The Quran exhorts believers to remember God often (THE QURAN 33: 41). Some people understand the command dhikr to mean the frequent repetition of the name(s) of God; to keep repeating even just the word ‘God’ or ‘Allah’ thousands of times while counting them on a tasbih or rosary beads. In reality however, this has no connection with the actual Quranic command. In the Quran, dhikr, does not mean merely the repetition of words. It means to think about God often. Another verse of the Quran says:

So remember Me; I will remember you. (THE QURAN 2: 152)

In this verse, God promises to remember us if we remember Him.

Remembrance does not mean the repetition of words. God is certainly not going to repeat our names over and over.

Remembrance of God is not a repetition of words, but a spontaneous discovery of the glory of God. Similarly, there is a Hadith of the Prophet that tells us to remember death often. Again, in this Hadith, remembrance does not mean a repetition of the word death. Obviously, in this Hadith, remembering death means to think about death.

Abu Musa, a companion of the Prophet had a beautiful voice. Whenever he recited the Quran, people would become engrossed listening to the recitation. Once, when the Prophet heard Abu Musa reciting the Quran, he said, 'Abu Musa has been given the enthralling voice of the family of Da’ud (David).' It is said that whenever Omar met Abu Musa, he would say, “O Abu Musa, make us remember our Lord."

In this saying of Omar also, remembrance does not mean the repetition of words. Omar did not wish to be seated beside Abu Musa listening to him saying the word God over and over. Here also the meaning of the word remembrance was to ‘think about’. What Omar wished was for Abu Musa to recite some verses of the Quran that would make him think about God.

In the Arabic lexicon, dhikr means, to remember, to think about. This is the meaning that we must use in Islamic teachings. Dhikrullah, then, means simply to remember God. It is not a formalised act of worship, but a spontaneous one that will come as naturally to us if we come to know God, as singing does to a bird. It means to remember and to think of God. We should develop such an intense relationship with God that we feel His presence in our very souls.

A spiritual upheaval of the utmost intensity will occur in us if we discover God in all His power and glory. God will be forever in our hearts and thoughts. We will think about God every moment. Our constant remembrance of God expresses itself in many ways. Sometimes it is an inward experience—a tingle of joy, a shiver of fear that creeps down our bodies as thoughts of God fill our minds. Sometimes we enter into a spontaneous outpouring of thanksgiving and adoration. It is this state of mind that constitutes remembrance of God, whether it is expressed in the form of words of praise or in silent thoughts.

A spontaneous outpouring of thanksgiving and adoration; such a state of mind constitutes the remembrance of God.

Sometimes we look at space in all its vastness, and ponder on the stars and the constellations spread out across the sky. How great must be God, who arranged this marvellous display, and runs it with such superb finesse? Such is our reaction to the sight spread out before us. Sometimes, we gaze at rivers, trees and mountains, and our hearts are touched by their beauty, by the meaning of their existence. If we have discovered God, everything around us reminds us of Him, sparking off a never-ending line of remembrance in our minds and hearts.

Then we look critically at ourselves and realize our own errors and shortcomings. Moved to seek the Lord’s forgiveness, we pray to Him for salvation from eternal punishment — “Lord, admit me into the shade of Your mercy on that Day when there will be no other place to take refuge.” And in our helplessness and powerlessness, we see the power and majesty of God. We cry out, “Lord, assuage my fears with Your Almighty power!”

When these feelings of the Lord’s presence enter our hearts, and when we put these feelings into words, that is when we are remembering God; that is when we engage in Dhikr. Dhikr is to remember God, the greatest of all realities. Remembrance of such a being is bound to be the greatest of all human experiences; there are no words that fully express the profundity of such a feeling.