The dictionary meaning of the word Dhikr is to remember. There are many ways to remember Allah.
The first way of remembering Him is to give up evil habits thinking of the Almighty.
The second way to remember Allah is while offering mandatory and optional prayers.
The third way to remember Allah is in times when one gets legitimate worldly benefits.
The fourth way of remembering Allah is in times of adversity.
The fifth way of remembering Allah is through the heart, thinking of His Qualities and meanings of His Book through the interpretations given by the Holy prophet (S) and the Ahl-ul-Bayt.
The sixth way to remember Allah is through the word of mouth, invoking the true knowledge, talking of the qualities of the Ahl-ul-Bayt, reciting the Holy Qur'an, reciting Allah's Names. All these invocations that come out of the tongue should emanate from the heart!
It is narrated that Amir'ul-Mu'mineen ‘Ali (as) said, "One who remembers Allah in quiet he remembers Allah well. The hypocrite makes the show of remembering Allah at the top of his voice. For such hypocrites Allah says, ‘People do things cunningly to show off to others, they do not remember Allah but little.'"
The Prophet of Allah (S) says that the true obedience of Allah is that He is remembered the more, despite little recourse to optional prayer viz. Saalat and recitation of the Qur'an. Sin against Allah (Masiat) is not remembering Allah despie over-indulgence in the rituals like optional prayers and fasting.
Imam Musa al-Kadhim (as) has said: Nothing hurts the Satan more than one talking about the virtues of Allah, the Prophet and his Ahl al-Bayt (as) to his fellowmen. The Satan then sadly complains that Allah's angels keep cursing him!
It is narrated from Imam Ja'far As-Sadiq (as) that Prophet Musa (as) asked Allah that being near to Him, could he talk to Him as one does with persons near to him! Or if Allah is far away, should he talk in a loud tone that he would be audible to Him! The reply was, "I am very near to those who remember me away from people in loneliness! They are My sincere creatures! Those who pretend to remember me in a loud voice to make a show of their love for me to others are hypocrites and men-of-the-world!"
Loud Invocation, Dihkr al-Jalee
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) has said, "Whosoever remembers Allah quietly has so much reward that only Allah can measure it!" This proves that trying to remember Allah by making loud intonations and humming noises is against the Shariah and is innovation.
The Dhikr al-Jalee of the Sufis has many other innovative practices than these. For example they sing love lyrics in loud voices and wrongly think that it is a form of worship. This practice in the Imamiah sect, with unanimous assent, is Haram. Besides these aberrations, the Sufis indulge in several undesirable acts like clapping in unison, dancing and do these things even in the solemn precincts of the Mosque. This, despite the Prophet (S) exhorting his people by saying, "One who recites poetry in the Mosque should be told that Allah will smash his mouth! The mosque is for reciting the Qur'an and not for reciting the mundane poetry!"
The Sufis generally do these activities on the eve of Friday although the eve of Friday and the day of Friday reciting couplets is a sin.
If these people are told why they act against the dictates of the Shariah, they say that they have achieved nearness to Allah. They don't realize that nearness to Allah is not possible without implicitly following the rules of Shariah. The contemptuous activities of the Sufis are termed by them as Haal (getting enraptured
. During Haal they get thought of the mundane love in their minds and in the melee of song and dance they start jumping and cavorting. Surprisingly, such scenes are common in drinking parties too!
The Sufis Get Enraptured, The Haal
In the state of Haal the Sufis throw themselves on the ground with such artistic cunning that they don't get hurt. They pretend to abstain from the pleasures of life like eating of meat etc. They undergo a sort of penance that their bodies grow weak. The women and children of this cult too are of poor physique. But the Sufis proudly claim that they can be cured. The Sufis prohibit people crying. They curb this natural instinct that is spontaneous during times of extreme joy or sorrow. If the tears don't come off the eyes, the heart will be affected. The Sufis do not plead with Allah for amelioration of their hardship. They are under the spell of the Satan and give vent to their feelings by singing, dancing and jumping! But truly pious persons busy themselves in prayer and supplication to Allah!
The Sufis Are Innovative, Bidati
A big proof of the Sufis being innovative is that no scholar of any sect has quoted any of the Sufis of the past in their works. The Prophet (S) never swooned at any Qawwali (mystic chorus) session nor did he teach his companions to do any such thing. It is observed that very few persons recite the supplications authored by the Immaculate Imams (as). To the contrary hordes of people will flock to the Qawwali meets of the Sufis and indulge in the same antics as their hosts! They do things that the Imams (as) have termed as Haram. They will have to give account of their deeds on the Day of Judgement.
A person came to Imam Ja'far As-Sadiq (as) and said, "O Imam (as)! I have invented an invocation!" The Imam (as) replied, "Leave that aside! Recite the supplications that we have taught to you!"
The Silent Invocation, Dhikr al-Khafi
Another way of worshiping Allah is offering silent invocations. In this condition, at all times and in all circumstances, the heart of the person is bent towards Allah. The evident aspect of this type of worship is very attractive but the shape the Sufis have given to it is an innovation. There is no reference about this in Shi'a literature.
Amongst the Sunni scribes only Maroof Karkhi has quoted from Imam Ar-Ridha' (as). But this is doubtful because there is no evidence of Maroof having any interaction with Imam Ar-Ridha' (as). Some say that he was a janitor at the house of the Imam (as). This too is a very doubtful statement. Other people say that the teacher (Peer al-Tariqat) of Maroof was Dawood Tayee who was a bigoted Sunni. What connection he could have had with the Imams (as)!
Thirdly, Maroof Karkhi's beliefs are evidenced by such unreliable persons as Noor Baksh Noor who went to the extent of claiming himself to be the Mehdi and felt that people had recognized him as that. Fourthly there are different ways of Dhikr al-Khafi. Therefore, whichever way the Peer instructs the Mureed (the disciple) to do the Dhikr, it is acceptable. The fifth; Sufis consider such worship better than the mandatory prayers. How could it be possible that the Imam (as) instructed only Maroof Karkhi about this and did not tell any of his close companions! Then, if Maroof was the one and only to be instructed on this method, then why the populace is motivated to adopt the practice by the Sufis!
Sixth: If the Imam (as) communicated about the Dhikr al-Khafi to Maroof in secret then there have been more pious and learned persons like Salman and Abu Dharr. There is no tradition that indicates that such companions of the Prophet (S) and the Imams (as) have ever been instructed about the Dhikr al-Khafi.It is a funny situation that the Sufis leave aside thousands of authentic traditions and depend on one tradition quoted by the unauthentic Maroof Kharkhi!
source : www.imamreza.net
