2.4.3.2 - Commemorating the Almighty Allah

As most of the Sufis do, Shaykh al-Ureybi commemorates God with His omnipotent name “Allah”. Nevertheless, this is a point exploited by most of those who deny mysticism, protesting by the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: “The best commemoration (dhikr) is “no god but Allah”, and the best prayer (duaa) “Praise be to Allah.” [Kanz: 1748], and also the other hadith: “The best (time for) prayer is the day of Arafat, and the best of what I and the prophets before me said is: ’No God but Allah’ ...” [Kanz: 12078]

However, these correct narrations do not mean that commemoration with the name of Majesty “Allah” is not permissible! It is not important whichever is better, so for example although Tahlil (“No God but Allah”) is better, as it can be inferred from the above hadith, but this does not mean that Tasbih (“Subhana Allah”) or Takbir (“Allah-u-Akbar”) are not permissible. However, the commemoration with the word of Majesty is the best way to evoke the greatness of God Almighty in the mind of the mystic, and that’s the ultimate meaning of the commemoration of Allah, that is, one remains in remembrance of God by evoking His greatness in his heart until his soul is subsided and its pasture is gone. The mystic knows for sure that there is no god but Allah, he does not need to repeat it as much as he does with the word Majesty in order to evoke the greatness of God Almighty and hold that permanently in his memory.

I do not know why some people still argue on the types of dhikr and deny the mention of the word Majesty “Allah”, or any other divine Names, while God Almighty says clearly in Surat al-Muzzammil, commanding His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: ((Mention the Name of your Lord, and devote yourself to Him with completely)) [Quran: 73:8]. The name of the Lord of Muhammad, peace be upon him, is “Allah”, and we have in the Messenger of Allah a good example ((for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and mentions Allah often)) [Quran: 33:21], so commemoration is to mention “Allah” as often as one could do, and devote to Him completely, by cutting all other ties with dependence on anything else. This is the simplest meaning of the correct Sufism.

In this regard, Shaykh Muhyiddin asked two Sufi masters, one of them was Shaykh al-Ureybi, why he concentrated on commemoration with the word of Majesty?

I entered on our Shaykh Abu al-Ureybi, from the people of Alyaa (in western Andalusia), and he was consumed by mentioning the name “Allah”. I said, “Sir, why don’t you say: “There is no God but Allah”? He said to me, “My breaths are in the hand of God, not in my hand, so I am afraid that God will hold my soul when I say: “There is no God...”. I asked another shaykh about this and he said to me: “I have not seen in my eyes, nor have I heard in my ears anyone saying that “I am God” except Allah. So I have not found anyone to negate!”

[Futuhat: I.329].

Perhaps it was thanks to this commemoration that Shaykh Ureybi was firmly established in the station of dhikr in the upper world, as mentioned by the Greatest Shaykh in Chapter 298, on the knowledge of the station of dhikr from the upper world in the presence of Muhammad, he said in the first section: “You should know, may God bless you, that our Shaykh Abu al-Abbas al-Ureybi was one of those who were realized in this station, and we negotiate that with him many times, and his foot was firm, may Allah have mercy upon him [Futuhat: II.687].