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Sermon: Remember Allah Always (Dhikr)
By Babatunde Jose
Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me,
and do not be ungrateful to Me. (Quran 2:152)
Dhikr, also spelled Zikr, (Arabic: “reminding oneself,” or “mention”), ritual prayer or litany practiced by Muslims, for the purpose of glorifying God and achieving spiritual perfection. Based on the Quranic injunctions; “Remind thyself [udhkur] of thy Lord when thou forgettest”(Quran 18:24) and “O ye who believe! Remember [udhkurū] Allah with much remembrance”(Quran 33:41), the dhikr is essentially a “remembering” of God by the frequent repetition of his names. Originally a simple recitation of the Quran and various religious writings among ascetics and mystics, the dhikr gradually became a formula (e.g., lā ilāha illa ʾllāh, “there is no god but God”; repeated aloud or softly, accompanied by prescribed posture and breathing.
There is a huge gulf today between the Creator and the creation leading to a dramatic decline of the moral values of humanity and a proportional rise in bigotry, hatred and violence worldwide. The practice of Dhikr brings humanity closer to the Creator and thus paves the way for bringing humanity closer to each other.
You have the ability to supplicate to Allah and thus excel at humbling yourself at the doorstep of the King of kings. You have the blessed last third of the night to invoke Allah and to rub your head upon the ground in prostration. Allah has created for you the earth and what is in it. He has caused gardens of beauty to grow, filling them with many kinds of plants and flowers in pairs, both male and female. And He has made tall palm trees, shining stars, forests, rivers and streams — yet you contemplate them not! You drink water that is pure, you breathe fresh air, you walk upon your two feet in health, and you sleep the evenings in peace. Therefore: Seek forgiveness from Allah often, for your Lord is Oft-Forgiving. He will send rain to you in abundance; and give you increase in wealth and children; and bestow on you gardens; and bestow on you rivers,(Quran 71: 10-12)
So seek forgiveness from Allah more often and you will reap the benefits of doing so: peace of mind, lawful provisions, righteous offspring, and plentiful rain.
And the Prophet said: “Whosoever seeks forgiveness (from Allah) often, then Allah makes for him a good ending for every matter of concern and provides for him a way out of every tight situation.”-Bukhari; a hadith that is known as the chief of Al- Istighfaar (i.e., of supplications with which one asks Allah for forgiveness): “O’ Allah, You are my Lord and none has the right to be worshipped except You. You have created me and I am your slave; and I am upon your covenant and promise as much as I am able to be. I seek refuge in You from the evil that I have perpetrated. I confess to You Your favor upon me, and I confess to You my sin, so forgive me; for verily, none forgives sins except You.”
Always remember Allah for Allah said: Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. (Quran 13: 28) O’ you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah” (Qur’an 63: 9)
Always remember Allah: And glorify the Praises of your Lord when you get up from sleep. And in the night-time also, glorify His Praises, — and at the setting of the stars. (Quran 52: 48-49)
The Prophet said: ‘The example of one who members his Lord in relation to one who does not remember his Lord is that of the living and the dead.”
The Prophet also said: “The mufarridoon outstrip others.” His Companions asked. “Who are the mufarridoon, O’ Messenger of Allah? He said, “The men who remember Allah often and the women who remember Allah often.”
And in another hadith, the Prophet said: “Shall I not inform you of the best of deeds, and the purest of them with your Lord? The deed which is better for you than spending gold and silver (for a good cause), and which is better for you than to meet your enemy, and you cut their throats and they cut yours?” They said, “Yes. O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “The remembrance of Allah.”
There are several phrases that are usually read when remembering Allah. One which is said to be most favoured by Allah is; Lā ʾilāha ʾillā llah ,”There is no god but Allah and this was what my mother was repeating on the chair before she gave up the ghost 12 years ago. Indeed, Allah is able to do all things for, to Him belongs the kingdom and all therein.
Our Lord! (they say), Let not our hearts deviate now after Thou hast guided us, but grant us mercy from Thine own Presence; for Thou art the Grantor of bounties without measure (Quran 3:8)
Barka Juma’at and a Happy weekend
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, has condole with families of the victims of the fuel tanker fire which occurred at the Dikko junction in Niger state on Saturday, charging tanker operators to always adhere strictly to safety standards and observe due protocols in transloading fuel products.
In his reaction to the fuel tanker incident, according to a statement signed by the Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), the Corps Marshal described the human losses to the inferno as disheartening and disastrous, warning that such incidents must never be allowed to happen again.
The Corps Marshal expressed worry that despite sustained enlightenment programs carried out by the Corps with the tanker drivers on the need to be safety conscious while transporting petroleum products due to their inflammable nature and the general public to stay away from scenes of tanker crashes, many people could still fall victims of the Saturday’s unfortunate tanker incident. While recalling that 73 burnt bodies have so far been recovered by the rescue teams for final burial as arranged by the Niger State Government, the Corps Marshal revealed that the FRSC teams have been directed to sustain the joint operations with other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective management of traffic at the scenes in order to prevent further incidents.
In the same vein, the accident investigation unit of the Corps will work in collaboration with other agencies to unravel the causes and proffer solutions that could address future occurrence. “Meanwhile, those that sustained various degrees of injury have been taken to different hospitals including Suleja General Hospital for further medical attention as normalcy has returned to the area with free movement of traffic,” the Corps Marshal stated.
Shehu Mohammed stressed the importance of inter-agency collaboration and robust engagement with members of the public including critical stakeholders to ensure that the nation does not witness this level of human losses again, especially when the incident could have been prevented by strict adherence to due diligence. “The nation was yet to recover from similar incident that occured in Jiagawa last year, and having to witness another incident of this magnitude at the beginning of the new year is painful and regrettable,” he further stated.
The Corps Marshal assures Nigerians that the FRSC will continue to work with the relevant stakeholders and members of the public to find lasting solutions to all road-based emergencies and called for involvement of all Nigerians in the joint efforts to ensure safety and security of lives and property of road travelers.
While praying God for repose of the souls of all those that lost their lives to the inferno, the Corps Marshal appeals for support to the families of the survivors in the various hospitals to ensure their quick recovery. He further commiserate with the people of Niger state and commended the prompt intervention of the Executive Governor of Niger State who was physically present at the scene.
In furtherance of its ongoing scheme to excite and reward its subscribers across the country, Globacom, on Friday, in Abuja, held another draw to select winners in its Festival of Joy consumer promotion.
The draw, held at the Gloworld, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse, had the presence of several observers including Glo subscribers, members of the media and Martin Oteh who led officials of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to witness the process.
The company had before now presented prizes to winners in several cities since the promo started in October 2024, enabling hundreds of Nigerians who won various prizes to end the year 2024 on a joyful note.
As is the tradition since the start of the promo, the draw precedes the prize presentation exercise, which is to be done on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at the same Glo office at Wuse, Abuja. The lucky subscribers include the winner of a brand new Toyota Prado and winners of tricycle, sewing machines, generators and grinding machines.
Globacom encouraged new and existing subscribers to dial *611# to opt into the promo and to also keep recharging (voice and data) during the promo period, in order to be eligible to win the prizes on offer. New subscribers can participate immediately by purchasing a new SIM, registering it and dialing *611#.
“New and existing customers are to recharge up to N100, 000 cumulatively during the promo period to qualify for the draw for the Prado Jeep, N50, 000 cumulative recharge for Kia Picanto, N10, 000 in a month for tricycle and N5, 000 total recharge in a month to win a generator. For the sewing machine, a total recharge of N2, 500 in a month is required, while for the grinding machine, a recharge of N1,000 in a week will be eligible for the draw”, the company noted.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revoked lands allocated to Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, his Bayelsa counterpart Douye Diri, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen.
The minister’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, said the withdrawal of the R-of-O for 568 allottees followed the expiration of a two-week grace period to pay their C-of-O bills.
He noted that of the 3,273 allottees initially given two weeks in October 2024 to pay their bills, 568 remained in default after an additional grace period expired on January 15.
Also affected are the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Ibrahim Hadejia; former governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, Senate Leader; Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Minority Leader; Abba Moro, Minister of State for Labour and Employment; Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Industry Trade and Investment; John Eno, Chairperson/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM); Abike Dabiri-Erewa; late Sports Minister Bala Kaoje; and Regina Akume, wife of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
The fresh revocation comes three weeks after the initial withdrawal of 762 plots of land from their allottees.
