Best Types of Dhikr? Salawat vs. Other Types?

[Omar HH]

What are the best types of dhikr?

After La Illaha Il Allah is it Salawat on Prophet

I have heard that Salawat is the only type of 'ibadah that will always be accepted. Therefore you might say 200,000 Subhanallah or something but Allah might only count one. But if you say 200,000 Salawat, Allah (SWT) counts all of them. Is this correct?

Also Salawat has many benefits such as 10 blessings, 10 levels raised, 10 minor sins forgiven, the Day of Judgement gets easier, the crossing over the bridge becomes easier, love grows for the Prophet , you may get his intercession, 10 good deeds on the scales.

While other forms of dhikr do not have such benefits.

But I have heard La Illaha Il Allah is the best word as it strengthens Iman and it is the word of Tawhid. Yet, these words are not always accepted? So really it's better if we just concentrated on Salawat?

Jazakallahu Khayrun

[Yahya]

I heard that reciting the Qur'an is the best dhikr. And that "La ilaaha illa Allah" is the next best.

[Omar HH]

From Dailul Khayrat Translation:

The Benefit of Requesting Blessings upon the Prophet, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.

Allah, Mighty and Sublime is He, said:“Verily, Allah and His angels bless the Prophet. O you who believe, ask (Allah) to bless him and grant him abundant peace”.

And it is related that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, came one day with signs of good tidings visible upon his face. He said:“Lo, Gabriel, peace be upon him, said to me,“Are you not pleased, O Muhammad, that whenever one of your nation asks Allah to bless you, Allah will bless him tenfold and that whenever one of your nation asks Allah to grant you peace, Allah will grant peace tenfold.”

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“The nearest person to me is the one who asks for blessings upon me the most”.

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Whoever asks for blessings upon me, angels are blessings him for long as he asks, be it for a short time, be it for a long time”.

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“A person is considered a miser if, when I am mentioned in his presence, he fails to ask blessings upon me”.

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Ask for more blessings upon me on Fridays”.

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Whoever of my nation asks for blessings upon me once, ten good deeds are written down for him and ten sins are erased.”

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Whoever hears the call to Prayer and says, ‘O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and this established prayer grant Muhammad the Closet Access, the Pre-Eminence, the Lofty Rank and send him to the Most Praised Station which You have promised him’, my intercession for him will be binding on the Day of Resurrection.”

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him: “Whoever asks for blessings upon me in a book, the angels bless him for as long as my name is in that book”.

And Abu Suleiman Ad-Darani said:“Whoever wishes to request something from Allah, let him increase his asking for blessings upon the Prophet, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, and then he may ask Allah about his affair and then seal his request by once more asking for blessings upon the Prophet, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. For Allah will accept the two requests for blessings upon the Prophet and this is something more noble than whatever he asks for in between”.

And it is related that he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him: “Whoever asks Allah one hundred times to bless me on a Friday will be forgiven the sins of eighty years”.

And Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, said:“The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, said, ‘For the one asks for blessings upon me there is a light on the Bridge, and whoever is on the Bridge from the People of Light will not be among the People of the Fire”.

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Whoever deliberately neglects to ask for blessings upon me has missed the path to The Garden, for the route to The Garden is barred for such a neglectful one, whereas it is open for him who asks blessings upon me”.

It is related by ‘Abdurraham ibn’ Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Gabriel, peace be upon be him said,’ O Muhammad, whenever someone from your nation asks for blessings upon you, seventy thousands angels bless him, and whoever is blessed by angels is one of the People of The Garden”.

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him: “The more you ask for the blessings upon me, the more you will have in The Garden”

It is related that he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him: “Whenever someone asks for blessings upon me, extolling my right, Allah, Mighty and Sublime is He, creates from his words an angel with wings stretching from the East to the West, with feet connected to the nethermost part of the seventh earth and a neck bent beneath The Throne. Allah, Mighty and Sublime is He, Says to him, ‘Bless My slave as he asks for blessings upon My Prophet and thereupon the angel will bless him until the Day of Resurrection”.

It is related that he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“There will come to my Pool on the Day of Resurrection nations I will only know because of their frequent asking for blessings upon me”.

It is related that he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Whoever asks Allah to bless me, Allah will bless him ten times, and whoever asks ten times to bless me, Allah will bless him one hundred times, and whoever asks Allah one hundred times to bless me, Allah will bless him one thousand times, and whoever asks Allah to bless me one thousand times, Allah will prohibit The Fire from touching his body, his word on any matter will be made enduring in this world and the next, he will enter The Garden, on the Day of Resurrection his request for blessings upon me will be a light for him on The Bridge, a light visible at a distance of five hundred years, and Allah will grant him for every blessing upon me asked for a palace in The Garden, regardless of how many”.

And the Prophet said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Whenever a slave asks for blessings upon me, his request leaves him quickly and passes over land and sea, through East and West, saying ‘I am the blessing upon Muhammad, the Chosen One, the Best of Allah’s Creation, asked for by so and so’ and everything asks for blessings upon him. A bird is created from these blessings with seventy thousand wings, each of which has seventy thousand feathers. Each of the feathers has seventy thousand heads on each of which are seventy thousands faces. Each face has seventy thousands mouths and in every mouth there are seventy thousand tongues. Each tongue glorifies Allah the exalted in seventy thousand languages and Allah will then write for him the reward for all of that”

Ali ibn abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said:“The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, said, ‘Whoever asks Allah one hundred times on a Friday to bless me, a light will come for him on the Day of Resurrection, a light which, were it to be divided among them, would be enough for the whole of creation”’.

It is mentioned in the good tidings:“It is written on the leg of The Throne ‘Whoever yearns for Me, I am merciful to him. Whoever asks Me, I will grant him wish. Whoever draws nearto Me, by asking for blessings upon My Beloved Muhammad, I will forgive him, even if his sins were as plentiful as the foam on the surface of the ocean”’.

And it is related by one of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all,: “There is no gathering in which blessings upon Muhammad, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, are asked for but that a beautiful fragrance rises from it which reaches the clouds in the sky and the angels say, ‘This is a gathering in which blessings upon Muhammad, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, are being asked for”’.

Other reports mention that:“The Gates of the Heavens are opened for a believing slave, male or female, who begins by asking for blessings upon Muhammad, and the Pavilions are opened as far as The Throne, and all the angels bless Muhammad, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, and ask for forgiveness for that slave for as long as Allah wishes”.

And he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Whoever is troubled by some matter should increase his asking for the blessings upon me, and that will remove his anxieties, his sorrows and cares and will increase his provision and satisfy all his needs”.

And one of the Righteous said:“A neighbour of mine was a scribe and he died. I saw him in a dream and asked him how Allah had treated him. He replied, ‘ He had forgiven me’. I said, ‘For what reason has He forgiven you?’and he replied,‘Whenever I wrote the name of Muhammad, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, in a book, I asked Allah to bless him and thus My Lord has given me what no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard and what no mortal has ever imagined’”.

And it is related from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“None of you truly believe until I am dearer to him than his own self, his wealth, his children, his parents and all other people”.

And it is related in the Tradition of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said.
“You are dearer to me, O Messenger of Allah, than everything I possess except my own self which is within me”. The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, replied:“You will not be a believer until I am dearer to you than your own self” Umar said: “By Him who revealed to you the Book, you are dearer to me than my own self”. The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, said to him:
“Now, O Umar, your faith is complete”.

And it was asked of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. “When will I attain faith?” (and in another version “When will I attain true faith”) He replied:“When you love Allah” it was said:“And when will I love Allah?” He said:” When you love His Messenger?” it was said:“And when will I love His Messenger?” He said: “When you follow his path, adhere to his way, love what he loves and hate what he hates, befriend whom he befriends and oppose whom he opposes – and people will be distinguished one from another in their unbelief according to their hate for me”.

Can there be faith for the one who has no love for him?
Can there be faith for the one who has no love for him?
Can there be faith for the one who has no love for him?

It was said to the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“We see believers who are humble and believers who are not humble. What is the reason for this?” He said:“The one finds his faith adorned with humility whilst the does not”. It was said: “How can we find such faith, or obtain it or earn it?” He replied:“By sincerely loving Allah”. It was said:“How can the love of Allah be found or earned?” He said:“By loving His Messenger. So seek out the pleasure of Allah and the pleasure of His Messenger by loving Them”.

And it was said to the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him: “Who are the family of Muhammad whom we are ordered to love and honour and treat with reverence?” He replied:“ The People of purity and fidelity, who believe in me sincerely”. It was said:“What are their signs?” He said:“The traces of my love are on every lover and their inner life is busy with remembering me and remembering Allah” (In another version the words are:“Their signs are being addicted to remembering me and constantly asking for blessings upon me”.)

It was said to the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Who is he who is strong in his love for you?” He replied:“The one who believes in me without seeing me for he is a believer in me through yearning and is sincere in his love for me. A sign of this is that he desires a vision of me more than anything he owns (in another version the words are:”…than all the gold in the world”) This is a true believer in me whose love for me is true and sincere”.

It was said to the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him:“Are you aware of the blessings upon you asked for by those who are not with you or by those who will come after you? What is their state regarding you?” He replied:“I hear the blessings of the people who love me and I know them. And the blessings of others than them are presented to me”.

[Omar HH]

http://masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/salawat.htm

[Noor ul Islam]

http://masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/salawat.htm

AssalaamuAlikum
The Shuyookh suggest that Salawat is one Zikr which has no adverse affect even if recited in abundance. For other Azkaar you need Ijazaah if you want to recite them in very large quantities as Wazaaif or Amliyaat even La Ilaha Ill Allah( Iam talking about Azkaar in large quantities e.g. 10000 in a day or so).Durood is an exception Subhan Allah. Wassalaam

[Omar HH]

http://www.islamicacademy.org/html/Dorood.htm

See especially Durood al-Fath which they say is especially meritorious.

Also there is Salawatul Tibya which I have heard is for those who are troubled:

Allahuma Sallee 'ala Sayyidina Muhammadan
Tibbil Qulubi wa Dawa-iha
Wa Nurul Absari wa Diya-iha
Wa 'afiyatil Abdani wa Shif'a-aha
Wa 'ala aleehee wa Sahbihi wa Sallim

Imam Shafii's durood which he recieved from the Prophet is:

Wa Sallallahu 'alaa Muhammad-in
Kullamaa zakara hu'z-zaakiroon
Wa ghafala 'an zikri hi'l ghaafiloon

And blessings of Allah be on Sayyidina Muhammad
whenever he is remembered by those who remember
and whenever he is not remembered by the negligent.

http://www.iqra.net/Salawaat/dalaail/dalaail6.htm
http://www.iqra.net/Salawaat/dalaail/dalaail4.htm
http://www.iqra.net/Salawaat/lataaif/lataaif2.html
http://www.iqra.net/Salawaat/mishkaat/mishkaat5.html

[Omar HH]

Asking for Allah (SWT) to give blessings and give peace upon on the Best of Creation Muhammad counts as two other forms of 'ibadah (and we should put this in our niyyah or intention):

a) Du'a because you are asking Allah (SWT) to give something.

What has been said about du'a?

"There is nothing more dear to Allah Ta’ala than a servant making dua to him."
[at Tirmidhi]

"The person who does not ask from Allah Ta’ala, Allah Ta’ala becomes angry with him."
[at Tirmidhi, Ahmad]

"The dua of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in his absence is readily accepted, an angel is appointed to his side, whenever he makes a beneficial dua for his brother the appointed angel says "aameen and may you also be blessed with the same".
[Sahih Muslim]

"Dua is the essence of Ibadah (worship)."
[at Tirmdhi, Ahmad]

"Aisha radhiallaahu anha said, "No believer makes Dua and it is wasted. Either it is granted here in this world or deposited for him in the Hereafter as long as he does not get frustrated."

"For any one among you, if the door of acceptance of du`a is opened, then the doors of His Mercy are also opened. The best du`a Allah likes is the one in which the caller asks for the goodness of this world and the goodness of the next world."
[at-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim]

"Du'a is a weapon of a believer, a pillar of religion, and a light of the heavens and the earth."
[al-Hakim]

http://www.geocities.com/mutmainaa/hadith_dua.html (A very useful website I have found on many matters - May Allah [SWT] reward her)

b) Dhikr or Rememberance of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "Which actions are the best?" He said, "Dhikr of Allah." Someone said, "Is dhikr better or jihad in the way of Allah?" He said, "Even if the mujahid were to strike at the kuffar until his sword broke and he was coloured with the blood, the person of dhikr would be better than him."

From Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi (Rahmatallah) one of my personal favorites:
http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/dhikr...ibn_juzayy.htm

[Omar HH]

I heard that reciting the Qur'an is the best dhikr. And that "La ilaaha illa Allah" is the next best.

Habib al-Mashur Haddad says that La Illaha Il Allah counts as reading a Qur'anic aya if you intend it to be so. And therefore you get the reward of both.

Resoucre:
Habib al-Mashur al-Haddad - "Miftah al-Jannah" or "Key to the Garden" translated by Mostafa al-Badawi

[Sadiq]

"Verily in the remembrance of God (dhikr Allah) do hearts find rest!" (13:28).

Ibraaheem al-Nakha`i said concerning God's saying: "There is not a thing but hymneth his praise": "Everything praises Him, including the squeaking of the door."

Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya said - may Allah be well pleased with him: "Verily the angels lower their gaze in the presence of the rememberer of God, just as the people lower their gaze before lightning."

Some of it mentionshed above, more simple ones here;

http://www.geocities.com/mutmainaa1/...ful_dhikr.html

*website has more great material.

No point of reading the above, and other literature, if we cannot put it to use.

“Knowledge is a means among means. It is not sought in itself in the eyes of the Shariah. Rather, it is a means to actions, and everything that has been related about the virtues of sacred knowledge is only established in terms of that which one has been made morally responsible to act upon.” [Shatibi, Muwafaqat, 1.65, Dar al-Ma`rifa ed.]

Start Dhikr....today... make a timetable..... set a time.... whatever amount, no loss...dont waste time...

[Omar HH]

A murid told me that he knew a person who said Dailul Khayrat without missing a day until the day he died. He saw the Prophet visit him on his deathbed.

It's a good way to seek out the intercession of Rasul Allah and has much barakah in it according to many people I have talked to. I haven't done this.

You can't bear witness that I am a hypocrite on the Day of Judgement - I tell you now that I reccomend much stuff that I do not do. Make du'a that I have the strength and energy to do them.

Dailul Khayrat:
http://nurmuhammad.com/Dwnlds/DALAILUKhairat.pdf