“Remember me; I will remember you.” (02:152)

Thikr is the singular of athkar, which means to remember Allah verbally or non-verbally. Remembrance of Allah is one of the greatest acts of worship and best acts of obedience.

Shaikh Abdulrahman ibn As Sa’di said, “The phrase thikr-Allah includes everything by means of which a person may draw close to Allah, such as belief (aqeedah), thoughts, actions of the heart, physical actions, praising Allah, learning and teaching beneficial knowledge, etc. All of that is remembrance of Allah.” (Riyaadh Al Nadhrah)

Al Nawawi said, “Thikr is encouraged in all situations, except in situations referred to in the sharee’ah. For example, it is makrooh (discouraged) to remember Allah (verbally) when sitting to relieve oneself, when having intercourse, during the Friday sermon (for the one who can hear the voice of the khateeb (orator), when standing during the prayer, at which one should be focusing on the recitation, and when one is drowsy.

athkar meaning

The type of remembrance I’m talking about is the thikr apart from prayer.

1. Command of Allah

“So remember Me; I will remember you…” (02:152) “…and exalt (Allah) with praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and during periods of the night and at the ends of the day, that you may be satisfied.” (20:130) “And mention the name of your Lord [in prayer] morning and evening.” (76:25)

2. A Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH)

The Messenger of Allah said, “I seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him one hundred times each day.” (Ibn Majah)

He also said, “The example of the one who celebrates the Praises of his Lord in comparison to the one who does not celebrate the Praises of his Lord, is that of a living creature compared to a dead one.” (Bukhari)

3. Means of Protection From Every Evil

Aa’ishah said, “The Messenger of Allah commanded me, or he commanded to use ruqyah to deal with the evil eye.” (Bukhari)

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4. Sins Get Wiped Out – Gain Rewards, Rise In Levels

“…and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” (33:35)

The Prophet said, “Allah says, ‘I am as My slave thinks I am, and I am with him when he mentions Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws to Me a hand-span length, I draw near to him a forearm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him in a hurry.” (Ibn Majah)

5. A Means of Success

“And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.” (62:10)

6. A Source of Contentment

“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.” (13:28)