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This was a letter written by
Moulānā Mirzā Mazhar Jāne Jānā (Rahimahullāh) in Persian. Hereunder
follows the English translation of the letter.
After praising Allāh and sending
salutations to Nabī sallallahu alayhu wassalam , it should be
remembered that a group of Hanafī jurists have exceeded the limits in
rejecting dhikre jahrī (audible dhikr) and issuing the
verdict that it is harām. Some scholars of hadīth (muhaddithūn)
have proven the permissibility of audible dhikr and have
endeavoured to prove that audible dhikr
is more virtuous than inaudible dhikr. Both these groups have
treaded the path of excess and immoderation. They have not been just
in this discussion which requires some clarification and a conclusive
decision.
This clarification will be
discussed hereunder. It should be borne in mind that dhikr
means to remember. This is of three types:
Firstly, to engage in dhikr
with the tongue only without engaging the heart. It is clear that this
type of dhikr is not taken into consideration and is actually a
part of the neglect of dhikr.
The second type of dhikr
is dhikr of the heart without any movement of the tongue. In
the terminology of the Sūfīs, it is termed “dhikr khafī”
- silent dhikr. The basis of all the meditation (murāqabah)
of the Sūfīs is this type of dhikr (khafī). It is
practised by all the different groups of the Sūfīs.
This dhikr is of two
types:
Firstly, to remember only the
being of Allāh and not to ponder over any of His attributes.
Secondly, to ponder over one of
Allāh's
attributes at the time of engaging in dhikr, together with
pondering over His being.
Both these forms are deduced from
the verse,
وَاذْكُر
رَّبَّكَ فِي
نَفْسِكَ
تَضَرُّعاً
وَخِيفَةً
وَدُونَ
الْجَهْرِ
مِنَ
الْقَوْلِ
...
“Remember your Lord in
yourself humbly and fearfully, without loudness of voice…” (Sūrah A'rāf:
205)
The second method is to ponder
over the being of Allah together with the bounties He has favoured
mankind with. This form of dhikr is like searching for a person
by looking at the signs he has left behind. In the terminology of the
Sharī’ah, such dhikr is referred to as ‘fikr’. This form of
dhikr is beneficial for the increase of one’s īmān. The Qur’ān and
the hadīth are filled with the merits of this dhikr.
The third form of dhikr is
to engage the tongue together with the heart in remembering Allah.
This is the most complete form of dhikr. There are two forms of
this dhikr:
Firstly, the person engaging in
dhikr only makes himself heard without raising his voice. In
Sharī’ah, this is called dhikr khafī. It is derived from the
verse,
ادْعُواْ
رَبَّكُمْ
تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً
“Remember your Lord in
yourself humbly and fearfully." (Sūrah A'rāf,
verse 55)
The second form is to engage in
audible dhikr whereby the next person can hear you. In Sharī’ah,
it is called dhikr jahrī. In certain specific cases, it is more
meritorious than the inaudible dhikr. It is not unconditionally
more virtuous. This virtue is due to a divine wisdom as in the case of
the adhān and the recitation of the Qur'ān
during the audible salāhs, the audible dhikr is to
awaken those who are asleep.
The virtue of dhikr khafī
is that the one engaging in such dhikr is saved from the maladies of
ostentation and doing actions for fame. Both these defects prevent the
acceptance of good deeds.
The virtue of dhikr khafī
over dhikr jahrī has been established from the Qur’ān and
hadīth.
In fact, the hadīth, “You are
neither calling out to a deaf being or one that is absent” seems to
indicate a prohibition of dhikr jahrī. The audible dhikr
done in a specific manner as well as meditation has come in vogue in
the latter era of the pious ones. They have not been extracted from
the Qur’ān or hadīth but the saints have derived these forms
from divine inspiration and from the source of divine abundance (mabda'
faid) and instituted them. Sharī’ah is silent on the matter,
that is, it neither approves of the practice nor rejects it.
There are other types of benefits
as well in this form of dhikr and there is no need to reject
it. Yes, this much is clear that whatever is established from the
Qur’ān and hadīth is more meritorious than what is established from
other sources, even if the latter is permissible and beneficial.
When Nabī sallallahu alayhi
wasallam instructed Hadrat Álī radiAllahu Anhuto recite
the kalimah tayyibah as narrated by Shaddād Ibn Ous
t,
it meant a moderate loud voice not exceeding any limits as mentioned
at the beginning of this very hadīth that Nabī firstly
instructed Hadrat
Álī radiAllahu Anhuto close the door. Thereafter he told him to
engage in audible dhikr. This indicates that on the whole,
concealment was intended.
The issue is not with regard to
the permissibility or non-permissibility of jahr but with regard to
its being more virtuous or not.
To claim that audible dhikr
is unconditionally better than inaudible dhikr is to reject the
explicit Qur’ānic verses and Shar’ī proofs. Accordingly, this view is
incorrect.
Similarly, to unconditionally
claim that dhikr khafī is more virtuous, is tantamount to
rejecting the texts of Sharī’ah. In a like manner, to reject all forms
of dhikr jahrī is going against Islamic texts. The audible
dhikr is not permissible in some instances, e.g. to recite audibly
in the sirrī salāhs (those that have to be performed
inaudibly). To claim that dhikr khafī is sunnah while regarding
dhikr khafī to refer to the murāqabah (meditation) as
espoused by the Sūfīs or to regard as Sharī’ah-compliant that
dhikr jahrī which the Sūfīs have initiated in which the
dhikr is excessively loud, is futile, let alone claiming it to
be more virtuous.
One should not pay attention to
the haughtiness and the discussion raised by some youth on both sides
as it is not acceptable.
To claim that audible dhikr
is unconditionally better than inaudible dhikr is to reject the
explicit Qur’ānic verses and Shar’ī proofs. Accordingly, this view is
incorrect.
It is abominable to exceed the
limits in any direction. Moderation is the better option. The best
speech is the one that is brief and concise.
May peace be upon the one who
follows the correct guidance and adopts the path of Nabī sallallahu
alayhu wassalam. C |
