Dhikr

Under dhikr (Arabic ذكر, DMG dhikr, remembrance '; dhikrullah also lit. " remembrance of God "; Zikr or SíKr ) is understood in the Sufi flow in Islam and traditional Islam, an intense prayer ritual in remembrance of Allah ( = God ). The one who exerts a dhikr is called dhakir.

Dhikr is not to be confused with the well -Islamic salat, the prayer to be performed five times a day, which is connected to prescribed body movements. There are also du ʿ ā ʾ, a personal, informal prayer for all Muslims. On the other hand, the Sufis call themselves salad as the largest dhikr.

A part of the Islamic religious scholars rejected in the course of Islamic history from Sufism and Dhikr, while others were Sufi teachers themselves at the same time. These half- tolerance goes back to Al -Ghazali, who saw Sufism as an acceptable Islamic religiosity. Today's strict Islamic currents ( Wahhabis and others) reject the dhikr from also because they believe there was no evidence for Dhikr in the Qur'an and the Islamic tradition, which is why the dhikr constitutes a prohibited innovation in Islam. Sufis, however, rely on Sura 33.41 " ( dhikran kathīran " ) " Oh you who believe Will God with much remembrance "; Qur'an 13.28 and more interpretable Sunnah sites

Dhikr ritual

The dhikr can be noisy and ecstatic to be practiced ( dhikr dschalī ), or still or quiet and rather meditative ( dhikr Khafi ). It can be applied alone as a spiritual exercise, or in the community, usually as a ceremony of Sufi orders ( tariqa ) for the invocation of the name of God. For individual forms of dhikr you do not belong to a Sufi school, he is still practiced even today quite often.

Easiest and always centrally retarded Dhikr is the frequent repetition of the word "Allah" in the repetition of the final letter "h" later turns, and sometimes leads to other formulas. According to Al -Ghazali is at the beginning of the solitary dhikr ( " dhikr Khafi " ) a "cell" be investigated and the word "Allah " is repeated several times aloud, to bring the heart in tune with God.

Further invocations of God are in addition also often the ninety-nine different names and attributes of Allah. The formulas most commonly used are Ya Allah ( " Oh Allah" ), Ya Hu (about: " Oh he " ) and Ya Hayy ( " Oh Alive "). In addition, very often shared the Shahadah spoken ( the Islamic creed ): La ilaha illa llah ( " There is no God but God" ) Muhammadun rasūlu ʾ llāh (i) ( " Muhammad is the Messenger of God "). The loud dhikr often resembles a rhythmic chant. The formulas are usually recited 11 or 33 times. For counting stones were used initially, and later the Islamic prayer beads ( tasbih ) with 11, 99, but mostly 33 beads, which applies even when silent dhikr, there are more counts in an on the student ( murid ) tailored dhikr.

Many Community, loud traditions debates with intermittent exhalation are connected. There is also often an alternate breathing with the right and left side, which is technically conducted by the alternating tilt of the head, upper body to the side or alternately lifting the legs. These breathing techniques need to be practiced.

A Community Dhikr is also called Hadra ( "present", " presence " ) or as halqa ( "circle", according to the common circular arrangement of the faithful ). Individual and collective forms of dhikr existed since the early days of Sufism side by side. The special breathing techniques and circular arrays formed according to many researchers Sufism in the 13th century and are likely to be influenced by Iranian and Indian traditions.

The techniques described so far are similar to the dhikr in details the orient Christian Jesus Prayer, the Buddhist Nembutsu and the Hindu japa - yoga. Whether these forms of technology were influencing each other, go back to common ancient Near Eastern - altiranisch - old Indian roots, or arose independently, is not assured. The previously described form of dhikr is an Islamic name brand of prayer.

A Hadra ( present meeting ) is in most Sufi orders a complex procedure that starts with recitations and the presentation of seals of the founder of the Tariqa ( the Sufi Order ). This part is called Hizb ( "party", according to the Order ) or ( "Koran body" actually originally " water body" / elevation).

Another part of the Hadra is in some order of the sema, from Arabic ʿ sama (literally " hear " ), which often meditative or ecstatic Sufi music is heard, as in a section of the Cem - Dhikr of the Bektashi Sufi. Some religious practice to a trance dance. This practice was first often known by Jalal ad-Din ar - Rumi, the founder of the Mevlevi Order, in the West as " spinning dervishes ", established in Sufism. It spread since the 13th century in some religious and religious branches and became popular, for example in the Tschischtijja Sufis especially in South Asia. Gardet also suspected Indo-Iranian influences on the Semah, other researchers look more influences of the old Turkish shamanism.

The Sufi orders are different kinds of dhikr of East Asian methods balancing measures meditation to self-flagellation, similar to Indian ascetics ( " fakirs ").

Spiritual backgrounds in Sufism

The Sufis believe that God is always present in the human heart, and that dhikr is a kind of tool for this divine presence to be aware of. Some Sufis describe the heart as a " mirror ", which has scheduled a thick layer of dirt over time. Dhikr in this case serves as a " polish ", with which you can bring this mirror shine again and so reflect the divine mystery.

The perfection of dhikr has been a lofty goal at the Sufis has always been and it is desirable to repeat the dhikr everlasting, so he continues further in the midst of all other ( worldly ) activities in the heart. This corresponds to a continuous awareness of God. The latter is called " dhikr of the heart", while the audible outward form is referred to as " dhikr tongue ".