Riyadh al-Salihin
From the words of the Master of the Messengers
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
Chapter: The Virtue of Circles of Dhikr (Remembrance)
And the encouragement to consistently attend them
And the prohibition against leaving them without a valid excuse
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)
"In the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance."
“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)
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Allah the Exalted has angels who roam the roads,
Searching for the people of dhikr.
When they find a group remembering Allah the Almighty,
They call out to one another, 'Come to what you are looking for!'
They surround them with their wings, reaching up to the lowest heaven.
Their Lord asks them—though He knows better than they:
'What are My servants saying?'
He said: They reply, 'They are glorifying You, magnifying You,
Praising You, and extolling You.'
He asks, 'Have they seen Me?'
They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen You.'
He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen Me?'
He said: They reply,
'If they had seen You, they would have worshipped You even more intensely,
Magnified You even more, and glorified You even more.'
He asks, 'And what are they asking for?'
He said: They reply, 'They are asking You for Paradise.'
He asks, 'And have they seen it?'
He said: They reply, 'No, by Allah, O Lord, they have not seen it.'
He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen it?'
He said: They reply, 'If they had seen it,
They would have been even more eager for it and sought it even more intensely,
And their desire for it would have been even greater.'
He asks, 'And from what are they seeking refuge?'
He said: They reply, 'They are seeking refuge from the Fire.'
He asks, 'And have they seen it?'
He said: They reply, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen it.'
He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen it?'
He said: They reply,
'If they had seen it, they would have fled from it even more intensely,
And feared it even more.'
He says,
'I call you to witness that I have forgiven them.'
He said: One of the angels says,
'Among them is so-and-so, who is not one of them;
He only came for a need.'
He says, 'They are companions; their associate shall not be miserable.'"
Agreed upon.
In a narration by Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"Allah has roving angels, beyond the [standard] recording angels,
Who track down circles of dhikr.
When they find a circle in which there is dhikr,
They sit with them,
And surround one another with their wings,
Until they fill the space between them and the lowest heaven.
When they disperse,
They ascend and rise to the heaven.
Allah the Almighty asks them—
While He knows better:
'Where have you come from?'
They say,
'We have come from Your servants on earth,
Who are glorifying You, magnifying You,
Declaring Your oneness, praising You, and asking of You.'
He asks, 'And what are they asking of Me?'
They say, 'They are asking You for Your Paradise.'
He asks, 'And have they seen My Paradise?'
They say, 'No, O Lord.'
He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen My Paradise?'
They say, 'And they are seeking Your protection.'
He asks, 'And from what are they seeking My protection?'
They say, 'From Your Fire, O Lord.'
He asks, 'And have they seen My Fire?'
They say, 'No.'
He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen My Fire?'
They say, 'And they are seeking Your forgiveness.'
He says, 'I have forgiven them,
I have granted them what they asked for,
And I have granted them protection from what they sought protection against.'
He said: They say,
'O Lord, among them is so-and-so, a sinful servant,
Who merely passed by and sat with them.'
He says, 'And him, too, I have forgiven;
They are the people whose associate shall not be miserable.'"
"Call out": meaning they call to one another.
"Come": meaning approach.
"Surround them":
Meaning they draw their wings close around those remembering Allah.
They circle them and revolve around them,
Until they fill the space between the heaven and the earth.
"Extolling You": meaning they declare Your greatness.
"Roving angels": meaning those who travel the earth.
"Beyond": meaning in addition to the recording angels.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The virtue of circles of dhikr and those who remember Allah.
The virtue of gathering for that purpose.
The associate of the righteous who remember Allah
Is included with them in all the grace that Allah the Exalted bestows upon them,
As an honor to them,
Even if he did not participate in the act of dhikr itself.
The angels' love for the children of Adam,
And their care for them.
A question may be posed by the asker,
Even though He knows more about the subject of the question than the one being asked,
To demonstrate concern for the subject of the question,
To highlight its importance,
And to announce the nobility of its status.
The permissibility of swearing an oath regarding a confirmed matter,
To emphasize it and highlight its importance.
That which Paradise contains of various types of goodness,
And the Fire of various types of detestable things,
Is beyond what they have been described with.
Desire and asking of Allah,
And being earnest in that,
Are among the causes for obtaining what is sought.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah and Abu Sa'id, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"No group sits remembering Allah the Almighty,
But the angels surround them,
Mercy covers them,
Tranquility descends upon them,
And Allah mentions them to those who are with Him."
Narrated by Muslim.
"Covers them": meaning it encompasses them.
"Tranquility":
It is a state by which the heart finds peace,
So it becomes calm, refraining from inclining toward desires,
And [it provides strength] in times of fear.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The virtue of dhikr, its circles, and its people.
The reward is of the same nature as the deed;
So whoever remembers Allah, Allah remembers him.
On the authority of Abu Waqid,
Al-Harith ibn 'Awf, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
While he was sitting in the mosque with the people,
Three men approached.
Two of them came forward to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And one went away.
They stood before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
As for one of them,
He saw a gap in the circle,
And sat in it.
As for the other,
He sat behind them.
As for the third,
He turned away and left.
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, finished,
He said, "Shall I not tell you about the three men?
As for one of them,
He sought refuge with Allah,
So Allah gave him refuge.
As for the other,
He felt shy,
So Allah felt shy of him.
As for the other,
He turned away,
So Allah turned away from him."
Agreed upon.
"Gap":
It is the space between two things.
"Circle":
Anything circular,
Empty in the middle.
"Sought refuge with Allah":
Meaning he turned to Allah.
"Felt shy":
Meaning [he was shy] of crowding others.
"Turned away":
Meaning he left, turning away without an excuse.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Circles of dhikr
Are the circles of knowledge,
Held in the houses of Allah,
For learning, teaching, and gaining understanding of the religion.
The life of knowledge
Is through studying and discussing it,
And spreading it among the Muslims.
The virtue of consistently attending
Circles of knowledge and dhikr.
It is recommended for the student of knowledge
To sit where the
Circle ends.
It is recommended for anyone who sees a gap
To fill the space,
Just as encouragement has been reported for filling
The gaps in the rows during prayer.
It is recommended to sit in a circle in
Circles of dhikr and knowledge.
Encouragement to compete
In seeking goodness.
Whoever arrives first at a place
Has more right to it.
Turning away from circles of knowledge
Without an excuse
Exposes the person to the displeasure of Allah.
The permissibility of informing [others]
Regarding those who commit sins and their conditions,
as a means of warning against them,
and that this is not considered
backbiting.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, went out
to a circle [of people] in the mosque,
and he said,
"What has made you sit here?"
They said,
"We sat to remember Allah."
He said,
"By Allah,
is that the only reason you are sitting?"
They said,
"We are sitting for no other reason."
He said,
"I did not ask you to swear an oath
because I suspect you,
and there was no one in my position
relative to the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
who narrated fewer hadiths from him than I did.
Indeed, the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
went out to a circle of
his Companions,
and he said,
"What has made you sit here?"
They said,
"We sat to remember Allah
and for how He guided us to Islam
and favored us with it."
He said,
"By Allah,
is that the only reason you are sitting?"
They said,
"By Allah, we are sitting
for no other reason."
He said,
"I did not ask you to swear an oath
because I suspect you,
but rather, Jibril came to me
and informed me that
Allah boasts of you to the angels."
Narrated by Muslim.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The virtue of
Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan,
may Allah be pleased with them both,
and his keenness to follow the example
of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in conveying knowledge
and spreading it.
The permissibility of asking for an oath without
suspicion, to draw attention
to the importance of the matter being asked about
or the information that
is about to be heard.
The virtue of gatherings of dhikr
and attending circles of knowledge,
and that Allah loves them
and boasts of them to the angels.
The Sunnah is revelation
that used to be brought down
by Jibril to the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
but it is not an act of worship
to recite it [as one recites the Qur'an],
rather, it is an act of worship to follow its rulings.
Riyad al-Salihin.
Riyad al-Salihin.
Riyad al-Salihin.