Sheikh Safieddin Ardebili has said: “Prayer is the greatest pillar of religion” and, citing the holy verse: “Zikr (remembrance of God) restrains from shameful and unjust deeds, and the remembrance of God is the greatest. ” (Holy Qur’an, 29:45)
He has said: “Zikr is the most important element in Salat.”
On the meaning of Zikr, Ali-ibn- Sahl Tostari has said: “Zikr is leaving the sphere of neglect to the realm of cognition in awe and intensity of love.”
Seyyed Ali Hamedani has said: “Zikr is the tiller of the heart, the abundance of the harvest, and the sustainer of the intellect.”
The Zikr of God brings inner purification and prevents the heart from transgression.
The following holy verses remind us that Zikr of heart is the nourishment of the life and soul of the believer:
“Those who believe, whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God. For without doubt in the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction.
(Holy Qur’an 13:28)
“Remember me, and I shall remember you.”
(Holy Qur’an 2:152)
Attentiveness to the Zikr of heart brings affection and love, and the continuation of Zikr results in humility. As God almighty has said:
“Has not the time arrived for the believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of God?”
(Holy Qur’an, 57:16)
References:
– Sadegh ANGHA, Hazrat Shah Maghsoud, Al-Salat, the reality of Prayer in Islam, M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi Publication®, Riverside, CA, USA, 1998, pp 2-4.