"Those men and women who engage much in Allah's praise. For them has Allah prepared forgiveness and a great reward." ~ Al-Quran 33:35
In what I have learnt of my faith so far, one of the thing that seems most precious to Allah seems to be Dhikr, or remembrance. When we think of Dhikr, we think of people in seclusion, sitting up through the night remembering Allah and reflecting on his greatness. I love this thought, but as a busy mother the reality is far from it. I am mortified by the thought that I might meet my maker tomorrow and then sorely regret the fact that I spent all my time being busy instead of remembering my Rabb.
"O ye who believe let not your riches or your children divert you from the Remembrance of Allah if any act thus, the loss is their own." (63:9)
My response to this has been to make dhikr a part of my everyday life. This sounds very virtuous, but I can be very absent-minded and lapse from dhikr into day-dreaming astagfirullah unless I work hard to be present. A lady once told me that making dhikr whilst cleaning your home is equal to cleaning the Kaabah, I don’t know the source of this, but the thought is nice. I also try to walk part of the way to work in the morning, so in good-old working mother multi-tasking fashion I try to do my dhikr at the same time.
What has also helped me is another woman’ advice to learn the small everyday
prayers. The book I use is called Fortress of the Muslim, a small pocket book with dua’s (supplications) for every occasion. I tried to remember the ones pertinent to being a mum, such as the one for drinking milk, or bed time – you’ll find that if you get the children to repeat them, they will pick them up quicker than you. Then there are the prayers for waking, eating, looking in the mirror, for when it rains, going to the bathroom and visiting the ill just to name a few. Before long it becomes second-nature (insh’Allah) to make some small dhikr before every act and in doing so we become aware of the presence of Allah in our lives which leads us away from what displeases Allah insh’Allah.
prayers. The book I use is called Fortress of the Muslim, a small pocket book with dua’s (supplications) for every occasion. I tried to remember the ones pertinent to being a mum, such as the one for drinking milk, or bed time – you’ll find that if you get the children to repeat them, they will pick them up quicker than you. Then there are the prayers for waking, eating, looking in the mirror, for when it rains, going to the bathroom and visiting the ill just to name a few. Before long it becomes second-nature (insh’Allah) to make some small dhikr before every act and in doing so we become aware of the presence of Allah in our lives which leads us away from what displeases Allah insh’Allah.As well as all the supplications is the recitation of Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim (In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Beneficent) which every one of us knows. When I do not know the dua for something, I turn to these seemingly-small and simple words, which are so immense in stature as to turn our everyday actions into worship. Our small necessary acts become dhikr and we too can hope that when we meet our makers our scale will weigh a little heavier with words that pleased Allah (SWT) so much.
"Truly Allah leaves to stray whom He will, but He guides to Himself those who turn to Him in penitence -- Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah, for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction. [Qur'an 13:27-28]
Abu Huraira (RA) narrates that the Prophet (PBUH) said Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, stated: "As my servant thinks about Me so will I be for him. I am with him if he will remember Me. If he calls on Me by himself I will call him by Myself, and if he calls on Me in a group of people, I mention him in a better group in My presence. If he approaches Me one handspan, I will approach him one arm's length; if he approaches Me one arm's length, I will approach him by a cubit; if he comes to Me walking, I will come to him running." [Bukhari and Muslim]
Abu Hurairah (RA) reported:The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,"He who recites in the morning and in the evening the statement:'Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi' (Allah is free from imperfection and I begin with praising Him) one hundred times, will not be surpassed on the Day of Resurrection by anyone with better deeds than one who utters the same words or utters more of these words.'' [Muslim].
Assalaamu Aleikhum,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to thank you for this lovely post. In many ways Motherhood (yes, it deserves a capital M!) is its own spiritual path. One's own needs, wants, whims and plans must take a backseat to the little ones we are tending, who've been entrusted to us masha'Allah!
I'm always eager to hear how other moms manage to combine formal spiritual practice with the rigors and demands of Motherhood and your post has given me a lovely glimpse into one of the ways this is done.
"Heaven lies at the feet of Mothers"
wasalaam, Rose
Assalam-alaikam Sister Rose,
ReplyDeleteI love your way of looking at things, you make spirituality sound so simple and natural.
Great post Umm Salihah! I find dhikr to be very therapeutic! I have a 45 min - 1 hour commute and I have my little litany that I do while riding the bus. It helps to put the day into perspective.
ReplyDeletema'a salaamah,
ha
Wa'aleikhum salaam ukhti,
ReplyDeleteI will offer your gracious compliment right back to you. Your posts are always such lovely depictions of what I like to call the 'everyday sacred'.
Assalamualaykum,
ReplyDeleteI got the same book as well. It is good, Masya Allah. I used to learn that zikr been suggested by scholars to us ordinary people which always busy with life especially mother.
Which is 100 times SUHANALLAH WALHAMDULILLAH WALAILLA HAILLALLAH WALLAHU AKBAR. LAHAULAWALA QUWATA ILLA BILLAH. ( which means we praise Allah and remember Him). 100 times Istigfar ( which is very important as we always surround by small 2 sins every day. and 100times Salawat upon our prophet s.a.w. ( To ensure we remember Him everyday).
This been suggest to do in the morning after fajr and evening after asr. Why? Because at this time is the changing time of the angel. So, they will bring the deeds book up and change with another new book. Imagine when we engage with zikr at this time we can always have a good start of the changing and finishing angel shift writing down what we been doing.
It won't take long for us as a mother alhamdulillah. To go for much more zikr than that may be will burden us a we have too many responsibility. To maintain this Insya Allah will bering calmness in your heart and mind. You can feel the different in your spirit when you maintain this every day..Alhamdulillah..
Because they still more thing we can do and try to maintain as daily du'a and quran. AT least we can read ten ayah. More is better of course. But, read small amount than read many for two days and stop for a week is better. INsya Allah..when we look after our amal..amall2 amal that we should be able to do every day, Allah make our life more easy.
For all mothers, don't forget tasbih fatimah as the benefit is we be given strength as two people..Insya Allah..
Assalam-alaikam Sister HA,
ReplyDeleteI'm curious baout what Dhikr people do, which do you find best or do most? Imagine the benefits your little one must be getting from this.
Assalam-alaikam Sister Ummi,
thank you for your excellent advice. These are exactly the same dhikr my husband reccommends and I entirely agree baout reading just 10 ayah a day if thats all you can do, but doing it every day.