Increasing Dhikr, seeking Allah's Forgiveness, and invoking His Blessings and Peace on the Messenger of Allah bring tranquility to the heart
(Part No. 11; Page No. 208)
Q: Three years ago, I complained to a pious man that I was
vacillating among the earthly concerns and that I did not feel tranquility in
acts of `Ibadah (worship), such as the Salah (Prayer) and the Sawm (Fasting).
Although I have been performing Salah and Sawm for ten years now, the
enticements of this life are many. The man advised me to follow this approach
to calm my heart. He told me to say the following words hundred times: "O
Allah! Invoke blessings on our master Muhammad, and his family and
Companions." And to say: "I seek forgiveness from Allah, Who there is
no deity beside Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting; and I turn to Him in
repentance," hundred times, and also to say: "There is no God but
Allah Alone, there is no partner with Him, for Him is Sovereignty and for Him
is the praise. He gives life and causes death and He is Able to do all
things," hundred times. Is this correct? Is this the meaning of Allah's
Saying: ...verily, in the remembrance of Allâh do hearts find rest. ?
(Part No. 11; Page No. 209)
A: There is no doubt that increasing Dhikr (Remembrance of
Allah), seeking Allah's Forgiveness, and invoking His Blessings and Peace on
the Messenger of Allah are of the greatest ways of calming hearts and bringing
rest and tranquility to them, having faith in Allah, and removing loneliness,
vacillation, and confusion. What the pious man advised you was good, but there
is no specific number of times that you should ask for Allah's Forgiveness or
invoke peace and blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him). In fact it is
prescribed for you to invoke peace and blessings upon the Prophet as often as
possible and should not specify a certain number of times for asking for
Allah's Help and Forgiveness, whether hundred times or more or less. There is
no basis in Islam for specifying hundred times for this, you should just invoke
Allah's Peace and Blessings upon the Prophet as much as possible, standing and
sitting, day and night, on road and at home, etc., because Allah (Exalted be
He) says: Allâh sends His Salât (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the
Prophet (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), and also His
angels (ask Allâh to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salât
on (ask Allâh to bless) him (Muhammad صلى
الله عليه وسلم), and (you should) greet (salute) him
with the Islâmic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salâmu ‘Alaikum). The
Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If anyone invokes blessings on me once,
Allah will bless them ten times." You should increase these things and
expect the good. There is no specific number of times that you should invoke
peace and blessings upon the Prophet, do as much as you can, whether it is ten
times or more or less,
(Part No. 11; Page No. 210)
whatever is easy, without specifying a certain number of
times. The same is equally applied to asking for Allah's Forgiveness, do as
much as you can, because a Muslim is enjoined to do so. Allah (Glorified be He)
says: ...and ask Allâh for His Forgiveness. Truly, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving,
Most-Merciful. Allah (Glorified be He) also says: And (commanding you): “Seek
the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance, that He may grant
you good enjoyment, for a term appointed, and bestow His abounding Grace to
every owner of grace (i.e. the one who helps and serves the needy and
deserving, physically and with his wealth, and even with good words). Seeking
Allah's Forgiveness is of great importance, as it was reported in a Hadith
Sahih (a Hadith that has been transmitted by people known for their uprightness
and exactitude; free from eccentricity and blemish) that the Prophet (peace be
upon him) said, "If anyone continually asks for Allah's Forgiveness, Allah
will make a way out of every distress for them and relief from every anxiety
for them, and will provide for them from where they had not reckoned." It
is also reported that he (peace be upon him) said, "Anyone who says: 'I
seek the forgiveness of Allah, there is no deity except Allah, the Ever-Living,
the Self-Subsisting, and I turn to Him in repentance,' three times when going
to bed, Allah will forgive them their sins." This topic is of great
importance, so you should increase the number of times you ask for Allah's
Forgiveness all the time, and say three times during the Taslim (salutation of
peace ending the Prayer), immediately after every obligatory Salah (Prayer):
"I seek Allah's Forgiveness." After this you can say, "O Allah!
You are the Peace and the Giver of Peace. Glory be to You, O Possessor of
Majesty and Beneficence!" The Prophet (peace be upon him) would start
after the Taslim with saying these words at the end of
(Part No. 11; Page No. 211)
his Five Obligatory Daily Prayers. So, perform Salah and ask
for Allah's Forgiveness at the beginning and end of both the day and the night,
as this is required. As for saying: "There is no God but Allah
Alone," there is a Hadith Sahih about this, in which the Prophet (peace be
upon him) said, "Anyone who says this (meaning: "There is no God but Allah
Alone") hundred times in the day, will have the reward of emancipating ten
slaves, and Allah will record hundred good deeds and erase hundred bad deeds
for them. It will be a protection for them against Satan on that day until the
evening and no one will obtain better than this, except someone who has done
more than they did." This Hadith is reported in the Two Sahih (authentic)
Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim), from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be
pleased with him). You should recite this statement every day. It is prescribed
for every Muslim to say: "Subhana Allah wa bi-Hamdihi; Subhana Allah
Al-`Azhim (Glorified be Allah and all praise is due to Him; Glorified be Allah,
the Greatest) often, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Two words
(phrases or sentences) that are very light on the tongue, heavy on the Mizan
(the Scales for weighing deeds), and beloved to the Merciful are: 'Subhana
Allah wa bi-Hamdihi; Subhana Allah Al-`Azhim.'" (Related by Al-Bukhari and
Muslim in the Two Sahih Books of Hadith)
(Part No. 11; Page No. 212)
It is therefore
Mustahab (desirable) for a Muslim to say: Subhana Allah Al-`Azhim wabihamdihi
`adada khaqihi, subhana Allah rida nafsihi, subhana Allah zinata `arshihi,
subhana Allah midada kalimatih (Glory and Praise be to Allah the Greatest as
many times as the number of His Creatures. Glory be to Allah in accordance with
His Pleasure. Glory be to Allah equal to the weight of His Throne and Glory be
to Allah equal to the ink that would be used to record His Words)" three
times, because these words have great weight. It is authentically reported that
the Prophet (peace be upon him) one day, entered the room of his wife
Juwayriyah, in the forenoon, while she was in her praying place after the Fajr
(Dawn) Prayer, and said to her, "Are you still in the same place where I
left you?'' She said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "I recited four
words three times after I left you. If they were weighed against all you have
recited since this morning, they will be heavier. They were: Subhana Allah
al-`Azhim wabihamdihi `dada khaqihi, subhana Allah rida nafsihi, subhana Allah
zinata `arshihi, subhana Allah midada kalimatih (Glory and Praise be to Allah
the Greatest as many times as the number of His Creatures. Glory be to Allah in
accordance with His Pleasure. Glory be to Allah equal to the weight of His
Throne and Glory be to Allah equal to the ink that would be used to record His
Words)." Similarly, the words: Subhana Allah (Glorified be Allah),
Al-hamdu lillah (All Praise be to Allah), wa la ilaha illa-Allah (There is no
God but Allah), Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) have a great status (with
Allah), as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The most beloved words
to Allah are four: 'Subhana Allah, al-hamdu-lillah, wa la ilaha illa-Allah,
Allahu Akbar (Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah; there is no God but Allah;
and Allah is the Greatest)!'" He (peace be upon him) also said,
"Saying: 'Subhana Allah, al-hamdu lillah, la ilaha illallah, wa-Allahu
Akbar' is more beloved to me than anything over which the sun rises.''
(Part No. 11; Page No. 213)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, "The
righteous deeds that last are saying: 'Subhana Allah, al-hamdu lillah, la ilaha
illa-Allah, Allahu Akbar, wa la Hawla wala Quwwata illa billah (There is
neither might nor power except with Allah)." The Prophet (peace be upon
him) said to Abu Musa Al-Ash`ary (may Allah be pleased with him), "Shall I
tell you about one of the treasures of Paradise? He said, "Yes, O
Messenger of Allah!" He (peace be upon him) said, "La Hawla wala
Quwwata illa billah." Therefore, Muslims should say these words of Dhikr
that bring peace to hearts and through which all affairs are settled. They
should also do many pious deeds, perform Tawbah (repentance to Allah) from all
bad deeds, have Taqwa (fear Allah as He should be feared), stand erect on their
Din (religion of Islam), and beware of committing sins. It is prescribed for
Muslims to say these Dhikr often and invoke Allah's Peace and Blessings upon the
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), as this brings great reward and
well-being, corrects hearts, gives them relief,
(Part No. 11; Page No. 214)
and removes vacillation and confusion. This is because Allah
(Glorified be He) promises such for anyone who follows His Orders and His
Shari`ah (Islamic law), obeys Him, performs Dhikr often, and invokes Allah's
Peace and Blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as many
times as possible. May Allah grant us all righteousness and protect us all from
all the evils of Satan. May Allah guide us all to the Right Path. There is
neither might nor power except with Allah.
~
Source: http://www.alifta.net/fatawa/fatawaDetails.aspx?languagename=en&View=Page&PageID=1814&PageNo=1&BookID=14
