ẓill-i ilāhī (the divine shadow) is the insān-i kāmil (the Perfect Human) who actualizes the rank of wāḥidiyya (the station of Divine Oneness). (Kāshānī, 166; Jāmiʿ, 89)
dhikr/adhkār 1259 dhikr/adhkār (ādāb al-dhikr; riḥla; sulṭān al-dhikr; dhāt bi'l-qalb; dhikr ʿalā ṭarīq al-mufāḍala; dhikr bi'l-lisān; dhikr al-ākhira; dhikr al-ʿārifīn; dhikr al-jalī; dhikr ahl al-ẓāhir; dhikr al-awwal; dhikr al-khafī; dhikr al-khafiyy al-qalbī; dhikr al-ḥaqīqī; dhikr al-thānī; dhikrullāh)
Here, the essence of dhikr (remembrance of God) is that the qalb (the heart) finds presence by being constantly with the Truth (al-Ḥaqq), and is thus saved from forgetfulness.
The form of dhikr at the bidāya (beginnings) is dhikr al-ẓāhir (outward dhikr, or the remembrance of Allah's Name al-Ẓāhir); at the abwāb (gates, entrances) it is dhikr al-khafī (silent dhikr); in muʿāmalāt (transactions) it is dhikr bi faʿʿālun limā yurīd (remembrance of "the One who does whatever He wills," or remembering Him by this Name). This is realized by seeing all actions as from Him and all affairs as in His hand.
In akhlāq (character), dhikr is the remembrance of the divine akhlāq and the yearning and desire to be adorned with them. In adwiya (remedies), dhikr is to ascend to maʿārif (gnoses) and ḥaqāʾiq (realities) through dhikr and to listen in secret. In aḥwāl (spiritual states), dhikr is constant companionship with Him and engaging in munājāt (intimate supplication) with Him.
In walāya (sainthood), dhikr is to always act with sincerity and do what pleases Him. In ḥaqāʾiq (realities), dhikr is to persist in witnessing (mushāhada) and direct perception (muʿāyana). In nihāya (the end), it is to be freed even from seeing one's own dhikr, to witness the dhikr of the Truth, and to realize that the dhākir (one who remembers) in the state of baqāʾ (subsistence in God) is making a claim (iftiyāra) even while engaged in dhikr.
At the beginning, I erred in four things: I thought that I was the one who remembered, knew, loved, and desired Him. At the end of the path, I saw that His dhikr preceded my dhikr, His maʿrifa (gnosis) preceded my maʿrifa, His maḥabba (love) preceded my love, and His will preceded my will.
Dhikr is of two kinds: The first is tahlīl, tasbīḥ, and recitation of the Qur'an. The second is to remind the hearts, while remembering Allah Most High, His Names and Attributes, His bestowal of favors upon all creatures, and the sovereignty of His decree, to fulfill the conditions of this remembrance.
Remind the rājiʿūn (those who hope) of His promise, the khāʾifūn (those who fear) of His threat (punishment), the mutawakkilūn (those who have tawakkul) of His sufficiency, the murāqibūn (those who are vigilant) that Allah Most High is aware of all that befalls His servants, and the muḥibbūn (those who love) to attentively observe His blessings! (Lumaʿ, 291)
The ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of dhikr is to forget everything except what you are remembering during dhikr. As the verse says: "And remember your Lord when you forget" (al-Kahf 18:24). That is, only when you forget all but Allah do you truly remember Allah. (Taʿarruf, 74)
Dhikr is to dispel heedlessness. When you remove heedlessness, even if you are silent, you are in a state of dhikr. They recited this verse of Junayd:
I remembered You
Not because I ever forgot You for a moment, but this
is dhikr upon my tongue,
the easiest of all dhikrs.
I heard Abū'l-Qāsim Baghdādī say: I asked one of the great ones, "Why do the ʿārifūn (gnostics) tire of dhikr but find contentment in contemplation, even though contemplation does not reach the center, and the hidden reward of adhkār (remembrances) remains?" He replied: "Their nafs (lower self) belittled the fruits of adhkār and could not endure their hardships. The nobility of what lies behind contemplations dazzled their eyes and distracted them from the pain of their struggles." (Taʿarruf, 74)
Dhikr is divided into several parts. The first is the dhikr of the qalb (heart): this is not forgetting and remembering the One remembered. The second is the dhikr of the attributes of the One remembered. The third is the witnessing (mushāhada) of the One remembered. In this ḥāl (spiritual state), one becomes fanāʾ (annihilated; unaware of one's own dhikr). For the attributes of the One remembered cause you to be annihilated from your own existence, and thus you become annihilated in your dhikr. (Taʿarruf, 76)
Dhikr is the strongest pillar of the path to Allah, indeed the very foundation of this path. No one can reach Allah Most High without being in a constant state of dhikr. Dhikr is of two kinds: dhikr of the tongue and dhikr of the heart. The servant makes the dhikr of the tongue and the heart continuous, and attains the effect of the dhikr of the heart. If the servant performs dhikr with both tongue and heart, he becomes perfected in his state of sulūk (spiritual journeying).
I heard Ustād Abū ʿAlī Daqqāq say: Dhikr is the diploma (maṯnūr) of walāya (sainthood). Whoever succeeds in dhikr is given this diploma. Whoever is deprived of dhikr is also deprived of this diploma.
It is narrated that Shiblī, in the early days of his sulūk, would enter a cave every day with a bundle of sticks. Whenever heedlessness entered his heart, he would beat himself with the sticks until they broke. Many times, before evening, the bundle would be used up, and then he would strike his hands and feet against the wall.
It is said: To remember Allah with the heart is the sword of the murīd (aspirant); with that sword they fight their enemies and ward off calamities and afflictions. When a calamity approaches a servant, if he seeks refuge in Allah Most High with his heart, the calamity immediately departs from him and he is saved from all that he dislikes.
When Vāsitī was asked what dhikr is, he replied: Dhikr is to leave the field of heedlessness for the expanse of witnessing, according to the dominance of fear and the intensity of love. (Qushayrī, 110)
dhikr/adhkār 1261
Dhikr is more perfect than contemplation, for the Truth, Glorified is He, is described by dhikr, not by contemplation. A quality by which the Truth describes Himself is certainly more perfect than one by which He describes His servant. (Qushayrī, 111)
Allah has said: "And remember your Lord when you forget" (al-Kahf 18:24). That is, when you forget all but Him, you forget yourself while remembering, then you forget your own dhikr while remembering Him, and finally, in the dhikr of the Truth, you forget all dhikrs. Dhikr is to be saved from heedlessness and forgetfulness.
There are three degrees of dhikr: The first is the dhikr of the dhākir (the one who remembers), which is of the type of praise, supplication (duʿāʾ), and observance.
The second degree is dhikr al-khafī. This is to enter the field of witnessing, free from all constraints.