The Issue: Gossip, Backbiting, Complaining, Slandering

In the Holy Quran, the ability to speak and communicate is regarded as one of the greatest blessings that God has given to mankind. Through this ability, people express their views, beliefs, ideas, and thoughts. People can employ this God-given power of speech anyway they wish; they can do it thoughtfully, knowledgably, and with faithful care, or under the cloud of heedlessness, guided by selfish desires and Satanic temptations. Unfortunately, most people today pick the later one, becoming unmindful of what they say and do. For example, there is hardly a single meeting somewhere that goes by without some sort of gossip, backbiting, complaining, or slandering. This sinful and profitless behavior has become so widespread that most people accept it as normal and socially tolerable (of course, so long as they themselves are not mocked or criticized). Moreover, and on the contrary, people who posses this disease maintain that this sort of behavior is harmless, somehow adding to the color of life: they believe it "good entertainment." However, God warns in the Holy Quran about the incorrectness of this kind of behavior, labeling it as abhorrent as "a person eating the flesh of his dead brother." Therefore, anytime a person forgets or lowers his/her guard and falters into heedlessness, Satan right away senses the situation and drives the person to speak meaninglessly as much as possible, with no aim other than to cause harm and injury to others. Satan's wish being to fill the person's record with shameful acts, resulting in great despair and torment in the hereafter.

For this reason, and as a remedy to this great disease of heedlessness, in this month's Soul Booster, Mawlana Faizani focuses our attention on the only way to find salvation from this abhorrent behavior: he calls us back to the remembrance (Zikr / Zikir) of Allah using our tongues and hearts. By praising God's most beautiful names at all times and in all situations, He empowers us to find and adopt the type of speech and style of behavior most pleasing to God and hence perfectly suited to the situation in which we find ourselves.

The Solution: Putting one's tongue to proper use

Feeling excessive temptations in the heart is an indication of Satan's domination over a person's inner and is a major cause of the breakdown in a person's reasoning and thinking abilities. The resulting instability of such a breakdown paves the way for the person to react more offensively and vengefully. While overcome by such instability, a person engages in vile behaviors, without first taking into account the consequences and outcomes of their words and actions. Because according to Islamic philosophy, the heart is the initial source for decision-making, logically it follows that in the long-term the necessary and wisest route is to busy oneself in purifying, fortifying, and making sound this critical spiritual element (i.e., the heart). By healing the heart, a person thereby permanently eliminates the chances of this organ's misuse by Satan, who since the beginning has been plummeting humanity into the pits of harmful, inhumane, and frequently destructive behaviors.

Though one way to stay away from gossip, meaningless talk, backbiting, and slandering is to remain silent and speak only during matters of importance, the more effective way is to engage our God-given tongue, a powerful and beneficial appendage, in the remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah. The human tongue is a great blessing from Allah and if used properly can be a means to attaining great spiritual benefits and heights in paradise. To misuse the tongue for meaningless talk and to destroy virtues is a great loss indeed. Through countless Hadith and in the verses of the Qur'an, humanity is shown the way on how to defend and safeguard themselves against egoistic desires and Satanic temptations. For example, the Qur'an informs us with the following:

"Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God: for without doubt, in the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction."

This verse clearly reveals that if a person were to engage his/her tongue in the remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah by mentioning His glorious names, the resulting light and blessings that emanates therefrom will bring peace and satisfaction to his/her heart, safeguarding the person against doing any type of prohibited action, and removing from within the excessive Satanic temptations and abundance of unwarranted egoistic desires and longings. Furthermore, the remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah enhances the person's spiritual perception and enables him/her to perceive Almighty Allah as Present, Observant, All-Knowing, All-Hearing, Exalted and Absolute in His infinite names and in His attributes. One perceives Him everywhere: in the hidden and in the open, in public and in private. If through the remembrance of Allah a person obtains this certainty about Almighty Allah's Greatness and Presence in both his mind and heart to the extent mentioned above, then that person will undoubtedly find the strength to abstain from all egoistic behaviors and other evil temptations. That person achieves a life of greater purpose, greater understanding, greater virtue, and greater joy; that person becomes conducive to the benefit of one and all!

— by Mawlana Faizani
from the book, Daleelul Zakireen or Reasonings for those Remembering

Note to our Readers: This book (over 350 pages) is still under translation from Dari into English. This book is packed with information and provides priceless answers and solutions to all our spiritual enquiries, all based on the sound integrity of the Qur'an and the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). God Willing, we will make it available to you after the book has been fully translated.

In the meantime, please consider supporting our cause by making a donation toward the costs related to the translations (from Dari), publication, and distribution of Mawlana Faizani's books. The total number of these original books are 52 titles. The translation, publication, and distribution of these books is an ongoing effort. Any monetary assistance you can bestow in this noble effort would be of enormous assistance to us and result in a great spiritual reward for you! Please support us today!

Some Reasons for Practicing Dhikr / Zikr

In line with God's command revealed in the Holy Quran: "...And proclaim His Greatness repeatedly!"¹ We need to praise our Great, Exalted and Greatest of Great Lord, because He is worthy and deserving of our praise! We need to persistently praise the names of Glorious God, the Self-Existing and Self-Sufficient, Who is free from every weakness and defect, without partner or peer and Who is the source of all Love and Grace. And importantly, for 'extra credit' and to add intensity to your soul booster, during your praise you should make efforts to bring to mind the reasons why you are praising Him; as you discovered using deep contemplation, see the An Obvious and Undeniable Truth soul booster. Using this easy technique, affection for God is created within us, which in turn enables us to become one of His devout servants.

Moreover, it was the practice of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to persistently remember and praise Almighty God. He would always remember Almighty God (standing, sitting, and laying down on his sides²) with His Most Beautiful Names ("Asma-ul Husnaa"). The Prophet (PBUH), the honor of humanity was told by his Lord to invite people to do the same - as it has been revealed in this verse of the Holy Qur'an:

Say: "Call on God or call on the All-Merciful, whichever you call upon, the Most Beautiful Names are His." Do not be too loud in your prayer or too quiet in it, but try to find a way between the two. And say: "Praise be to Allah Who has had no son and Who has no partner in His Kingdom and Who needs no one to protect Him from abasement." And proclaim His Greatness repeatedly! (Surat al-Isra': 110-111)

Also, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), advises us in a Hadith³, that the best and most complete remembrance (Dhikr) among the types of praises for people is La ilaha illAllah (لآ اِلَـهَ اِلا َّ لله — There is no god but God or There are no gods, only God). As it was mentioned above, Mawlana Faizani has written a book on this subject matter titled "Reasoning for those Remembering" which is now under translation from Dari into English. God willing, this book will be available to you once it has been translated.

Few Recommendations on Ways to Practice Dhikr:

Please make an effort to follow this command of Almighty God by proclaiming His Greatness repeatedly at all times and everywhere⁴ while standing, sitting or laying down on your sides. Praise your Creator, the Exalted in Might, The Wise, repeatedly with (but not limited to) the words of:

- La ilaha illAllah (لآ اِلَـهَ اِلا َّ لله — There is no god but God)

- Subħān Allāh (سبحان الله — Glory be to God)

- Al-ħamdu li-llāh (الحمدلله — Praise be to God)

- Allāhu Akbar (الله أكبر — God is most great / God is the greatest / God is greater)

The Messenger of God (PBUH) said, "Whoso recites Subħān Allāh (سبحان الله — Glory be to God) a hundred times in the evening (after asr), he will get the reward of a hundred Hajj. And whoso recites Al-ħamdu li-llāh (الحمدلله — Praise be to God) a hundred times in the morning (after fajr) and a hundred times in the evening (after asr), he will get the reward of donating a hundred horses to the mujahideen. And whoso recites La ilaha illAllah (لآ اِلَـهَ اِلا َّ لله — There is no god but God) a hundred times in the morning (after fajr) and a hundred times in the evening (after asr), he will get the reward of freeing a hundred slaves from the Children of Ismael (a.s.) And whoso recites Allāhu Akbar (الله أكبر — God is most great / God is the greatest / God is greater) a hundred times in the morning (after fajr) and a hundred times in the evening (after asr), no one else would excel him in virtue on that day except that person who recites more Kalimaat than him. (Tirmidhi)

Furthermore, Anas (r.a.) tells us that one day the Messenger of God (PBUH) happened to pass by a tree the leaves of which had dried up. He struck it with a stick and the leaves began to fall. He told his Companions, "The words Al-ħamdu li-llāh (الحمدلله — Praise be to God), Subħān Allāh (سبحان الله — Glory be to God), La ilaha illAllah (لآ اِلَـهَ اِلا َّ لله — There is no god but God), and Allāhu Akbar (الله أكبر — God is most great), shed a man's sins as this tree is shedding its leaves." (Tirmidhi)

There are, of course, other invocational Zikir's and prayers - if you are interested in receiving a powerful and comprehensive Zikir and Taffakkur program which includes the repetition of Divine names, supplications, sincere repentance, illuminated with aphorism from the Holy Quran and the traditions of the prophets and etc., please become a practicing member.

Finally, when praising Almighty God continually, you will notice a depth of contentment, peace, joy, and satisfaction that no materialistic diversion can provide! Experience how your seemingly grotesque problems and worries diminish in the Light of direct Divine blessings upon you.

"O ye who believe! Celebrate the praises of Allah, and do this often; And glorify Him morning and evening. He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers." (Quran 33:41-43)

May Almighty God give you success!

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Footnotes:
1  (Surat al-Isra': 110-111)
2  (Quran 3:191)
3  (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah from Ibn Jubayr)
4  NOT in washrooms and similar dirty places   5 (Surah Ra'ad 13-28)

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