أَلَا بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ ٱلْقُلُوبُ

“Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts (qulub) find peace.”

Surah Ar-Ra’d (13:28)

Although there is no limit to the favours of God, the Exalted, yet His fundamental and greatest bounty and supreme favour, indeed the greatest bounties and favours are centred in the profound wisdom that He, the Knowing, the Seeing, the Merciful, in His infinite mercy, has made His blessed dhikr (remembrance) of many kinds, so that His sincere servants may enrich themselves with the favours and blessings of its various kinds at different times and in different states. Had there not been this ever-reaching, all-inclusive and all-comprising favour of God, and had His dhikr been only of one kind, it would have been very difficult, rather impossible for mu’mins to benefit from it.

There is no doubt that among Islamic `ibadat (types of worship), namaz (prayer) is the first, which is of many kinds. Indeed each kind of namaz by itself is the remembrance of God (20:14). Then there are other adhkar (pl. of dhikr) such as dhikr-i fard (individual remembrance), dhikr-i jama`at (collective remembrance), dhikr-i khafi (hidden remembrance), dhikr-i kathir (abundant remembrance), dhikr-i qalil (little remembrance), dhikr-i lisani (remembrance by tongue), dhikr-i basari (remembrance by the eyes), dhikr-i sam`i (remembrance by the ears), dhikr-i badani (remembrance by the body), dhikr-i khwab (remembrance in dream), dhikr-i munfasal (remembrance at intervals), dhikr-i musalsal (constant remembrance), dhikr-i tanaffus (remembrance by breathing), dhikr-i `ilmi (remembrance through knowledge). In addition to these there are other adhkar, such as hamd (praising God), tasbih (purifying God), munajat (supplication), shukr-guzari (expression of gratitude), giryah-u zari (weeping and shedding tears), prostration, prayer, recitation of the Qur’an, recitation of salawat, etc. Each of these kinds has many more kinds so that the believing servant, in whatever condition he may be, should do dhikr accordingly. (Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai – Book of Healing p.219)