فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ
So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me, and do not deny Me.
Al-Baqarah 2:152
فَضْلُ الذِّكْر
The Excellence of Remembrance
Before its supplications begin, Hisn al-Muslim opens by gathering what the Qur'an and the Sunnah say about the merit of remembering Allah — why dhikr is placed at the heart of a believer's day.
From the Qur'an
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْراً كَثِيراً
O you who believe, remember Allah with much remembrance.
Al-Ahzab 33:41
وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيراً وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْراً عَظِيماً
And the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so — for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.
Al-Ahzab 33:35
وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعاً وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالآصَالِ وَلاَ تَكُن مِّنَ الْغَافِلِينَ
And remember your Lord within yourself, humbly and in awe, without raising your voice, in the morning and the evening — and do not be among the heedless.
Al-A'raf 7:205
From the Sunnah
The Prophet [pbuh] said:
مَثَلُ الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ رَبَّهُ وَالَّذِي لَا يَذْكُرُ رَبَّهُ مَثَلُ الْحَيِّ وَالْمَيِّتِ
The one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not are like the living and the dead.
Al-Bukhari (Fath al-Bari 11/208); Muslim 1/539
And he [pbuh] said:
أَلَا أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِخَيْرِ أَعْمَالِكُمْ، وَأَزْكَاهَا عِنْدَ مَلِيكِكُمْ، وَأَرْفَعِهَا فِي دَرَجَاتِكُمْ، وَخَيْرٍ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِنْفَاقِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْوَرِقِ، وَخَيْرٍ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْ تَلْقَوْا عَدُوَّكُمْ فَتَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَهُمْ وَيَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَكُمْ؟ قَالُوا بَلَى. قَالَ: ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى
Shall I not tell you of the best of your deeds, the purest in the sight of your Master, the highest in raising your rank — better for you than spending gold and silver, and better than meeting your enemy and striking their necks while they strike yours? They said, "Yes." He said: The remembrance of Allah, the Most High.
At-Tirmidhi 5/459; Ibn Majah 2/1245
And he [pbuh] said:
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلَأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلَأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ شِبْراً تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعاً، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ ذِرَاعاً تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعاً، وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً
Allah, the Most High, says: I am as My servant expects Me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself; and if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a better gathering. If he draws near to Me a hand's span, I draw near to him an arm's length; 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 come to him hurrying.
Al-Bukhari 8/171; Muslim 4/2061
A man said, "O Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam have become many for me; tell me something I can hold fast to." The Prophet [pbuh] said:
لَا يَزَالُ لِسَانُكَ رَطْباً مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ
Let your tongue stay moist with the remembrance of Allah.
At-Tirmidhi 5/458; Ibn Majah 2/1246
And he [pbuh] said:
مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفاً مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ بِهِ حَسَنَةٌ، وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا، لَا أَقُولُ: الم حَرْفٌ؛ وَلَكِنْ: أَلِفٌ حَرْفٌ، وَلَامٌ حَرْفٌ، وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ
Whoever recites a single letter from the Book of Allah earns a reward, and each reward is multiplied tenfold. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter — rather, Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Mim is a letter.
At-Tirmidhi 5/175
Uqbah ibn 'Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah [pbuh] came out while we were on the Suffah and said, "Which of you would like to go each morning to Buthan or Al-'Aqeeq and bring back two large she-camels, without sin and without breaking ties of kinship?" We said, "All of us, O Messenger of Allah." He said:
أَفَلَا يَغْدُو أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَيَعْلَمَ، أَوْ يَقْرَأَ آيَتَيْنِ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ نَاقَتَيْنِ، وَثَلَاثٌ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ، وَأَرْبَعٌ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَرْبَعٍ، وَمِنْ أَعْدَادِهِنَّ مِنَ الْإِبِلِ
Then why does one of you not go to the mosque and learn or recite two verses from the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic? That is better for him than two she-camels; three verses are better than three she-camels; four verses are better than four she-camels; and so on for any number of camels.
Muslim 1/553
And he [pbuh] said:
مَنْ قَعَدَ مَقْعَداً لَمْ يَذْكُرِ اللَّهَ فِيهِ كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تِرَةٌ، وَمَنِ اضْطَجَعَ مَضْجَعاً لَمْ يَذْكُرِ اللَّهَ فِيهِ كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ تِرَةٌ
Whoever sits in a place and does not remember Allah there, it will be a source of regret for him from Allah; and whoever lies down in a place and does not remember Allah there, it will be a source of regret for him from Allah.
Abu Dawud 4/264
And the Prophet [pbuh] said:
مَا جَلَسَ قَوْمٌ مَجْلِساً لَمْ يَذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِيهِ، وَلَمْ يُصَلُّوا عَلَى نَبِيِّهِمْ إِلَّا كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ تِرَةٌ، فَإِنْ شَاءَ عَذَّبَهُمْ وَإِنْ شَاءَ غَفَرَ لَهُمْ
No people sit in a gathering in which they do not remember Allah and do not send blessings upon their Prophet, except that it will be a source of regret for them; if He wills He will punish them, and if He wills He will forgive them.
At-Tirmidhi (Sahih At-Tirmidhi 3/140)
And he [pbuh] said:
مَا مِنْ قَوْمٍ يَقُومُونَ مِنْ مَجْلِسٍ لَا يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ فِيهِ إِلَّا قَامُوا عَنْ مِثْلِ جِيفَةِ حِمَارٍ وَكَانَ لَهُمْ حَسْرَةً
No people rise from a gathering in which they did not remember Allah except that they rise as if from the carcass of a donkey, and it will be a source of grief for them.
Abu Dawud 4/264; Ahmad 2/389