Cool Concepts
From Issue: 608 [Read full issue]
Kinds of Remembrance
There are two general kinds of remembrance. One of them is to mention the names of the Lord and His attributes, praising Him by them, exalting Him and sanctifying Him above all that is not meet with Him. This type is of two kinds. One sort is for the invoker to recite the praises of God by His names and attributes, as mentioned in the hadith, [with phrases] like 'Glory to God', 'Praise to God', etc. The second kind of [remembrance for praise] is to speak about the Lord by uttering what His names and attributes designate. An example of this would be to say: 'He has power over all things, and when His servant repents, He is more pleased with that repentance than a man who has lost his mount in the desert and then finds it.'
The second general type of remembrance is the remembrance of God's commandments, prohibitions and laws. And this, too, is of two kinds. One kind consists in mentioning the fact that God has commanded this or prohibited that, loves this or is angered by that and is content with this or that. The other kind is to remember that something is commanded and then to hasten to it; or to remember that something is prohibited and to abstain from it.
When these kinds of remembrance combine, the invoker's remembrance is most meritorious and offers the highest and greatest benefit.
Compiled From:
"The Invocation of God" - Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, pp. 117-119