Because the enjoyment, the spiritual pleasure and ecstasy of the commemoration of God’s name is unique.
The pleasure you feel in the commemoration of God’s name is just like when you find food to eat when you have been starving.
Who Enjoys The Commemoration (Zikr) of God’s Name?
‘Are there special creatures outside the mosque?’
Yes, there are
and they are also inside the mosque.
Besides this, there is an office of saints called ‘Nuqba’ and their job is to be clandestine, meaning to be hidden.
They stay hidden
and all the divine energy that is generated through the worship being done in the mosque,
so those who have not activated their hearts, the divine energy they generate does not enter their hearts, it is wasted.
So it is the job of the Nuqba saints to collect the divine energy from those whose hearts have not been activated.
Right now, you are in the initial stages of the Activation of the Heart so you must practise the commemoration of God’s name daily.
You cannot be complacent when it comes to Zikr.
You cannot prioritise other things over Zikr and do Zikr just one day per week.
For those who have a longing for God, the most important thing for them is to strengthen their heart.
And when it comes to Zikr, Prophet Mohammad said to his companions in regards to Zikr,
‘Azkurullaha zikran kaseera hatta yaqulul majnoon
(You should engage in Zikr with such intensity that others think you are showing off)'
You will not gain any substantial benefits by engaging in Zikr once per week.
In the initial stages, you need to focus on raising your heartbeats
and when you have raised your heartbeats, you must synchronise the name of God with the heartbeats.
If you don’t synchronise your heartbeats with the name of God, it is useless.
Along with that, the pleasure you feel during Zikr is so intense that you feel like doing Zikr all day long.
I’m not kidding.
When we met His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi and obtained the Activation of the Heart,
we used to hold ceremonial circles of Zikr several times each day.
Several times!
If we were ever sitting idle, we would start to do Zikr.
And we would hold the ceremonial Zikr circles several times a day.
And the atmosphere that His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi created was that there would be a Mehfil (gatherings) every single day.
Sometimes here, sometimes there.
If we finished with a Mehfil in one place, we would have another Mehfil in another neighbourhood the next day, and then another.
We would hold a ceremonial Zikr circle after offering the Isha prayers in the mosque in the evening.
Zikr is something that one becomes addicted to
it’s a negative word but the point is one becomes habitual of practising Zikr because of the spiritual pleasure one feels.
So you shouldn’t even ask how many times you should engage in Zikr
because the enjoyment, the spiritual pleasure and ecstasy of the commemoration of God’s name is unique.
The pleasure you feel in the commemoration of God’s name is just like finding food to eat when you have been starving.
And remember what the Messenger of God, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said,
‘O my Companions, should I not tell you of a deed that is greater than Jihad against the disbelievers,
something that is even greater than giving alms of gold and silver the size of Mount Uhud?’
The Companions were shocked, they wondered what it could be.
And when Prophet Mohammad said, ‘It is the commemoration of God’s name’.
The Companions were shocked that the commemoration of God’s name could be of such importance that
Jihad against the disbelievers is lesser in comparison to the loud chanting of God’s name that they practise at home.
I asked His Divine Eminence why the commemoration of God’s name is the greatest act?
His Divine Eminence explained that whatever pleases God the most is the greatest act.
When you fast and offer prayers, etc. you are doing it for yourself, right?
These acts of worship don’t make God happy.
What pleases God the most is when you engage in loud chanting of his name.
When the Zikr from your Spiritual Heart reaches God in the higher realms, God enjoys it even if you don’t.
God declares it to be the greatest act because it is what pleases God the most.
But this is something the clergymen cannot understand - why the commemoration of God’s name holds such importance.
And why would they know the reason?
The only one who can tell you is the one who has already seen
how much it pleases God and he enjoys when a Spiritual Heart is engaged in the commemoration of God’s name.
And this is something that occurs naturally. You can see it in the nature of human beings too.
People are pleased to be praised when you talk to them
so imagine, wouldn’t God be pleased when you make mention of his name?
If I start praising Ikhlaq right now.
Ikhlaq is a wonderful guy, a great guy.
Wouldn’t this make Ikhlaq happy?
Although he would say otherwise, he would still feel happy.
You feel happy when you are praised.
In a similar way, God is also pleased when someone is commemorating his name.
Allah, Allah, Allah.
His name is echoing.
This is why the commemoration of God’s name is the greatest act.
The clergymen will tell you that Salat is the most important although it is written in the Qur’an,
‘Innas Salaata tanha 'anil fahsha'i wal munkar wa lazikrul laahi akbar
(Salat refrains one from committing sins and bad deeds, however, Zikr of God’s name is the greatest)'