What Kind of Dhikr Do We Want to Practice in Our Lives?

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 11 September 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Allah, Blessed and Exalted, described the people of faith as those who, when they are reminded of the verses of their Lord, fall down in prostration.^[1] So what kind of dhikr is this that makes a person fall down in prostration to Allah, Blessed and Exalted? It is nothing other than a dhikr that sets out from within the heart, not a dhikr that strives toward the heart and never reaches it.

Between the Dhikr of the Tongue and the Dhikr of the Heart

There is a dhikr of the tongue that the servant grows accustomed to until it reaches his heart, and there is another kind of dhikr that sets out from the heart, so that its echo and reverberation are on the tongue. So which kind of dhikr are we upon? And which kind of dhikr do we want to practice in our lives?

The People of This Dhikr

And reflect on His saying, Glory be to Him: ﴿تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا﴾ (“Their sides part from their beds; they call upon their Lord in fear and hope”).^[2]

Remembering Allah in Deeds and Situations

Remember Allah in your deeds, in your work, in your life, in your conduct, in your situations. Remember Allah when you feel that you are men, and remember Him when you feel that you are fathers, and remember Him when you feel that you are merchants who buy and sell, and remember Him when you feel that you are people with a mission in this life, whether a doctor or a professor or an engineer or a merchant, whatever you may be. The remembrance of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, night and day.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The speaker alludes to the meaning of the verse, which is in Sūrat al-Sajdah (15): ﴿إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهَا خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا…﴾ (“Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded of them, fall down in prostration…”); he did not recite it verbatim in the transcript. ^[2]: Al-Sajdah: 16.