The Book of Remembrances [Kitab al-Adhkar]

✍ Scribed by an-Nawawi, Imam Yahya ibn Sharaf

• Publisher: Turath Publishing
• Year: 2020
• Tongue: English
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The Book Of Remembrances [Kitab al-Adhkar] - By Imam Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi Kitab al-Adhkar is the definitive compilation of words of remembrance and glorification of (dhikr), and supplicatory prayer to (du'a), the Lord of the Universe, as related from His final Emissary, the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and exalt him). Dhikr and du'a lie at the very heart of the din, the relationship between creature and Creator. As part of the Sunna or Prophetic Way, they are a divinely appointed means of approaching Allah Most High for all our needs, and of making use of all the moments of daily life to strengthen our tawhid, the existential and cognitive Unity that is the hallmark of Muslim spirituality. Also covered are the vital principles of speaking only what is good and avoiding the sins of the tongue.

✦ Table of Contents

IMĀM AN-NAWAWĪ
AUTHOR’S PREFACE

Kitāb al-Adhkār

1.What has been narrated about the virtue of dhikr and is not restricted to a specific time
2.Getting up from sleep
3.Putting on clothes
4.Putting on new garments, shoes etc.
5.What to say to one’s companion when seeing him in new clothes
6.How to put on garments and shoes and how to take them off
7.What to say when taking off garments to wash, go to sleep etc.
8.What to say when leaving the house
9.What to say when entering one’s house
10.What to say when waking up at night and leaving the house
11.What to say when entering the lavatory
12.The prohibition of doing dhikr or talking while in the lavatory
13.The prohibition of greeting a person who is sitting to relieve himself
14.What to say when coming out of the lavatory
15.What to say when pouring water to perform wuḍū’
16.What to say during wuḍū’
17.What to say when performing ghusl (major ablution)
18.What to say when performing tayammum
19.What to say when going to the mosque
20.What to say when entering and leaving the mosque
21.What to say in a mosque
22.The rejection and censure of someone who looks for lost property in the mosque or sells in it
23.Censuring someone who chants poetry in the mosque in which there is no praise for Islam or for abstemiousness, nor any encouragement of the noble qualities of character and the like
24.The merit of the adhān
25.The description of the adhān
26.Description of the iqāmah
27.What to say upon hearing the adhān and the iqāmah
28.The du‘ā’ to be said after the adhān
29.What to say after the two sunnah rak‘āt of ṣubḥ
30.What to say when coming to the prayer line
31.What to say when intending to stand up for ṣalāh
32.The du‘ā’ to be said during the iqāmah
33.What to say when ṣalāh begins
34.The takbīrāt al-iḥrām
35.What to say after the takbīrāt al-iḥrām
36.Seeking protection from shayṭān after the opening du‘ā’
37.Recitation of Qur’ān after seeking protection
38.The adhkār of rukū‘
39.What to say when raising the head from rukū‘ and standing upright
40.The adhkār of sujūd
41.What to say when raising the head from sujūd and while sitting between the two sujūds
42.The adhkār of the second rak‘ah
43.The qunūt in the ṣubḥ ṣalāh
44.The tashahhud in ṣalāh
45.Invoking blessings upon the messenger of Allah after the tashahhud
46.The du‘ā’ after the last tashahhud
47.The greeting to end ṣalāh
48.What to say to a person who speaks to one whilst one is engaged in ṣalāh
49.Adhkār to be performed after ṣalāh
50.Encouragement to do dhikr of Allah after the ṣalāh of ṣubḥ
51.What to say in the morning and the evening
52.What to say on friday mornings
53.What to say when the sun has risen
54.What to say after the sun has risen
55.What to say between midday and ‘aṣr
56.What to say between ‘aṣr and sunset
57.What to say upon hearing the adhān of maghrib
58.What to say after the ṣalāh of maghrib
59.What to recite in and after the ṣalāh of witr
60.What to say when one intends to sleep and is lying in bed
61.The disapproval of sleeping without the dhikr of Allah
62.What to say when waking up at night and wishing to sleep afterwards
63.What to say when unable to sleep
64.What to say when startled in one’s sleep
65.What to say after seeing something one likes or dislikes in a dream
66.What to say when told about a dream
67.Du‘ā’ and repentance in the second half of the night
68.Du‘ā’ in all hours of the night, hoping to coincide with the moment of acceptance
69.The most beautiful names of Allah
70.Recitation of Qur’ān
71.Praise of Allah
72.Praying for blessings upon the Messenger of Allah
73.The order to those in whose presence the Messenger is mentioned to pray for blessings and salutations upon him
74.How to pray for blessings upon the messenger of Allah
75.Beginning du‘ā’ by invoking blessings upon the Messenger
76.Praying for blessings upon the prophets and their descendants in succession
77.The du‘ā’ of istikhārah
78.Du‘ā’ against affliction and du‘ā’ for important concerns
79.What to say when frightened
80.What to say when afflicted with worry or grief
81.What to say when in a fix
82.What to say when afraid of any group of people
83.What to say when afraid of a ruler
84.What to say upon seeing the enemy
85.What to say if a shaytān appears to one or one is afraid of him
86.What to say when overcome by weakness
87.What to say when finding something to be difficult
88.What to say when earning one’s livelihood becomes difficult
89.What to say to ward off calamity
90.What to say when visited by misfortunes, be they few or many
91.What to say when burdened by debts which one is unable to repay
92.What to say when afflicted with loneliness
93.What to say when troubled by satanic disturbance
94.What to say over the insane or someone who has been stung
95.Seeking protection for children and others
96.What to say over abscesses, pimples and suchlike
97.Recommendation to remember death much
98.Approval of asking the relatives of a sick person about his health, and of replying to the question
99.What the sick should say, what should be said and recited near them, and how to ask after their health
100.In commendation of advising the families of the sick and those tending them to be kind and bear patiently the difficulties in their affairs; also, advising those whose death is imminent because of a legal sentence
101.What to say a person who has a headache, fever or other pain
102.The permissibility of a sick person saying: ‘I am in severe pain’ or ‘unwell’ or ‘Oh, my head!’ and things like that; and explanation that there is nothing disapproved of in that if none of it is an expression of discontentment or impatience
103.The disapproval of hoping for death because of physical harm, but its permissibility if one fears jeopardy in his religion
104.The recommendation of a man making du‘ā’ that his death be in the noble land
105.The desirability of comforting the sick
106.Praising a sick person, when seeing him to be fearful, by mentioning his good deeds, in order to alleviate his fear and give him a good opinion of his lord
107.Giving the sick person what he craves
108.Visitors seeking the du‘ā’ of the sick
109.Exhorting and reminding an invalid, after he is healed, to fulfil the repentance that he promised Allah
110.What to say to someone who has lost hope of surviving
111.What to say after closing the eyes of the deceased
112.What to say near the deceased
113.What to say to the bereaved
114.What to say upon hearing the news of the death of one’s companion
115.What to say upon being told of the death of an enemy of Islam
116.The prohibition of wailing over the deceased and crying out with the cries of the days of ignorance (before Islam)
117.Condolence
118.The permissibility of informing companions and relatives of the death of the deceased, and the disapproval of announcing the death publicly
119.What to say while washing and shrouding the deceased
120.The adhkār of the funeral ṣalāh
121.What to say whilst walking with the bier
122.What to say when a bier passes or on seeing one
123.What those who lay the deceased in the grave should say
124.What to say after the burial
125.On the deceased leaving a special request that a specific person perform his funeral ṣalāh or that he be buried in a certain manner or in a specific place, or concerning his shrouding, or other things that should or should not be done
126.How the deceased benefits from the words of others
127.The prohibition of abusing the dead
128.What visitors to graveyards should say
129.Those visiting graveyards should discourage those they see weeping from being distraught at the graveside and tell them to be patient and discourage them from doing other things which the law forbids
130.Weeping and feeling fear when passing by graves; also, seeing the destruction of oppressors, displaying humility before Allah, and being on guard against forgetfulness
131.Adhkār recommended to be recited on friday during the day and night, and du‘ā’
132.The adhkār for the two ‘Īds
133.The adhkār for the first ten days of Dhū al-Ḥijjah
134.The adhkār prescribed for eclipses
135.Adhkār for seeking rain
136.What to say when the wind blows
137.What to say when stars fall
138.Not pointing to, or looking at, falling stars or lightning
139.What to say on hearing thunder
140.What to say when it rains
141.What to say after it has rained
142.What to say when there is a great deal
143.The adhkār of the tarāwīḥ ṣalāh
144.The adhkār of the ṣalāh of need
145.The adhkār of the ṣalāh of tasbīḥ
146.The adhkār related to zakāh
147.What to say upon seeing the new moon and what to say on seeing the moon
148.The adhkār that are mustaḥabb while fasting
149.What to say when breaking the fast
150.What to say when breaking the fast with people
151.The supplication to say on laylat al‑qadr (the night of the decree)
152.The adkhār of i‘tikāf
153.the adkhār of pilgrimage (ḥajj)
154.the recommendation of asking for martyrdom
155.The imam should encourage the leader of a delegation to fear Allah, and also teach him what he needs [to know] concerning matters of fighting the enemy and entering into pacts with them
156.The sunnah for the imam and the leader of the army to feign taking another direction when intending to go on an expedition
157.The du‘ā’ for those who do battle or work at anything that helps with it; also saying things to inspire people and rouse them to battle
158.Du‘ā’, humility, and takbīr in battle, and asking Allah to fulfil his promise to help the believers
159.The prohibition of needlessly raising the voice in battle
160.Saying ‘I am so-and-so’ in battle in order to terrify the enemy
161.The desirability of reciting poetry during combat
162.The desirability of displaying patience and strength to a person who has been wounded
163.The what to say when the muslims are victorious and defeat their enemy
164.What to say when seeing the muslims defeated, may Allah the most generous be our refuge
165.Encouragement for the imam to praise those who have displayed skill in battle
166.What to say upon returning from an expedition
167.Istikhārah and consultation
168.Adhkār to perform after deciding to travel
169.Adhkār to say when intending to leave home
170.The adhkār to perform when leaving
171.The desirability of seeking advice from the righteous
172.The desirability of someone remaining behind asking a traveller for du‘ā’ at blessed places
173.What to say when mounting an animal
174.What to say when boarding a ship
175.The desirability of making du‘ā’ whilst travelling
176.The desirability of a traveller saying takbīr when ascending a hill, and taḥmīd and tasbīḥ when descending into a valley
177.The prohibition of raising the voice exaggeratedly in takbīr and suchlike
178.Setting a pace, reviving the spirits, relaxing, and making the journey easy for other travellers
179.What to say when one’s animal runs away
180.What to say when on a difficult and recalcitrant animal
181.What to say upon seeing a village which one does, or does not, wish to enter
182.What to say when apprehending harm from some people
183.What travellers should say when confronted by an ogre
184.What to say when dismounting
185.What to say upon returning from a journey
186.What travellers should say after the ṣalāh of ṣubḥ
187.What to say upon sighting one’s homeland
188.What to say when returning from a journey and entering one’s home
189.What to say to someone who is returning give thanks I will certainly from a journey
190.What to say to someone returning from an expedition for the cause of Allah
191.What to say to someone who is returning from ḥajj
192.What to say when food is brought
193.The desirability of a host saying ‘eat’ and similar things to his guests when food is presented
194.Mentioning the name of Allah when eating and drinking
195.Not finding fault with food
196.The permissibility of saying ‘I do not have an appetite for this food’ or ‘I do not ordinarily eat it’ and the like if necessary
197.Praising the food that one eats
198.What to say when present at a meal and one is fasting, in the case when one does not break his fast
199.What to say when one is invited for a meal and others follow
200.How to admonish and instruct someone who errs when eating
201.The desirability of talking whilst eating
202.What someone who eats without becoming satiated should say and do
203.What to say when eating with someone who has a bodily defect
204.The desirability of a host saying ‘eat’ to his guests and others when they lift their hands from the food and saying it repeatedly until he has ascertained that they have had enough; and that of doing the same with drink, perfume, etc.
205.What to say when one has finished eating
206.The du‘ā’ of invitees and guests for their host when they have finished eating
207.Making du‘ā’ for somebody who gives one water or milk to drink
208.Du‘ā’ and encouragement for someone who entertains a guest
209.Praise for someone who entertains a guest
210.The desirability of welcoming guests and praising Allah for having found a guest to entertain; also, being happy and extolling him for enabling one to do this
211.What to say after eating
212.The merits of greeting and the order to extend greetings
213.The mode and method of greeting
214.The disapproval of gesturing when greeting, without any verbal expression
215.The rulings on greeting
216.Situations in which it is mustaḥabb to greet and in which it is makrūh, and those in which it is permissible
217.Who may be greeted and who may not, and who may be answered and who may not
218.Courtesies and rulings on greeting
219.Seeking permission to enter a house
220.Matters Related to Greeting
221.Responding when someone sneezes, and the rulings on yawning
222.Praise
223.Praising oneself and mentioning one’s own good qualities
224.Questions Related to the Preceding Subject
225.What to say when asking for a woman’s hand in marriage from her family, for himself or for someone else
226.A man offering his daughter’s hand in marriage to virtuous people
227.What to say when making the marriage contract
228.What to say to the groom after the contract has been made
229.What the groom should say when his bride comes to him on the wedding night
230.What to say to the groom after his marriage has been consummated
231.What to say during intercourse
232.A man playing with his wife and joking and talking gently to her
233.The etiquette for a husband speaking to his relatives by marriage
234.What to say during childbirth and when a woman is in labour
235.Saying the adhān in the ear of a newborn baby
236.Supplicating and performing taḥnīk for a baby
237.Naming a newborn baby
238.Naming a stillborn baby
239.The desirability of giving beautiful names
240.The names dearest to Allah
241.The desirability of congratulating and what to say when congratulated
242.The prohibition of giving repulsive names
243.A man calling a subordinate, such as a son, servant, or student, by an ugly name in order to retrain him from doing vile deeds and to train him
244.Calling out to a person whose name one does not know
245.The prohibition of a son, student or pupil calling his father, teacher or mentor by name
246.The desirability of changing a name to a better one
247.The permissibility of shortening a person’s name, as long as he is not offended by it
248.The prohibition of giving a person a nickname that he dislikes
249.The acceptability and desirability of giving a person a nickname that he likes
250.The acceptability of kunyahs and the desirability of addressing people by them
251.The kunyah of a man [normally] coming from his eldest son
252.Giving a man who has sons a kunyah which does not come from his son
253.Giving a kunyah to someone who has no children, and to a minor
254.The prohibition of using the kunyah Abū al-Qāsim
255.The permissibility of giving a kunyah to a disbeliever, innovator or sinner if he is not known by any other name, or there is a risk of trouble from calling him by his name
256.The permissibility of giving a man a kunyah ‘father of so-and-so’ or a woman the kunyah ‘mother of so-and-so’
257.The desirability of praising Allah on receiving good news
258.What to say upon hearing a cock crow, a donkey bray or a dog bark
259.What to say upon seeing a fire
260.What to say when standing up to leave a gathering
261.The du‘ā’ of a person sitting in a gathering, for himself and those with him
262.The disapproval of rising or leaving a gathering without remembering Allah
263.The remembrance of Allah in the street
264.What to say when angry
265.The desirability of telling a man that one loves him, and what to say in reply
266.What to say when seeing someone whom Allah has afflicted with sickness
267.The desirability of praising Allah when asked about the health of oneself or one’s beloved, if the reply is positive
268.What to say when entering the marketplace
269.The desirability of saying to a person who has entered into a good marriage, or bought or done something commanded in Sharī‘ah: ‘you have done the right thing’ or ‘you have done well’, etc.
270.What to say when looking into the mirror
271.What to say when cupping
272.What to say if one’s ear rings
273.What to say if one’s foot becomes numb
274.The permissibility of supplicating against those who oppress the Muslims or oneself in particular
275.Disowning the followers of innovation and sin
276.What to say when eradicating falsehood
277.What to say if one’s tongue is vulgar
278.What to say when one’s animal stumbles
279.The desirability of the elders of the land addressing their people on the death of the leader, calming them, exhorting them and commanding them to have patience and to be steady in what they were already doing
280.Supplicating for those who treat one well, or for all people or some people, and praise and encouragement for doing so
281.The desirability, when giving a gift, of rewarding the receiver’s du‘ā’ for one by making du‘ā’ for him in return
282.The desirability of making an excuse when returning a gift for some reason required by Sharī‘ah, such as being qāḍī or ruler or because there is something doubtful about it or for some other reason
283.What to say to somebody who safeguards one from harm
284.What to say upon seeing the first fruit of the year
285.The desirability of moderation in admonition and teaching
286.The merit of pointing out good and encouraging it
287.Encouragement for someone who is asked for knowledge he does not possess, but which he knows that someone else does, to point him out
288.What to say when called to the judgement of Allah
289.Turning away from the ignorant
290.Admonishing those who are more eminent than oneself
291.Keeping a promise or a pact
292.The recommendation to make du‘ā’ for a person who offers one wealth or something else
293.What a muslim should say to a non-muslim subject who treats him well
294.What to say upon seeing something in oneself, one’s child, property or anything else which pleases one so that one fears afflicting it with one’s eye and harming it
295.What to say when seeing something one likes or dislikes
296.What to say when looking at the sky
297.What to say when looking for omens
298.What to say when entering a public bath (ḥammām)
299.What to say when buying a slave or animal, or when repaying a debt
300.What to say when one is unable to keep steady on a horse and what supplication is to be made for one
301.The prohibition of scholars and others speaking to people about matters that they do not understand
302.A scholar and orator telling the people who attend his assembly to keep quiet and listen so that they will listen attentively
303.What a role model should say when doing something which appears to be improper although it is in fact proper
304.What a follower should say to the person he is following if he does [something of that kind]
305.Encouragement of mutual consultation
306.Urging good words
307.The desirability of making one’s speech clear for those addressed
308.Joking
309.Interceding
310.The desirability of giving good news and congratulations
311.The permissibility of expressing surprise with words of tasbīḥ, tahlīl, and suchlike
312.Enjoining what is good and forbidding evil
313.Safeguarding the tongue
314.The unlawfulness of backbiting and talebearing
315.Important matters related to backbiting
316.How to prevent oneself from backbiting others
317.What backbiting is permissible
318.The command that whoever hears their teacher or companion being slandered should refute it or show that it is false
319.Backbiting with the heart
320.Atonement and repentance for backbiting
321.Talebearing
322.Not communicating information to those in authority unless there is a need to because of fear of disorder or something similar
323.The prohibition of defaming people’s lineages
324.The prohibition of arrogance
325.The prohibition of rejoicing at the misfortune of a muslim
326.The unlawfulness of belittling or mocking muslims
327.The strict prohibition of bearing false witness
328.The prohibition of reminding people about charity one has given them
329.The prohibition of cursing
330.Prohibition of driving away the poor and weak, orphans, beggars, and so on; one must speak gently to them and act humbly towards them
331.Words which it is deplorable to use
332.The prohibition of lying, and an explanation of types of lie
333.Exhortation to be certain of what one says, and prohibition of passing on all that one hears
334.Insinuation and dissemblance
335.What to do if one has said something ugly
336.Words which some of the ‘ulamā’ say are makrūh but which are not
337.Supplications (da‘awāt) which are mustaḥabb at all times
338.The etiquettes of du‘ā’
339.A person’s du‘ā’ and using his pious deeds as a means of imploring Allah
340.Raising the hands in du‘ā’ and passing them over the face
341.Repetition of du‘ā’
342.Keeping the heart attentive in du‘ā’
343.The merit of making du‘ā’ for people in their absence
344.The desirability of making du‘ā’ for those who treat one well, and a description of that du‘ā’
345.The desirability of seeking du‘ā’ from virtuous people, even if the one who requests is of a higher station than the one who is asked, and du‘ā’ in noble places
346.The prohibition of supplicating against oneself, one’s children, servants, wealth, etc.
347.Proof that a muslim will be granted his request when he makes du‘ā’, and that he should not be impatient about its acceptance
348.Seeking forgiveness
349.The prohibition of staying silent all day
350.Conclusion

CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION
INDEX