Dhikr — Remembrance of Allah

Definition and Scope

Dhikr (ذكر) means "remembrance" or "mention." In Islamic practice, it refers to the conscious remembrance of Allah through specific phrases, supplications, recitation of the Quran, and structured litanies. It encompasses both the formal remembrances taught by the Prophet ﷺ for specific occasions (after prayer, morning, evening, before sleep) and the general state of awareness of Allah throughout one's day.

Dhikr is not a subcategory of worship — it is the foundation of the entire spiritual life. Allah commands it more than any other act of worship in the Quran, and the Prophet ﷺ ranked it above charity and jihad.

“Know that the excellence of dhikr is not restricted to tasbih, tahlil, tahmid, takbir, and the like. Rather, every person who acts in obedience to Allah, the Exalted, is engaged in the remembrance of Allah.”

The primary forms of dhikr are:

• Quran recitation — the highest form of remembrance
• Tasbih — SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)
• Tahmid — Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah)
• Tahlil — La ilaha illa'llah (There is no god but Allah) — called "the best of dhikr" in multiple hadiths
• Takbir — Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)
• Salawat — sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ
• Du'a — supplication and conversation with Allah
• Istighfar — seeking Allah's forgiveness

All of these are practiced both individually and collectively, and all are established in the Quran and Sunna.

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Why This Issue Matters

Dhikr is one of the most disputed practices in contemporary Muslim discourse — not because there is any disagreement about dhikr itself (all Muslims agree on its centrality), but because of claims that collective dhikr is an innovation.

The dispute is specifically about:

• Whether gathering in groups to remember Allah together is permissible or forbidden
• Whether audible/loud dhikr is permissible or should be silent
• Whether specific formats (circles, standing, swaying, duff accompaniment) are allowed
• Whether counting dhikr with beads or other instruments is permitted

These claims are made by scholars and Muslims who argue that collective dhikr was not practiced by the earliest Muslims in the specific formats seen today. This is a sincerely held position that deserves engagement on its evidence. As the sources below demonstrate, however, the prophetic hadiths on this topic are among the most authenticated in Sunni Islam — and they explicitly describe and praise collective remembrance.

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The Quranic Foundation

فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ

“Remember Me, and I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not deny Me.”

This is one of the most extraordinary promises in the Quran: Allah Himself remembers those who remember Him. The hadiths below explain how — He mentions them to the angels and forgives their entire gathering.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا

“O you who believe, remember Allah with much remembrance.”

The command is kathiran — abundantly, excessively, without limit. Allah does not restrict the mode, the posture, or whether it is done individually or collectively.

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ

“Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying on their sides.”

This verse describes the believers as people who remember Allah in every posture — standing, sitting, and reclining. It refutes the claim that dhikr should be limited to a single mode.

وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

“And the men who remember Allah often and the women who remember — Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward.”

Allah also warns of the consequence of neglecting dhikr:

وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا

“Whoever turns away from My remembrance will have a life of hardship.”

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The Prophetic Evidence

Dhikr Is the Best of All Deeds

أَلَا أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِخَيْرِ أَعْمَالِكُمْ وَأَزْكَاهَا عِنْدَ مَلِيكِكُمْ وَأَرْفَعِهَا فِي دَرَجَاتِكُمْ وَخَيْرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِنْفَاقِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْوَرِقِ وَخَيْرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْ تَلْقَوْا عَدُوَّكُمْ فَتَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَهُمْ وَيَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَكُمْ

“Shall I not tell you of the best of your deeds, the purest of them in the sight of your Sovereign, the most exalted of them in your ranks, better for you than spending gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks and them striking yours? They said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'The remembrance of Allah (dhikr Allah).'”

The Prophet ﷺ ranks dhikr above charity and above jihad. This establishes dhikr as the single most important voluntary act of worship.

Angels Surround the Gatherings of Dhikr

مَا اجْتَمَعَ قَوْمٌ يَذْكُرُونَ اللهَ إِلَّا حَفَّتْهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَغَشِيَتْهُمُ الرَّحْمَةُ وَنَزَلَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّكِينَةُ وَذَكَرَهُمُ اللهُ فِيمَنْ عِنْدَهُ

“No people gather to remember Allah but the angels surround them, mercy covers them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him.”

Four specific rewards for gathering (ijtama'a) for dhikr: angelic surrounding, divine mercy, tranquility (sakina — the same that descended on the Prophet ﷺ in the cave, Quran 9:40), and being mentioned by Allah to the angels. The Arabic ma ijtama'a qawm is unambiguously describing a collective activity.

Angels Roaming the Earth Seeking Dhikr Gatherings

إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَلَائِكَةً يَطُوفُونَ فِي الطُّرُقِ يَلْتَمِسُونَ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ فَإِذَا وَجَدُوا قَوْمًا يَذْكُرُونَ اللهَ تَنَادَوْا هَلُمُّوا إِلَى حَاجَتِكُمْ

“Allah has angels who roam the roads seeking out the people of dhikr. When they find a group remembering Allah, they call out to each other: 'Come to what you are looking for!' and they enfold them with their wings up to the lowest heaven.”

The full narration continues with a dialogue between Allah and the angels. Allah asks (though He already knows): "What are My servants saying?" The angels reply: "They are glorifying You, declaring Your greatness, praising You, and extolling You." Allah asks: "Have they seen Me?" They reply: "No." Allah asks: "What do they ask of Me?" They reply: "Paradise." Allah asks: "Have they seen it?" They reply: "No." Allah asks: "From what do they seek refuge?" They reply: "The Fire." Allah asks: "Have they seen it?" They reply: "No."

Allah then says: "I call you to witness that I have forgiven them." An angel says: "Among them is so-and-so who is not one of them — he only came for a personal need." Allah replies: "They are the people in whose company no one suffers."

Allah forgives the entire gathering — including someone who was not even there for dhikr. If group dhikr were bid'a, why would Allah send angels to seek it out, and why would He forgive everyone present?

Allah Distinguishes Individual from Collective Dhikr

أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلَأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلَأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ

“I am as My servant expects Me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself. And if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than theirs.”

This is a hadith qudsi — the words of Allah conveyed by the Prophet ﷺ. It explicitly distinguishes two modes of dhikr and assigns group dhikr a higher reward: individual dhikr is remembered by Allah within Himself; collective dhikr is remembered by Allah among the angels — a gathering better than theirs.

"The Gardens of Paradise"

إِذَا مَرَرْتُمْ بِرِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ فَارْتَعُوا قَالُوا وَمَا رِيَاضُ الْجَنَّةِ قَالَ حِلَقُ الذِّكْرِ

“When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, graze in them. They asked: 'What are the gardens of Paradise?' He said: 'The circles of dhikr (halaq al-dhikr).'”

The Prophet ﷺ used the term halaq (حلق) — circles, rings, groups sitting together — and called them gardens of Paradise. This is an explicit prophetic endorsement of organized dhikr gatherings.

Collective Dhikr After Prayer Was Standard Practice

كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ انْقِضَاءَ صَلَاةِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ بِالتَّكْبِيرِ

“I used to know that the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had ended by the takbir (Allahu Akbar).”

Ibn Abbas was a young boy at the time — he could tell the prayer had ended because he heard the dhikr from outside the mosque. This proves three things: (1) dhikr after prayer was done out loud, (2) it was collective (loud enough to be heard as a unified sound), and (3) it was the standard, habitual practice (kana in Arabic indicates recurring action).

Specific Rewards for Specific Dhikr

مَنْ قَالَ سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ فِي يَوْمٍ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ حُطَّتْ خَطَايَاهُ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مِثْلَ زَبَدِ الْبَحْرِ

“Whoever says 'SubhanAllah wa bihamdihi' one hundred times a day will have his sins wiped away, even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.”

And regarding sending salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ, when the Companion Ubayy ibn Ka'b asked whether he should devote all of his supplication time to salawat, the Prophet ﷺ replied:

“Then your worries will be taken care of, and your sins will be forgiven.”

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Scholarly Interpretation and Framing

“Know that dhikr is recommended for groups, based on the well-known hadiths. The evidence for this is overwhelming and well-established.”

Imam al-Nawawi — the most authoritative voice in the Shafi'i school — dedicates entire chapters of al-Adhkar to the merits of group dhikr. His companion commentary on Sahih Muslim states directly:

“In this hadith is evidence for the merit of gatherings of dhikr, for sitting with the people of dhikr, for the merit of dhikr itself, and for the merit of gathering for it.”

“In the hadith is evidence for the merit of assemblies of dhikr, and that attending them is one of the means of attaining the forgiveness of Allah.”

“The hadiths on group dhikr are mutawatir (mass-transmitted). They prove that it is prescribed to gather for dhikr, and they refute whoever claims it is bid'a.”

Al-Shawkani — a scholar frequently cited by Salafi-leaning scholars themselves — declared the evidence for group dhikr to be mutawatir: transmitted through so many independent chains that fabrication is impossible. This is the highest tier of hadith authentication.

On the specific question of loud vs. silent dhikr, al-Nawawi concludes:

“In this hadith is evidence that dhikr after the prayer was done out loud (jahr). The scholars have differed on whether loud or silent dhikr is preferred. The correct position is that it varies by situation. If there is a benefit to loudness — such as teaching others, reminding the heedless, or strengthening one's focus — then loud is preferred. Otherwise, silent is preferred.”

And Ibn Hajar confirms:

“The hadith of Ibn Abbas indicates that raising the voice with dhikr after prayer was the practice in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. This was the preferred position of a group of scholars, and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami permitted it specifically in mosques when done after the prayer.”

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Where the Disagreement Actually Comes From

The Ibn Mas'ud Narration

The primary proof-text used against collective dhikr is a narration in al-Darimi's Sunan about Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه) finding people counting dhikr with pebbles and reproaching them. This narration deserves careful examination rather than dismissal — Ibn Mas'ud was a major Companion, and his actions carry weight. Three important considerations:

1. The chain has been questioned by hadith scholars. The narration is recorded by al-Darimi (not in the Sahih collections). Scholars including al-Suyuti and al-Munawi examined its chains and noted weaknesses. It does not appear in Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim — the very collections that contain multiple explicit prophetic hadiths praising group dhikr. This does not mean the narration is fabricated, but it cannot override sahih evidence.

2. A Companion's individual action cannot override the Prophet ﷺ. This is a foundational principle of usul al-fiqh agreed upon across all four madhabs. The Prophet ﷺ described group dhikr gatherings as surrounded by angels and granted divine forgiveness (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim). Even if Ibn Mas'ud's narration is accepted, a Companion's personal objection to one specific group does not abrogate these prophetic statements. Companions themselves differed on many issues — and in cases of conflict, the Prophet's ﷺ words take precedence.

3. What Ibn Mas'ud likely objected to. Read carefully, the narration describes people counting specific numbers with pebbles in a prescribed format. A coherent reading — adopted by scholars including al-Suyuti — is that Ibn Mas'ud objected to people treating a specific counting method as a divinely required practice, or to the particular group's other problematic traits, not to the act of group dhikr itself. This aligns with the scholarly distinction between the act (permissible) and claiming a particular technique is obligatory (blameworthy).

See our dedicated FAQ on the Ibn Mas'ud narration for the full analysis.

The "Remember Your Lord Within Yourself" Verse

The Quran says: "Remember your Lord within yourself, humbly and with fear, and without raising the voice, in the mornings and evenings" (7:205). Some cite this as proof that all dhikr should be silent. But the Prophet ﷺ himself participated in audible dhikr (Ibn Abbas heard it from outside the mosque), and Allah praised gatherings where angels heard people "glorifying, praising, and declaring His greatness." The scholars reconcile: this verse encourages humility as the general attitude during dhikr — not a blanket prohibition on audible remembrance. Silent dhikr is superior in some contexts, audible in others. Neither is prohibited.

The "Hidden Dhikr Is Best" Hadith

The hadith "The best dhikr is the hidden one" (Musnad Ahmad) speaks to sincerity — hidden worship is protected from showing off. But this applies equally to prayer, charity, and fasting — yet no one says congregational prayer is wrong because "hidden prayer is better." The two are reconciled exactly as we reconcile "hidden charity is best" with public zakat: the "best" mode depends on the person's spiritual state and context.

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Common Objections and Responses

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Boundaries, Conditions, and Misuse

Conditions for Proper Group Dhikr

SeekersGuidance and traditional scholars specify five conditions:

1. Established words of dhikr — subhanAllah, al-hamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, la ilaha ill'Allah, salawat, Quran recitation. Invented phrases falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ are not permitted.
2. No disturbance to others — excessive volume that prevents people from praying, sleeping, or studying is blameworthy.
3. No false claim of prophetic origin — the act of gathering for dhikr is praiseworthy, but claiming a particular technique (counting to a specific number with pebbles, a specific formation) was prescribed by the Prophet ﷺ, when it was not, is a different matter.
4. No replacement of obligatory worship — dhikr gatherings must not cause people to miss prayers or neglect family obligations.
5. Proper Islamic decorum — no free-mixing, no showing off, no affected spiritual states.

From Organic Gatherings to Structured Practice

A fair question arises: the hadiths describe people sitting together and remembering Allah, but does this justify structured dhikr sessions with specific litanies, set times, and designated leaders?

The answer lies in how Islamic practice has always developed. The Prophet ﷺ praised gatherings of dhikr without restricting their format — he used the term halaq (circles), described angels seeking them out, and called them "gardens of Paradise." He did not specify that they must be spontaneous rather than planned, leaderless rather than led, or silent rather than audible. When the Prophet ﷺ praises an act in general terms, the default ruling is permissibility across all reasonable formats — unless a specific format is prohibited by other evidence.

Consider the parallel: the Prophet ﷺ encouraged charity without specifying that it must be individual rather than organized. No one argues that establishing a charitable organization is bid'a because the Prophet ﷺ only gave charity individually. Similarly, organizing dhikr into structured gatherings is a natural extension of a broadly praised practice — not a departure from it. The conditions that matter are the ones the scholars specify: established words of dhikr, proper decorum, no false claims of prophetic origin for specific techniques, and no neglect of obligations.

Loud vs. Silent Dhikr

Both are established and neither is prohibited. The mainstream position:

• Silent dhikr is preferred when it protects sincerity, avoids disturbing others, or in contexts where quietness is appropriate
• Loud dhikr is preferred when it teaches others, reminds the heedless, strengthens communal focus, or is done collectively after prayer (as in the Ibn Abbas hadith)
• The Prophet ﷺ corrected excessive volume on a journey (Bukhari 2992) — proving he regulated loudness, not prohibited collective vocalization

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Practical Takeaway for Ordinary Muslims

Individual Dhikr

The foundation of the spiritual life. The Prophet ﷺ taught specific formulas for every moment of the day:

• After every prayer: 33 times SubhanAllah, 33 times Alhamdulillah, 33 times Allahu Akbar
• Morning and evening: The adhkar al-sabah wa'l-masa — specific supplications for protection and blessing
• Before sleeping: Ayat al-Kursi, the last three surahs of the Quran
• Throughout the day: La ilaha illa'llah — the greatest dhikr

Imam al-Nawawi compiled the definitive guide to these practices in al-Adhkar. See our complete Daily Dhikr Guide for the full collection with Arabic, English, counts, and benefits.

Collective Dhikr as Practiced Today

• After each obligatory prayer: The imam leads the congregation in tasbih, tahmid, and takbir — done audibly together, across all four madhabs.
• Dhikr circles (halaq al-dhikr): Groups sit together to recite la ilaha ill'Allah, salawat, and other adhkar — what the Prophet ﷺ called "the gardens of Paradise."
• Mawlid and devotional gatherings: Collective salawat, Quran recitation, and poetry praising the Prophet ﷺ.

The Weight of the Evidence

The combined evidence for dhikr — individual and collective — is among the strongest on any single topic in hadith literature: Sahih al-Bukhari (hadiths 841, 2992, 6408, 7405), Sahih Muslim (hadiths 583, 2675, 2689, 2700), Sunan al-Tirmidhi (hadiths 3377, 3510), a hadith qudsi, and the declaration by al-Shawkani that the evidence is mutawatir — the highest tier of authentication.

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Related Questions

• Is group dhikr permissible? — The specific question answered with focused evidence
• Did Ibn Mas'ud prohibit group dhikr? — Full analysis of the proof-text used against collective dhikr
• Is reciting salawat on the Prophet ﷺ a bid'a? — The Quranic command and prophetic encouragement

Learn More

Is Collective Dhikr Permissible?

SeekersGuidance

Scholarly explanation with full hadith evidence for collective remembrance of Allah.

Etiquettes of Gatherings of Remembrance

SeekersGuidance

The proper etiquettes and conditions for both individual and group remembrance.

Did Ibn Mas'ud Prohibit Group Dhikr?

SeekersGuidance

SeekersGuidance's detailed analysis of the Ibn Mas'ud narration and its proper context.