Fortress of Dhikr

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah enjoined five things upon Yahyaa ibn Zakariyya and told him to enjoin them upon the Children of Israel also. (The fifith of these five things was), ‘I command you to remember Allah, for the likeness of that is a man who is hotly pursued by the enemy, until he comes to a fortified stronghold, where he saves himself from them. A person cannot save himself from the Shaytaan except by remembering Allah.’” [Tirmidhi]

The fifth of the five things that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) enjoined on the Bani Israel was Dhikr, the remembrance of Allah. As Muslims we are lucky that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) has built Dhikr, His remembrance, into our daily lives:

Our five daily prayers are remembrance of Him (subhana wa ta’ala).

The Duas we learn for different occasions; entering and leaving our homes, going up and down stairs, going to and leaving the bathroom, looking in the mirror, drinking milk, beginning and ending meals, seeing someone distressed, not feeling well oneself, hearing a donkey bray or dog bark, etc, are all a part of Dhikr.

Thinking about what Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says by reflecting on the meanings of the Quran or Ahadith, is Dhikr.

Doing something only because Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) prescribed it, is also Dhikr.

By Dhikr we protect ourselves from the Shaytaan who sees us but whom we do not see, by entering into the fortress of the One Who sees him but cannot be seen by him.