"So remember Me; I will remember you" Quran 2:152

Remembering Allah with your heart:

oh how I wish I can fully achieve this especially in salat....

On Tuesday I was at my new school and while I was working I realized it was Asr time. Although I make my salat across the street at the salat room, I knew it would be easier to just tell my boss that I needed a quiet place for 5 minutes.

Right when I thought of asr prayer, literally like 2 minutes later a Muslim coworker  came to me and told me that there was an empty office to make salat in. I told him subhanAllah I was JUST thinking about where I was going to make salat! He showed me the office space and he even placed a salat rug.

At that moment I was reminded of the beautiful ayah

 

" So remember Me and I will remember you"

Surat Al Baqarah Ayah 152

You probably read this ayah multiple times, but how many times did you actually contemplate upon it or apply it to events that happen in your life. I dare you to try this....this is how you build your faith in Allah!

On Wednesday the topic of the Purification of the Soul lecture was on the remeberance of Allah, here is what Sheikh Al Hayek taught us :

"Remembrance of Allah" Dhikr" and how this is the best means for the process of "tazikyah: Purification of the soul.

The Arabic word for person is "insan" which has the Arabic root word forget, and the plural form of this word is "nas" people which also has the Arabic word forget in it.

The remembrance of Allah is not just an obligation

If we were really sound and at peace we should and could not forget Allah

We forget Allah even though He is everywhere you go:

"and He is with you wherever you are"
Surat Al Hadid Aya 4

Remembrance of Allah is essentential to your life, it is a state of the mind and the heart

عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى رضي الله عنه قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلي الله عليه وآله وسلم: مَثَلُ الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ رَبَّهُ وَالَّذِي لَا يَذْكُرُ رَبَّهُ مَثَلُ الْحَيِّ وَالْمَيِّتِ
The Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) said,

“He who remembers his Lord and he who

does not are like the living and the dead.”

The essence of remembrance is to be aware and conscious of Allah.

"And be not like those who forgot Allah ,  so He made them forget themselves"
Surat Al Hashr ayah 19

The state of remembrance is an inner state of the heart.

"Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest"
Surat Ar Rad Ayah 28

Look at the following ayah, although Allah is telling us that the result of the prayer is to prevent you from doing bad, there is  a more important result which is the remembrance of Allah

"Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do"

Surat Al Ankabut Ayah 45

One of the great women of Islam once said:

"Much of our istfighr needs istifghar"

We pronounce istfighar but our hearts are not sincere

We ended this class with my story and the ayah and I want to end this post with that ayah

" So remember Me and I will remember you"
These are the words of Allah!
2:152