What is Dhikr from the Perspective of the Qur’an?

Explanation: The word Dhikr expresses solemn behavior of glorifying God. It expresses gratitude to the Almighty. It is the articulation of words of submission to His True Sympathizer and Patron – God Almighty. It is an approved mode of communicating with God with reverence.

It includes approaching the Almighty with sincerity and humility, especially at hours of calm and solitude. It is communicating with God in many ways:

• Glorifying the Lord for His Greatness

We read in the Quran what means:

{[Zachariah] prayed: “O my Sustainer! Appoint a sign for me!” Said [the angel]: “Thy sign shall be that for three days thou wilt not speak unto men other than by gestures. And remember thy Sustainer unceasingly, and extol His limitless glory by night and by day.”}  (Aal `Imran 3:41)

{Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters), until they believe: A slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman, even though she allures you. Nor marry (your girls) to unbelievers until they believe: A man slave who believes is better than an unbeliever, even though he allures you. Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the Fire. But Allah beckons by His Grace to the Garden (of bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind: That they may celebrate His praise.} (Al-Baqarah 2:221)

• Seeking Salvation and Asking for Forgiveness

We read in the Quran what means:

{[and] who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down to sleep, and [thus] reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: “O our Sustainer! Thou hast not created [aught of] this without meaning and purpose. Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Keep us safe, then, from suffering through fire!} (Aal `Imran 3:191)

• Expressing Gratitude to God for His Bounties, Compassion, and Favours

We read in the Quran what means:

{When ye divorce women, and they fulfil the term of their (‘Iddat), either take them back on equitable terms or set them free on equitable terms; but do not take them back to injure them, (or) to take undue advantage; if any one does that; He wrongs his own soul. Do not treat Allah’s Signs as a jest, but solemnly rehearse Allah’s favours on you, and the fact that He sent down to you the Book and Wisdom, for your instruction. And fear Allah, and know that Allah is well acquainted with all things.} (Al-Baqarah 2:231)

What are Paradise and Hell?
Explanation: Paradise and Hell are two polar destinations resulting from obeying and disobeying moral principles revealed through the Qur’an. They are as real as they claim to be. However, they are not accessible to the human mind, as they are realities beyond this world of observation and experimentation.

We read in the Quran what means:

{And if you cannot do it-and most certainly you cannot do it-then be conscious of the fire whose fuel is human beings and stones which awaits all who deny the truth! But unto those who have attained to faith and do good works give the glad tiding that theirs shall be gardens through which running waters flow. Whenever they are granted fruits therefrom as their appointed sustenance, they will say, “It is this that in days of yore was granted to us as our sustenance!”-for they shall be given something that will recall that [past]. And there shall they have spouses pure, and there shall they abide.} (Al-Baqarah 2:2425)

Taqwa is God-fearing. Explain.

Explanation: Taqwa is not merely God-fearing but acting righteously. It is the righteous response with a sense of God-fearing that is counted as Al-Amal al-Salih (good deed). It is the good deed that is indicative of Taqwa in practice. It is good deed alone that shall be counted and considered worthy of reward in the Hereafter.

We read in the Quran what means:

{True piety does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west – but truly pious is he who believes in God, and the Last Day; and the angels, and revelation, and the prophets; and spends his substance – however much he himself may cherish it – upon his near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and the beggars, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage; and is constant in prayer, and renders the purifying dues; and [truly pious are] they who keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God.} (Al-Baqarah 2:177)

Mind is the Seat of Knowledge. Explain.

Explanation: The Qur’an calls both mind and heart seats of knowledge. Mind, with reasoning as its attribute, is the source to acquire the empirical knowledge class (Knowledge beginning with Perceptions), whereas the knowledge class, which all begins with inference (the elements of knowledge that cannot be grasped with the senses as applicable to perceptible objects, nor can they ever be a subject of laboratory experimentation and observation), is acquired through the heart in coordination with the mind.

{And never concern thyself with anything of which thou hast no knowledge: verily, [thy] hearing and sight and heart – all of them – will be called to account for it [on Judgment Day]!} (Al-Isra’ 17:36)

What is the Hereafter, and what are the Realities of the Hereafter?

Explanation: The Hereafter, as phenomena, incidents, and events, is beyond our scope of knowability. It is a phenomenon beyond the world of accessible observations.

{…and who believe in that which has been bestowed from on high upon thee, [O Prophet,] as well as in that which was bestowed before thy time: for it is they who in their innermost are certain of the life to come! It is they who follow the guidance [which comes from their Sustainer; and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state! BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth.} (Al-Baqarah 2:3-5)

The Realities of the Hereafter include the following:

• Incidence of Resurrection
• Establishment of the Day of Judgment
• Segregation, Classification, and Assortment of people based on Behavioural Performance while alive
• Guiding Qualified Personalities to Paradise as a destination of eternal bliss and prosperity
• Dumping Unqualified Individuals into Hell as a place of incessant suffering and pain

God demands acknowledgement of such Realities and His bounties.

Explanation: God demands not mere acknowledgement and recognition of realities and appreciation of bounties, but a genuine righteous response with gratitude and allegiance from an individual who claims to appreciate the same. A devout personality with total submission to the will of God is what is expected of and commanded.

Acknowledging God’s Infinite Bounties

Explanation: God’s bounties are infinite. His blessings are innumerable. People must acknowledge His blessings. This is True Religion and this is what is expected of an individual as a response needed to be extended. This is the response counted as True Virtue.

Religion is not merely limited to a sense of acknowledgement and elements of recognition of the bounties and blessings of God. It commands a subsequent genuine sense of submission to the commandments of God. It is all about surrendering oneself to the worship of God Almighty.

👉 Read also:

• Mind and Heart in the Qur’an: Limits of Knowledge
• Qur’anic Personality: Path to True Success
• What Does the Quran Teach About Personality Development?
• On the Qur’an, Theology and Mysticism (Questions and Explanations Part 1)
• On Islam, the Qur’an, Sufism, and Human Nature (Questions and Explanations Part 2)
• On Prophets, Personality and Success in the Quran (Questions and Explanations Part 3)
• What Is the Subject Matter of the Qur’an? (Questions and Explanations Part 4)