeh Ibn Maajah 2/316 and Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/139]

The Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) also said:

«Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) says: "Indeed I am as My servant presumes Me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me, so if he remembers Me to himself I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers Me amongst a company I remember him amongst a company greater than it, and if he draws near to Me the span of a hand I draw near to him the span of an arm, and if he draws near to Me the span of an arm I draw near to him the span of two outstretched arms, and if he takes a step towards Me I hastily step towards him"», [al-Bukhaaree 8/171 and Muslim 4/2061, this specific wording is related by al-Bukhaaree]

On the authority of 'Abdullaah Ibn Busr (radhi-yallaahu 'anhu): "A man said to the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam): "O Messenger of Allaah, the rites of Islaam are much for me, so tell me of something that I might hold fast to"

He (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) said:

«Let not your tongue cease from the remembrance of Allaah», [at-Tirmidhee 5/458 and Ibn Maajah 2/1246, see: Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/139 and Saheeh Ibn Maajah 2/317]

The Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) also said:

«Whoever recites a letter of Allaah's Book has for it, a merit and ten more like it, not to say that alif, laam, meem are one letter but rather alif is a letter, laam is a letter and meem is a letter», [at-Tirmidhee 5/175, see: Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/9 and Saheeh al-Jaami' as-Sagheer 5/340]

'Uqbah Ibn 'Aamir (radhi-yallaahu 'anhu) relates that Allaah's Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) came out when we were in as-Suffah and said:

«Are there any of you who would wish to go every day to Buthaan or al-'Aeeq [i.e., the name of two ditches in al-Madeenah] in the early morning and return from it with two she-camels without incurring any sin or severing relations?»

We [the companions] said: "We would indeed love that, O Messenger of Allaah"

He (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) said:

«Then you should go to the mosque and acquire some knowledge, or recite two aayaat from the Book of Allaah, that would be better for you than two she-camels, and three aayaat are better than three she-camels, and four aayaat are better than four she-camels, and the same for a like number of male camels», [Muslim 1/553]

The Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) also said:

«Whoever takes a seat and fails to remember Allaah, has incurred upon himself a loss from Allaah, and whoever lies down [relaxes] and fails to remember Allaah, has incurred upon himself a loss from Allaah», [Abu Daawood 4/264 and others, see: Saheeh al-Jaami' 5/342.]

He (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) also said:

«Whenever a people sit in a gathering in which they fail to remember Allaah and send prayers upon the Prophet they incur a loss upon themselves and if Allaah willed He would punish them and if He willed He would forgive them», [at-Tirmidhee, see: Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/140. ]

Similarly, he (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) said:

«Whenever a people rise from a gathering in which they failed to remember Allaah, they rise as if they had arisen from the corpse of an ass and incurring upon themselves grief», [Abu Daawood 4/264 and Ahmad 2/389, see: Saheeh al-Jaami' 5/176]