Benefits of Dhikr

[SportingBD]

La ilaha illallah (There is No God But Allah).

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:"When a servant of Allah utters the words la ilaha illallah (there is no God except Allah) sincerely, the doors of heaven open up for these words until they reach the Throne of Allah, so long as its utterer keeps away from the major sins.” [at-Tirmidhi]

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, "Renew your faith." "How can we renew our faith?" they asked. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) replied: "Say always: la ilaha illallah." [Ahmad]

SubhanAllah wa biHamdihi (Glory be to Allah and Praise Him).

Whoever says (the above) a hundred times during the day, his sins are wiped away, even if they are like the foam of the sea.[Sahih al-Bukhari; #7:168, Sahih Muslim; #4:2071]

Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, "Shall I tell you the words that Allah loves the most?" I said: "Yes, tell me, O Messenger of Allah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The words dearest to Allah are: subhanAllah wa bihamdihi”. [ Muslim and at-Tirmidhi.]

SubhanAllahi wa biHamdihi, Subhan-Allahi 'l-`adheem (Glory be to Allah, and Praise, Glory be to Allah, the Supreme)

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Two words are light on the tongue, weigh heavily in the balance, they are loved by the Most Merciful One." [Sahih al-Bukhari; #7:67, Sahih Muslim, #4:2071]

SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)

Whoever recites [the above] one Hundred times, a thousand good deeds are recorded for him or a thousand bad deeds are wiped away.[Sahih Muslim; #4:2073.]

Please feel free to add more.

[Tigers_eye]

My understanding is: It only benefits a person if he/she knows why/what it means, believes in it, is conscious of it, and the person don't contradicts his/her action with what he/she is saying. The "AND" word dictates the above sentence. Meaning all things must be fulfilled to get the actual reward. (Allahu Alim)

Rabbi yassir wala tu'assir wa tammim bil khair
(O Allah! Make it easy, and do not make it difficult. O Allah! Make it end well)
Allahumma Innaka `Afuwwun Tuhibbul `Afwa fa`fu `Annee

("O Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.") Ending with "Anna" would mean "us" instead of "me"



This is one of my favorite one: 21:83 (Partial) Prophet Aiub (A) made this dua when he was sick.

Inni Massaniyad durruh wa anta ar Rahmanur Rahimin"Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful."

[BengaliPagol]

Your tongue does thikr. Do enough and your heart will also do thikr. Do enough and your heart is doing thikr in your sleep as well. In shaa Allah we reach that state

[Tigers_eye]

Astaghfirullah is the act of seeking forgiveness from Allah.

Meaning "I seek forgiveness from Allah".

[SportingBD]

Curious to know.

If our destiny is already written, why is there a need to pray?

Let’s assume you pray for X, Y, Z in your life. And you get none.

But you prayed for those. If you had known you wouldn’t have got it would you pray?

I mean to say if the outcome would have been same what is the need to pray for XYZ?

[BengaliPagol]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
Curious to know.

If our destiny is already written, why is there a need to pray?

Let’s assume you pray for X, Y, Z in your life. And you get none.

But you prayed for those. If you had known you wouldn’t have got it would you pray?

I mean to say if the outcome would have been same what is the need to pray for XYZ?

It boils down to intention and will. Pre-destination can be described using an example of a highway. Everyone can drive a car on the highway and reach the same destination, but the free will element is how sensibly we drive along that highway.

Are you being a reckless driver? Or do you abide by the road rules?

The highway is the path that Allah has laid out, and the driving part is our own free will/intention part.

[ToBeFair]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
Curious to know.

If our destiny is already written, why is there a need to pray?

Let’s assume you pray for X, Y, Z in your life. And you get none.

But you prayed for those. If you had known you wouldn’t have got it would you pray?
I mean to say if the outcome would have been same what is the need to pray for XYZ?

When you pray to God, does He respond? The answer is yes. He responds to every prayer. The Islamic belief is, God responds to your prayer in three different ways:

1. He gives you what you have asked for
2. He does not give you what you have asked for, but removes equivalent amount of harm from your life
3. He does not give you 1 and 2, but He will reciprocate you on the Day of Judgment

Is everything pre-destined? The answer is Yes. Whatever God has destined for you, will never miss you, and whatever God has not written for you, will never reach you.

Now the question comes, what is point of prayer or asking from God?

The question is similar to: If God is self sufficient, why do we need to worship Him?

The reason you need to pray to and ask from God is because you do not know what is destined for you. Thus, you show your need to God and God loves when we show our need to Him.

He is the only entity that loves to be asked for things and hates when He is not asked for, whereas His creation, conversely, gets irritated whenever asked for any favor.

Thus, have the best intention and though about God and ask from Him. Rest assured, He will give you what is best for you at the right time, and do not get tricked into philosophical discussion about the need for making prayer and its relationship with predestination.

[SportingBD]

Originally Posted by ToBeFair
When you pray to God, does He respond? The answer is yes. He responds to every prayer. The Islamic belief is, God responds to your prayer in three different ways:

1. He gives you what you have asked for
2. He does not give you what you have asked for, but removes equivalent amount of harm from your life
3. He does not give you 1 and 2, but He will reciprocate you on the Day of Judgment

Is everything pre-destined? The answer is Yes. Whatever God has destined for you, will never miss you, and whatever God has not written for you, will never reach you.

Now the question comes, what is point of prayer or asking from God?

The question is similar to: If God is self sufficient, why do we need to worship Him?

The reason you need to pray to and ask from God is because you do not know what is destined for you. Thus, you show your need to God and God loves when we show our need to Him.

He is the only entity that loves to be asked for things and hates when He is not asked for, whereas His creation, conversely, gets irritated whenever asked for any favor.

Thus, have the best intention and though about God and ask from Him. Rest assured, He will give you what is best for you at the right time, and do not get tricked into philosophical discussion about the need for making prayer and its relationship with predestination.

What’s the difference between someone who doesn’t ask but gets, and someone who does but doesn’t get? What’s the significance in that?

You ask God to give knowing that his the one who holds power to make even the imperfect, the perfect? You don’t ask just for the sake of asking.

By human nature what is within our capacity we don’t ask, what is beyond our capacity we ask him for, since he has all the powers to perfect that.

There are many who don’t worship God at all nor ask for anything, but they get.. what they want.. even though someone who prays day/night doesn’t get?

Curious to know how this works?

[SportingBD]

Originally Posted by BengaliPagol
It boils down to intention and will. Pre-destination can be described using an example of a highway. Everyone can drive a car on the highway and reach the same destination, but the free will element is how sensibly we drive along that highway.

Are you being a reckless driver? Or do you abide by the road rules?

The highway is the path that Allah has laid out, and the driving part is our own free will/intention part.

What I don’t understand is that there are people like Trump, Putin, Assad, Kim etc who have done terrible things, yet they have been gifted by God with power? If you believe in pre-destination then you would agree that it is God who gave them power?

But on the other hand you have people in the mosque praying, trying to live a good life.. and what is the gift from God? Often the answer is oh you will be rewarded in the next life.. I mean? What?

[Zeeshan]

Lol how does a thread about dhikr suddenly turn to Trump? Haha

[adamnsu]

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
Lol how does a thread about dhikr suddenly turn to Trump? Haha

I want to ask the same question, without the chuckle at the end

[Zeeshan]

Well to be transparent the chuckle wasn't a "haha another Muslim thread going down boiiii" chuckle per se, rather more of a "damn-cant-keep-the-man-out-hein?" chuckle.

To clarify.

[zman]

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
Lol how does a thread about dhikr suddenly turn to Trump? Haha

almost impossible to keep him out of any discussion these days

[zman]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
Curious to know.

If our destiny is already written, why is there a need to pray?

Let’s assume you pray for X, Y, Z in your life. And you get none.

But you prayed for those. If you had known you wouldn’t have got it would you pray?

I mean to say if the outcome would have been same what is the need to pray for XYZ?

BP and ToBeFair have provided insightful perspectives. I'll add another one. This may not be a direct answer to your question but sometimes it's more important to figure it out for oneself after taking different perspectives into account. Imagine the following scenarios:

1) If you put a toy in front of a toddler, you can pretty much predict what the kid will do next... crawl towards it
2) In 2016 US elections a data analytics company, known to the whole world by now, helped Trump win the elections. They were able to build accurate psychological profiles of voters based on a few tweets and likes on facebook. They were not only able to read their minds but also predict future behavior quite accurately. They took it a step further when they used their knowledge base to manufacture consent of voters by using a technique called psychometrics, which is essentially individualized advertising based on behavioral microtargetting.
3) Fast forward a few years and the kind of research going on in the field of AI will blow anyone's mind. One of the projects Amazon is working on will provide them ability to read our mind as we read content on Kindle. Kindle will monitor the pause between sentences and paragraphs and read our facial expressions and archive the data on amazon servers. This data will be used to create analytical models that will predict with a high degree of certainty how a person will behave in specific scenarios that they have not even faced yet.

If one believes in a deity who controls time, set into motion the process of creation and is responsible for creation of all things, is it really that far fetched to think he possesses knowledge of the past and the future?

[zman]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
What I don’t understand is that there are people like Trump, Putin, Assad, Kim etc who have done terrible things, yet they have been gifted by God with power? If you believe in pre-destination then you would agree that it is God who gave them power?

But on the other hand you have people in the mosque praying, trying to live a good life.. and what is the gift from God? Often the answer is oh you will be rewarded in the next life.. I mean? What?

Your post captures the uncertainty in understanding of the definition of reward which is very common. From a religious perspective it helps to understand and appreciate the meaning of reward when we reflect on the meaning of life and death. Few years back I remember reading about Uday Hussein, son of Saddam, his lavish lifestyle and stories about his savagery. People that showed any form of dissent or disobeyed him directly would be thrown into the cages of his vicious pet tigers. He enjoyed watching them get devoured. Uday suffered an ignominious death when he was brutally killed by American soldiers. Seldom do we reflect upon death which is the biggest equalizer.

Here's something worth trying. Next time you make a nice windfall, treat yourself to something nice. It could be a nice house, car, laptop or whatever works for you. At the same time do something nice for someone less fortunate than you, an act of mercy such as sponsoring an orphan, or helping a kid who is battling cancer, etc. See which one gives you more satisfaction or REWARD.

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by zman
If one believes in a deity who controls time, set into motion the process of creation and is responsible for creation of all things, is it really that far fetched to think he possesses knowledge of the past and the future?

As Firas Zahabi (GSP's trainer) and a practicing Muslim mentioned to Joe Rogan:

God took the ultimate break.

If you view the universe in the same Laplacian model of atomic or particle based billiard board model, when the whole s broke loose with creation of space-time and Planck time and what not during 'Bang, then although from our puny, human perspective everything seems like a mess, but underlying the cosmic fabric there is Supreme Order and Beauty.

And I do adhere to that. I mean I don't necessarily think there is billiard board model, but however, it IS true, imo, that God wanted to test how bad humans can f*** up and rise.

[ToBeFair]

It is truly baffling that someone who has opened a purely spiritual thread about the benefits of doing dhikr (remembrance of God), presumably believing in the ritual of dhikr and its benefits, suddenly makes a complete U-turn and starts posting tonmoy like questions, ranging from the point of asking from God to God’s distribution of His provision among His creation and His predestination.

I have given the benefit of doubt and responded, but know that if you truly want to learn your religion, you have put some effort and a random answer at a random forum will not satisfy you. Even to find the truth, you have to work and search for it. Read books, go to a seminary, sit with scholars, watch lectures on YouTube – do something!

Originally Posted by SportingBD
What’s the difference between someone who doesn’t ask but gets, and someone who does but doesn’t get? What’s the significance in that?

First, note that whatever God has decreed for you, will surely reach you, and whatever God has not decreed for you, will never reach you.

The difference between someone who asks from God and someone who does not ask from God is the essential difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. The purpose behind the creation of humans and jinns was the worship of God, as God has stated in the Quran, and the essence of worshipping God is to ask from Him and seek His help. In many verses in the Quran, God has clubbed together or even equalized calling upon Him with worshipping Him. In the very opening surah, Surah Al-Fatiha, we say:

It is You we worship and You we ask for help [The Noble Quran 1:5]

As you see, in the very opening chapter, God is teaching us that worshipping Him and seeking help from Him or calling upon Him goes hand in hand.

In Surah Ghafir, God said:

And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible. [The Noble Quran 40:60]

In the first part of the verse, God instructed us to call upon Him. In the second part, He used the term worship – here God has equalized calling upon Him with worship. Through asking from God, you show your servitude and humility to Him, and by not asking from Him, you show your arrogance to Him, even though you are always dependent on Him.

As for the question of what is the point of asking if everything is pre-destined, do not venture into this philosophical point. The point is, God knows the predestination and you do not know. The test on your part is to have the best thought about God, have good expectation of Him, have true reliance upon Him (tawakkul), and call upon Him, with patience, humility, and persistence. Thus, do your part, show your servitude, and leave the rest to God. If you do your part, surely, God will do His and respond in a manner He sees fit.

You ask God to give knowing that his the one who holds power to make even the imperfect, the perfect? You don’t ask just for the sake of asking.

You ask because creation is always in need of God. God definitely holds the power to perfect the imperfect, but no one can force God to do anything. We ask, but that does not mean God is obliged to respond exactly how we want the response to come. As said before, God responds to every call of His slave, but the response comes in one of three different ways (1) He gives what you ask Him – either immediately or at a delayed time (2) He does not give you what you want but removes an equivalent amount of harm from your life (3) He does not give (1) and (2) but rather reciprocates you on the Day of Judgement.

By human nature what is within our capacity we don’t ask, what is beyond our capacity we ask him for, since he has all the powers to perfect that.

This is a wrong assertion and a non-Islamic worldview. Nothing is within our capacity, even if we think so. Every blessing in our life is from God and not our own achievement. Have you not seen that two patients with same the disease take the same medicine, yet one is cured and the other dies? Have you not seen two human beings with same brain, same physical features, and same socio-economic background, and yet one turns out to be a brilliant scientist and the other fails to go beyond high school? Thus, a Muslim seeks God’s help first and foremost for everything, and the Prophet (S) instructed to seek God’s help even before mending our shoe laces.

There are many who don’t worship God at all nor ask for anything, but they get.. what they want.. even though someone who prays day/night doesn’t get?

God’s distribution of provision on this world is not related to how much someone worships Him. Provision includes time, money, health, wealth, power, and each and every blessing. He distributes His provision as He sees fit. He gives as He wills, and He withholds as He will. He has the complete knowledge of everything and He is the most just, and your heart must find solace from this fact, if you are a Muslim. Questioning God’s distribution of provision or being unhappy about it equals to questioning the justice of God and His predestination, and it is a sin of the heart that must be treated with proper knowledge.

Also the difference in distribution of provision is part of the test of living in this world. God said:

And do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [some] categories of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring. [The Noble Quran 20:131]

And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may test you through what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful. [The Noble Quran 6:165]

You will surely be tested in your possessions and in yourselves. [The Noble Quran 2:186]

What I don’t understand is that there are people like Trump, Putin, Assad, Kim etc who have done terrible things, yet they have been gifted by God with power? If you believe in pre-destination then you would agree that it is God who gave them power?

But on the other hand you have people in the mosque praying, trying to live a good life.. and what is the gift from God? Often the answer is oh you will be rewarded in the next life.. I mean? What?

Curious to know how this works?

Definitely, God predestined power (as part of His provision) for them, and thus Putin and Trump are in power today.

If you are too impatient and unwilling to accept the premise of being rewarded or punished in the hereafter, you need have a deep look inside and think why you are a Muslim in the first place. A fundamental pillar of Islamic faith (eeman) is believing in Paradise and Hell. It is our belief that this world is not everything. This world is only a place of test – and the real abode is the next – and if you are too impatient to accept this fact – then it is your own personal problem – and it will not change the reality – this world will never become paradise.

Having said so, many reasons can be quoted from Islamic sources explaining why God gives abundantly to non-believing servants of Him. Few are:

1. God is Ar-Rahman – the most merciful. As part of of His mercy, He gives everyone of His creation.

2. God is Ar-Rabb – the sustainer. He sustains everyone and everything of His creation.

3. An attribute of God is appreciation. In fact, one of his names is Ash-Shakur (the appreciating one). He appreciates good acts from everyone, including his non-believing slaves, and He reciprocates. For non-believers, rewards come in this world, and there will be nothing in the hereafter. However, for the believers, they are rewarded in this world, but their primary reward will be in the hereafter. It is possible that God has rewarded Trump and Putin with power as part of His appreciation of whatever good deeds they have done (again, we are talking about a possibility, and not in certainty, because no one can speak about God with certainty, unless you are a prophet receiving revelation).

4. This world has no value to God. Thus, the power they are enjoying, even though is significant to your eyes, is totally insignificant to God. Sahl bin Sa'd narrated that the Messenger of God (S) said:

“If the world to Allah were equal in worth to a mosquito's wing, then He would not have allowed any disbeliever to have sip of water from it.” [Jaami Tirmidhi]

[Zeeshan]

I am just happy I got spared by ToBeFair bhai.

[adamnsu]

TobeFair makes a good point. This thread is starting to be counterproductive despite its main intentions (not the first time though 😁).

Best for all to go back to giving positive input.

[Zeeshan]

Just curious ToBeFair, do you have any fantastic reference to all the attributes of Allah(SWT)? I am starting to like your thoughts.

[Zeeshan]

And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible. [The Noble Quran 40:60]

I do not intend to make mockery out of this, but is this similar to Law of Attraction?

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by ToBeFair
It is truly baffling that someone who has opened a purely spiritual thread about the benefits of doing dhikr (remembrance of God), presumably believing in the ritual of dhikr and its benefits, suddenly makes a complete U-turn and starts posting tonmoy like questions, ranging from the point of asking from God to God’s distribution of His provision among His creation and His predestination.

I have given the benefit of doubt and responded, but know that if you truly want to learn your religion, you have put some effort and a random answer at a random forum will not satisfy you. Even to find the truth, you have to work and search for it. Read books, go to a seminary, sit with scholars, watch lectures on YouTube – do something!

First, note that whatever God has decreed for you, will surely reach you, and whatever God has not decreed for you, will never reach you.

The difference between someone who asks from God and someone who does not ask from God is the essential difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. The purpose behind the creation of humans and jinns was the worship of God, as God has stated in the Quran, and the essence of worshipping God is to ask from Him and seek His help. In many verses in the Quran, God has clubbed together or even equalized calling upon Him with worshipping Him. In the very opening surah, Surah Al-Fatiha, we say:

It is You we worship and You we ask for help [The Noble Quran 1:5]

As you see, in the very opening chapter, God is teaching us that worshipping Him and seeking help from Him or calling upon Him goes hand in hand.

In Surah Ghafir, God said:

And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible. [The Noble Quran 40:60]

In the first part of the verse, God instructed us to call upon Him. In the second part, He used the term worship – here God has equalized calling upon Him with worship. Through asking from God, you show your servitude and humility to Him, and by not asking from Him, you show your arrogance to Him, even though you are always dependent on Him.

As for the question of what is the point of asking if everything is pre-destined, do not venture into this philosophical point. The point is, God knows the predestination and you do not know. The test on your part is to have the best thought about God, have good expectation of Him, have true reliance upon Him (tawakkul), and call upon Him, with patience, humility, and persistence. Thus, do your part, show your servitude, and leave the rest to God. If you do your part, surely, God will do His and respond in a manner He sees fit.

You ask because creation is always in need of God. God definitely holds the power to perfect the imperfect, but no one can force God to do anything. We ask, but that does not mean God is obliged to respond exactly how we want the response to come. As said before, God responds to every call of His slave, but the response comes in one of three different ways (1) He gives what you ask Him – either immediately or at a delayed time (2) He does not give you what you want but removes an equivalent amount of harm from your life (3) He does not give (1) and (2) but rather reciprocates you on the Day of Judgement.

This is a wrong assertion and a non-Islamic worldview. Nothing is within our capacity, even if we think so. Every blessing in our life is from God and not our own achievement. Have you not seen that two patients with same the disease take the same medicine, yet one is cured and the other dies? Have you not seen two human beings with same brain, same physical features, and same socio-economic background, and yet one turns out to be a brilliant scientist and the other fails to go beyond high school? Thus, a Muslim seeks God’s help first and foremost for everything, and the Prophet (S) instructed to seek God’s help even before mending our shoe laces.

God’s distribution of provision on this world is not related to how much someone worships Him. Provision includes time, money, health, wealth, power, and each and every blessing. He distributes His provision as He sees fit. He gives as He wills, and He withholds as He will. He has the complete knowledge of everything and He is the most just, and your heart must find solace from this fact, if you are a Muslim. Questioning God’s distribution of provision or being unhappy about it equals to questioning the justice of God and His predestination, and it is a sin of the heart that must be treated with proper knowledge.

Also the difference in distribution of provision is part of the test of living in this world. God said:

And do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [some] categories of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring. [The Noble Quran 20:131]

And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may test you through what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful. [The Noble Quran 6:165]

You will surely be tested in your possessions and in yourselves. [The Noble Quran 2:186]

Definitely, God predestined power (as part of His provision) for them, and thus Putin and Trump are in power today.

If you are too impatient and unwilling to accept the premise of being rewarded or punished in the hereafter, you need have a deep look inside and think why you are a Muslim in the first place. A fundamental pillar of Islamic faith (eeman) is believing in Paradise and Hell. It is our belief that this world is not everything. This world is only a place of test – and the real abode is the next – and if you are too impatient to accept this fact – then it is your own personal problem – and it will not change the reality – this world will never become paradise.

Having said so, many reasons can be quoted from Islamic sources explaining why God gives abundantly to non-believing servants of Him. Few are:

1. God is Ar-Rahman – the most merciful. As part of of His mercy, He gives everyone of His creation.

2. God is Ar-Rabb – the sustainer. He sustains everyone and everything of His creation.

3. An attribute of God is appreciation. In fact, one of his names is Ash-Shakur (the appreciating one). He appreciates good acts from everyone, including his non-believing slaves, and He reciprocates. For non-believers, rewards come in this world, and there will be nothing in the hereafter. However, for the believers, they are rewarded in this world, but their primary reward will be in the hereafter. It is possible that God has rewarded Trump and Putin with power as part of His appreciation of whatever good deeds they have done (again, we are talking about a possibility, and not in certainty, because no one can speak about God with certainty, unless you are a prophet receiving revelation).

4. This world has no value to God. Thus, the power they are enjoying, even though is significant to your eyes, is totally insignificant to God. Sahl bin Sa'd narrated that the Messenger of God (S) said:

“If the world to Allah were equal in worth to a mosquito's wing, then He would not have allowed any disbeliever to have sip of water from it.” [Jaami Tirmidhi]

Have you entertained the thought that YOU could wake up from death one day to find that YOU are God? //that's basically my one liner counter to your tl;dr post. If you can pass it, I will take you in our team of Arnab and Yahoo.

Okay seriously. If not and if you and you do find it offensive and blasphemous, RA-TI-ON-ALLY explain me so why?

[Zeeshan]

As for the question of what is the point of asking if everything is pre-destined, do not venture into this philosophical point. The point is, God knows the predestination and you do not know. The test on your part is to have the best thought about God, have good expectation of Him, have true reliance upon Him (tawakkul), and call upon Him, with patience, humility, and persistence. Thus, do your part, show your servitude, and leave the rest to God. If you do your part, surely, God will do His and respond in a manner He sees fit.

The way you wrote it by your tone you sound like YOU are God.

Basically your whole frikkin point is "Boo hoo we are puny little mankind and we cannot even COMPREHEND divine kicks." Aight... aight... so how the ... wait let me get on my Nicolas Cage hystrenix... how the bloody hell do YOU then get to purport that very thought itself stemming from a lack of insecurity, powerlessness and weakness?

Dum di dum.

Nah.

Da da da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

So basically it leaves you to riposte with other choice:

"But I am NOT from a place of insecurity, powerlessness and weakness. Those are simply MY interpretations and not God's. Because ipso facto, by virtue of its vicious circle, I am as guilty (if not as dirty) as they come by... when it comes to LOGIC of course."

So either way you are ... well.

What do you do McClane?
What do you do?

Which pill do you take? *gives acid...nah as in real acid*

And gee, why people question, huh!

[Zeeshan]

I for one find it offensive that Islam gets an ex cathedra pass and that as HUMAN BEING I am not allowed to put it on stand simple due to another HUMAN'S objection and ergo...his or her control over me et al for order or anti-chaos or simply per opinion that it is a holy religion and should be left as such as the First Axiom.

That's like me sayin' 'Take entire Alice in Wonderland as First Axiom and derive cosmic, moral and legal code of conduct from it.' And don't question it.

Why?

[SportingBD]

Originally Posted by ToBeFair
It is truly baffling that someone who has opened a purely spiritual thread about the benefits of doing dhikr (remembrance of God), presumably believing in the ritual of dhikr and its benefits, suddenly makes a complete U-turn and starts posting tonmoy like questions, ranging from the point of asking from God to God’s distribution of His provision among His creation and His predestination.

I have given the benefit of doubt and responded, but know that if you truly want to learn your religion, you have put some effort and a random answer at a random forum will not satisfy you. Even to find the truth, you have to work and search for it. Read books, go to a seminary, sit with scholars, watch lectures on YouTube – do something!




First, note that whatever God has decreed for you, will surely reach you, and whatever God has not decreed for you, will never reach you.

The difference between someone who asks from God and someone who does not ask from God is the essential difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. The purpose behind the creation of humans and jinns was the worship of God, as God has stated in the Quran, and the essence of worshipping God is to ask from Him and seek His help. In many verses in the Quran, God has clubbed together or even equalized calling upon Him with worshipping Him. In the very opening surah, Surah Al-Fatiha, we say:

It is You we worship and You we ask for help [The Noble Quran 1:5]

As you see, in the very opening chapter, God is teaching us that worshipping Him and seeking help from Him or calling upon Him goes hand in hand.

In Surah Ghafir, God said:

And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible. [The Noble Quran 40:60]

In the first part of the verse, God instructed us to call upon Him. In the second part, He used the term worship – here God has equalized calling upon Him with worship. Through asking from God, you show your servitude and humility to Him, and by not asking from Him, you show your arrogance to Him, even though you are always dependent on Him.

As for the question of what is the point of asking if everything is pre-destined, do not venture into this philosophical point. The point is, God knows the predestination and you do not know. The test on your part is to have the best thought about God, have good expectation of Him, have true reliance upon Him (tawakkul), and call upon Him, with patience, humility, and persistence. Thus, do your part, show your servitude, and leave the rest to God. If you do your part, surely, God will do His and respond in a manner He sees fit.

You ask because creation is always in need of God. God definitely holds the power to perfect the imperfect, but no one can force God to do anything. We ask, but that does not mean God is obliged to respond exactly how we want the response to come. As said before, God responds to every call of His slave, but the response comes in one of three different ways (1) He gives what you ask Him – either immediately or at a delayed time (2) He does not give you what you want but removes an equivalent amount of harm from your life (3) He does not give (1) and (2) but rather reciprocates you on the Day of Judgement.

This is a wrong assertion and a non-Islamic worldview. Nothing is within our capacity, even if we think so. Every blessing in our life is from God and not our own achievement. Have you not seen that two patients with same the disease take the same medicine, yet one is cured and the other dies? Have you not seen two human beings with same brain, same physical features, and same socio-economic background, and yet one turns out to be a brilliant scientist and the other fails to go beyond high school? Thus, a Muslim seeks God’s help first and foremost for everything, and the Prophet (S) instructed to seek God’s help even before mending our shoe laces.

God’s distribution of provision on this world is not related to how much someone worships Him. Provision includes time, money, health, wealth, power, and each and every blessing. He distributes His provision as He sees fit. He gives as He wills, and He withholds as He will. He has the complete knowledge of everything and He is the most just, and your heart must find solace from this fact, if you are a Muslim. Questioning God’s distribution of provision or being unhappy about it equals to questioning the justice of God and His predestination, and it is a sin of the heart that must be treated with proper knowledge.

Also the difference in distribution of provision is part of the test of living in this world. God said:

And do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [some] categories of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring. [The Noble Quran 20:131]

And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may test you through what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful. [The Noble Quran 6:165]

You will surely be tested in your possessions and in yourselves. [The Noble Quran 2:186]

Definitely, God predestined power (as part of His provision) for them, and thus Putin and Trump are in power today.

If you are too impatient and unwilling to accept the premise of being rewarded or punished in the hereafter, you need have a deep look inside and think why you are a Muslim in the first place. A fundamental pillar of Islamic faith (eeman) is believing in Paradise and Hell. It is our belief that this world is not everything. This world is only a place of test – and the real abode is the next – and if you are too impatient to accept this fact – then it is your own personal problem – and it will not change the reality – this world will never become paradise.

Having said so, many reasons can be quoted from Islamic sources explaining why God gives abundantly to non-believing servants of Him. Few are:

1. God is Ar-Rahman – the most merciful. As part of of His mercy, He gives everyone of His creation.

2. God is Ar-Rabb – the sustainer. He sustains everyone and everything of His creation.

3. An attribute of God is appreciation. In fact, one of his names is Ash-Shakur (the appreciating one). He appreciates good acts from everyone, including his non-believing slaves, and He reciprocates. For non-believers, rewards come in this world, and there will be nothing in the hereafter. However, for the believers, they are rewarded in this world, but their primary reward will be in the hereafter. It is possible that God has rewarded Trump and Putin with power as part of His appreciation of whatever good deeds they have done (again, we are talking about a possibility, and not in certainty, because no one can speak about God with certainty, unless you are a prophet receiving revelation).

4. This world has no value to God. Thus, the power they are enjoying, even though is significant to your eyes, is totally insignificant to God. Sahl bin Sa'd narrated that the Messenger of God (S) said:

“If the world to Allah were equal in worth to a mosquito's wing, then He would not have allowed any disbeliever to have sip of water from it.” [Jaami Tirmidhi]

Thank you, appreciate the response.

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None of us decided to be a Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu etc, we did not have this freedom to choose. The family we were born into by default made us Muslim, Christian, Jewish etc. How can we therefore blame the Christians/Jewish etc if they don’t follow their religion? By a majority they drink, gamble, fornicate, etc, this is the environment they are born into, a environment God brings them up into. How can we call them misguided when God himself puts them in such difficult environment? And then you have a Muslim who is born in a environment that is completely different?

From an young age, as a Muslim we practice to pray, avoid drinking, gambling, fornicating, doing sins. Overtime this becomes part of our blood, a constant habit. It’s like our hearts become governed by God.

But if you look at a Christian, Hindu, Jewish or those who don’t believe, they are born into a environment that finds drinking, sleeping with women, gambling, doing all kinds of evil considered sins as normal. This becomes part of their blood, a habit. The hearts become governed by the culture of the environment.

If God already destined this, then how can we call them misguided? For they did not have a choice to be born into X,Y,Z religion?