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Dedicated to my late father, Abdul Hameed, who has passed away on Thursday, February 10th, 2022 (Rajab 9, 1443). “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” May he be dressed in the lights of Muhammad ﷺ. One must make time and listen, with concentration until the end in order to engage in the purification of the heart and defeat the enemies within. It was said that when the companions would come and sit in the sacred presence of the holy Prophet ﷺ, it would be as if they were submerged into the oceans of light and bathed in the ecstasy of Divine Love, like golden flames of light permeating their Being. Their hearts, illuminated by the light of God, now beheld the world with eyes that could truly see and ears that could truly hear. And sometimes, they would bear witness to miraculous occurrences that would otherwise be veiled from the senses. Jabir reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The best remembrance of Allah is to repeat 'la ilaha illallah'.“ Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ said, “I asked the Prophet ﷺ one time, 'O Messenger of Allah, guide me to the shortest way to the Presence of Allah, and the easiest way to worship Him, and the best way for Allah to be pleased.' The Prophet ﷺ responded, 'O 'Ali, you have to be continuously making remembrance of Allah, both silently and aloud.' I replied, 'O Messenger of Allah, all human beings are making remembrance [Dhikr]. Give me something special.' The Prophet ﷺ responded, 'O 'Ali, the best of what I, and all Prophets عليهم السلام before me, said is, 'la ilaha illa Allah [There is none worthy of worship other than Allah.] If all the heavens and earth were placed on one side of the balance and 'la ilaha illa Allah' were placed on the other, 'la ilaha illa Allah' would be heavier. Judgment Day will never come as long as there are people on this earth saying 'la ilaha illa Allah.' Then I asked him, 'How should I recite?' The Prophet ﷺ explained how to recite it and its proper articulations, 'Close your eyes and listen to me reciting 'la ilaha illa Allah' three times. Then you say it three times and I will listen to you.' Then the Prophet ﷺ said it and I repeated it in a loud voice.“ [Source: Recorded by Imam Jalaluddin al--Suyuti, and others] There is the saying of the Sufis, “empty yourself of your self.“ This speaks to the essence of what we are called to do, mentioned in the Qur'an. It is what is at the heart of the Divine Statement taught by the Holy Prophet ﷺ: ...who have believed and whose hearts have contentment and bliss in the remembrance of Allah. Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find contentment and bliss! [13:28] Your relationship with God is inextricably intertwined with God's relationship with you, for God is the very ground of Pure Being [wujud]. In a hadith qudsi, it is stated: “Those that remember Me in their heart, I remember them in My heart; and those that remember Me in a gathering, I remember them in a gathering better than theirs.” In Bukhari and Muslim: The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah has angels roaming the roads to find the people of dhikr, i.e. those who meditate on 'la ilaha illa Allah' [and similar expressions]. When they find a group of people meditating, they call each other and encompass them in layers until the first heaven — the location of which is in the knowledge of Allah. The masters of the path say the angels harmonize with the Divine frequencies emanating from the heart. Anaas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When you pass by the meadows of Paradise, graze as you like.” Some companions asked, “What are the meadows of Paradise?” The Prophet ﷺ responded, “They are the circles of remembrance [dhikr].” Sahl ibn Hanzalah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “No people sit together to remember and meditate on Allah Almighty and stand to leave until a heavenly caller says to them, 'Stand and your sins are forgiven by Allah! Your bad deeds have been replaced with good deeds!' ” The Prophet ﷺ was sitting with his companions, and said to them, “Shall I tell you about the best of deeds, the most pure in the sight of your Lord, about the one that is of the highest order and is far greater for you than spending gold and silver, even better for you than meeting your enemies in the battlefield where you strike at their necks and they at yours?” The Companions replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah! ﷺ” The Prophet ﷺ said, “The meditation [dhikr] upon Allah.” In letting go of this life, becoming resigned with the reality of one's death, and desiring eternal life with Allah, Muslim warriors enter into an unbeatable state of courage and fearlessness. This sacred practice formed as the spiritual basis of the warrior spirit in Islam, encapsulated in its warrior tradition of Futuwwa. However, the masters of the path say that the honor of mankind is in destroying the power of Satan. One cannot be a [sacred] warrior without this.
