Exchange the Remembrance of All Things for Allah's Remembrance

Allah says: فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith. The great Shaadhili Imaam Al-’Arabi Ad-Darqaawi wrote in one of his letters found in his collection ofletters titled “Rasaa’il” the following: “So Know, May Allah have mercy upon you all, that when the Faqeer (i.e. the one needy of Allah) exchanges the remembrance of all things for the remembrance of Allah (ta’alaa), he purifies (or makes sincere) his servitude (‘Ubudiyyah) to Allah, and whoever purifies (or makes sincere) his servitude to Allah ta’alaa, he becomes a Wali (friend) of Allah, and whoever lies (or denies – Kaththabu), then upon him will be Allah’s curse.So do not remember (dhikr) none save Allah ta’alaa. And be only for Allah, for if you are for Allah, Allah will be yours. How happy (or blessed) is the one who belongs to Allah and Allah is his! Let the words of Allah, “Remember Me and I will remember you” be sufficient as proof for the excellence of remembering Allah.Also the statement of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) reporting from his Rabb (master and Lord) Mighty and Majestic is he, انا جليس من ذكرني “I am the companion ((Jalees can also mean friend, or one who sits with another )) of whoever remembers me!” ((With this sepcific wording it is reported by Abu Nu’aym in his Hilya from Ka’ab. It is also reported with slight differences by Imaam Ad-Daylami, ibn Shaaheen and others. Abu Nu’aymreports it through Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal as follows:حدثنا أبو بكر بن مالك حدثنا عبداللهبن أحمد بن حنبل قال حدثني أبي قال حدثنا وكيع قال حدثنا سفيان عن عطاء بن أبي مروان عن أبيه عن كعب الأحبار قال قال موسى عليه السلام‏:‏ ‏(‏يا رب أقريب أنت فأناجيك أم بعيد فأناديك قال‏:‏ يا موسى أنا جليس من ذكرني قال‏:‏ يا رب فإنا نكون من الحال على حال نجلك ونعظمك أن نذكرك قال‏:‏ وما هي‏؟‏ قال‏:‏ الجنابة والغائط قال‏:‏ يا موسى اذكرني على كل حال‏One can also find this hadithin the Sunan of Imaam Al-Bayhaqi from Abu Hurayrah )) I am by no means a doctor of medicine, so what I am about to say to you is based upon personal experience and study, and by no means should be taken as medical advice. It is scientifically/medically established that one can be genetically predisposedto depression; in other words you can inherit the physiological causes of depression such as seratoninetc. ((To read some interesting research go to this link: http://record.wustl.edu/archive /1998/11-12-98/articles/shortage.html)) It so happens that on both sides of my family tree, seratonin levels are low, leading to depression. Anyone that has been diagnosed with depression knows how difficult it is to deal with life. They understand the lack of drive and will to do anything; even ‘eebaadaat. They understand the constant struggle one must go through, day to day, in order to keep going. I believe I have found a cure. It did work for me and for some time now I have not had the symptoms of depression, wa lillahil Hamd. The solution, brethren, is dhikr of Allah. A heart withoutAllah, is a dead heart, a heart without life. The anxiety and depression one feels can be solved by falling in love with Allah ta’alaa. How? Through constant dhikr. Imaam Al-’Arabi Ad-Darqaawi states in the rasaa’il: “The Mu’min attains serenity and peace of mind andheart (at-tam’aninah) with the dhikr of his Lord, even until he is not saddened by the horrible terrors of the day of judgment. How then (when hereaches this state) can he be disturbed by whatever trials or misfortunes befall him in this dunyaa?So be constant in the dhikr of your Lord (ta’alaa), my brother, as we have advised you, and you will see marvelous (ajbaa) results!”He continues by mentioning that the true dhaakir (the one who remembers Allah) is the one who clings to the things that Allah demands of him and that he abandons what does not concern him. ((Note that I have chosen not to translate the rest for two reasons: the literalists will not understand it and therest takes a Shaykh of the Shaadhili Tariqah to guide one to know. This discipline of tasawwuf is not an easy one and necessitates taking a Murshid (spiritual guide) in these affairs. )) [end quote]“ The realization of Dhikr, in its true and perfect form, will lead one to be a true Mureed. What is a Mureed? A Mureed is the one who wills something. In the nomenclature of Tasawwuf, the Mureed is the one who wills (or wants) whatever Allah has wants/wills for him. The mureed, then, is the one who truly submits his soul, entirely, to Allah’s will. An example of this level of belief is manifested in the 5th rightly guided Khalifah of the Muslims, ‘Umar ibn Abdul-’Azeez when he was asked, “Whatdo you wish?” To which he responded with, “Whatever Allah decides!” Submission and total acceptance of Allah’s decree, constant remebrance of Him as well as being thankful for his numerous blessings upon us, is the cure for any disease of the heart. فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم مِّن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أُوْلَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ And be careful lest the above verse: “Then woe unto those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah. Such are in plain error.” ((39:22 )) apply to you! May Allah make us of the dhaakireen and the dhaakiraat of whom he says in the Qur’aan: والذاكرين الله كثيرا والذاكرات أعد الله لهم مغفرة وأجرا عظيما “…and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s remembrance (dhikr),- for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.” ((33:35 )) And May Allah bless his Prophet Muhammad, his companions, his family and those who follow him till the end. Aameen!