Therefore
remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be
ungrateful to Me.
(152).
COMMENTARY
Allah
first mentioned His favor on the Muslims that He sent to them a Prophet
from among them a favor that cannot be measured in any way. Then he
pointed to another great favor in that He guided them to the straight path
and led them to the highest perfection. Then game the third favor of
giving them a qiblah of their own through that rule, their religion
began its journey to perfection, their worship was unified and their
religious and social virtues were enhanced. Reminding them of these
threefold favors, He calls them to remember Him and to be thankful to Him.
They should remember Him with their devotion and obedience, so that He
remembers them with His favor He will increase for them His bounty and
grace, if they are thankful to Him, and if they are not ungrateful for His
favors. He had already said to them: and remember your Lord when you
forget and say: 'May be my Lord will guide me to a nearer course to the
right than this" (18:24); If you are grateful, I would certainly
give you more; and if you are ungrateful, My chastisement is truly
severe (14:7). These two verses were revealed before the verse of the
qiblah in this chapter.
"adh Dhikr" (remembrance) is
sometimes used as opposite of "al ghaflah" (inattention and
heedlessness). Allah says: and do not follow him whose heart We have
made inattentive to Our remembrance (18:28). Inattention is "not
knowing that one knows although the original knowledge is present in
memory". "Remembrance", as its opposite, means "knowing that one knows "
The word "remembrance" at other times is used as opposite to
"an nisyan" (forgetfulness). Forgetfulness is "cessation of
knowledge from mind"; and as its opposite, remembrance means "presence of
knowledge in mind". It is to this meaning that the words of Allah refer in
the verse: and remember your Lord when you forget... (18:24). This
remembrance, like its opposite "forgetfulness", is a concept which has its
own special effects and exclusive characteristics. Sometimes when those
effects and characteristics are found, we say that one remembers, although
there is no actual remembrance; or that one has forgotten, although there
is no actual forgetfulness. For example, if you do not come to the aid of
your friend when you know that he needs your help then people say that:
"You have forgotten him", although in fact you remember him very
well.
The word "remembrance" is also used in the same way.
Apparently, the use of this word for "verbal remembrance" (e.g., reciting
or repeating the names of Allah comes in this category, because you cannot
express something in words unless you remember it in mind. Allah says:
Say; "I will recite to you an account (a remembrance) of
him" (18:83). There are many other examples like it. But if verbal
remembrance is counted as a real meaning of the word 'remembrance' then it
will be one of its (lower) degrees.
However, remembrance is of many
degrees. Allah says: now surely by Allah's remembrance are the hearts set
at rest (13: 28); And remember your Lord within yourself humbly and
fearing and in a voice not loud in the morning and the evening, and be not
of the heedless ones (7:205); then remember Allah as you remember your
fathers, rather a more intense remembrance (2:200). Now, it is the thought
or feeling which becomes intense, not the words. Also, we have quoted the
above verse.: and remember your Lord when you forget and say: "May be my
Lord will guide me to a nearer course to the right than this" ( 18: 24).
The last sentence, beginning with Say: "May be. . . ", tells the servant
to hope for a rank higher than his present one. Its connotation will be as
follows: If you slip down to a lower rank, that is, if you forget what you
knew before, then remember your Lord and then you may hope for a higher
rank that is nearer to the right course than the present one. It shows
that the remembrance of the heart, per se, is of many degrees. It also
proves the validity of the saying, "Remembrance is the presence of an idea
in the mind"; because even "presence" has various degrees and
ranks.
Remember Me: In this sentence, the object "Me" refers to
Allah. As we explained above, remembrance is the knowledge of knowledge;
and knowledge is defined as "attainment of the form and idea of a thing in
the mind of the Knower". Knowledge confines the thing so known and
encompasses it within the knower's mind. Obviously, Allah cannot be known,
or remembered (i.e., known to be known) in any way like this. He is beyond
the description of describers. He Himself says: Hollowed be Allah from
what they describe, except the servants of Allah freed (from sins)
(37:159 160); they do not comprehend Him in knowledge (20:110). (We shall
write later on, Allah willing, somethings related to these two verses.) In
view of this established fact, if we were to say that the words, "Remember
Me", have been used here in their real, and not metaphorical sense, then
we will have to say that man has, or can have, a knowledge whose
definition would be quite different from the one known to
us.
TRADITIONS
Numerous traditions, on the virtue of
remembrance of Allah, have been narrated by the Shi'ah and Sunni
narrators. For example, it has been narrated through various chains of
narrators that: "Remembrance of Allah is good in all
conditions."
It has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.a.) came up to his companions, and said: "Feast you in the meadows
of the Garden." They said: "O Messenger of Allah! And what are the meadows
of the Garden?" He said: "The gatherings of remembrance; go there in the
mornings and in the evenings and remember (Allah). And whoever likes to
know (what is) his position near Allah, he should see what is the position
of Allah near him (i.e., in his heart); because surely Allah gives a
servant the same position which the servant gives to Allah vis-à-vis, his
own self. And know that your best deeds (near your King) and the purest
and the highest of them in ranks, and the best of all that the sun shines
on, is the remembrance of (Allah). the High, because Allah the High, has
said concerning His Own Self: 'I am the companion of him who remembers
Me'; and He, the High One, has said: 'Therefore remember Me; I will
remember you with My bounty; you remember Me with obedience and
worship, I will remember you with bounties, and beneficence, and comfort,
and (My) pleasure.' " ('Uddatu 'd da'i)
as Sadiq (a.s.)
said: "Surely Allah, the Blessed, the High, says: 'Whoever is too
preoccupied with My remembrance to be able to ask Me (for his needs), I
give him the best of what I give to him who asks Me."'(al Mahasin; ad
Da'awat, ar Rawandi)
al Husayn al Bazzaz said: "Abu 'Abdillah
(a.s.) told me: 'Should I not tell you the most difficult (thing) which
Allah has made obligatory for His creatures?' I said: 'Yes, certainly.' He
said: 'To do justice to the people (even) against yourself, and your
beneficence to your brother, and remembrance of Allah in every place. Why,
(by remembrance) I do not mean (recitation of): "Glory be to Allah and
praise be to Allah and there is no god except Allah and Allah is Great"
although this is from that (i.e., it is one aspect of remembrance); but
remembrance of Allah in every place (means that you should remember Him)
when you rush to His obedience or to His disobedience." (Ma'ani 'l
akhbar)
The author says: This theme has been narrated
through numerous chains from the Prophet and his Ahlu 'l bayt
(peace be on them all); and there is, in some of them, the following
addition: "And it is the words of Allah: Surely those who fear
(Allah), when a visitation from the Satan afflicts them they become
mindful (they remember), then lo! they see. "
(7:201)
The Prophet said: "Allah says: 'When I know that the
predominant trait of My servant is to be engrossed in Me, I transfer his
desire to My invocation and My secret conversation. When My servant
becomes like this (i.e., when he attains this position), then if he wants
to (i.e., if he is about to) forget, I come between him and his
forgetfulness (i.e., I protect him from it). They are truly My friends;
they are truly the heroes; it is they that when I want to destroy the
people of the earth in chastisement, I remove it (the chastisement) from
them because of those heroes.' (Uddatu 'd da'i)
as Sadiq
(a.s.) said: "Allah, the High, has said: '0 son of Adam! Remember Me in
your mind, I will remember you in My Self; 0 Son of Adam! Remember Me in
seclusion, I will remember you in seclusion; remember Me in a gathering, I
will remember you in a gathering better than your gathering.' " And he
said: "No servant remembers "Allah in an assembly of the people but "Allah
remembers him in the assembly of the angels". (al Mahasin)
The
author says: Both groups, that is, the Shi'ah and the Sunnis, have
narrated this theme with numerous asnad.
as Suyuti writes in
ad Durru 'l manthur: "at Tabarani, Ibn Marduwayh and al Bayhaqi (in
his Shu'abu 'l iman) have narrated from Ibn Mas'ud that he said:
'The Messenger of "Allah said: "Whoever is given four (things) is (also)
given (other) four (things). And its explanation is (found) in the Book of
Allah. Whoever is given remembrance, "Allah remembers him, because "Allah
says, 'Remember Me, I will remember you'; and whoever is given
ad-du'a (invocation) is given response (i.e., its acceptance),
because "Allah says; 'Call on Me, I will answer you'; and whoever
is given thankfulness, is given increase, because "Allah says, 'If you are
grateful, I will certainly give you more'; and whoever is given to ask
forgiveness, is given pardon, because "Allah says, 'Ask forgiveness of
your Lord, surely He is the most Forgiving.' '' ' ''
It is written in the same
book: "Sa'id ibn Mansfir, Ibnu 'I Mundhir and al-Bayhaqi (in his
Shu'abu 'l iman) narrate from Khalid ibn Abi 'Imran that he said
that the Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever obeys Allah he indeed has
remembered Allah even if his prayer and his fast and his recitation of the
Qur'an are small in quantity. And whoever disobeys Allah, he indeed has
forgotten Allah even if his prayer and his fast and his recitation of the
Qur'an are abundant.' "
The author says: This tradition
indicates that man commits sin only when he forgets Allah and becomes
inattentive to Him. Had he remembered what was the reality behind his sin
and what effect it would produce, he would not have gone near it. If some
one disobeys Allah and does not care even if he is reminded of Him and
gives no importance to his Lord and Creator, then he is a transgressor
(who) does not know the dignity and the sublime majesty of his Lord, nor
does he understand how Allah encompasses every thing. This theme is also
found in another tradition, which has been narrated in ad Durru 'l
manthur from Abu Hind ad Dari who said that the Prophet said: Allah
says: 'Remember Me by obeying Me, I will remember you with My forgiveness.
And whoever remembers Me and he is obedient then it is My duty to remember
him with My forgiveness. And whoever remembers Me and he is disobedient
then it is a right on Me to remember him with hate . . . ' " The last
sentence of this hadith has used the word, remembrance (at the time
of disobedience), in its opposite meaning; the verse under discussion and
other traditions used the word 'forgetfulness' to convey that same
idea.
We shall give some more details of this subject in some other
place.
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