Ghayth al-Qulub Dhikr Allah Taala
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Ghayth al-Qulub: Dhikr Allah Ta'ala (The Rain of Hearts: The Remembrance of God Almighty) is an Islamic devotional treatise by Azhari Ahmad Mahmoud focused on the spiritual virtues, significance, and practical methods of remembering God (dhikr).
Purpose and Themes
The work presents the remembrance of God as the foremost endeavor of a believer, analogizing dhikr to life-giving rain: just as physical rain revives the barren earth to blossom, dhikr revives hearts, purifies them, rectifies one's bodily actions, and cures spiritual ailments and hardness of heart. The author warns against spiritual negligence, emphasizing that abandoning dhikr leaves a person spiritually dead, comparing the relationship between the heart and dhikr to that between a fish and water.
Structure and Contents
The treatise is organized into thematic sections addressing the status, benefits, and practical steps of remembrance:
- Introduction and the Value of Dhikr (المقدمة / الذكر أغلى بضاعة): Characterizes remembrance as the most precious commodity and profitable trade for the hereafter, warning against losing oneself in transient worldly pursuits.
- Dhikr as the Intimate Companion (الذكر أنيس الذاكرين): Describes remembrance as a fortress against calamities, a source of inner solace and joy in this world, and a guiding light in the grave and on the Day of Resurrection.
- How to Be Among Those Who Remember (كيف تكون من الذاكرين؟): Outlines five practical avenues to maintain constant dhikr:
- Preserving the five daily prayers (المحافظة على الصلوات الخمس) with focus and humility, avoiding the negligence associated with hypocrisy.
- Observing post-prayer supplications (المحافظة على الأذكار دبر الصلوات) with deliberate reflection rather than rushing.
- Frequent recitation of the Quran (الإكثار من قراءة كتاب الله تعالى), described as the crown of dhikr.
- Maintaining daily situational invocations (المحافظة على الأذكار), such as those recited when leaving home, boarding transportation, entering and exiting restrooms, performing ablution, and donning new clothing.
- Repeating specifically rewarded formulas (المحافظة على الأذكار التي ورد فضلها), including سبحان الله وبحمده، سبحان الله العظيم ("Glory be to Allah and His praise, glory be to Allah the Tremendous").
- Dhikr as the Rain of Hearts (الذكر غيث القلوب!): Discusses dhikr as protection against the whispers of Satan, a purifier that cleanses the heart of corruptions, and a remedy that shields believers from spiritual hypocrisy.
Method and Sources
The author employs an exhortative, instructional style addressed directly to the reader, drawing upon foundational scriptural texts and early scholarly maxims. Citations include Quranic verses alongside prophetic hadiths recorded in collections such as Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, and al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn by al-Hakim al-Nisaburi. The text frequently incorporates the insights and aphorisms of Companions and classical scholars, notably Abu Bakr, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Abu al-Darda', Ka'b ibn Malik, al-Hasan al-Basri, Mujahid ibn Jabr, Malik ibn Dinar, Dhu al-Nun al-Misri, Yahya ibn Mu'adh, Fath al-Mawsili, Ibn Taymiyya, and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya.
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