Translation of al-Alameen

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Here, the word al-alameen is used. The singular form is aalam. A common translation of it is world. The expected plural is ‘awaalim, but the Quran does not dictate that.

What’s the difference between the two? In Arabic, when a word ends with ‘un’ or ‘een’, it refers to people. These could be humans, angels, or jinn, but they’re people.

But what images pop into your head when you say worlds? Space. But when alameen is said, it’s not a reference to galaxies and stars, it’s a reference to people, worlds of people. “Master of the worlds” doesn’t show ‘een’.

First of all, we’re learning that a nation is like a different world. Here’s another, it’s also referring to a different time. Every generation is made up of a different world of people. When Allah wants to talk about his mastery over the heavens and stuff, he says rabb as-samawati wal-ard. But this is for his mastery over people. In the Quran Allah says he has sent the Messenger so that he may be a warner to al-alameen, which is again, usually translated as worlds, but he’s not a warner to the trees or to Mars. He’s a warner to people.

Now, all the nations can be divided into three categories: those who are blessed, those who have anger upon them, or those who are astray. So al-alameen is a strategically used word in just the right context.

[from Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan's balaghah class at IlmSummit 2009]

IlmSummit 2009 Revisited

Before Ramadan, I had been posting my notes from the “Fiqh of Adhkar” class. I have not yet finished it, so I wanted to share with everyone IlmSummit Revisited. They will be briefly covering this class this week for an hour Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night on an online webinar. (They started yesterday). Click on the link for more information.

The Best Form of Dhikr

No doubt that the Quran is the best form of dhikr. After the Quran is “Subhan Allah, alhamdu lillah, Allahu akbar, and la ilaha il Allah.” The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said it is more beloved to Allah than anything on the face of this earth.

One sahabi said to the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), I am old and weak. So tell me about a good deed I can do while I am sitting. So he (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Say subhan Allah 100 times. It will be equal to freeing 100 slaves of Bani Israel. Say alhmadu lillah, and it will be like donating 100 horses for the sake of Allah. Say Allahu akbar, and it will be equal to sacrificing 100 camels for the sake of Allah and distributing it to poor people. Say la ilaha il Allah, and the reward of it will fill what is between the heavens and the earth.”

Also, the Prophet said, “There is nobody that would say subhan Allah, alhamdu lillah, Allahu akbar, la ilaha il Allah, and la hawla wa la quwwata ila billah except that it will erase their sins, even if it is more than the foam of the sea.” [Tirmidhi, Hakim. classified as hasan]

The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) once saw a dry branch falling on the ground. He hit it or shook it. The dry leaves fell off. Then he told his companions, “That subhan Allah, alhamdu lillah, Allahu akbar, and la ilaha il Allah will make your sins fall off like this.” Hasan hadith.

Also the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “There is no one better in the eyes of Allah than a person who lives a long life and fills these years with subhan Allah, alhamdu lillah, Allahu akbar, and la ilaha il Allah.”

And there are many more ahadith that can be mentioned.

The Benefits of Dhikr

01. Dhikr keeps the shaitan away. Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said that even if this was the only benefit, it would be enough to do it all the time.

02. It makes you happy and strengthens your iman. Ibn Taimiyyah (rahimahulllah) said dhikr for the heart is like water for the fish. Without water, the fish will die.

03. Protection from the fire – The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “I don’t know anything that can protect you more from hellfire more than the dhikr of Allah.” Classified as authentic.

04. Expiates sins – The Prophet said, “Whoever says subhanAllahi wa bihamdih 100 times a day, his sins will melt even if they are as much as the foam of the sea.”

05. It protects your tongue from backbiting and saying other evil things.

06. Strength for your body – When Fatima and Ali (radi Allahu anhuma) complained to the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and said they needed a servant, the Prophet told them to say subhan Allah, alhamdu lillah, and Allahu akbar. That’s better than having a servant. Ibn al-Qayyim said this hadith is proof that dhikr can physically give you strength.

When there are so many benefits, then why do we not make adhkar?

Some people say that it takes too long. Stop right now and say subhan Allahi wa bihamdih 100 times and see how long it takes. It will not take you longer than four minutes, at most.

Can you name some more benefits? (Share in the comments.)

The Importance of Dhikr

Dhikr is one of the best good deeds. Allah azza wa jal says in the Qur’an,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا

“O you who have believed, remember Allāh with much remembrance.” [33:41]

Also, at the end of another ayah, Allah mentions those who remember Him a lot:

وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

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

In contrast, Allah tells about those who forget him,

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

“And be not like those who forgot Allāh, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient.”

Also, we learn that it is only with dhikr that hearts find rest.

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allāh. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allāh hearts are assured.” [13:28]

The importance of dhikr is also mentioned in many ahadith.

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “There is no hour (short period of time) that passes by you in which you don’t remember Allah except that you will regret it on the day of judgment.”

In Sahih Muslim he said, “Al-Mufaridun will be ahead of everyone else on the day of judgment.” Al-Mufaridun are the male and females who remember Allah a lot.

Bukhari narrated, “The example of the person who remembers Allah and the one who doesn’t is like the live person and the dead one.”

In another hadith, a man came to the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and said he was confused because there were so many things in this religion. The Prophet replied, “Always keep your tongue wet with the remembrance of Allah.”

The importance of dhikr is also shown through the fact that whenever we are ordered to do good deeds, we are ordered to follow these deeds with dhikr. After we finish praying, we are supposed to make adhkar. Before we break our fast, we are supposed to make a dua. When we are at hajj, we are supposed to be making dhikr. Even when it comes to worldly deeds, we are to make dhikr, before eating, before sleeping, and so on.

Categories and Guidelines of Dhikr

Verbal dhikr is classified into two categories: the reported dhikr, which is found in the Qur’an and sunnah, and the dhikr which the Muslim initiates from his own and is not found in the Quran and sunnah.

Reported adhkar
The reported dhikr is further divided into two categories: restricted by time, location, and/or number; or general, unrestricted. An example of the restricted is the morning and evening adhkar, which must be read at their appropriate times. An example of unrestricted is istighfar, which you can seek at any time.

As for the guidelines for the reported adhkar, they must be established by correct evidence, which means – as said above – that it must be found in the Quran and sunnah. Second, what the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam has told us in regards to it. So if he has restricted the dhikr for a certain time, then it should be kept that way. Third, you should know that the adkhar that the shariah wants you to say exactly the way it is, you can’t change it (like the adkhar of the salah, the entire Quran; the adhan, the tashahhud, the talbiyah).

Initiated adhkar
The first thing you need to know in regards to this is that the religion is perfect and complete. The shariah has covered all the needs of humans. Second, if you want to make dhikr from your own, we ask a question – who knows Allah better, you or Allah himself? Allah of course. So realize that you are saying something less than what came in the Quran and sunnah. So you are leaving the better way of dhikr to something less. Third, the Prophet said, “Ya Allah, I can’t praise you as you have praised yourself.” So he admitted that he can’t make dhikr from his own to praise Allah other than what Allah has said about himself. So when you say you are going to make your own dhikr, you are entering a very dangerous zone. Yes, it is permissible, but you are entering a zone about which the Prophet said that he can’t praise as he has praised Himself.

Now, the guidelines are that first of all, it should be directed towards Allah only. Second, you shouldn’t restrict them to any time or location if they haven’t been restricted by the sunnah. Three, this dhikr should indicate a good meaning. Four, you can’t make up any names for Allah. Five, it can’t contain any weird language. Also, you have to make sure that the meaning is not only perfect but general and doesn’t contain any negative connotation. Also remember that there is something called transgression in dua.

Next up is the importance and benefits of making dhikr.

The types of dhikr

What are the types of dhikr that one can make to remember Allah?

There are three different types:

01. Remembering Allah and his names and attributes. This is done in two ways: by praising his names and attributes – subhan Allah, alhamdu lillah, Allahu akbar. Also by telling people about it.

02. Remembering Allah’s rulings and not forgetting about them, what he loves and hates, what he wants. This comes in two formats: telling people about it (in gatherings of dhikr). The gatherings of dhikr are the circles where people study halal and haram, how to pray and fast, how to marry and divorce, how to perform hajj, etc. One of the early scholars said what we are teaching is dhikr, tasbih and tahmid aren’t the only ways to do dhikr. The other type is to yourself remember the rulings when they are needed. So when you see what is haram, you immediately remember what Allah said about it. You say astaghfirullah.

03. Remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in a time of calamity or when you see the uniqueness of his creation. So when good things happen to you, you remember they are from Allah. When bad happens, you remember that it is a test from Allah and you have patience.

What is dhikr?

At IlmSummit, Sheikh Waleed Basyouni taught a class on the fiqh of adhkar. In sha Allah, I will start sharing my notes from that.

What is the meaning of dhikr linguistically and technically?
Dhikr originally comes from dha ka ra. The meaning is to remember something and to not forget. It is also used a lot to refer to something very honorable. You remember the honorable things, nobody remembers the silly stuff. So dhikrullah, there is nothing more valuable than it.

Technically, in the Quran and sunnah, it has 10+ meanings:
- equal to good deeds.
- what you say by your tongue – remembering Allah
- what is in your heart when you contemplate (about Allah)
- memory
- the reminder
- the honor
- the Quran
- the Torah
- the safe tablets
- the five prayers
- the one prayer
- tawhid
- the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam was named mudhakkir

Imam an-Nawawi (rahimahullah) said, “By analyzing the textual evidence, dhikr refers to what you say with your tongue and what you remember in your heart.” So technically, it is to remember Allah by thinking about him or mentioning his names and attributes.

Tomorrow’s post will be about the different types of dhikr, in sha Allah.

The Qur’an and You

Alhamdulillah, Allah azza wa jal once again blessed me to attend IlmSummit. There are many things that could be said about it, but if I were to only take one statement away from the two weeks I spent there, it would be a question Sheikh Waleed Basyouni asked. It was a remark he made off-handedly, but it has haunted me since then.

“How much Quran have you memorized in the last year?”

Truely, how much have we memorized? 5 ayahs? 50? 0? Now that I think about it, all of us could have memorized at least 730 ayahs (by memorizing 2 a day). That’s Al-Baqarah, Aali Imran, and then some!

Of course, memorizing isn’t the only thing. Even if we memorize little, we should always be reciting the Quran, reflecting upon it, and most importantly, acting upon it.

There are many virtues mentioned about the Quran:

The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “The Quran will come on the day of judgment, and it will say to his companion – the one who recited it, ‘O my lord, honor me.’ So this person will be placed a crown of honor on his head. Then it will say, ‘Increase this honor.’ So a garment of honor will be placed on him. Then it will say, ‘Be pleased with him.’ Then Allah will be pleased with this individual.”

In another hadith, the Prophet said, “It will be said to the companion of the Quran, ‘Recite, and move up while you recite. And continue to recite in a proper way.’ And then he will be told, ‘Recite the way you used to recite in the dunya because your status in jannah will be equivalent to the last verse (how much) you recite.’” So you will go up one level with every verse that you recite. Ponder over this. Do you know that the distance between one level of jannah and another is the distance between the earth and the stars? Notice that this is not only to the one that memorizes it. He said the companion of the Quran. The companion is the one you turn to in times of need. He is the one that is continually by your side. The Prophet didn’t say the hafidh because it is possible that a person memorized the Quran and yet it will be an evidence against him.

And finally, a beautiful hadith which summarizes much of this is the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam saying, “Whoever wishes that he love Allah and the Messenger, let him recite from this Quran.” This summarizes the status of the Quran. Whoever truly wants to be a believer, to follow Islam, then let him recite this Quran.

In conclusion, let us all strive to be companions of the Quran – even if not by memorizing two verses at minimum a day, then reading the Quran as frequently as possible (20 pages a day = finish the Quran in one month).

[The ahadith have been taken from this video by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi.]

Of the most noble deeds

يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا أَصَابَكَ ۖ إِنَّ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ

“O my son, establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, [all] that is of the matters [requiring] determination.” [31:17]

لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِي أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذًى كَثِيرًا ۚ وَإِن تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ

“You will surely be tested in your possessions and in yourselves. And you will surely hear from those who were given the Scripture before you and from those who associate others with Allāh much abuse. But if you are patient and fear Allāh – indeed, that is of the matters [worthy] of determination.” [3:186]

وَلَمَن صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ إِنَّ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ لَمِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ

“And whoever is patient and forgives – indeed, that is of the matters [requiring] determination.”[42:43]

The above three verses all mention patience, and Allah says that patience is from the most noble of deeds each time (min azmil umoor). In the first case, the father is advising his son and telling him to be patient over what is happening to him. In the second case, our entire nation is being told, you’re going to hear painful words, as well as going to be tested in lives and assets. Even then you should have patience and maintain taqwa. The third ayah is the most powerful because it has a laam in it (la min azmil umoor). Why is that?

First, we need to know that there are two kinds of patience: patience in a situation over which you have no control (your house got flooded, loss of health, loss of family, etc). Patience is a good option at that point. Look at the first two cases, whatever happens to you, have patience. You don’t have any control. And the second kind of patience is patience in a situation over which you do have control. Look at the third ayah:

Allah speaks about someone who has been wronged. You were insulted. You’re strong. You can take revenge. You have the option of insulting him right back. The fact that you wouldn’t do so isn’t because you can’t, but because you forgave. That indicates that you could have done otherwise. In the first two cases, you have the option of whining or having patience. In this case, you have the option of patience or taking revenge. So we see how Allah distinguishes this by just one letter.

[from Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan's class taught at IlmSummit 2009]