Remembrance of Allah

81 Pages·2003·2.9 MB·English

Remembrance of
Allah

Remembrance of Allah
An English rending of the Urdu book
Dhikr-e-Ilahi
A speech delivered during the Annual Convention of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on 28 December 1916
Hadrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad,
Khalifatul-Masih II (may Allah be pleased with him)
ISLAM
INTERNATIONAL
PUBLICATIONS LTD
Remembrance of Allah
(Originally published in Urdu as Dhikr-e-Ilahi)
A speech delivered by
Hadrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad
Khalifatul-Masih II ra
during the Annual Convention of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on 28 December 1916
© Islam International Publications Ltd.
First published in Urdu in Rabwah, Pakistan, 1982
First English translation published in the UK, 1993
Second English edition published in the UK, 2003 ISBN: (1 85372 509 9)
Present (third) edition published in the UK, 2021
Published by
Islam International Publications Ltd.
Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park,
Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 9PS, UK
Printed in UK at
Raqeem Press, Farnham, Surrey
For further information, please visit www.alislam.org.
Cover design: Usman Nasir Choudhary
ISBN: 978-1-84880-577-4
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
About the Author ..............................................................ix
Foreword ...........................................................................xi
Remembrance of Allah
Introductory Remarks ..................................................1
Importance of the Subject ............................................7
What is Dhikr-e-Ilahi ......................................................7
Need of Greater Attention to Dhikr
in Our Community ..................................................12
Misunderstandings about Dhikr ................................19
Misguided Forms of Dhikr .............................................19
Dhikr Versus Mesmerism ................................................22
Pleasure from Dhikr .........................................................23
Difference between Dhikr and Mere Influence of
Thoughts ......................................................................24
Reciting Dhikr Aloud ......................................................25
Poetry as Dhikr? ...............................................................27
Characteristics of True Dhikr ....................................29
Five States of a Person Engaged in Dhikr-e-Ilahi .......29
True Dhikr Rules out Dancing and Shouting ............31
Unconsciousness is Not a True Result of Dhikr ........32
vi Remembrance of Allah
Prohibitions Regarding Dhikr .......................................35
Four Kinds of Dhikr Enjoined by the Holy Quran...35
Methods of Performing Dhikr ...................................41
Obligatory and Voluntary Dhikr ..................................41
Other Forms of Remembrance of Allah ......................43
Precautions & Proper Times for Dhikr ......................49
Necessary Precautions for Dhikr ...................................49
Proper Times for Dhikr ..................................................53
Prayer—The Most
Important Form of Dhikr ...........................................59
Salat as Dhikr ....................................................................59
The Philosophy of Sunnah .............................................59
The Philosophy of Nawafil .............................................60
Thirteen Methods of Waking up for Tahajjud ............63
Twenty-two Methods of Concentration in Prayers ....75
Dhikr in Gatherings .................................................103
Benefits of Dhikr .....................................................107
Endnotes ........................................................................117
Publisher’s Note .............................................................131
Acknowledgements .........................................................134
Glossary ..........................................................................135
Index ..............................................................................141

Hadrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad
Khalifatul-Masih II ra
About the Author
Hadrat al-Haj Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad ra
(1889–1965), was the second Khalifah of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community. He was the son of the Promised Messiah and his birth
was the fulfilment of the Musleh Mau‘ud (Promised Reformer)
prophecy. This prophecy was published by the Promised Messiah as
as a Sign of the truth of Islam in reply to a challenge put forth by
the Arya Samaj.
From his early youth, he was gifted with knowledge—both,
secular and spiritual—and a deep love for the Holy Quran. He
was nineteen years old when the Promised Messiah as passed away
on 26 May 1908, in Lahore. The next day, on 27 May 1908, he
pledged allegiance to Hadrat Maulana Hakeem Noor-ud-Deen,
Khalifatul-Masih I, the first Khalifah of the Promised Messiah as.
He visited Egypt and Arabia in September 1912 during the
course of which he performed the Hajj pilgrimage. In June 1913,
he started a newspaper, titled Al-Fazl.
In 1914, at the age of 25, he was elected as Khalifatul-Masih II.
During his almost fifty-two years of Khilafat, he led the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community on an international level, expanding the
Movement to forty-six countries, and building dozens of hospitals,
x Remembrance of Allah
mosques, and schools. He consolidated and formalized the system
of financial contributions of the Community, and initiated the
annual campaigns of Tahrik-e-Jadid in 1934 and Waqf-e-Jadid in
1957, considerably expanding Ahmadi missionary activity globally.
He was an active political figure especially in India prior to its
independence. He was also one of the founding members and the
first president of the All-India Kashmir Committee set up for the
establishment of the civil rights of Kashmiri Muslims.
Hadrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad ra was an
avid scholar and a prolific author, who spoke and wrote exten-
sively in defence of Islam. A twenty-six volume compilation of
his works called Anwarul-‘Ulum contains over 800 writings
and lectures (excluding several thousand sermons). His Tafsir-e-
Kabir—ten-volume commentary of the Holy Quran—is revered
as a treasure trove to this very day. Likewise, he was an orator of
unmatched eloquence, captivating his audiences for hours on end.
Hadrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad ra gave the
Jama‘at its current organizational and administrative structure, for-
mally establishing the Majlis ash-Shura (Consultative Council).
He established the auxiliary organisations for men, women, and
children. His many momentous achievements include the estab-
lishment of the Electoral College for the election of Khalifatul-
Masih, and the establishment of the Community’s headquarters
in Rabwah, Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947.
He passed away on 8 November 1965 in Rabwah, Pakistan,
and was succeeded by Hadrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad as Khalifatul-
Masih III rta.