Three Barriers to Remembering God

TEHRAN (IQNA) – One of the features of humans is forgetfulness and engaging in worldly affairs in a way that they forget to thank God for His bestowed mercies or even forget God is the One who has offered these blessings.

One of the major orders in the Holy Quran is remembering God using different methods. Although this is a clear instruction, it can also be considered a sort of recommendation as remembering Allah will lead to Allah’s remembering of His servants.

“Therefore, remember Me and I shall remember you. Thank Me and do not hide the truth about Me.” (Surah Baqarah, verse 152)

This concept has been repeated in several verses such as verses 40, 47, and 122 of Surah Baqarah. The above-mentioned verse demonstrates Allah’s mercy to man as He says will remember those who remember Him. 

God engages in a form of trade with man and the manifestations are: “Remember Me and I shall remember you” (Surah Baqarah, verse 152), “Fulfill your covenant with Me and I shall fulfill Mine” (Surah Baqarah, verse 40), and “When you are asked to move, so move, and Allah will raise up in ranks those who believed among you” (Surah Al-Mujadila, verse 11)

Tongue is not the only organ responsible for remembering God as one’s heart and spirit should also engage in the act. True remembrance is the one that stops the man from committing sins. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once told Imam Ali (AS): “There are three things that this Ummah cannot do (completely); establishing equality in wealth with their religious brother, fulfilling the rights of people with fair judgment towards oneself and others, and remembering God in every situation. This does not mean saying Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah, and Allahu Akbar, rather, it means that when he is faced with a Haram act, he would fear God and abandon that.” (According Al-Khisal by Sheikh Saduq)

However, we sometimes suffer from negligence. According to the Holy Quran, there are three reasons behind this. The first one is Satan: “Satan has dominated them and has made them forget the guidance of God.” (Surah Al-Mujadila, verse 19)

The second factor is excessive gatherings and competition as we read in verse one of Surah At-Takathur: “The desire to have more of the worldly gains have pre-occupied you so much (that you have neglected remembering God).”

And the third reason as mentioned in verse 3 of Surah al-Hijr relates to our dreams: “(Muhammad), leave them alone to eat and enjoy themselves and let their desires deceive them; they will soon know (the Truth).”