{"id":33,"date":"2011-03-20T09:57:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-20T09:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2011\/03\/20\/is-this-your-dhikr\/"},"modified":"2011-03-20T09:57:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-20T09:57:00","slug":"is-this-your-dhikr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2011\/03\/is-this-your-dhikr.html","title":{"rendered":"Is This Your Dhikr?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim<\/p>\n

Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We all know the benefits of making dhikr, remembrance of Allah. \u00a0It is the habit of many Muslims to say \u201calhamdulillah\u201d (praise be to Allah), subhanAllah (glory be to Allah), and other phrases that come to us from the Qur\u2019an and authentic Sunnah. \u00a0Making dhikr is a way of remembering Allah, thanking Him, asking forgiveness from Him, glorifying Him, and showing that we are submissive to His will. \u00a0It can be a beautiful spiritual practice. \u00a0But for some, it has devolved into a soulless, mindless repetition of arcane words. \u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As with any act of worship in Islam, there are two parts. \u00a0We must have the proper niyyah, intention, and we must do the action in the correct way according to the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah. \u00a0Even the informal dhikr has rules. \u00a0Shouldn\u2019t do it in the bathroom, or while eating lunch, or while you\u2019re supposed to be doing something else \u2013 like listening to the Jumuah khutbah. \u00a0We should also be mindful of what dhikr is. \u00a0 It is a type of communicating with Allah, so it\u2019s very important that when we do it, we give it our full attention.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Remember how your mom would always tell you not to mumble? \u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t understand what you\u2019re saying. \u00a0Speak up and enunciate.\u201d \u00a0If we want to truly benefit from the words we are saying, we should pronounce them so they are understood. \u00a0How many times have you done this, or heard someone near you doing this:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAlhamdulillah\u2026alhamdulillah\u2026alhamdulillah\u2026hamdulillah\u2026.hamdulillah\u2026hamdulillah\u2026.hamdullah\u2026hamdullah\u2026hamdullah\u2026hamda\u2026hamda\u2026hamda\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
By the time you get to the last in your string of words, what comes out of your mouth has very little resemblance to the word \u201calhamdulillah\u201d. \u00a0You end up sounding like this guy:<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n