Allah SWT has said:
“Therefore remember Me, I will remember you and be grateful to Me, and reject not faith.”
Al-Baqarah 2:152
The Prophet
also said: ‘Allah SWT says: `indeed I am as My servant presumes Me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me, so if he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers Me amongst a company, I remember him amongst a company greater than it, and if he draws near to Me the span of a hand, I draw near to him the span of an arm, and if he draws to Me the span of arm I draw near to him the span of two outstretched arms, and if he takes a step towards Me, I hastily step towards him.`[Al-Bukhari 5/175 and Muslim 4/2061, this specific wording is related to by Al-Bukhari]
The Excellence of Remembrance
Allah SWT said: “O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.” Al-Ahzaab:
41
“And for men and women who engage much in Allah’s remembrance, for them has Allah
prepared forgiveness and great reward.” Al-Ahzaab: 35
“And bring your Lord to remembrance in your (very) soul, with humility and remember
without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not of those who
are unheedful.” Al-A’raaf: 205
The Prophet
said: ‘The comparison of the one who remembers Allah and the one who does not remember
Allah, is like that of the living and the dead.’ [Al-Bukhari with Al-Fath 11/208
and Muslim 1/539 with the following wording: ‘The comparison of the house in which
Allah is mentioned and the house, in which Allah is not mentioned, is like that
of the living and the dead.’]
He
also said: Should I not inform you the best of deeds, and the most sanctifying of
deeds before your Lord, which does more to raise your positions (with Him), and
are better for you than the disbursement of gold and money, or battle with the enemy?’
They (the companions) said: ‘Indeed! Inform us.’ He
then said” ‘Remembrance of Allah SWT.’ [At-Tirmidee 5/459 and Ibn Majaah 2/1245,
see Sahih ibn Majaah 2/316 and Sahih At-Tirmidee 3/139.]
On the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn Busr
:A man said to the Prophet
, The rites of Islam are much for
me, so tell me of something that I might hold fast to.’ He
said: let not your tongue cease from the remembrance of Allah.’ [At-Tirmidhee 5/458
and Ibn Majaah 2/1246, See Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/139 and Saheeh Ibn Majaah 2/317]
The Prophet
also said, ‘Whoever recites a letter of Allah’s book has for it, a merit and ten
more like it, not to say that alif, laam, meem are one letter but rather alif is
a letter, laam is a letter and meem is a letter.’ [At-Tirmidhee 5/175 - See Saheeh
at-Tirmidhee 3/9 and Saheeh Al-Jaami As-Sagheer 5/340]
He
also said: ‘Are there any of you who would wish to go every day to Buthaan or Al-Aqeeq
(i.e. The names of two ditches in Madeenah) in the early morning and return from
it with two she-camels without incurring any sin or severing relations?’ We (the
companions) said: ‘We would indeed love that, O Messenger of Allah.’ He
said: ‘then you should go to the mosque and acquire some knowledge, or recite two
verses from the Book of Allah, that would be better for you than two she-camels,
and three verses are better than three she-camels, and four verses are better than
four she-camels, and the same for a like number of male camels.’ [Muslim 1/553]
The Prophet
also said: ‘Whoever takes a seat and fails to remember Allah, has incurred upon
himself loss from Allah and whoever lies down (relaxes) and fails to remember Allah,
has incurred upon himself a loss from Allah.’ [Abu Dawud 4/264 and others, see Saheeh
al-Jaami 5/342]
He
also said: ‘Whenever a people sit in a gathering in which they fail to remember
Allah and send prayers upon the Prophet they incur a loss upon themselves and if
Allah willed, He would punish them and if He willed He would forgive them.’ [At-Tirmidhee,
see Saheeh at-Tirmidhee 3/140.]
Similarly, he
said ‘Whenever a people rise from a gathering in which they failed to remember Allah,
the rise as if they had arisen from the corpse of an ass and incurring upon themselves
grief.’ [Abu Daawud 4/264 and Ahmad 2/389, see Saheeh Al-Jaami 5/176/]