Allah says:
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ
Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith.
The great Shaadhili Imaam Al-’Arabi Ad-Darqaawi wrote in one of his letters found in his collection of letters titled “Rasaa’il” the following:
انا جليس من ذكرني
“I am the companion ((Jalees can also mean friend, or one who sits with another )) of whoever remembers me!” ((With this sepcific wording it is reported by Abu Nu’aym in his Hilya from Ka’ab. It is also reported with slight differences by Imaam Ad-Daylami, ibn Shaaheen and others. Abu Nu’aym reports it through Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal as follows:حدثنا أبو بكر بن مالك حدثنا عبدالله بن أحمد بن حنبل قال حدثني أبي قال حدثنا وكيع قال حدثنا سفيان عن عطاء بن أبي مروان عن أبيه عن كعب الأحبار قال قال موسى عليه السلام: (يا رب أقريب أنت فأناجيك أم بعيد فأناديك قال: يا موسى أنا جليس من ذكرني قال: يا رب فإنا نكون من الحال على حال نجلك ونعظمك أن نذكرك قال: وما هي؟ قال: الجنابة والغائط قال: يا موسى اذكرني على كل حالOne can also find this hadith in the Sunan of Imaam Al-Bayhaqi from Abu Hurayrah ))
I am by no means a doctor of medicine, so what I am about to say to you is based upon personal experience and study, and by no means should be taken as medical advice. It is scientifically/medically established that one can be genetically predisposed to depression; in other words you can inherit the physiological causes of depression such as seratonin etc. ((To read some interesting research go to this link: http://record.wustl.edu/archive/1998/11-12-98/articles/shortage.html )) It so happens that on both sides of my family tree, seratonin levels are low, leading to depression. Anyone that has been diagnosed with depression knows how difficult it is to deal with life. They understand the lack of drive and will to do anything; even ‘eebaadaat. They understand the constant struggle one must go through, day to day, in order to keep going.
I believe I have found a cure. It did work for me and for some time now I have not had the symptoms of depression, wa lillahil Hamd. The solution, brethren, is dhikr of Allah. A heart without Allah, is a dead heart, a heart without life. The anxiety and depression one feels can be solved by falling in love with Allah ta’alaa. How? Through constant dhikr. Imaam Al-’Arabi Ad-Darqaawi states in the rasaa’il:
The realization of Dhikr, in its true and perfect form, will lead one to be a true Mureed. What is a Mureed? A Mureed is the one who wills something. In the nomenclature of Tasawwuf, the Mureed is the one who wills (or wants) whatever Allah has wants/wills for him. The mureed, then, is the one who truly submits his soul, entirely, to Allah’s will. An example of this level of belief is manifested in the 5th rightly guided Khalifah of the Muslims, ‘Umar ibn Abdul-’Azeez when he was asked, “What do you wish?” To which he responded with, “Whatever Allah decides!”
Submission and total acceptance of Allah’s decree, constant remebrance of Him as well as being thankful for his numerous blessings upon us, is the cure for any disease of the heart.
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم مِّن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أُوْلَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
And be careful lest the above verse:
“Then woe unto those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah. Such are in plain error.” ((39:22 ))
apply to you!
May Allah make us of the dhaakireen and the dhaakiraat of whom he says in the Qur’aan:
والذاكرين الله كثيرا والذاكرات أعد الله لهم مغفرة وأجرا عظيما
“…and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s remembrance (dhikr),- for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.” ((33:35 ))
And May Allah bless his Prophet Muhammad, his companions, his family and those who follow him till the end. Aameen!
subhanallah Sidi I loved the article, it reminds of a quote which I recently read;
كيف يُشرقُ قَلْبٌ صُوَرُ الأكوانِ مُنْطَبِعَةٌ في مرآته ؟ أمْ كيف يرحلُ إلى الله وهو مكَبَّلٌ بشَهواته ؟ أم كيف يطمع أن يدخل حضرةَ الله وهو لم يتطهَّر من جَنَابَةِ غَفَلاتِهِ ؟ أم كيف يرجو أن يفهم دقائقَ
الأسرارِ وهو لم يَتُبْ من هَفَواتِهِ ؟
“How can a heart be illumined when the forms of created things are imprinted in its mirror? Or how can it travel to Allah when it is tied down by its vain desires? Or how can it be avid to enter the Divine Presence when it hasn’t purified itself from the impurity of its heedlessness? Or how can it hope to understand subtle secrets when it hasn’t repented from its errors?”
Allah! What a beautiful quote Sidi Hussain, Ghafar Allahu Lak! It reminded me of the statement of Shaykh Nuh, when he was discussing dong the khalwah; one must entirely be free of present or future concerns. Only Allah can be one’s ultimate concern. Such a state was even difficult for some of the Sahaabah – such as Hanthala. What of our miserable souls?
Btw Who said it?
Jazaakum Allahu Khairan
Thats from the Hikam of Sidi Ibn Ata’illah
Jazkallah Khair Sidi, I have a book with a bunch of beautiful quotes unfortunately time wasn’t too kind to this book and its tatters.