Definition:
‘Azkar’
is plural of the Urdu word ‘Zikar’ which means ‘mention’. In Islam, it means
praying to the Almighty, creator for all the blessings he’s bestowed upon us
and for all the times He’s forgiven us for our sins. Therefore, Azkar is done
via prayers or various forms of supplications; for every prayer has Allah’s
name on it.
Importance:
We were
created by Allah for His worship; all other earthly pursuits are transitory,
for only our good deeds in the eyes of Allah will count in the afterlife. He
loves the act of praying to Him and asking His forgiveness for our sins. Nobody
is perfect, had we been born as a bring that did not sin, then He would have
replaced us with another being that did, felt guilty and asked his forgiveness
for the sins committed. This is explained in the following hadith:
“Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “I swear by Him in whose hand is my soul, if
you were a people who did not commit sin, Allah would take you away and replace
you with a people who would sin and then seek Allah’s forgiveness so He could
forgive them.” (Muslim)
Hence, we come to know from this hadith that
Allah is the all-forgiving thus we should be seeking His forgiveness for our
sins. However, this does not mean that we take it for granted and persist in
committing sins, thinking that all sins will be forgiven for He’s well aware of
what’s in our hearts and such intentions would only lead us to our destruction.
As mentioned in the Quran:
“Remember
Allah's grace upon you and His covenant by which He bound you, when ye said: We hear and we obey; And keep your
duty to Allah. Lo! He knows what is
in the hearts (of men).” (The Quran 5:7)
Benefits:
There are countless benefits of remembering
our creator in times of need or to simply thank Him for giving another day of
this life. We increase our chances of entering Jannah (Heaven) by earning more
sawab. There’s sawab in all kinds of good deeds described by the Quran and
Sunnah and remembering Allah is one of them. He blesses those who follow the
right path, remember Him via prayers and acknowledge His presence around us.
His blessing means prosperity in this life and the one hereafter. On the other hand, ignorance can only mean the
cause of our destruction. As explained in the following ayah:
“And when
the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the
bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.” (The Quran 62:10)
Conclusion:
This world is only transitory, and nothing in
this world is everlasting. Allah is the only everlasting entity. Our purpose in
this world should not be forgotten, neither the fact that our deeds here will
determine our eternal resting place. We are to return to Him after our deaths
so it’s best that we return with a good record of deeds. Some people also use Surah
Ar Rahman with Full Audio App as zakir. However, if you would like to Learn
How to Read the Quran, Noorani Qaida App is highly recommended. Both of
these apps contains very beautiful graphics and nice sound.
