There are three ways to do dhikr and each method has a different benefit and effect. Loud dhikr is more common in the Soharwardiyyah, Chishtiyah, Qaadiriyyah orders. This dhikr has its own benefits. The other method is dhikr with the tongue but, you cannot hear it with the tongue.
If you remain silent during loud dhikr then there is no benefit. Similarly, when it comes to dhikr of the tongue, your tongue should move and you should be able to hear yourself lightly so that you can understand the kalimaat which you are reciting. If you do not recite with your tongue lightly, there will be no benefit and the dhikr is not complete. You should repeat after your Sheikh. You can count on your fingers to remain alert.
Dhikr is performed to strengthen one's relationship with Allah ta'ala and to remove negligence. Thus, we should try not to feel lazy during dhikr. We may feel sleepy but, we should pay full attention and focus.
The third type of dhikr is silent dhikr which is known as Muraaqabah. This is the method of the Naqshbandi order and this is the best form of dhikr in order to acquire the nearness of Allah ta'ala.
During this dhikr, we are entirely focused upon Allah ta'ala. During the other forms of dhikr, the focus and attention isn't strong upon the heart and they have different impacts. However, the objective of dhikr is that our attention should be focused upon Allah ta'ala with every second. A person is able to attain this in the Naqshbandi order which is why we perform silent dhikr.
When the human being advances towards Allah ta'ala, he should focus. The method of eradicating useless thoughts from the mind is to always pay attention to Allah ta'ala strongly. We should think about Him with every moment, such that other futile thoughts do not cross our minds. Such thoughts and concerns serve no benefit or objective and are a waste of time.
When a person's focus is strong upon Allah ta'ala, he attains the presence of Allah ta'ala. He constantly feels that he is with Allah ta'ala. This is the highest form of dhikr.
Once we completely focus on Allah ta'ala, fear and interest in other things will be eliminated and we will become the beloved of Allah ta'ala.
How to attain this?
Through silent dhikr. We should be immersed in Muraaqabah and contemplate completely upon Allah ta'ala.
The king of all worship is prayer which is performed solely for the sake of Allah ta'ala. The soul of prayer is Muraaqabah. When a person prays, his complete focus should be upon Allah ta'ala with every position he takes. The more strong the focus is, the more high grade the prayer becomes, to the extent that the prayer reaches the state of Ihsaan, whereby one acknowledges that Allah ta'ala is watching him. This is the whole meaning of prayer - that we are connected to Allah ta'ala. This is why we pray.
In Muraaqabah, as soon as we close our eyes, we should attach our hearts to your Sheikh and not think about people. If we experience visions and sleepiness, we should continue focusing and our heart will continue to remember Allah ta'ala.
We should follow what our teacher is doing. If he is reciting loudly, we should also recite loudly. If we close our eyes and perform silent dhikr, we are wasting our time. Thus, we should follow what our Sheikh is doing and in the same style.
If we feel sleepy during dhikr of the tongue, we should stop, because we have become negligent. We should sit up and be alert, otherwise, we are a failure. If we feel sleepy, we should rise and make fresh wudu and then sit down.
During Muraaqabah, our hearts are connected to each other and this connection is going up to the Prophet ﷺ. Thus, we should remember the Mashãikh. The Shajarah Mubarak is very important to know. We recite the couplets so that we can attain more blessings from our Sheikh. This is all dhikr and then the path opens up for the student.
When a person performs Muraaqabah in this manner, automatically his focus on Allah ta'ala becomes stronger and the love for the world is removed from the heart.
A person has no fear and the only concern he has, is that may Allah ta'ala never be displeased with him. This is the aim. Such a person is always worried whether Allah ta'ala is pleased with him. This becomes his system of life.
The AwliyahAllah engage in abundant Muraaqabah and they eliminate the fear of the world to the extent that everything around them is eliminated.
Muraaqabah takes a person to the heights through all of the lessons that he has been assigned.
Sisters should also perform Muraaqabah. The tiredness they experience from working and their worries are eliminated through Muraaqabah.
There are three ways to do dhikr and each method has a different benefit and effect. Loud dhikr is more common in the Soharwardiyyah, Chishtiyah, Qaadiriyyah orders. This dhikr has its own benefits. The other method is dhikr with the tongue but, you cannot hear it with the tongue.
If you remain silent during loud dhikr then there is no benefit. Similarly, when it comes to dhikr of the tongue, your tongue should move and you should be able to hear yourself lightly so that you can understand the kalimaat which you are reciting. If you do not recite with your tongue lightly, there will be no benefit and the dhikr is not complete. You should repeat after your Sheikh. You can count on your fingers to remain alert.
Dhikr is performed to strengthen one's relationship with Allah ta'ala and to remove negligence. Thus, we should try not to feel lazy during dhikr. We may feel sleepy but, we should pay full attention and focus.
The third type of dhikr is silent dhikr which is known as Muraaqabah. This is the method of the Naqshbandi order and this is the best form of dhikr in order to acquire the nearness of Allah ta'ala.
During this dhikr, we are entirely focused upon Allah ta'ala. During the other forms of dhikr, the focus and attention isn't strong upon the heart and they have different impacts. However, the objective of dhikr is that our attention should be focused upon Allah ta'ala with every second. A person is able to attain this in the Naqshbandi order which is why we perform silent dhikr.
When the human being advances towards Allah ta'ala, he should focus. The method of eradicating useless thoughts from the mind is to always pay attention to Allah ta'ala strongly. We should think about Him with every moment, such that other futile thoughts do not cross our minds. Such thoughts and concerns serve no benefit or objective and are a waste of time.
When a person's focus is strong upon Allah ta'ala, he attains the presence of Allah ta'ala. He constantly feels that he is with Allah ta'ala. This is the highest form of dhikr.
Once we completely focus on Allah ta'ala, fear and interest in other things will be eliminated and we will become the beloved of Allah ta'ala.
How to attain this?
Through silent dhikr. We should be immersed in Muraaqabah and contemplate completely upon Allah ta'ala.
The king of all worship is prayer which is performed solely for the sake of Allah ta'ala. The soul of prayer is Muraaqabah. When a person prays, his complete focus should be upon Allah ta'ala with every position he takes. The more strong the focus is, the more high grade the prayer becomes, to the extent that the prayer reaches the state of Ihsaan, whereby one acknowledges that Allah ta'ala is watching him. This is the whole meaning of prayer - that we are connected to Allah ta'ala. This is why we pray.
In Muraaqabah, as soon as we close our eyes, we should attach our hearts to your Sheikh and not think about people. If we experience visions and sleepiness, we should continue focusing and our heart will continue to remember Allah ta'ala.
We should follow what our teacher is doing. If he is reciting loudly, we should also recite loudly. If we close our eyes and perform silent dhikr, we are wasting our time. Thus, we should follow what our Sheikh is doing and in the same style.
If we feel sleepy during dhikr of the tongue, we should stop, because we have become negligent. We should sit up and be alert, otherwise, we are a failure. If we feel sleepy, we should rise and make fresh wudu and then sit down.
During Muraaqabah, our hearts are connected to each other and this connection is going up to the Prophet ﷺ. Thus, we should remember the Mashãikh. The Shajarah Mubarak is very important to know. We recite the couplets so that we can attain more blessings from our Sheikh. This is all dhikr and then the path opens up for the student.
When a person performs Muraaqabah in this manner, automatically his focus on Allah ta'ala becomes stronger and the love for the world is removed from the heart.
A person has no fear and the only concern he has, is that may Allah ta'ala never be displeased with him. This is the aim. Such a person is always worried whether Allah ta'ala is pleased with him. This becomes his system of life.
The AwliyahAllah engage in abundant Muraaqabah and they eliminate the fear of the world to the extent that everything around them is eliminated.
Muraaqabah takes a person to the heights through all of the lessons that he has been assigned.
Sisters should also perform Muraaqabah. The tiredness they experience from working and their worries are eliminated through Muraaqabah.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen