In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance * And exalt Him morning and afternoon. * It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darkness's into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful. * Their greeting the Day they meet Him will be, 'Peace.' And He has prepared for them a noble reward."

Surah Al-Ahzab (33:41-44) in the Quran

Remembrance of God Almighty

"From the Letters of the Guardian of Virtues, My Master, Sidi Al-Amine Rusi El-Hassani, may Allah have mercy on him."

"The mention of Allah, the Most High."

Praise be to Allah, the One who has made His remembrance a remedy for the hearts and souls, removing veils and forgetfulness. We praise Him and ask that He unchains our tongues with His glorification and remembrance, and that He fills our hearts with His praise and gratitude. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. He, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, said in a narration attributed to him: "The best of deeds is that you die with a moist tongue while remembering Allah and His Messenger.

He, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions, who made the remembrance of Allah their companion, confidant, and close friend, took it as a constant source of solace and guidance toward absolute certainty. How could it be otherwise when Allah, the Most High and Most Blessed, says in His noble verse: "O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance. And exalt Him morning and afternoon. It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darkness into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful. Their greeting the Day they meet Him will be, 'Peace.' And He has prepared for them a noble reward." (Quran, 33:41-44).

Glorified is He, who is deserving of remembrance and praise, and deserving of everything that can bring us closer to Him due to His abundant blessings and the beauty and kindness He has bestowed upon us.

The remembrance of Allah holds a great status. It is the key to entering Islam, performing prayers, giving Zakat (charity), remembering Allah while fasting, and following the Sunnah (traditions) during the pre-dawn meal (Suhoor) and when breaking the fast (Iftar). In the sacred places, it is obligatory for the pilgrim to keep his tongue and heart engaged in the remembrance of Allah. It is the final word that every Muslim hopes to say when departing from the worldly abode, as an indication of a good ending.

It is worth noting that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to remember Allah for an extended period in the Cave Hira before the obligation of prayer and other religious duties. Therefore, the remembrance of Allah, the Most High, was a constant companion for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. It was one of the dearest things to his heart and one of the most beloved acts of worship to him. He never abandoned it, whether in times of hardship or ease, health or sickness.

One of the distinctive qualities of the remembrance of Allah is that it purifies the hearts from deviations and heedlessness, and it heals the minds from the diseases of desire and tyranny. This is the secret behind Allah's frequent exhortations for humanity to remember Him and His warnings about the consequences of being heedless of Him, which deaden hearts, hinder intellects, immerse the body in desires, and make a person a slave to their whims. This results in a loss of one's happiness in both this world and the Hereafter. It leads to despair, anxiety, and a life of misery. Such individuals become as described in the Quran: "And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves." (Quran, 59:19). And Allah also says: "The devil has overcome them and made them forget the remembrance of Allah. Those are the party of the devil. Unquestionably, the party of the devil, they will be the losers." (Quran, 58:19).

In Islamic jurisprudence, "Dhikr" (remembrance) means establishing the essence of the concept of monotheism within the heart of the one remembering to the point where the concept itself becomes an inherent quality accompanying the seeker. This is in accordance with the statement of Allah, may He be blessed and exalted: "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Quran, 51:56).

Dhikr has three stages:

1.    Dhikr at the level of Islam: It serves as the key to one's behavior.

2.    Dhikr at the level of faith: It empowers the heart with the love of Allah.

3.    Dhikr at the level of excellence (Ihsan): It entails immersing the soul in the mysteries of the monotheism of Allah.

It is narrated that our Master, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to his companions one day, "Renew your faith." They asked, "O Messenger of Allah, how can we renew our faith?" He replied, "Increase in saying 'La ilaha illallah' (There is no god but Allah)." Saying 'La ilaha illallah' allows the one who remembers it to imbibe the essence of monotheism and negates anything besides Allah, to the extent that fear and distress find no way to the heart of the one remembering.

It is reported that when the Prophet of Allah, David, peace be upon him, finished building the House of the Holy (Bayt al-Muqaddas), Allah revealed to him, "O David, enter the House, glorify Me in it, sanctify Me, and do as the nation I have chosen will do in this world." David asked, "O Lord, inform me about this nation You have chosen." Allah, the Most High, replied, "It is the nation of My beloved, Muhammad." David then asked, "O Lord, tell me, what are their signs?" Allah, the Most High, said, "Their sign is that when they are frightened, they magnify Me. When they are angry, they say 'SubhanAllah' (Glory be to Allah). And when they dispute, they say 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is the Greatest)."

Thus, we find that Islam offers various means of remembrance, including seeking forgiveness, sending blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad, reciting the phrases of Tahleel (La ilaha illallah), Tasbeeh (SubhanAllah), Tahmeed (Alhamdulillah), Takbeer (Allahu Akbar), as well as reciting Bismillah, Salat and Salam upon the Prophet, and more, all of which help the servant draw near to their Lord.

By following the stages of Dhikr, its etiquettes, and its objectives, along with purifying the soul from its desires, the soul returns to its Lord, pleased and well-pleasing in this world and the Hereafter. The realities of secrets become apparent to it, in line with the words of Allah, may He be blessed and exalted: "And whoever purifies himself does so for the benefit of his own soul. And to Allah is the [final] destination." (Quran, 35:18).

As our honorable ancestor, Sidi Abdeljalil Rusi El-Hassani, may Allah be pleased with him, pointed out in his collection "Zaghareed al-Fajr," the fruit of his life, his path, and his diligence with the help of Allah, while following the guidance of the spiritual leaders of the Shadhili Sufi order, may their souls be sanctified. He said:

Upon you, O soul, is to take it slowly,

For the path is through patience and contemplation.

Upon you is with the servitude that is adorned,

With obedience and beautification.

The one who strives for arrival has indeed succeeded,

Through contemplation and thought, as is needed.

My dear brothers, whether you are rich towards Allah or poor in His sight, teach your families and children to say "La ilaha illallah" (There is no god but Allah). Let them follow in the footsteps of our honorable ancestors, and maintain its remembrance in your homes, sharing its secrets with them so that they are among those whom its blessings encompass. They will grow up as believers deeply immersed in the love of Allah.

There is nothing purer, grander, greater, or more noble in this world and the Hereafter than the remembrance of Allah. As Allah, the Most High, says: "And remember your Lord often and exalt Him morning and evening." (Quran, 3:41).

Some of the wise have said, "The one who loves something mentions it frequently." O seeker, your love for Allah necessitates your love for His beloved ones. The most beloved of creation to Allah is our Master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, the son of Abdullah, the one on whom Allah said: "Say, [O Muhammad], 'If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.'" (Quran, 3:31).

If the love of Allah and His Messenger resides in your heart, Allah will love you, and He will instill His love in the hearts of His servants, as mentioned in the Quran: "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection." (Quran, 19:96). Thus, Allah will make the people love you, and He will love you and grant you acceptance among the people of faith and perfection.

In a Hadith Qudsi (a divine saying), Allah, the Lord of Majesty, says: "When My servant draws near to Me with his heart, I make the hearts of the believers inclined toward him with affection and mercy."

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported: "Whoever loves Allah more than anything will mention Him frequently. The fruit of this is that Allah will mention him with His mercy and forgiveness in this world, admit him to Paradise with the prophets and saints, and honor him with the vision of His beauty in the Hereafter."

For this reason, we find that those who truly know Allah have tasted the vast heritage of divine love poetry. The source of this poetry is the divine light, signifying their spiritual connection after delving into the depths of the path, soaring with sincere wings through the stages of spiritual development, aspiring for closeness and contentment.

These lovers of God have translated their refined taste into eloquent language, using both prose and symbolic or poetic expressions. However, their poetry is distinguished by its spiritual depth and expansive nature. The knower of God may express their unwavering love with concise, delightful words, employing terminologies, metaphors, symbols, and parables not used by others before or after them.

At every station the traveler immerses themselves in, language captures the radiance of their soul, taking its place among the stages of their profound longing.

These symbols do not stop at their limits and expressions. The knower of God has no halt in their love, longing, and yearning due to the perfection and beauty they witness in the names, attributes, and actions of Allah. Every station they reach is but a fruit of divine love for His exalted essence, not for any worldly gain or even the Hereafter, because they see no one but their beloved, the Most High, who holds the keys to everything.

Yahya ibn Mu'adh, may Allah have mercy on him, described Allah, saying: "His forgiveness encompasses sins, so how about His pleasure? His pleasure encompasses hopes, so how about His love? His love astounds the minds, so how about His gentleness?"

When a Sufi embarks on a journey, migrating how? What? Why? When? and more, they mount the steed of longing and passion, setting out into the realm of divine lights, filled with the luminous provisions, ascending in the world of spiritual closeness, detached from everything surrounding them. There, they find Allah, the Everlasting, Merciful, and Gracious, extending to them the joy and ardor, from the nectar of the breeze of union.

Imam Al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "The ultimate goal of the knowers of God is only reaching Him and meeting Him. This is the delight of the eye that the soul does not even fathom its concealed aspects. When it is achieved, all anxieties and desires vanish, and the heart becomes immersed in its pleasure. If it were cast into the fire, it would not feel it due to its absorption, and if the delights of paradise were presented to it, it would not turn to them because it has reached the pinnacle of delight with no higher point. Let it be known to those who comprehend only the love of the sensory world, how can they believe in the bliss of gazing upon the face of Allah the Exalted?"

Similarly, our venerable Shaykh Sidi Abdeljalil Rusi El-Hassani, may Allah be pleased with him, expressed in one of his poems that his enduring love for Allah is his ultimate devotion.

Blame me not for my fervor and passion,

For my life and death are but one expression.

If I seem indifferent, know I choose my way,

In love's path, deliberately, I'll stay.

Even if I perish and wither away,

My gratitude for this love will forever sway.

Whoever desires fervor like mine,

Must find love's secret, in every line.

Or as reported by our Sheikh Al-Junaid, may God be pleased with him, in the gatherings of remembrance:

If I had eighty seas of tears for every day and night,

I would exhaust them, and even then, I'd continue the fight.

This is but a little for a young man when in love's embrace,

I'm consumed by it, even to death, a wretched case.

Around me, there's a trench from love's relentless thrust,

Above me, clouds pour yearning and desire, a must.

The knowers of God have not been devoid of producing supplications that point the way for the wayfarer, indicating a conscious understanding of the Oneness and the commitment to vigilance, awareness, and asceticism in everything besides God. This is reflected in the wisdom of Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Sakandari, may God be pleased with him, where he said, "The true lover is not one who hopes for compensation or seeks something from their Beloved. The true lover is one who gives to you, not one who expects from you. Had it not been for the landscapes of souls, the paths of travelers would never have been traversed. There is no distance between you and your Beloved that your journey does not fold, no separation that your connection does not erase. You are placed in the intermediate world between His dominion and yours to make you aware of your greatness in comparison to His creations. You are a gem, enveloped with the shells of His hidden treasures. The universe encompasses your physical being, but it does not contain your spiritual essence. You exist within the cosmos, but the unseen worlds remain concealed from you, imprisoned within His oceans and limited to the confines of your own being. You are with the realms of existence as long as you have not witnessed the concealed. When you do witness it, the realms of existence are with you."

We find a similar meaning among the worshippers, such as Rabi'a al-Adawiya, may God be pleased with her, when she said:

I have loved Thee with two loves –

a selfish love and a love that is worthy of Thee.

As for the love which is selfish,

Therein I occupy myself with Thee,

to the exclusion of all others.

But in the love which is worthy of Thee,

Thou dost raise the veil that I may see Thee.

Yet is the praise not mine in this or that,

But the praise is to Thee in both that and this.

In the diwan of Sheikh Sidi Abu Madyan Al-Ghawth (may Allah be pleased with him), we find:

Say, "Allah!" and leave behind existence and all that it contains,

If you have transcended to the perfection.

For everything other than Allah, if you contemplate it,

Is nothing but a detailed or general illusion.

Know that you, along with all the worlds,

Would have been nothing without Him, in His encompassing erasure.

One who has no existence in and of himself,

His existence would be nothing if not for the absolute.

The knowers saw nothing except the Supreme One,

And witnessed everything else as high in their imagination.

They saw it, in reality, as perishable in all states,

The past, the present, and the future.

From the words of Sheikh Al-Rifai, may Allah have mercy on him:

O you who have magnified its essence until it became delicate,

And who have not repelled the cloak of greatness except He,

It has never been absent from my sight,

Except that I said loudly, "He is Allah."

Until he said:

They asked me if I'd forget the one I adore,

I said, "How could I forget the one I hold at my core?"

How could I forget the beauty and grace,

Among the wonders of love, I find my solace.

Lost in your love, people wander and stray,

You are the beloved, no matter what they say.

I seek forgiveness from God, except for one thing,

For it's in your love, my heart finds its spring.

And those who claim that love is a sin,

Know that love is the best thing with which one meets God.

And there, we also find valuable poems about seeking intercession and supplicating to Allah Almighty, to which the seeker turns repeatedly due to their rich meanings that truly express his servitude and holding onto the rope of Allah, which is never severed by adversity, hardship, or any other circumstances. Among the frequently recited poems by the people of Allah is the one attributed to the Imam who knows Allah, Sidi Muhammad ibn Nasser al-Dir'ai, may Allah be pleased with him, titled "The Plea for Help," and its beginning is as follows.

O You, to whom refuge is sought,

And to You, the distressed one turns,

O Merciful, O Lord, and O Helper of those who call,

In You we seek refuge, O Helper of the weak,

Sufficient for us, O Lord, You are, and it's enough.

And from the supplications of our righteous ancestor, Sidi Abd al-Jalil al-Russi al-Hasani, may Allah be pleased with him:

Oh, my beloved, you are my aspiration,

So do as you will with my fate.

If I falter due to negligence,

Your grace is more generous for my care.

You are my Lord, my purpose and aim,

You are my God, my remembrance and goal.

My longing for your presence is my zeal,

And the sweet intimacy of your embrace, my direction.

So, Oh, the One whose secrets are veiled,

Make me happy on the day of the imminent meeting.

Just as there are numerous educational supplications that emphasize the pure love for the sake of God between the seekers and their sheikhs, the following are some of the writings of the mu son Abdeljalil Al-Rusi El-Hassani, may Allah be pleased with him:

You've conquered my heart, indeed, you reign,

I sought your pleasure, a goal without disdain.

Your love delighted me, like a beautiful song,

And now I am enslaved, to love lifelong.

Your love transformed me into an eager devotee,

With you, I am part of a boundless unity.

I am your willing servant, content and at peace,

In your company, my faith will increase.

I am a beggar in need of your grace,

Your love is my heritage, my eternal embrace.

Respond, my beloveds, with your sweet words so true,

With your message, my life's purpose I pursue.

So, let us thank Allah, O seeker, who has tested you with His obedience to grant you His love and place you in the abode of His pleasure and mercy. Through remembrance (of Allah), God opens a door to His love, sketches for us a path to draw near to Him, and guides us to happiness in this world where comprehensive blessings and happiness can be found, and in the hereafter, where there is complete forgiveness, vast mercy, and the great pleasure of Allah.

Love from His beauty,

He has honored me with His worship,

He chose me for His closeness,

I hope in His response,

He granted me what I desired,

In the darkness of the days,

The Buraq revealed itself,

In His land and His heavens.

With continuous remembrance, as previously mentioned, Allah takes care of the believer without a doubt or uncertainty. And whoever Allah takes care of, He elevates their status and bestows upon them a lofty position and a praiseworthy rank. Allah, the Almighty, says: "No doubt! Verily, the Awliya' of Allah, no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve. Those who believe and have Taqwa. For them are glad tidings in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. No change can there be in the Words of Allah. That is the supreme success." (Quran 10:62-64). Thus, Allah informs us that His Awliya' (close friends and protectors) are not afflicted by what afflicts people with fear or grief. Instead, they are enveloped by His care and protection, secure when people are afraid. They are His close allies and His sincere servants who have dedicated themselves to Allah, making Him their Lord when others have taken their desires and passions as their gods. They have renounced the permissible lawful pleasures when others rush towards the forbidden. They offer voluntary acts of worship and follow the recommended practices while others neglect the obligatory duties. They find sweetness in patience and contentment while others embrace despair and hopelessness. They adorn themselves with faith and certainty while others embellish themselves with disbelief and atheism. They have made this worldly life a means to attain the Hereafter.

"When people eat, they fast. When people sleep, they stand in prayer. When others laugh, they weep in humility before God." This is the secret behind Allah's permission for them to enter His Paradise, where they will have whatever they desire, as a reward from their Lord. That is the reward for the righteous.

O traveler on the path, know that guardianship of Allah in Islam is based on faith, firmly grounded in certainty and action. It is fortified by sincerity and striving, and its cornerstone is sacrifice and self-denial. To the extent that a person is a believer in their Lord, sincere in their deeds, and devoted in fulfilling their obligations, they become His allies. Thus, guardianship is neither a gift nor a bestowment from anyone; rather, it is the fruit of personal effort and the result of personal striving. The believer achieves it through the grace of Allah and attains it through righteousness and piety. Guardianship is a noble tree, rooted in the heavens and anchored in the sound heart of a Muslim. Its seeds are in the concept of monotheism, its stem in sincerity, and its water is the worship of Allah, which is fueled by love for His countenance. Its branches are good deeds, its leaves are vigilance and God-consciousness, and its fruit is the breeze of union between the lover and the Beloved.

As you can see, the strong and sturdy source of guardianship lies in the Quran, the noble book of Allah, and the Sunnah of His messenger. It is said in the Quran: "Indeed, those who have said, 'Our Lord is Allah' and then remained steadfast—the angels will descend upon them, [saying], 'Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. We were your allies in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request as accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful" (Quran, 41:30-32).

Return..

Source: "Breeze of Reunion" or "Zephyr of Connection.",  "Masterpiece of Oratory" or "Excellence in Speech.",  "Historical Insights from Collective Memory." and "Guide for the Seekers." by Sheik Sidi Al Amine Rusi El Hassani.