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Day 1

Sahih International

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."

Ahmad Zaki Hammad translation

These are the ones who (truly) believe and whose hearts grow calm (with assurance) at the remembrance of God. Most assuredly, it is by the remembrance of God that hearts grow calm.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem translation

Those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God -- truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace.

In this ayah (verse) of the Qur'an, God tells us that it is in the remembrance of Him that the hearts find rest. Indeed part of the nature of the heart is to be restless, to be turning and changing. The heart spoken of here is the emotional center of the human being. This is why in the Arabic language of the Qur'an the heart is referred to as the "qalb," which is related to the root to turn. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, used to supplicate frequently "Ya Muqallab al-quloob, thabit qalbi ala deenik" O Changer of the Hearts, Keep my heart firm upon your deen (the way of life loved by God.)

Many people may find that with all of the technology available to us today, it may be more difficult than ever to truly have hearts which are calm and at peace. For many of us, there are probably very few moments of the day where we are not either talking directly to a person or engaged with some sort of media -- often we may be involved in both at the same time. There are many benefits to these technologies, but there may be other consequences of which we should be aware. Do we take time to reflect deeply, to be grateful for the blessings we enjoy, to think about the big picture?

Even when we are busy with the concerns of this life, or perhaps especially when we are busy with the concerns of this life, it is important to take time to remember God. Often Muslims equate the word "dhikr" or the remembrance of God, with types of reflection where one repeats one of the names of God over and over. This is indeed an important means of rest and reflection, but the word "dhikr" as used by the Qur'an contains a much wider range of meanings. Prayer is a form of dhikr, as is reciting the Qur'an, or trying to learn something new about God or the Prophet Muhammad, or pondering the creation of God, or saying a kind word or doing an act of charity toward another can all be ways to remember God. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (the famous Muslim scholar who lived in the 14th century of the Common Era in Damascus) said that the term dhikr includes "any and every particular moment when you are thinking, saying or doing things which Allah likes".

Questions for Personal Reflection:

What are some of ways I can fit time for dhikr in my daily schedule?

What types of dhikr do I find most meaningful (in what state does my heart truly find rest)?

What are some activities I engage in currently that can become more beneficial as dhikr if I am simply mindful of the presence in and pleasure of God with such activities?

Day 2

Imam Bayhaqi, may God have mercy on him, collected a statement of the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, on the authority of the noble companion Abdullah ibn Umar, where he says, "Everything has its polish, and the polish of hearts is the remembrance of Almighty God..."

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may God have mercy on him, gives the following commentary on this hadith:

"Doubtless, a heart grows tarnished like brass or silver, and its polish is by remembrance (dhikr), which may make it shine like a crystal mirror. So when one neglects the remembrance it tarnishes, and when he returns it shines. Since the heart is tarnished by two things -- heedlessness and sin -- it is polished by two things: remembrance and asking forgiveness. If heedlessness dominates most of someone's time, the tarnish on his or her heart grows in proportion. And if the heart is tarnished, it ceases to reflect things as they are. Therefore it sees the false as true and the true as false. As the tarnish grows thicker, the heart grows dimmer, until it no longer reflects reality at all. And if this tarnish builds up, blackens and envelops the heart completely, the heart's reflective quality and perception will be totally lost, so that it will neither accept what is true nor reject what is false. Such a fate is the worst that can befall it." (translation by Michael AbdurRahman Fitzgerald and Moulay Youssef Slitine)

My reflections: Ghaflah, or heedlessness, is a state of forgetting or not reflecting upon reality. It is said that the human being is called insaan in Arabic because humans are naturally forgetful. (The Arab poet said, "he is only called insaan (human) because of his nasiyaan (forgetfulness.))

The central reality that must be consciously brought to mind concerns God, that God created us and this universe, that God is constantly sustaining us and caring for us, and that God cares about what happens to us and what we do and God wishes to see us live according to our full potential for goodness and excellence (ihsan).

Reality is also that we are connected to other human beings and the rest of God's creation. We have duties toward them. We have obligations toward our families, toward our neighbors, toward our colleagues and classmates, toward all the people we come into contact with on a daily basis. In fact, our connection is with all human beings as fellow servants of God,and sons and daughters of Adam.

Questions to Consider/Exercises:

Yesterday we mentioned some common methods of dhikr. It should be clear from the above that for dhikr to be truly beneficial in accomplishing its goal of cleansing the heart, it has to be a conscious pondering of the realities of our connection with the Creator and with fellow human beings.

Are you conscious of the state of your heart?

Are there times when you feel that your heart has become clouded by heedlessness of God or by sinning?

The Muslim scholars of spirituality have often stressed that the paths which lead to these spiritual diseases are most often the result of pursuing selfish desires at the expense of remembering our connections with and obligations toward others.

Try to take a minute or two to reflect upon your day and think about the effect of your thoughts, words and actions upon the state of your own heart. And always remember no matter how tarnished the heart is, it can be polished by remembrance and asking forgiveness. The Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, said "I seek forgiveness and repent to my Lord more than seventy (and in another narration 100) times a day." (Bukhari, Muslim)

Day 3

Allah the Most High says in the Qur'an:

So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.

(Sahih International)

So remember Me; I will remember you. Be thankful to Me, and never ungrateful.

(M.A.S. Abdel Haleem)

In this magnificent ayah (verse) of the Qur'an, Allah comforts the reader with a most amazing statement, one that can provide comfort, hope and satisfaction to all who ponder and reflect upon it. Many times, due to the hardship or obstacles that we may face personally, or the pain, suffering and injustice we see around us, we reach times in our lives where we are forced to acknowledge that we cannot understand or explain everything.

For the believer, we can at least take comfort in the knowledge that the Creator, the All-Merciful and All-Wise is in all cases aware of what is going on and has not left or abandoned his creation. All we have to do is turn our minds, our tongues, and our hearts toward God and his remembrance, and He has promised that he will then "remember us."

In the moving hadith qudsee (sacred narration) this point is explained and emphasized in even more beautiful detail. A hadith qudsee is a statement in which the Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, quotes a meaning revealed to him from our Lord in his own words:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
"يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ، ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلَإٍ، ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلَإٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ بِشِبْرٍ، تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ ذِرَاعًا، تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا(1) وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي، أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً"
رواه البخاري (وكذلك مسلم والترمذي وابن ماجه)

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah the Almighty said:

'I am as My servant thinks I am (or I am as my servant expects Me to be). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."

If we look at this hadith carefully, we can see that not only is God there to comfort and support us whenever we turn to Him, but that one should always pay close attention to how one thinks of his or her Lord. If you expect to find mercy and compassion and love with your Lord, then that is what you will find, providing that you do your best to act with righteousness. God makes a similar point in many other ways in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of His prophet. God tells us that if He will help and support us as long as we help and support our brothers and sisters, while if a person refuses to spend his wealth or his time to help others, God may withhold blessings and support from him or her.

Also, we notice that there is nothing that Allah loves more than when a servant turns toward Him, acknowledges mistakes and shortcomings and endeavors to improve him or herself, to try and be a better person. In such cases, God will turn towards the servant and make the journey easy. If one takes one step in the right direction, God will take two steps toward him or her, and if one starts walking toward God, God will start running towards him or her.

Reflection Questions/Spiritual Reflection:

What are some ways that I can make sure to turn towards God when I am in need (don't forget that "remembering" God can take many different forms), and also when I am feeling comfortable or blessed that I can show gratitude?

One of the best ways to begin taking a step towards God, after engaging in the required daily acts of worship such as the five prayers or obligatory charity (zakat) is to consciously seek to improve one's character. Try to reflect upon one negative character trait you may sometimes fall into (for example lying, or gossiping/backbiting, or being jealous of others) and actively seek to start on the road to addressing that issue. Commit to consciously tell the truth, to say good things about others or be quiet and to be content with and grateful for what you have.

Day 4

Sahih International

And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah ]

Yusuf Ali translation:

Nay, seek (God's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit.



Sahih International

O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.

Yusuf Ali translation:

O ye who believe! seek help with patient perseverance and prayer; for God is with those who patiently persevere.


In these two wonderful verses from Surat al-Baqarah, Allah has some extremely important advice for the believers, and indeed all of humanity. The key to understanding these verses is to understand why Salah or prayer, is so important, and understanding what exactly is meant by the term sabr. We will touch on the importance of salah today and then focus on the meaning of sabr in our next reflection inshAllah.

So why is salah, or prayer mentioned here rather than anything else? Salah is the most important type of worship. It is the basis of the connection between a person and his or her Lord. It should also be noted that God is saying "Seek help" or "seek assistance" through patience and prayer. Of course, in Surah al-Fatiha, we affirm so many times on a daily basis that we seek assistance only from God. This is why prayer, whether in the form of the ritual salah, or in the form of supplication, which was the linguistic meaning of the word "salah," is a fundamental means of seeking the help and assistance that we all need. Whenever the Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, used to face a difficult situation or feel anxiety or worry, he would turn to prayer. He (saw) would say to Bilal, his close companion who would call the people to prayer, "comfort us with the call to prayer." In the lives of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and people of faith, the prayer is a respite from concerns and anxiety, and not just another item on our list of tasks which only adds to our anxiety.

It is interesting to note that one of the reasons that the prayer does not always contain the same power for us, the power to comfort, to strengthen, to transform, that it is meant to have when it is done according to its full potential, is the lack of khushu' -- of humble submissiveness of the heart. Many of us, especially those of us who feel we are busy and pressed by many different obligations, would have to admit that many times even when we do take a break for prayer, sometimes our heart and/or our mind, are not fully present. As the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, informed us, when that is the case, the prayer will not have the intended effect. It is not just a matter of going through the motions on the outside, it is a matter of being truly present in the ways that matter most. The verse here tells us clearly that this should be no surprise, that seeking help consistently and fully in prayer is truly difficult, except for the khaashi'een, those who are humbly submissive, or as Yusuf Ali translates it, bring a lowly spirit. If arrogance is the key spiritual disease, then we can see from the above that regular prayer is both a treatment for that disease which should lead to humility, but also in some ways we cannot truly benefit from the prayer without that humility. As far as I can tell, what this means is that spiritual progress is a process which takes time, and this might be a cause for us to appreciate the opportunity to come to prayer at least five times each day.


Questions for Reflection/Spiritual exercises:

What are some ways one can try to increase one's state of khushu' -- of humble submissiveness and concentration in prayer? What role might the ritual washing before prayer (wudu') play in this process? Other suggestions are to reflect upon the majesty and greatness of the One before whom you are standing, especially, but surely not only, while you are in prayer, and to focus on the reality of one's own actions and of being accountable to God for those actions. This humble submissiveness and concentration should, according to the scholars, be characterized by feelings of both hope and fear in the heart. Do you identify with that? Some people, especially in our culture and time, take issue with the notion of fear as an emotion one experiences when thinking about God. In any event, the scholars have emphasized that when doing a good deed one should primarily focus on hope and the mercy of God...hope is something of which I think we can all understand the importance.

Day 5

Sahih International

And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah ]

Yusuf Ali translation:

Nay, seek (God's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit,


Sahih International

O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.

Yusuf Ali translation:

O ye who believe! seek help with patient perseverance and prayer; for God is with those who patiently persevere.


We pick up again with the same two ayahs from Surah al-Baqarah, focusing today on the meaning of the Arabic word sabr.

Sabr is translated above either as patience or as "patient perseverance." Although patience is surely the most appropriate single word to understand the meaning of sabr, I really like the way that Yusuf Ali (may God have mercy on him) chose to translate it because it helps to make sure one does not misunderstand the nature of the "patience" that is being commanded and recommended by God here in these verses. Sabr, properly understood, does not simply mean putting up with hardships and difficulties, with the trials and tribulations that are part of the nature of this world. Rather, the patience that is being recommended is to be willing to undergo the hardships necessary to carry out all the other good things which God has commanded and of which both you and other human beings are in need. So it is essentially tied to perseverance, to the ability and willingness to keep engaging in actions which carry costs, not to give up at the sign of difficulty or when the reward does not immediately appear. There is a perseverance or steadfastness in continuing to do good, and there is a steadfastness that comes from continuing to resist any desire or temptation to do evil or to act in ways that harm others or is not pleasing to God.

There is also a meaning of understanding that when the type of calamities strike over which one has no control, such as sickness or injury or the death of loved ones, one is able to keep going, knowing that all is part of God's plan, a plan which can not be completely comprehensible at all times to human beings. In such times, the attitude of the faithful person is not to try to deny the sadness and loss and pain one feels, but at the same time not to make one's grief into a show or say anything inappropriate about our Lord. As the Prophet peace be upon him said when his infant son Ibrahim passed away, "the eyes send their tears and the heart is saddened, but we do not say anything except that which pleases our Lord. Indeed, O Ibrahim, we are bereaved by your departure from us."

Once we understood the true meaning of sabr it is not difficult to see why it is so important. Indeed one cannot accomplish anything worthwhile without sabr, without the willingness to patiently persevere. No one could graduate from college or succeed in any profession without patiently persevering. No serious relationship can be successful if one is not willing to be there for other people even on those days when we don't "feel like it" or when we don't get any immediate selfish reward. So sabr is an essential characteristic of the person of faith, and especially of the successful person of faith. One can see this clearly if one thinks about the meaning of Surah al-'Asr, which is one of the most comprehensive surahs in meaning despite its extremely short length.

Questions for Reflection:

The first verse says that to truly patiently persevere requires humility, or at the least that it will be extremely difficult for an arrogant person to be patient. Why do you think that is so? What are the circumstances which you find it difficult to be patient with? What helps you in those circumstances? Some commentators on the Qur'an have suggested that sabr or patience in these verses refers to fasting. Does that make sense to you? Why? Reflect upon the meaning of Surah al-'Asr and how it relates to these reflections. Also, make sure not to pass quickly over the last few words of the second ayah above, they are incredibly powerful and should be enough incentive to seek to be among the truly patient (As-Sabireen).