بہترین ذکر اور بہترین دعا

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that (one day) a bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah, teach me some remembrance that I may keep reciting (and make my regular litany)." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Recite: There is no god but Allah alone, He has no partner; Allah is the Greatest, most great; all praise is for Allah, abundantly; and glory be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds; there is no power and no strength except through Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise." The bedouin said: "These words are all about the remembrance of my Lord; what should I ask for myself?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Say: O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, provide for me, and grant me well-being." (The narrator was uncertain whether the word "and grant me well-being" was part of the narration.) (Muslim)

The remembrance of Allah is in reality the very soul and foundation of Islam; without it a person cannot attain the life that Islam requires. It is the remembrance of Allah and consciousness of Him that keeps a person's life permanently connected to the servitude of Allah. Just as the survival of the physical body requires that the flow of breath continue at every moment, likewise the survival of one's spiritual and moral being requires that the tongue remain ever inclined to the remembrance of Allah, and that the thought of Allah settle in the heart so deeply that it passes from the conscious into the subconscious and permeates one's every movement and stillness — so that one's manner, one's speech and one's silence all reflect His remembrance, and one is never for a single moment heedless of being Allah's servant and slave. The Qur'an lays particular stress on the remembrance of Allah: "And remember Allah much, that you may be successful." (al-Jumu'ah 62:10) And it declares heedlessness of Allah's remembrance to be a cause of loss: "O you who believe, let not your wealth and your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah; and whoever does that — it is they who are the losers." (al-Munafiqun 63:9) In this hadith, when the bedouin asked, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught him the best remembrance and then the best supplication. Supplication is for the believer both a martial power and an economic strength: through supplication destinies are changed, coming afflictions are averted, and the hopes of this world and the Hereafter are fulfilled — so one should keep supplicating abundantly, for who knows when a supplication may be accepted. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is the Most Merciful, the Compassionate, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, the Provider, the Answerer of prayers, the Absolutely Powerful and the One who has full control; and He loves that His servants ask of Him, ask of Him alone, call upon Him alone, and turn to Him alone for help — for He alone is the true Helper and the Accepter of supplication. In hardship and distress He alone should be called upon, for He alone comes to aid at the hour of need. The Helper is Allah's Being alone; in every state He alone should be called upon and asked, and none should be associated with Him. To call upon anyone other than Allah is in truth shirk — an unforgivable sin whose punishment is Hell forever. The supplications of the Qur'an and the Sunnah are the original and comprehensive ones; the effect they carry is found in no other supplication, and their distinction is that they are already accepted in the court of Allah. So we should all make a practice of these supplications, and teach them to the old and the young alike, so that their tongues grow accustomed to the remembrance of Allah and to asking of Allah alone.