130 AN INTRODUCTION TO SUFI DOCTRINE

The meaning “recollection” implied in the word
dhikr indirectly shows up man’s ordinary state of for-
getfulness and unconsciousness (ghaflah). Man has for-
gotten his own pretemporal state in God and this funda-
mental forgetfulness carries in its train other forms of
forgetfulness and of unconsciousness. According to a
saying of the Prophet “‘this world is accursed and all it
contains is accursed save only the invocation (or : the
memory) of God (dhikru-’Llah).”” The Quran says:
“Assuredly prayer prevents passionate transgressions
and grave sins but the invocation of God (dhikru-’Llah)
is greater” (XXIX, 45). According to some this means
that the mentioning, or the remembering, of God consti-
tutes the quintessence of prayer ; according to others it
indicates the excellence of invocation as compared with
prayer.

Other Scriptural foundations of the invocation of
the Name—or the Names—of God are to be found in
the following passages of the Quran: “Remember Me
and 1 will remember you...” (or: “Mention Me and
I will mention you...”) (11, 152).—“Invoke your Lord
with humility and in secret... And invoke Him with
fear and desire; Verily the Mercy of God is nigh to
those who practice the virtues” (al-muhsinin) those who
practice al-ihsan, the deepening by “poverty” (al-fagr)
or by “sincerity” (al-ikhlas) of ‘““faith’ (al-iman) and
“submission’ to God (al-islam) (VII, 55 & 56). The
mention in this passage of ‘“humility” (tadarru‘), of
““secrecy”’ (khufyah), of “fear” (khawf) and of “desire”
(tama‘) is of the very greatest technical importance,