The greatest worship during these blessed days is the dhikr of Allah ta'ala.
Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates a Hadith and all the levels in Tasawwuf such as Wilaayat and attaining Allah ta'ala's closeness, are all connected to this Hadith.
No one can attain Allah ta'ala's nearness without understanding and implementing this Hadith.
Allah ta'ala said: "I am as My servant expects of Me, and I am with him as He remembers Me....Whoever comes near to Me by a hand span, I come near to him by an arm’s length. Whoever comes near to Me by an arm’s length, I come near to him by the length of a fathom. If he turns walking to Me, I turn running to Him.” [Muslim Shareef]
This Hadith is present in the various Ahadith books. The word 'servant' does not refer to someone pious and free from sin. Rather, it refers to all people including the sinful people.
Dhikr is such a beloved action to Allah ta'ala that He remembers the Dhaakir regardless of him being pious or not. Allah ta'ala is with Him and He has a special closeness attached to this person. Due to Allah ta'ala being with this person, his condition changes and his character improves.
If the servant comes towards Allah ta'ala by one hand span, Allah ta'ala comes close to him by one hand span. This is due to a person's dhikr. With Allah ta'ala coming closer, the person receives Allah ta'ala's mercy and his condition evolves and improves further.
The levels of Allah ta'ala's nearness begin via the dhikr of Allah ta'ala and all the Awliyah Allah reached the heights through this method. Without dhikr, one cannot attain Allah ta'ala's nearness.
When a person begins performing dhikr, he should be firm and he shouldn't take a step back otherwise he will face loss. Rather, he should strengthen his dhikr as dhikr gives him a connection with Allah ta'ala based on love. We should always seek to extend this connection.
Trials appear in our life and Shaytan and nafs discourage us and make us weak, however, we should never leave and reject the dhikr of Allah ta'ala. This is merely a test which we shouldn’t fail in.
We should be steadfast upon dhikr irrespective of our desires and we should not abandon it at all costs. If we remain steadfast, Allah ta'ala will constantly grant us promotion via the dhikr of Allah ta'ala.
If a person desires to strengthen his relationship with Allah ta'ala and desires to practice his deen, then this Hadith provides us the prescription.
Allah ta'ala has granted us dhikr which is full of benefit. We should not abandon this action until it delivers us to Paradise.
When the servant is improved via dhikr, his attention towards Allah ta'ala is increased and light and strength of the deen is increased within him.
When a person extends one hand span towards Allah ta'ala, Allah ta'ala comes closer to him by two hand spans. This servant is given a high status and his deen strengthens. Then he advances through the levels of Tasawwuf and he attains the nearness of Allah ta'ala and he is given elevation and promotion.
Whether one fathoms this or not, the Hadtih teaches us that such a person is given a higher level. We must have certainty in this otherwise we cannot progress.
If we sit for dhikr after Fajr, we are given the reward for Hajj and Umrah. We cannot physically witness this reward although our certainty in this fact is strong. We know that we will receive this reward due to our solid belief.
We should have great belief in Allah ta'ala that He is indeed rewarding us although we cannot see the rewards visibly. When this belief strengthens, then a person never steps back. He knows that he is drawing nearer to Allah ta'ala through dhikr.
A person becomes so close to Allah ta'ala through his dhikr that he becomes desperate and eager to remember Allah ta'ala and he becomes elevated from one level to another.
When the servant walks towards Allah ta'ala, then Allah ta'ala runs towards him. This is the condition of Allah ta'ala's dhikr. The Dhaakir never loses out.
If Allah ta'ala has given you the capability to engage in dhikr, then know that this path will only become stronger. You will not become weaker and you will keep progressing. This, you should disregard the whispers of Shaytan and keep working hard. You will do wrong and commit sins, however, you should never step back. When you work hard in becoming closer to Allah ta'ala, then Allah ta'ala forgives the sins that you commit alongside and elevates your status.
Dhikr is what takes a person close to Allah ta'ala and all the levels of acquiring His nearness and attachment are via dhikr and no other action. We should be grateful to Allah ta'ala and be firm upon of dhikr as Allah ta'ala has placed every success and benefit in dhikr.
We should never lose hope in the mercy of Allah ta'ala. Many people give up on the way and they receive negative feelings influenced by Shaytan, however, steadfastness is the greatest action.
Unfortunately due to todays evil and corruption, the importance of dhikr has been eliminated from our lives. When the importance of an action decreases, then the deen scatters and we end up following our own desires and opinions. In reality, the sign of fitna of Dajjaal is that we will follow the deen according to our own whims and desires. We will possess the deen but we will not implement.
We should be consistent in our dhikr. We should keep on it even if we are weak and committing sins. We should never abandon it as ta'ala has granted us this great action.
Allah ta'ala envelopes the Dhaakir with mercy and the person improves. Many people have achieved a high rank due to their steadfastness upon dhikr.
Allah ta'ala has not emphasised upon any other action in the Quran besides His dhikr and all issues are solved via dhikr. It should be a part of our life whereby we must attain the pleasure and nearness of Allah ta'ala through it. It is not a minor action. We should intend to partake the dhikr gatherings at least once or twice. Thereafter, Allah ta'ala will bring us more often, however, we must initiate the process ourselves.
We may be weak but we must take the first step. Thereafter, Allah ta'ala will make everything easy for us to keep upon this path.
We should intend to partake and then leave the rest to Allah ta'ala. We must have the desire and passion to attain Allah ta'ala's nearness through these dhikr gatherings.
Those who are already engaging in dhikr should be steadfast. We shouldn’t be negligent otherwise Allah ta'ala will become unhappy due to us abandoning this reward. Allah ta'ala's displeasure is very severe.
