Dhikr, intention and awareness

William Chittick

Given the centrality of God’s remembrance in the Qur'an and Hadith, there can be no question that dhikr was basic to Islamic practice throughout the early centuries. As the jurists gradually codified the Sharia, however, they could not impose dhikr on the community. Even though the Qur'an repeatedly commands people to remember God, by nature dhikr is connected much more to intention and awareness than to the outward activity that is ruled by the Sharia.
The root of being a Muslim is 'laa ilaha illallah - No god but God,’ words that are identical with remembrance. Hence, the spirit of the daily prayer and the other ritual practices, such as fasting and pilgrimage, is ''the renewal of God’s remembrance in the heart.''
Turning to God – remembrance – awakens awareness of God in the heart and actualizes the divine image latent in the soul. Ultimate felicity is nothing but the remembrance of the wellspring of our own true nature, and that is God Himself; or, it is the realization of genuine human character traits, which are the traces of God’s names.
“Every breath taken in replenishes life, and once let go it gives joy to the soul. So each breath counts as two blessings, and each blessing requires thanksgiving.” It is the silent
and persevering remembrance of God in gratitude for each breath or each heartbeat, always within the context of the Sunnah, that takes the seeker to the ultimate goal.

Daily useful Masae'l for fasting

1730. If a fasting person travels after Zuhr, he should, as a precaution, complete his fast. If he travels before Zuhr and had an intention from the previous night to do so, he cannot fast on that day. As a precaution, he cannot fast on that day even if he had no intention to travel from the previous night. In both the cases, he cannot break the fast till he has reached the limit of Tarakkhus. If he does, he will be liable to give Kaffarah.

1733. It is Makrooh for a traveller and for a person who cannot fast owing to some excuse, to have sexual intercourse or to eat or drink to his fill, during the day time in Ramadhan.

1742. If the moon is high up in the sky, or sets late, it is not an indication that the previous night was the first night of the month. Similarly, if there is a halo round it, it is not a proof that the new moon appeared in the previous night.

1737. Fasting is not obligatory on a woman in advanced stage of pregnancy, for whom fasting is harmful or for the child she carries. For every day, however, she should give one mudd of food to poor. In both the cases, she has to give qadha for the fasts which are left out.

Great descriptions of some Great virtues

“Gabriel came to the Holy Prophet (s) and said: 
O Messenger of Allah! God has sent you a gift which He has not given to anyone before. 
The Holy Prophet said: What is that gift? 
Gabriel said: It is patience.
“But there is a virtue better than patience.  The Holy Prophet said: What is it? 
Gabriel said: It is contentment.

“There is still a virtue better than contentment. 
The Holy Prophet said: what is it? 
Gabriel said: It is pleasure of God.

“But there is a virtue better than that.  The Holy Prophet said: What is it? 
Gabriel said: It is piety.

“Yet there is a virtue better than that. 
The Holy Prophet said: What is it? 
Gabriel said: It is devotion.

“But there is a virtue better than that. 
The Holy Prophet said: What is it? 
Gabriel said: Sure knowledge.

“Yet there is a virtue better than that. 
The Holy Prophet said: What is it? 
Gabriel said: The way to attain all of them is to put trust in God.

“I said, O Gabriel! What is the meaning of putting trust in God?Gabriel said: Knowing that His creatures neither harm nor benefit anyone.
They neither give nor withhold anything. 
One must stop having hope in creatures.
When a man reaches this position, he will not do anything save for Him, his heart does not go astray, he fears no one save Him and he does not set his hope on anyone but Him. 
This is the meaning of putting trust in God.

“The Holy Prophet said: O Gabriel! What is the meaning of patience? 
Gabriel said: Man must have forbearance and patience in afflictions as in joys. 
He should never complain of His Creator to the people.

I said: What is the meaning of contentment? 
Gabriel said: To be content with whatever in this world and to thank God for the small things he has.”

“The Holy Prophet said: What is the meaning of God’s pleasure? 
Gabriel said: To be pleased with God but not to be pleased with one’s own deeds.

“The Holy Prophet said: O Gabriel!  What is the meaning of piety?
Gabriel said: A pious man loves whatever His creator loves and hates whatever He hates. 
He is careful about what is lawful and leaves of what is unlawful, for what is lawful is counted and what is unlawful will entail punishment. 
He has mercy on every muslim as he has on himself. 
He shuns useless words as he shuns what is unlawful. 
He abstains from overeating as he keeps away from a corpse with bad smell. 
He keeps away from the embellishments of world as he keeps away from Fire. 
His desires are not far-fetched and death is present before his eyes.”

“The Holy Prophet said: O Gabriel! What is the meaning of Devotion? 
Gabriel said: A devoted person is one who does not ask for anything from people until he obtains it and whenever he obtained it, he is pleased with it. 
Also if he has something extra, he will give it away for the ansake of God. 
The fact that he does not ask for something from others is admittance of his being a servant of God. 
He is pleased with God and God is pleased with him. 
He gives away when he needs it more than others.”

“The Holy Prophet (SAW) said: What is sure knowledge? 
Gabriel said:  A man of sure knowledge acts in a way as if he sees God. 
Even if he does not reach the degree of seeing God, he knows that God sees him and is sure that what he has and what he has not is what God wills. 
These were some of signs of putting trust in God and having piety.”

Oddatatol Daee
(The Asset of Supplicant)

Daily useful Masae'l for fasting

1666. Certain things are Makrooh for a person observing fast, some of them are mentioned below:
1. Using eyedrops and applying Surma if its taste or smell reaches the throat.
2. Performing an act, which causes weakness, like blood-letting (extracting the blood from the body) or going for hot bath.
3. Inhaling a snuff if one is not aware that it might reach the throat; and if one is aware that it will reach the throat its use is not permissible.
4. Smelling fragrant herbs.
5. For women, to sit in the water.
6. Using suppository, that is, letting into rectum a stimulant for bowels.
7. Wetting the dress which one is wearing.
8. Getting a tooth extracted or doing something as a result of which there is bleeding in the mouth.
9. Cleaning the teeth with a wet toothbrush.
10. Putting water or any other liquid in the mouth without a good cause.
It is also Makrooh for a fasting person to court or woo his wife without the intention of ejaculation; or to do something which excites him sexually. And if he does it with the intention of ejaculation, and no ejaculation takes place, his fast, as an obligatory precaution, will be deemed void.

1699. It is Makrooh to do excessive mouth washing for a fasting person, and after the mouthwash if he wishes to swallow saliva, it is better that he spits it out three times before doing so.

1702. If a person doubts whether or not Maghrib has set in, he cannot break his fast. But if he doubts whether or not it is Fajr he can commit, even before investigation, an act which invalidates a fast.

1724. There is no harm in travelling during the month of Ramadhan, but it is Makrooh to travel during the month to evade fasting. And similarly, it is Makrooh to travel before the 24th of Ramadhan unless travelling is undertaken for the purpose of Hajj or Umrah or for some important work.

letter of the body...

The body is like a letter:
look into it and see whether it's worthy to be read by the King.
Go into a corner, open the letter, and read what is in it,
see whether its words are suitable for royalty.
If it isn't suitable, tear it to pieces,
write another letter, and remedy the fault.
But don't think it's easy to open the letter of the body;
otherwise everyone would readily discover the secret of the heart.
How difficult it is to open that letter!
It's only for the strong, not for those playing games.
Rumi

Six Practical Remedies from Marhum Ayatullah Behjat

Khosroe-Shahi narrates “Ayatullah Behjat used to stress avoiding moral sins and say, ‘Prolonging the prostration is one of the acts of adoration which break the back of Satan. If one prolongs his prostration, he has to stand before a mirror and notice the place of prostration marked on his forehead, whether the prostration left a mark on his forehead or not. If there is a mark, he must rub it till he wipes it out so that he may not be characterized by pretension.’”

Ayatollah Bahjat also described the role of knowing the Truthful One as a very important and essential role in removing moral sins. He says, “All moral sins originate from weakness in knowing Allah, Praise and Exaltation are His. If one realizes that Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, is always and in any condition more beautiful than everything beautiful, he will never then abandon feeling comfortable with Him.”

The Shaykh was asked, “What should we do so we may distance ourselves from pretension?” He said, “You must greatly stick to believing in a perfect creed.”

When asked about a treatment for anger. The Shaykh responds, “You must perform abundant prayers with full conviction.”

The sheikh was once asked, “What is the cure for conceit?” He wrote the following in answer: “In His Name, the most Exalted One. Sticking greatly to perfect conviction is the treatment for conceit.”

Someone asked him about a treatment for unholy insinuations. He wrote this in answer: “Abundant testimony about the Unity of Allah is the cure for such insinuations.”

Daily useful Masae'l for fasting

1577. If one doubts whether it is the last day of Sha'ban or the first day of Ramadhan then the fast on that day is not obligatory. If however, somebody wants to observe fast on that day he cannot do so with the intention of observing the Ramadhan fast, but if he makes an intention that if it is Ramadhan then it is the Ramadhan fast and if it is not Ramadhan then it is qadha fast or some other fast like that, his fast will be valid. 
But it is better to observe the fast with the intention of qadha fast or some other fast, and if it is known later that it was Ramadhan then it will automatically be Ramadhan fast. And even if he makes a niyyat of a natural fast, and later it becomes known that it is Ramadhan, it will be sufficient (i.e. that fast will be counted as the Ramadhan fast).

1586. If a person observing fast intentionally swallows something which remained in between his teeth, his fast is invalidated.

1589. There is no harm in swallowing one's phlegm or mucous from head and chest as long as it does not come upto one's mouth. However, if it reaches one's mouth, the obligatory precaution is that one should not swallow it.

1606. If a person observing fast wishes to quote something about which he has no authority or he does not know whether it is true or false, he should, as an obligatory precaution, give a reference of the person who reported it, or of the book in which it is written.

1615. As an obligatory precaution, a person who is observing fasts, should not allow the smoke of cigarettes, tobacco, and other similar things to reach his throat.

1622. If a fasting person falls into the water involuntarily, and his entire head goes into the water, or if he forgets that he is fasting and immerses his head in the water, his fast is not affected.

1641. If a person observing fast becomes Mohtalim during day time, it is not obligatory on him to do Ghusl at once.

1660. If a fasting person is certain that if he belches, something will come out from the throat, he should not, as a precaution, belch intentionally, but there is no harm in his belching if he is not certain about it.

1661. If a fasting person belches and something comes from his throat or into the mouth, he should throw it out, and if it is swallowed unintentionally, his fast is in order.

‘Your Lord has no donkey?’

[Reason and Reward]
Usul al-Kafi, book of reason and ignorance, pg 28

‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdillah al-Ibrah narrates from ibn Is'haq al-Ahmar from Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Daylami from his father, who said :
I told Abu ‘Abdillah [a], ‘Such and such a person is praiseworthy for his devotion and religious practice.’
The Imam inquired, ‘How is his reason?’
I replied, ‘I know nothing about his reason.’
Upon this, the Imam explained,
‘The Divine reward is in relation to one's reason.
There was a person from Bani Israil who used to worship God devotedly in an island full of lush green and clear water. An angel happened to watch that person, and asked God, ‘Kindly show me the rewards meant for that person.’
When the angel was shown the rewards by God, they appeared to be very little to him. Upon this God suggested to him to go and stay with that person (for some time).
The angel appeared before that man in human guise. The man asked the angel, ‘Who are you?’ The angel replied, ‘I am also one of the devotees of God and I have heard about this place and your worship in it. Therefore, I have come to you so that I can also pray to Almighty God with you.’
So the angel stayed with him for a day. When it was morning, the angel remarked, ‘This is a pleasant place; no place could be better than this for worshipping God.’
Then the devotee-replied, ‘There is only one defect in this place.’
The angel asked what it was and the man replied, ‘My Lord has no animal. If He had a donkey, we could pasture it in this place, for the grass is going waste.’
The angel remarked, ‘Your Lord has no donkey?’
The man further said, ‘If He (Allah) had a donkey such a quality of grass would not be wasted.’
Then Almighty God revealed to the angel, ‘My rewards are in relation to a person's reason.’"

The great 'Aarif with his family

Blessed am I that I have such a wife
Siddiqa Mustafavi (Imam Khomeini’s daughter) narrates:
Imam was very attached to his wife and had special respect for her, so much so that he placed his wife on one side, and his children on the other.
I remember that once Imam’s wife had gone on a journey, and Imam was missing her very much. 
When he would frown, we would jokingly say to him:  ‘When Khanom is here, Imam laughs, and when she is not here, Imam is upset and frowns.’
In short, however much we teased Imam, he would not stop frowning. 
Finally I said: ‘Blessed is Khanom that you like her so much.’ 
He said: ‘Blessed am I that I have such a wife.  No one else has sacrificed as much in life as she has.  If you too would be like Khanom, your husband would also like you this much.’

period of 60 years...did not even reach for food (on the dinner table) before his wife
Imam had extraordinary respect for his wife. 
For example, I am not lying if I say that in the period of 60 years of living together, he did not even reach for food (on the dinner table) before his wife, nor did he have even the smallest expectation from her. 
I can even say that in the period of 60 years of living together, at no time did he even ask for a glass of water, but would always get it himself. 
If he was in such a position that he could not, he would say:  ‘Is the water not here?’  He would never say: ‘Get up and bring me water.’ 
He behaved this way not only with his wife but also with all of us who were his daughters. If he ever wanted water we would all enthusiastically run to get it, but he never wanted us to bring and give him a glass of water in his hand.
During the difficult last days of his life, each time he would open his eyes, if he was capable of speaking, he would ask:
‘How is Khanom?’  We would reply: ‘She is good.
Shall we tell her to come to you?’  He would answer: ‘No, her back is hurting.  Let her rest.’

Paa be Paye Aaftaab, Vol 1, Pg. 92
Translate by Abbas & Shaheen Merali

It does not matter what people think...(Imam Reza [a])

Do you really think like this? I was not expecting that from you…
These are sentences that we may have heard them in our social conversations. Perhaps we have been in a situation in which, we had every reason and argument to be sure of a decision we had made earlier. But when presented for others, we had to face their opposition and pressured about that decision. How should be our reaction in such situation? What is a good response? When others say something that bothers us dramatically, how can we reach the state of calmness?

One day a group of people gathered at the house of Imam Reza (PBUH). Yunus Ibn Abd al-Rahman who happened to be a very trusted companion of the Imam was among them. While everyone was busy talking, another group of people from Basra asked for permission to enter the house.
Imam told Yunus, “Enter that room; show no reaction at all and stay there until I asked you to come out.” Then Imam Reza (PBUH) granted permission for the new group to enter. Once entered the room, they started to talk behind the back of Yunus. Meanwhile Imam Reza (PBUH) was looking at the ground; he didn’t say anything and showed no reaction until they said farewell and left the house. Then Imam asked Yunus to come out of the room.
Yunus entered while his face was full of sorrow and his eyes were in tears. He said, “My master! I have only defended my beliefs and religion while my own friends are thinking about me like that.”

Imam Reza (PBUH) passionately said, “O Yunus! Do not be sad; it does not matter what people think. Such things said by other people do not matter at all. When your Imam is satisfied with you, there is nothing to worry or be sad about.”
The Imam added then, ''O Yunus! Always try to talk to people to the extent of their capacity of hearing. Do not talk about divine topics if it might be beyond their understanding. O Yunus! When you have a gem in your hand and people say that you have a dirty rock in your hand, how does it affect the gem in your hand? And if they say you have gem in your hand while you are holding a rock, how does this help you? How can their words affect your belief? How does it benefit or harm you in anyways?''
Yunus was calmed down by Imam’s words and said, “No, their words do not matter to me anymore.”
Then Imam Reza (PBUH) told him, “So if you understand the truth and you can see the right path and your Imam is satisfied from you, then the thoughts and words of the people should not affect your beliefs and way of thinking; people can say whatever they wish.”
(Selection from “Rijal Kashshi”, p.487, No. 924)