Ramadan Reflections – Juz 2

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Ramadan Reflections

The Second Juz' – Surat al-Baqarah

فَاذÙ'كُرُونِي Ø£ÙŽØ°Ù'كُرÙ'كُمÙ' وَاشÙ'كُرُواÙ' لِي وَلاَ تَكÙ'فُرُونِ

So remember Me and I will remember you. Be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful. [2:152]

Today's ayah which we shall reflect upon is a very simple and short one, yet its meaning is profound and its depth is significant. The noble ayah discussed two tremendous acts of worship that many do not truly comprehend and as such they become heedless of them. These two acts are 1) Remembrance (thikr) and 2) Thankfulness (shukr). As we shall soon see, these two great acts build upon what we learned yesterday of the importance of proper worship. No doubt, entire books have been written about each of these two matters but inshā'Allāh we will at least try to cover the basics of these two acts so that we can start practicing them better this Ramadan inshā'Allāh.

Thikr

Regarding Allāh's statement above, Ibn 'Abbaas stated, “'Remember me' means by obeying me, and 'I will remember you' means that Allāh will remember us by His forgiveness”. Al-Hasan Al-Basri further commented, “Remember Me regarding what I have commanded you and I will remember you regarding what I have obliged upon Myself to do for your benefit (rewards and forgiveness).” And the eminent Successor Sa'eed ibn Jubayr summarized this issue beautifully when he said, “Thikr is obedience to Allāh Almighty. For whoever turns to Allāh and obeys Him, demonstrates that he has remembered Him. And if a person turns away from Allāh and does not obey Him, then he is not in a state of thikr even if he stays awake the whole night reciting the Qur'an and the praises of Allāh.” From this basis then we can now understand the following hadith:

Tirmithi narrated from Abu’l-Dardaa’ (ra) that the Prophet (saas) said: “Shall I not tell you of the best of your deeds and that which is most pure in the sight of your Lord, that which raises you more in status and is better for you than giving gold and silver (in charity), and better than your meeting your enemy and striking their necks and they strike your necks?’ They said, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allāh.’ He said, ‘Remembering Allāh (thikr).’” Mu'aath ibn Jabal (ra) adds, “There is nothing more effective in preventing the punishment of Allāh than the remembrance of Allāh.”

So we now can understand why thikr is so important and why so effective in preventing the punishment of Allāh because it entails obeying Allāh and avoiding His prohibitions which is taqwa as we have learned. Another aspect of this hadith can also revolve around the maintenance of an attentive heart during thikr with the tongue. It is a common sight to find someone moving through the beads of his rosary (sibhah) while actively engaged in conversation or even an argument. The greatest value in the thikr is that which is attained when the heart is in tune with what the tongue is saying so that Allāh's greatness is truly appreciated and loving Him, fearing His punishment and hoping for His mercy are truly established in the heart.

Furthermore as we know from the Hadith Qudsi that whoever remembers Allāh, Allāh will remember him:

أَنَا عِنÙ'دَ ظَنÙ'ِ عَبÙ'دِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ حِينَ ÙŠÙŽØ°Ù'كُرُنِي فَإِنÙ' ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفÙ'سِهِ ذَكَرÙ'تُهُ فِي نَفÙ'سِي وَإِنÙ' ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلَإٍ ذَكَرÙ'تُهُ فِي مَلَإٍ خَيÙ'رٍ مِنÙ'هُ

Muslim narrates from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger of Allāh (saas) said that Allāh (Glorified and Exalted) said, “I am to my servant as he expects of Me, 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 an assembly, I mention him in an assembly better than his….”

Shukr

The second aspect of the ayah refers to thankfulness, yet what exactly does it mean to thank Allāh? Many people think it is simply a verbal statement but this is a very limited understanding. Elsewhere in the Qur'an Allāh states:

وَإِذÙ' تَأَذÙ'ÙŽÙ†ÙŽ رَبÙ'ُكُمÙ' لَئِن شَكَرÙ'تُمÙ' لأَزِيدَنÙ'َكُمÙ' وَلَئِن كَفَرÙ'تُمÙ' إِنÙ'ÙŽ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ

And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks, I will give you more ; but if you are ungrateful, verily My punishment is indeed severe. [14:7]

In both of these cases, thankfulness is equivalent to obedience to Allāh and ingratitude equivalent to disobeying Him. The reason for this is that true thankfulness is to use what Allāh has given you in a way that is pleasing to Him and in a way consistent with the Shari'ah. If Allāh blesses you with money and you wish to thank Him, then to spend it on that which is halaal is thankfulness. You can say alhamdulillah all that you want but if you then use your money in that which is prohibited what good is the saying of alhamdulillah? We again see this pristine understanding in the lives of the Companions as in the following authentic hadith:

Abu Raja' Al-`Utaaridi said: `Imran bin Husayn (ra) came out to us once wearing a nice garment interwoven with a small amount of silk that we never saw him wear before or afterwards. He said, “Allāh's Messenger (saas) said, 'When Allāh has favored someone with a bounty, then He likes to see the effect of His bounty on His servant'.” (Ahmad)

Once again though, thanking Allāh with the tongue is certainly something not to be neglected. The following hadith illustrates this issue well:

On the authority of Abu Malik Al-Ashari (ra) who said that the Messenger of Allāh said (saas), “Purity is half of faith. And Alhamdulillah (praise and thanks are due to Allāh) fills the scales, and subḥānAllāh (How exalted is Allāh from every imperfection they seek to attribute to Him) and alhamdulillah fill that which is between heaven and earth ….” (Muslim)

From this hadith we see that no doubt there is great virtue, honor and reward in praising and thanking Allāh with the tongue – yet this virtue is not the same for the one who does so with an empty or heedless heart. So when you say these phrases of remembrance, then let your heart be focused; think and reflect upon what you are praising and thanking Allāh for so that your heart can acknowledge His great favors upon you.

So in conclusion, the take-home points from today's ayah are as follows:

1. The essence of thikr is to obey Allāh and act upon His commands, avoiding His prohibitions. This demonstrates your remembrance of Him. This does not mean that our hearts and lips should become silent though; for the combination of keeping your lips moist with the remembrance of Allāh – to continue to praise Allāh with the recommended phrases taught in the Sunnah with an attentive heart – and obeying Him with your limbs completes this act if it is done with sincerity seeking only the pleasure of Allāh.

2. The true nature of thanking Allāh – shukr – is by using what He has favored you with in obedience to Him. This does not mean that a person can have no enjoyment, but the enjoyment he derives from the bounties of Allāh upon him should always be within the permitted and never crossing over into those acts which the Shari'ah has prohibited.

And Allāh knows best.