Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-76a

The reciter: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of dhikr and the exhortation to it: "From Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

The similitude of one who remembers his Rubb and one who does not remember Him, is like that of the living and the dead.

مثل الذي يذكر ربه والذي لا يذكره مثل الحي والميت

Riyad as-Salihin 1434

Narrated by al-Bukhari, and Muslim narrated it, saying:

The house in which remembrance of Allah is made and the house in which Allah is not remembered are like the living and the dead.

مثل البيت الذي يذكر الله فيه والبيت الذي لا يذكر الله فيه مثل الحي والميت

Sahih Muslim 779

And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Allah the Exalted says: 'I am as my slave expects me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me inwardly, I will remember him inwardly, and if he remembers Me in an assembly, I will remember him in a better assembly (i.e., in the assembly of angels).

يقول الله تعالى: أنا عند ظن عبدي بي، وأنا معه إذا ذكرني، فإن ذكرني في نفسه ذكرته في نفسي، وإن ذكرني في ملأ ذكرته في ملأ خير منهم

Riyad as-Salihin 1435

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and from him (may Allah be pleased with him) he said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The Mufarridun have gone ahead." He was asked, "Who are the Mufarridun?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Those men and women who frequently celebrate the remembrance of Allah."

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: سبق المفردون، قالوا: وما المفردون يا رسول الله؟ قال: الذاكرون الله كثيرًا والذاكرات

Riyad as-Salihin 1436

Narrated by Muslim ".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
These are hadiths regarding the virtue of dhikr, the remembrance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for the first hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said in it: This is because the one who remembers Allah the Exalted, Allah has revived his heart with his remembrance and expanded his chest for him, so he is like the living. As for the one who does not remember Allah, his heart does not find tranquility, may Allah protect us, and his chest does not expand for Islam, so he is like the dead. This is an example that a person should take as a lesson and know that whenever he is negligent of the remembrance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), his heart hardens, and perhaps his heart may die, may Allah protect us. As for the last two hadiths, they also contain evidence of the virtue of dhikr, which is that if a person remembers Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in himself, Allah remembers him in Himself, and if he remembers Him in a gathering, Allah remembers him in a gathering better than them. This means that if you remember your Lord in yourself, either by speaking with your tongue secretly so that no one hears you, or by remembering Allah in your heart, then Allah the Exalted remembers you in Himself. And if you remember Him in a gathering, meaning in the presence of a group, then Allah the Exalted remembers you in a gathering better than them, namely a gathering of angels who remember you in their presence and elevate your remembrance and praise you, (Exalted and Majestic is He). So in this is evidence of the virtue of dhikr, and that if a person remembers Allah in a gathering, this is better than if he remembers Him in himself, unless the person fears riya' (showing off) for himself. If he fears riya', he should not raise his voice, but he should not have whispers in his heart saying, "If I remember Allah aloud, this is riya', so I will not remember Allah." Rather, he should leave these whispers and remember Allah the Exalted among people and in himself, until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) remembers him as he remembered his Lord. As for the third hadith of Abu Hurayrah, it is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: So in this is evidence that those who remember Allah much have precedence over others because they did more work than others, so they were the first to reach good. And success is from Allah.