One of the commandments of the Quran is given in these words: “Believers, remember God with much remembrance.” (33:41) According to this Quranic verse believers must remember God very much, every day and every moment. This is the greatest teaching of the Quran, and it is the highest form of worship. One who does this will be blessed with the greatest reward from God Almighty.
What is meant by ‘much remembrance’ of God? Remembrance does not refer to the repetition of some words, but it is in the sense of thinking. Much remembrance, or zikr-e-kathir, is not a kind of lip service. It is rather a high kind of intellectual activity and a sign of God realization. Remembering God much, is a result of a chain reaction in the thinking process; that is, a series of thoughts in which each thought causes the next one. Zikr-e-kathir, or much remembrance, is a result of creative thinking.
It is a product of a prepared mind. If you possess a prepared mind, then your mind is bound to get activated at every experience or observation. You will start discovering one aspect of God-realization after another. In this way a chain reaction will be initiated in your mind.
It is this intellectual activity that is called zikr-e-kathir in the Quran. For example, if it is raining, a believer will very soon present his shukr, that is, acknowledgment to God. Then he will start thinking further: what caused this downpour? He will discover the natural processes that resulted in rain. He will then think that when the water was in the ocean, it was salty, but when it took the form of downpour, it turned into fresh water.
So step by step, he will discover how God created various processes which finally provided him water to drink. This is an example of chain reaction in thinking, and through this chain reaction, one by one, you start discovering aspects for realization of God. If you are a prepared mind, then this process will continue without limit.
This chain reaction of zikr will enhance your maarifah, that is, realization. It will improve your relationship with God, increasing your wisdom and power of analysis.
According to the Quran, believers are given a unique blessing, that is, they are able to add faith to their faith (THE QURAN 48: 4). This is not a mysterious phenomenon; it is a direct result of the above kind of chain reaction. This chain reaction of zikr is very important for personality development. A believer increases his divine spirituality through this process.
Source: Spirit of Islam, December 2014
