What Is the Best Invocation?
Answered by Habib Umar bin Hafiz
Question: Assalam aleykum
Which invocation (dhikr) is best in increasing love and magnification of Allah in the heart and purifying or cleansing it from love of other than Him? And is there a specific technique I should use in reciting this dhikr?
Answer: [Assalam alaykum]
Among the most important of invocations, which are of benefit in attaining those goals, is La ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah). One should recite this often, both with the tongue and the heart. Its letters are all “jawfiyya,” i.e. they are not connected with any physical movement of the lips. So it will not appear to others that the one is actually saying anything.
After this, one should perform whatever invocation one finds easy, particularly formulas of seeking forgiveness and sending prayers on the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him and his folk).
And also this prayer:
رب اشرح لي صدري، ويسر لي أمري
“My Lord, expand for me my chest [with assurance]. And ease for me my task” [Quran 20:25-26]
for it is very effective in this regard.
And one should strive to make one’s heart present in all of these invocations. As for the technique, one may use any technique one wishes.
Translated by Fazil Ahmed Munir
Habib Umar bin Hafiz is a descendant of the Prophet (upon him be Allah’s peace and blessings). Born into a family of scholars, Habib Umar, pursued the sacred sciences from a young age, including Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, ‘Aqeedah, Arabic, and Spirituality. In 1994, he established Dar al-Mustafa, an educational institute in Tarim, Yemem.
من أهم الأذكار النافعة المفيدة في تحصيل ذلك ( لا إله إلا الله )، فليكثر منها بالقلب وباللسان، وحروفها كلها جوفية لا يتعلق منها بظاهر الشفة شيء، فالذاكر لها لا يُرى أنه يتكلم بشيء، وبعد ذلك فكل ما تيسر منه خصوصاً من الاستغفار والصلاة على النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وصحبه وسلم وقول: (رب اشرح لي صدري، ويسر لي أمري) فهي مفيدة جداً في هذا الجانب، وليحرص على معنى من حضور القلب عند هذه الأذكار، أما الكيفية باللفظ فبأي أي كيفية كانت.
