Silent Zikr (Qalbi)

n the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.
Answer

Qadi Thanaullah Pani Pati in his “Tafsir Mazhari” has written that there are three types of zikr:

1. Oral, loudly

2. Oral, silently

3. Spiritual, within the heart known as Zikr Qalbi

Zikr Qalbi is that zikr which has nothing to do with words by the mouth and as such cannot even be detected by he Kiram Kaatibeen. Imam Abu Yala narrates quoting Saaidah Aaishah Radiallahu Anha that the Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alahi Wasalam said: Zikr Qalbi, which cannot be discerned by the Kiram Kaatibeen, is seventy times superior to other types. On the Day of Judgement mankind will be called to reckoning by Him and the Kiram Kaatibeen will be directed to produce the register of conduct of everybody. The angels will be commanded to re-examine the records to see if any of their good deeds remained unrecorded. They would submit that everything within their reach had been duly put down. Allah will inform them that a good deed, which they could not discern and hence were unable to record, was Zikr Qalbi… (Tafsir Mazhari p.41 v.3)

Moreover the superiority of silent zikr can be established through the Holy Qur’an and Hadith of the Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alahi Wasalam.

Allah (SWA) in the Holy Qur’an has said:

“And do then (O Muhammad) remember your Lord within yourself humbly and with awe, below your breath, at morning and evening. And do not be neglectful. (Surah Araf v.205)

Maulana Yusuf Binnori (RA) explains this verse in his Nafkhat al Amber Min Hadi ash Shaikh Anwar p135:

“Sheikh Anwar Shah Kashmiri said: “We confine ourselves strictly to the meaning of this verse. It pertains to Zikr and not to Salah, though the latter is also a form of zikr. It implies Zikr Qalbi whereas Salah is Zikr Lisani…”

Saaiduna Abu Saeed Radiallahu Anhu narrates that the Prophet of Allah the Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alahi Wasalam said, “The best zikr is Zikr Khafi” (Al Targhib wat Tarheeb p.160 v.4)

Saaiduna Saad Bin Abi Waqqas Radiallahu Anhu states that he heard the Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alahi Wasalam saying “The best zikr is Zikr Khafi.” (At Targhib wat Tarheeb p.537 v.2)

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham.

Silent Dhikr

Allah mentioned in Surat al-Araf, 205, “And remember thy Lord in thy self with humility and fear, and without loudness of speech, in the mornings and evenings; and be not of the neglectful.” [7:205]

Imam Ahmad narrated, “Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet (s) said that Allah says, ‘I am with my servant when he remembers Me and by his remembrance of Me his lips move.” Commenting on this hadith, Imam Nawawi said, “Allah is with the one who remembers Him and calls Him in his heart, and calls Him on his tongue, but we must realize that the dhikr of the heart is more perfect. The rememberer made dhikr of the tongue in order to reflect the occurrence of the dhikr in his heart. When the love of Allah and His Remembrance overwhelms the heart and the spirit, the tongue is moved and the seeker brought near.”

Sheikh Amin al-Kurdi said in The Enlightenment of Hearts (Tanwir al-Qulub) p. 522: “The dhikr by tongue, which combines sounds and letters, is not easy to perform at all times, because buying and selling and other such activities altogether divert one’s attention from such dhikr. The contrary is true of the dhikr by heart, which is named that way in order to signify its freedom from letters and sounds. In that way nothing distracts one from his dhikr, as the poet says:

With the heart remember Allah, secretly from creation, wordlessly and speechlessly.

That remembrance is best of all: out of it flowed the sayings of the saints.

“That is why our Naqshbandi masters have chosen thedhikr of the heart. Moreover, the heart is the place where the Forgiver casts his gaze, and the seat of belief, and the receptacle of secrets, and the source of lights. If it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is unsound, the whole body is unsound, as was made clear for us by the chosen Prophet (s).

“Something that confirms this was narrated on the authority of A’isha (r): ‘Allah favors dhikr above dhikrseventy-fold (meaning, silent dhikr over louddhikr). On the Day of Resurrection, God will bring back human beings to His account, and the Recording Angels will bring what they have recorded and written, and Allah Almighty will say: See if something that belongs to my servant was left out? The angels will say: We left nothing out concerning what we have learnt and recorded, except that we have assessed it and written it. Allah will say: O my servant, I have something good of yours for which I alone will reward you, it is your hidden remembrance of Me.’ Bayhaqi narrated it.

“Also on the authority of A’isha: ‘The dhikr not heard by the Recording Angels equals seventy times the one they hear.’ Bayhaqi narrates it.”

Assalamu alaykum

There are two opinions within the Hanafi school regarding what is considered the minimal recitation such that anything less than it would not be considered recitation.

One opinion, deemed the stronger, is that one must be able to hear oneself when reciting. If one is not able to hear oneself then the recitation does not count.

The other opinion, also deemed strong, is that oneÂ’s recitation is correct as long as one pronounces all of the letters, i.e. by moving oneÂ’s tongue and lips as though one is reciting aloud even though no sound is being produced and one is not even able to hear oneself.

Reading in oneÂ’s mind, however, without even moving oneÂ’s lips, is invalid, and if not even a single verse was recited properly, would render the prayer invalid. [Ibn Abidin]

And Allah knows best.

Sohail Hanif

The answer to your question will be look at in two angles, firstly, we will discuss recitation of the Holy Qur’an in salah and secondly recitation outside salah. Starting with the former there are two opinions in the Hanafi Fiqh of what is considered the minimal recitation.

One opinion is that one must able to hear oneself when reading. (See Maraqi Falah P.93) and the second view is that one’s recitation will be deemed valid as long as one moves one’s tongue and lips even though no sound is being produced and one is not even able to hear it oneself. (Ahsraful Idaah P.112)

However, reading in your mind in salah is invalid and one’s salah will not be done. (Ibid)

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it obligatory to move the tongue when reciting Qur’aan in prayer or is it sufficient to say it in one's heart?

He replied:

Recitation must be done with the tongue. If a person recites it in his heart when he is praying, that is not sufficient. The same applies to all other adhkaar; it is not sufficient to recite them in one's heart, rather it is essential to move one's tongue and lips, because they are words to be spoken, and that can only be achieved by moving the tongue and the lips. End quote.

Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 13/156

And Allaah knows best.

Recitation must be done with the tongue. If a person recites it in his heart when he is praying, that is not sufficient. The same applies to all other adhkaar; it is not sufficient to recite them in one's heart, rather it is essential to move one's tongue and lips, because they are words to be spoken, and that can only be achieved by moving the tongue and the lips.

With regard to the adhkaar which are spoken on the tongue, such as reciting Qur’aan, saying tasbeeh (Subhaan Allaah – glory be to Allaah), tahmeed (al-hamdu Lillaah – praise be to Allaah) and tahleel (Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah – there is no god but Allaah), and the dhikrs to be recited in the morning and evening, when going to sleep, when entering the washroom, and so on, it is essential to move the tongue, and a person is not regarded as having said them if he does not move his tongue.

There are two types of dhikr: dhikr with the tongue such as reciting Qur’aan and du’aa’s, which is encouraged in sharee’ah, and dhikr in the heart, which means thinking of Allaah and His greatness and power, or reciting the Qur’aan in one’s heart. This does not bring the same reward as reading Qur’aan, because the reward has to do with reading, which can only done on the tongue (by moving the tongue and speaking the words). The same applies to du’aa’; they should be spoken on the tongue and it is not sufficient to recite it in the heart.

The scholars differentiated between the two types of dhikr. They said that it is makrooh to remember Allaah on the tongue (by speaking) in the bathroom and glorify Allaah in that place. With regard to remembering Allaah in one's heart, they said that this is not makrooh and there is nothing wrong with it.

The proof that this distinction is made between the two kinds of dhikr is the fact that the scholars are agreed that it is permissible for a person who is junub (in a state of impurity following sexual activity) to recite Qur’aan in his heart, but it is haraam for him to recite it out loud or utter it.