May 21, 2026

In this page:

1. What Does Dhikr Mean?

2. What Is Dhikr in Islam?

3. How to Do Dhikr?

4. Dhikr After Salah

5. Dhikr During Dhul Hijjah

6. The Benefits of Dhikr

7. FAQs About Dhikr

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Dhikr: Meaning, Practice & the Art of Remembering God

There is a practice at the heart of Islamic spirituality so simple that a child can do it, yet so profound that scholars have devoted entire lifetimes to understanding its depths. It requires no special equipment. No particular place. No minimum time. It can be done while walking, working, waiting, or lying awake at three in the morning when the world is quiet and the heart is loud.

That practice is dhikr — the remembrance of God.

The Quran says: “Verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest.” (Quran 13:28). In a world defined by noise, distraction, and relentless demand, dhikr is the practice of returning — to stillness, to meaning, to the presence of God.

This guide covers everything you need to know: what dhikr means, how to practise it, the most powerful phrases to recite after salah, and why — especially during the blessed days of Dhul Hijjah — dhikr and giving go hand in hand.

From Dhikr to Action — Donate to SAMS This Dhul Hijjah

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1. Dhikr Meaning: What Does Dhikr Mean?

The word dhikr (ذِكْر) comes from the Arabic root dh-k-r, meaning to remember, to mention, or to recall. In Islamic practice, it refers specifically to the act of consciously remembering God — through the repetition of His names, His praises, or specific phrases drawn from the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and example of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him).

Dhikr is not simply a ritual recitation. The scholars of Islam distinguish between dhikr of the tongue (saying the words), dhikr of the heart (being truly present and aware of God as you say them), and dhikr of the limbs (letting that awareness shape your actions). The highest form of dhikr combines all three.

The Quran mentions dhikr more than 250 times — a frequency that signals its centrality to the Islamic way of life. God commands believers:

“O you who believe! Remember God with much remembrance, and glorify Him morning and evening.”  (Quran 33:41–42)

Dhikr, in this sense, is not a supplement to Islamic practice — it is its pulse. Salah (prayer) is dhikr. Reciting the Quran is dhikr. Even gratitude for a meal or a safe journey, expressed in words directed toward God, is dhikr.

2. What Is Dhikr in Islam? The Broader Spiritual Context

To understand what dhikr is in Islam, it helps to understand what it stands against. The opposite of dhikr, in Islamic thought, is ghaflah — heedlessness. The state of forgetting God, of becoming so absorbed in the world that the awareness of something greater dissolves. Islamic spirituality teaches that ghaflah is the root of most human suffering: anxiety, arrogance, greed, and despair all flow from a heart that has lost its connection to its Creator.

Dhikr is the antidote. It is the practice of continuously renewing that connection — not through grand spiritual experiences reserved for the elite, but through small, consistent acts of remembrance woven into the fabric of daily life.

Types of Dhikr in Islamic Practice:

Islamic scholars categorize dhikr in several overlapping ways:

• · Mandatory dhikr: The five daily prayers (salah), which are themselves a form of structured dhikr prescribed by God.
• · Recommended dhikr (Sunnah): Specific phrases and supplications the Prophet taught for particular moments — waking up, eating, travelling, entering a home, or finishing prayer.
• · Voluntary dhikr: Open-ended remembrance that a Muslim may engage in at any time — in any quantity — as an act of drawing closer to God.
• · Collective dhikr: Some Muslim traditions and Sufi orders engage in communal dhikr gatherings, reciting God’s names or praises together in a structured session.

3. How to Do Dhikr: A Practical Guide

One of the most beautiful aspects of dhikr is its accessibility. There is no barrier to entry. You do not need to be a scholar, a saint, or a particularly devout person. You need only a willing heart and a moment of intention. Here is how to begin:

Step 1: Set Your Intention (Niyyah)

Before beginning any act of worship in Islam, intention matters. Pause for a moment and consciously direct your heart: “I am doing this to remember God, to draw closer to Him, to seek His pleasure.” This simple act of intention transforms a mechanical repetition into an act of worship.

Step 2: Choose Your Phrase

Select one or more phrases from the Prophetic dhikr tradition. The most foundational include:

Step 3: Use a Tasbeeh (Prayer Beads) — or Your Fingers

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used his fingers to count dhikr — and specifically encouraged his companions to do the same, saying that the fingers will bear witness on the Day of Judgment. A tasbeeh (string of 33 or 99 beads) is a common and practical tool to maintain count without mental effort, freeing the heart to focus on meaning rather than numbers.

Step 4: Be Present — Quality Over Quantity

The scholars of Islam are unanimous: ten repetitions of Subhanallah said with a present, aware heart are worth more than a thousand said on autopilot. The goal of dhikr is not to accumulate numbers — it is to train the heart in awareness of God. Begin slowly. Let the meaning land. Then let the rhythm carry you.

Step 5: Make It a Habit — Attach It to Daily Anchors

The most sustainable dhikr practice is one attached to moments you already have: after each salah, during your commute, before sleep, on a walk. The Prophet described the person who remembers God and the person who does not like the difference between the living and the dead. Consistent, daily dhikr — however small — builds a different kind of inner life over time.

4. Dhikr After Salah: The Complete Post-Prayer Remembrance

Among all the moments recommended for dhikr, the time immediately after salah holds a special place. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught specific dhikr for this moment — and promised that those who practise it consistently will be protected, forgiven, and brought closer to paradise.

The most widely practised and authentically narrated dhikr after salah is known as the Tasbih of Fatimah, taught by the Prophet to his daughter Fatimah (may God be pleased with her) as a gift more valuable than worldly wealth:

The Tasbih of Fatimah — After Every Salah

33×  Subhanallah   (Glory be to God)

33×  Alhamdulillah   (All praise is due to God)

33×  Allahu Akbar   (God is the Greatest)

1×    La ilaha illallah, wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu, wa huwa ala kulli shay’in qadir(There is no god but God, alone, without partner. His is all sovereignty and all praise, and He is over all things capable.)

The Prophet said that whoever recites this after every salah will have their sins forgiven even if they are as abundant as the foam of the sea. (Sahih Muslim)

Additional authentically narrated dhikr after salah includes:

• · Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255) — recited once; the Prophet said whoever recites it after every prayer, nothing prevents them from entering paradise except death.
• · Surah al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and al-Nas — recited three times each after Fajr (dawn) and Maghrib (sunset) prayers.
• · Astaghfirullah (×3) — seeking forgiveness immediately upon completing the prayer, as the Prophet himself would do.

5. Dhikr During Dhul Hijjah: The Most Blessed Days of the Year

If dhikr is powerful on any given day, it carries extraordinary weight during the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah — the sacred month that contains the Day of Arafah and Eid al-Adha. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

“There are no days greater in the sight of God, and in which good deeds are more beloved to Him, than these ten days. So increase in them your tahlil (La ilaha illallah), your takbir (Allahu Akbar), and your tahmid (Alhamdulillah).”  (Musnad Ahmad — graded authentic)

This hadith makes explicit what Islamic tradition has always taught: dhikr and the blessed seasons are inseparable. The Companions of the Prophet would raise their voices with takbir in the marketplaces, the streets, and the mosques during Dhul Hijjah — a practice many Muslims continue today.

Dhikr during these days is also intimately connected to charity. The Prophet linked the remembrance of God to action — to giving, to service, to sacrificing something of yourself for the sake of another. In Islam, a heart that truly remembers God cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of others.

Let Your Dhikr Lead to Action This Dhul Hijjah

The Prophet said: “The best dhikr is La ilaha illallah, and the best supplication is Alhamdulillah.” But he also said that the best of people are those most beneficial to others.

SAMS provides life-saving medical care to people in Syria and conflict zones — families who have lost everything, children born into war, patients with nowhere else to turn. Your donation this Dhul Hijjah is an act of worship as real as any phrase on the tongue.

Turn Your Dhikr Into Sadaqah 

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6. The Benefits of Dhikr: What the Prophet Taught

The hadith literature is rich with the promised benefits of consistent dhikr. Here are some of the most frequently cited:

• · Peace of heart: The Quran explicitly states that remembrance of God brings tranquility to the heart (13:28) — a promise that countless Muslims across centuries have reported experiencing in practice.
• · Protection from Shaytan: The Prophet said that dhikr is a shield against the whispers and influence of the devil, which are strongest when the heart is heedless.
• · Forgiveness of sins: Many specific phrases — especially Astaghfirullah and the Tasbih of Fatimah — are associated with the erasure of sins, no matter how numerous.
• · God’s remembrance in return: Perhaps most strikingly, God says in a hadith qudsi (a divine saying): “I am with My servant whenever he remembers Me and his lips move in My mention.” And: “If he remembers Me in himself, I remember him in Myself.”
• · Light on the Day of Judgment: The Prophet described those who engage in frequent dhikr as arriving on the Day of Resurrection with a light that distinguishes them among the crowds.
• · A living heart: The Prophet compared the one who remembers God to the living, and the one who does not to the dead. Dhikr, in this view, is not an extra — it is the spiritual oxygen of the soul.

7. Dhikr and Generosity: Two Sides of the Same Coin

In the Islamic tradition, the inner life and the outer life are inseparable. A heart that is truly present in dhikr — that genuinely feels the greatness of God (Allahu Akbar), the gift of existence (Alhamdulillah), the need for mercy (Astaghfirullah) — does not stay passive in the face of injustice or suffering.

The Quran describes the people of taqwa (God-consciousness — a state deepened by dhikr) as those who “spend in the way of God, in ease and in hardship, and who restrain anger and pardon people.” (Quran 3:134). Generosity is not a separate virtue — it is the natural overflow of a heart that remembers.

This is why, during the blessed days of Dhul Hijjah — when Muslims are encouraged to intensify their dhikr — giving charity is also at its peak. The two reinforce each other. Dhikr opens the heart; an open heart gives. Giving reinforces gratitude; gratitude deepens dhikr.

For Muslims who want to translate their spiritual practice into something concrete and lasting, donating to an organization like SAMS is one of the most direct expressions of that connection. Every surgery funded, every mother who delivers safely, every child who receives a vaccine — these are the fruits of a heart that remembers God and acts accordingly.

8. Frequently Asked Questions About Dhikr

8.1 Can dhikr be done silently?

Yes. The Quran praises dhikr done both aloud and in the heart. Silent dhikr — in the mind, without moving the lips — is valid and often recommended in situations where speaking aloud would be disruptive or inappropriate (on a bus, in a meeting, during work). Some scholars consider the dhikr of the heart to be the highest form, as it requires the most active mental presence.

8.2 Is there a specific time or number required for dhikr?

Specific numbers are attached to certain recommended dhikr — such as the 33-33-34 formula after salah. But in general, voluntary dhikr has no required number or duration. The Prophet said: “The most beloved deeds to God are those done consistently, even if they are small.” Five minutes of sincere, daily dhikr is more valuable than an hour done once and abandoned.

8.3 Can women do dhikr during menstruation?

Yes. According to the majority of Islamic scholars, women may engage in dhikr, dua (supplication), and general remembrance of God during menstruation. What is suspended during this period is salah (prayer) and the physical handling of the Quran — not dhikr of the tongue and heart. Many scholars encourage women to increase their dhikr during this time as a way of maintaining spiritual connection.

8.4 What is the difference between dhikr and dua?

Dhikr is the remembrance and glorification of God — praising Him, declaring His greatness, acknowledging His attributes. Dua is supplication — asking God for something, whether forgiveness, guidance, help, or a specific need. Both are forms of worship, often practiced together. The scholars say: dhikr prepares the heart for dua, and dua is the fruit of dhikr. In practice, the post-salah routine typically includes both.

8.5 Does dhikr have to be in Arabic?

For the specific phrases narrated from the Prophet (such as Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar), the majority of scholars recommend Arabic to preserve the exact wording and its spiritual resonance. For general supplication and personal conversation with God (dua), scholars permit using one’s native language, especially for those who do not yet know Arabic. Learning the Arabic phrases — even phonetically — is encouraged as a long-term goal.

9. Begin Your Dhikr Practice Today — and Let It Change Everything

Dhikr does not ask much of you. It asks only that you remember. That in the middle of a busy morning, or at the end of a long day, or in the quiet space after you finish your prayer, you pause — and turn toward something greater than yourself.

Over time, that turning becomes a habit. The habit becomes a character. And that character — a heart that is constantly aware of God — is the foundation of a life of both inner peace and outward goodness.

During the blessed days of Dhul Hijjah, as you increase your takbir and your tahmid and your tahlil, consider letting that remembrance reach beyond your own soul. Let it reach Syria. Let it reach the mother in a bombed city who needs a midwife. The child in a displacement camp who needs a vaccine. The surgeon at SAMS who needs equipment to save the next life that arrives in the night.

Subhanallah. Alhamdulillah. Allahu Akbar. And then: give.

From Dhikr to Action — Donate to SAMS This Dhul Hijjah

Bringing life-saving medical care to Syria and conflict zones — in the spirit of remembrance, mercy, and action.

Donate Now