There are two (2) degrees of this recollection of Allah SWT. The
first degree is that of those saints whose thoughts are altogether absorbed in
the contemplation of the majesty of Allah SWT, and have no room in their hearts for
anything else at all. This is the lower degree of recollection, for when a
man's heart is fixed, and his limbs are so controlled by his heart that they abstain
from even lawful actions, he has no need of any device or safeguard against
sins. It was to this kind of recollection that the Prophet Muhammad SAW referred when he
said, "He who rises in the morning with
only Allah SWT in his mind, Allah SWT shall look after him, both in this world and the
next."
Some of these recollectors of Allah SWT are so absorbed in
the thought of Him that, if people speak to them they do not hear, or walk in
front of them they do not see, but stumble as if they collided with a wall. A
certain saint relates as follows: "One day I passed by a place where
archers were having a shooting-match. Some way off a man was sitting alone. I
approached him and attempted to engage him in talk, but he replied, "The
remembrance of Allah SWT is better than talk." I said, "Are you not
lonely?" "No," he answered, "Allah SWT and two angels are with
me." Pointing to the archers, I asked, Which of these has carried off the
prize?" "That one," was his reply, "to whom Allah SWT has
allotted it." Then I inquired, "Where does this road come from?"
Upon which, lifting up his eyes to heaven, he rose and departed, saying,
"O Lord! many of Thy creatures hold one back from the remembrance of
Thee!"
- Imam al-Ghazali, Ihya Ulumuddin.
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