In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Landmarks on the path of steadfastness.
The remembrance of Allah.
Among the means of steadfastness
is the frequent remembrance of Allah, the Exalted.
Allah has commanded frequent remembrance,
for He, the Exalted, says:
"O you who have believed,
“O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.” (33:41)
and exalt Him morning and afternoon."
Even in the context of battle,
Allah commanded frequent remembrance,
for He, the Exalted, says:
"O you who have believed,
“O ye who believe! When ye meet an army, hold firm and think of Allah much, that ye may be successful.” (8:45)
“O ye who believe! When ye meet an army, hold firm and think of Allah much, that ye may be successful.” (8:45)
that you may succeed."
Remembrance is the believer’s fortress
against Satan.
It is narrated from al-Harith al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him)
that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said:
"Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,
commanded Yahya ibn Zakariyya
with five words."
The hadith...
And among these words,
he said:
"And I command you to remember Allah,
for the likeness of that
is like a man pursued by an enemy
following him swiftly,
until he comes
to a fortified stronghold
and protects himself from them."
Likewise, the servant
does not protect himself from Satan
except through the remembrance of Allah.
Ibn al-Qayyim said
in *al-Wabil al-Sayyib*:
"If there were no other virtue in remembrance
than this single quality,
it would be fitting for the servant
that his tongue never ceases
from the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted,
and that he remains constantly engaged
in His remembrance.
For he does not protect himself
from his enemy
except through remembrance.
The enemy does not enter upon him
except through the gate of heedlessness.
He lies in wait for him,
and when he is heedless,
he pounces upon him and devours him.
But when he remembers Allah, the Exalted,
the enemy of Allah, the Exalted, shrinks away,
becoming small and suppressed,
until he becomes
like a sparrow or a fly."
This is why he is called
the *Waswas al-Khannas* (the whisperer who retreats),
meaning he whispers in the hearts,
but when Allah is remembered,
when Allah, the Exalted, is remembered,
he retreats—that is, he desists and shrinks back.
Ibn 'Abbas said:
"Satan is perched
upon the heart of the son of Adam;
when he becomes forgetful and heedless,
he whispers,
but when he remembers Allah, the Exalted,
he retreats."
In *Sahih al-Bukhari*,
from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"The likeness of the one who remembers
Allah and the one who does not remember his Lord
is like the living
and the dead."
And in the two *Sahihs*,
from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),
he said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah, the Exalted, says:
'I am
as My servant expects Me to be,
and I am with him
when he remembers Me.
If he remembers Me to himself,
I remember him to Myself;
and if he remembers Me in a gathering,
I remember him in a gathering
better than them.
If he draws near to Me by a span,
I draw near to him
by a cubit;
if he draws near to Me by a cubit,
I draw near to him by an arm's length;
and if he comes to Me walking,
I come to him running.'"
And in *al-Tirmidhi*,
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
that He says:
"Indeed, My servant—the true servant—
is the one who remembers Me
while he is meeting his opponent."
This hadith
is the decisive word
and the distinction between the one who remembers
and the one who struggles (in jihad).
For the one who remembers while struggling
is better than the one who remembers
without struggling.
And the one who struggles while heedless,
and the one who remembers without struggling,
the latter is better than the heedless struggler
who is heedless of Allah, the Exalted.
The best of those who remember are the strugglers,
and the best of the strugglers are those who remember.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
"O you who have believed,
when you encounter a force,
stand firm,
stand firm,
and remember Allah much,
that you may succeed."
He commanded them to have frequent remembrance
and to struggle simultaneously,
so that they may be in hope,
in hope of success.
Allah, the Exalted, has said:
"O you who have believed,
remember Allah
with much remembrance."
And the Exalted said:
"And the men who remember Allah
often and the women who do so,"
meaning often.
And the Exalted said:
"And when you have completed
your rites,
remember Allah as you remember
your forefathers or with greater
remembrance."
It contains the command for remembrance
in both frequency and intensity,
due to the servant's intense need for it
and his inability to be independent of it
for even the blinking of an eye.
For any moment
in which the servant is heedless
of the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
is against him, not for him,
and his loss in that moment
is greater than what he gained in his heedlessness
of Allah.
There is no doubt that the heart rusts,
just as silver and other metals do,
and its polishing is through remembrance.
It polishes it
until it leaves it like a mirror,
bright and clear.
If he abandons remembrance, it rusts;
if he remembers, he polishes it.
The heart rusts due to two things:
heedlessness and sin.
Its polishing is through two things:
seeking forgiveness and remembrance.
Whoever is heedless for most of his time,
the rust will accumulate
upon his heart,
and it will rust in proportion to his heedlessness.
When the heart rusts,
it does not reflect
the images of realities as they
truly are;
he sees falsehood in the image of truth,
and truth in the image of falsehood.
This is because,
when the rust accumulates upon it,
it darkens,
and the image of truths does not appear in it
as they truly are.
When the rust accumulates upon it
and the *ran* (covering) settles over it,
his perception and understanding
become corrupted;
he neither accepts the truth
nor rejects falsehood.
This is the greatest punishment of the heart,
and the root of this
is heedlessness and following
one's desires.
For they extinguish the light of the heart
and blind its vision.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned.” (18:28)
"his heart from Our remembrance,
and he followed his desire,
And his affairs were in a state of neglect.
So, if a servant intends
to take a man as a role model,
he must observe:
Is he among the people of remembrance,
or among the heedless?
And is that which governs him
his own desires or divine revelation?
For if the one who governs him
is his own desire,
and he is among the people of heedlessness,
and his affairs are in a state of neglect,
then he should not take him as a model nor follow him.
As for the meaning of "neglect" (fart),
it has been interpreted as squandering;
meaning, the affairs that he is obligated
to uphold and fulfill,
and upon which his guidance and success depend,
are lost, for he has neglected them.
It has also been interpreted as excess,
meaning he has gone to extremes.
It has been interpreted as ruin,
and it has been interpreted as opposition to the truth.
All of these
are closely related interpretations.
The point is that Allah,
glorified and exalted is He,
has forbidden obedience to one who embodies
these characteristics.
Therefore, a person should examine
his teacher, his role model,
and the one he follows.
If he finds him to be as described,
he should distance himself from him.
But if he finds him to be someone who is dominated by
the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
and the following of the Sunnah,
and whose affairs are not neglected
by him,
but rather he is resolute in his affairs—
for there is no difference between
the living and the dead except through remembrance—
then the likeness of the one
who remembers his Lord and the one
who does not remember his Lord
is like that of the living and the dead.
These are milestones on
the path of steadfastness.