The Invalidity of Their Claim That the Remembrance of Allah Is Superior to Prayer and the Refutation Thereof
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Questions One, Two, Four, and Five
From Fatwa No. ( 948 ):
Q1: Some of the Sufis say: The remembrance of Allah is superior to the prescribed prayer, as evidenced by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-'Ankabut 29:45] Is the remembrance of Allah superior to prayer as they claim?
A: Allah has commanded us to increase in His remembrance; He the Exalted said:[Al-Ahzab 33:41-42] And He the Exalted made it clear that hearts find tranquility in His remembrance, so He said: [Ar-Ra'd 13:28] The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) counted among the remembrance of Allah, in a state of seclusion, the instance of the one whose eyes overflowed with tears regarding the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His. He also gave us an example of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not, comparing them to the living and the dead. In remembrance lies the life of the hearts, their tranquility, the clarity of the souls, and their purity, and its virtue with Allah is immense. There is no doubt that the prayer includes the best of the remembrances, from the recitation
The Qur'an and the takbir, the tahlil, the tasbih, the tahmid, and the two testimonies, and the virtue of the speech of Allah over the speech of His servants is like His virtue over mankind, and the best thing said by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the prophets before him is the word "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah)... etc., and it is present in the prayer, just as the prayer includes bowing and prostration, and the servant is closest to his Lord when he is prostrating, so preferring remembrance outside of prayer over prayer is preferring a thing over itself, if it is not a preference over something higher than it, and this is incorrect. And the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-'Ankabut 29:45] is: the prescribed prayers at their times, as Allah has legislated and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified by his word and deed, for if the Muslim performs them in the prescribed manner, they stand between him and what is shameful of sins and Allah protects him thereby from committing evil deeds, and the remembrance of Allah for you, if you remember Him, is of greater magnitude and better reward and wage, as Allah the Exalted said: And Ibn Jarir chose this in his exegesis, and a group of exegetes agreed with him on this, relying on what was transmitted from many of the Companions and the Successors.
From Fatwa No. ( 948 ):
Q1: Some of the Sufis say: The remembrance of Allah is superior to the prescribed prayer, as evidenced by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
and the remembrance of Allah is greater
وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُA: Allah has commanded us to increase in His remembrance; He the Exalted said:
(41) O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance (42) And exalt Him morning and afternoon.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا (41) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلاUnquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."
أَلا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُThe Qur'an and the takbir, the tahlil, the tasbih, the tahmid, and the two testimonies, and the virtue of the speech of Allah over the speech of His servants is like His virtue over mankind, and the best thing said by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the prophets before him is the word "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah)... etc., and it is present in the prayer, just as the prayer includes bowing and prostration, and the servant is closest to his Lord when he is prostrating, so preferring remembrance outside of prayer over prayer is preferring a thing over itself, if it is not a preference over something higher than it, and this is incorrect. And the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater
وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ إِنَّ الصَّلاَةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُSo remember Me, and I will remember you
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.