Brothers and Sisters! How can we remember Allah throughout the day without withdrawing from the routine of our daily worldly life? How can we make sure that our personal life, family life, professional life and all other activities continue in full swing, and at the same time, our life as a whole—every moment of it is filled with the remembrance of Allah? This is something that appears to be very difficult, but Alhamdulillah, it is something that can be accomplished, if we actually want to do so. It can be done by striving to develop some of our states of consciousness by remembering certain things, absorbing them and reminding ourselves about them.
Firstly, each one of us should say to oneself: I am in Allah’s presence; He is watching me. If ever I am alone, He is the second and if I am with someone else, He is the third. This means that He is with me wherever I am.
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
“And He is with you wherever you are; He sees all that you do” (al-Hadid, 57:4).
While on one hand, Allah is transcendent—beyond time, beyond space, and beyond direct apprehension, yet on the other He is closer to us than we can even imagine. Allah says,
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“We created man and we know what his soul whispers to him. We are nearer to him than his jugular vein” (Qaf, 50:16).
He is watching everything we do and hearing everything we say. His knowledge is all encompassing. We should remind ourselves of this reality as often as we can throughout the day, and also every time we begin a new task, and every time we speak. Indeed, our aim should be to imprint this on our hearts in such a way that this consciousness becomes our very breath. When the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was asked by a companion about the best method of purifying himself, he replied: “You should always remember that Allah is with you wherever you are.”
Secondly, we should say to ourselves: Everything we have or possess, has been given to us by Allah.
وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ
“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah” (al-Nahl, 16:53).
In all the adhkar; the supplications and the invocations that the Prophet (SAW) has taught us, there is a constant theme of hamd; which means praise and thanks of Allah; gratefulness and gratitude to Allah. Many of these adhkar are simple to learn. We should learn as many of the adhkar as we can. Throughout the day, as we witness all that Allah has blessed us with, we should punctuate our day with these adhkar. If we feel that there is nothing else to thank Allah for, then we should thank him for the life that He has given us, for so long as there is life, there is hope.
If we ever appear to be short of things to be thankful for, we should recall the hadith of the Prophet (SAW) which says, “There are three hundred and sixty joints in the body and for each joint you must give a charity each day.” The joints in the human body enable it to work and make all kinds of movements. If man’s body did not have these joints, it would have been impossible for him to sit, stand, lie, move, and make use of the different organs of his body. Thus every joint is a blessing for which one must express gratitude to Allah. He also said, “Every good deed is charity; even a smile in the face of others is charity.”
Charity can be practiced by everyone no matter how poor he or she is. There is charity in glorifying Allah by saying Subhan Allah. There is charity in praising and thanking Allah by saying Alhamdulillah. There is charity in exalting and magnifying Allah by saying Allahu Akbar, and there is charity in declaring Allah’s oneness by saying La ilaha illallah.
Thirdly, we should know that nothing in this world can happen without Allah’s permission. Everything lies in the hands of Allah. No harm can befall us and no benefit can reach us except as Allah ordains. Muhammad (SAW) would supplicate to Allah the Almighty saying, “O Allah, whatever you want to give me, no one can stop it from coming to me and whatever you want to prevent from coming to me, nobody can give to me.” We should keep reminding ourselves throughout the day, especially as we expect something to happen, or not to happen, that everything happens only as He commands, and by His permission.
Fourthly, one should say to oneself: I am going to return to Allah one day and that day could be today. We do not know when we will leave this world. It may be that this morning is our last morning, or perhaps the coming evening is our last evening. Indeed, it may be that this hour is our last hour, or even, that this moment is our last moment. Such an uncertainty does not, of course, justify a complete withdrawal from this life. What is required of us is to be always conscious of this uncertainty, to the extent that it motivates us to spend every moment of our remaining life seriously, considering it as a gift from Allah and spending the resources He has blessed us with in a manner that pleases Him.
To help us attain this state of consciousness, we should recall and reflect upon the following Qur’anic verse as much as we can throughout the day:
إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
“To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return” (al-Baqarah 2:156).
These are some of the states of consciousness that can help us achieve a life completely devoted to the remembrance of Allah (SWT).
Brothers and sisters! We are here in this world on a journey; to be tested by Allah. We are returning back to Him. If we are conscious of this fact, then we should do whatever we can within our means to go back to Allah in a state where He is pleased with us and we are pleased with Him.
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ
“Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him. Thus shall the God-fearing be rewarded” (al-Bayyinah, 98:8). The sahaba (companions) of the Prophet (SAW) were so mindful of Allah that they got genuinely concerned when ayah 102 of Surat Aal ‘Imran was revealed. This blessed ayah says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
“O you who believe, be conscious of Allah with all the consciousness that is due to Him, and do not die except as Muslims” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:102). The sahaba expressed their inability to the Prophet (SAW) to abide by this divine command, saying that because of their worldly preoccupations, they simply could not be mindful of Allah all the time to a degree that He merited. In His infinite mercy Allah (SWT) revealed the ayah,
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَاسْمَعُوا وَأَطِيعُوا وَأَنفِقُوا خَيْرًا لِّأَنفُسِكُمْ
“So be mindful of Allah as best as you can; and listen, and obey; and spend in charity: it is for your own good” (al-Taghabun, 64:16). There is another ayah that says,
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
“Allah does not burden any soul with more than it can bear” (al-Baqarah, 2:286).
While such ayat provide tremendous relief to the believers, they also imply that one’s effort toward achieving righteousness, piety, and consciousness of Allah should be stretched to the utmost. Allah knows the potential and the capability of each one of us. Each one of us has to exert his or her level best.
وَسَارِعُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
“Race with one another towards forgiveness from your Lord and towards a paradise the width of which spans the heavens and the earth. It has been prepared for the Muttaqin” (Aal Imran, 3:133). May Allah make us among them, and may we be blessed with the constant remembrance of our Creator. Allahumma Amin.
