These couplets enhance the quality, expression of love, and concentration in zikr. It should be kept in mind they are not zikr and are not necessary. They are merely an aid to zikr, but since their benefit is so great, one should endeavor to learn them and say them in one’s zikr and at other times as well.

If a person recites and ponders over the command of Allah, “Fazkurooni Azkurkum” “Remember Me and I will remember you.”, before starting one’s zikr, there will be much more benefit, enjoyment, and concentration in one’s zikr.

If a person thinks that when I make zikr, Allah, the Creator, my Creator and the Creator of the universe, the King of kings, the controller of everything is remembering me, and in fact according to a Hadith, Allah boasts about the one who makes zikr. According to another Hadith, the angels surround the person who makes zikr. One may ask why? The angels who are in the heavens come down to earth? The angels who are in the presence of Allah come to witness the zikr of a human?

This occurs for various reasons:

• The angels are astonished that this person is engaged in zikr without even seeing Allah.

• The angels notice that this person despite of his human need of food, drink, wife, kids etc. he makes time for the zikr of Allah.

• He gets no apparent material benefit, and yet he still makes zikr.

دل میرا ہو جائے اک میدان ہو

تو ہی تو ہو تو ہی تو ہو تو ہی تو

اور میرے تن میں بجائے آب و گل

درد دل ہو درد دل ہو درد دل

غیر سے بلکل ہی اٹھ جائے نظر

تو ہی تو آئے نظر د یکھو جدھر

Dil mera ho jaye aik maidaan-e-hu

Tu hi tu ho tu hi tu ho tu hi tu

Aure mere tan mein bajaye aab-o-gil

Dared-e-dil ho dard-e-dil ho dard-e-dil

Ghair se bikul hi uth jaye nazar

Tu hi tu aaye nazar dekhun jidhar

May my heart become an open field

In which there is no one but you and only you

And in my body instead of water and sand

May I be blessed with the pain of the heart

May my sight be lifted from all else

Wherever I look, may I only see You.

The ardent lover of Allah makes this prayer that his heart be an empty field in which there is nothing and no one, but Allah. Further, he desires that his body be drenched with the pain of Allah’s love. Love is painful but this pain is pleasurable. For example, like that person who is eating something hot and spicy, his mouth is burning, but he is still enjoying and savoring the food. He eats more and more. Likewise, the love of Allah will make a person give up his wrong lifestyle, his sins, to get up for tahajjud, cry is du’as, outwardly this all seems painful but there is great enjoyment in it for the person doing it.

Furthermore, his love is so intense that he does not want to see anything or anyone other than Allah, and that he only sees the manifestation of Allah’s existence in His creation wherever he looks. When a person is blessed with the ma’rifat i.e. recognition of Allah and progresses in this, then he only sees the hidden system of Allah at work.

الھی دل میں میرے غیر کا اثر نہ رہے

سوائے تیرے کسی پر میری نظر نہ رہے

تو کر بے خبر ساری خبروں سے مجھکو

الھی رہوں ایک خبردار تیرا

Ilahi dil mein mere ghair ka asar Na rahe

Siwa-e Tere kisi par meri nazar na rahe

Tu kar be-khabar saari khabron se mujh ko

Ilahi rahoon eik khabardar tera.

O Allah Do not let anything other than you affect my heart.

May my gaze be on none but You.

Make me unaware of all things.

O Allah let me be fully aware of You.

The lover of Allah wants to be exclusive for Allah and he wants the highest level of Tauheed in him. So he asks Allah that he be affected by Allah alone. For his needs, his heart and mind should go to none but Allah. All he wants to know about is Allah.

اللہ اللہ کیسا پیارا نام ہے

عاشقوں کا مینا اور جام ہے

Allah, Allah kaisa pyara naam hai

Aashiqon ka meena aur jam hai

Allah, Allah, what a lovely name…!

O Allah, what a beloved name You have. In fact the “Aah” (expression of yearning, pain or grief due to physical, social, or emotional stress) of a humble servant of Allah is joined to the end of the name Allah. This “Aah” does not exist in any other name of the false gods. This is solely and exclusively the quality of just the name of Allah. What a splendid and majestic name it truly is.

O Allah! Never deprive me of repeatedly taking Your name. A person may be deprived because of sin. It is not because a person doesn’t have time or is too busy to make zikr. In reality, Allah helps the person at a distance due to sin The name of Allah is not so cheap that a person goes on breaking the law of Allah, never feels remorse or regret, doesn’t repent, and is still given the opportunity to take His blessed name and enjoy it also! Firstly, due to sinning, and after being given respite, a person is deprived of the enjoyment and pleasure of zikr, then of other noble acts.

Afterwards, he is deprived of even other acts of worship which may carry over into sunnahs, waajibaat, and even faraaidh. If even after all this, a person still does not make Taubah, his Iman may be in danger.

O Allah! Protect us from sins and give us the taufeeq to make your zikr. Aameen!

اپنے ملنے کاپتہ کوئی نشاں

تو بتادے مجھکو اے رب جہاں

Apne milne ka pata koi nishaan, tu bata de mujhko ay Rabb-e-Jahaan.

Tell me your address, show me some sign to meet You, O Sustainer of the universe.

The lover of Allah wants to always go closer to Allah and therefore always asks for more ma’rifat. The physical, literal meaning is obviously not intended here because that will be kufr. Allah doesn’t have a real address. The love is admitting that I have not gained enough of Your recognition, so grant me more.

کوئی تجھ سے کچھ کوئی کچھ چاہتا ہے

الھی میں تجھ سے طلبگار تیرا

Koi tujh se kuch koi kuch chahta hai, Ilahi mein tujhse talabgaar tera.

Some ask You for something and others for something else. My Lord, I only seek from You Yourself.

Seldom do people ask of Allah by means of du’a, and when they do, they ask for things of this dunya. Then others ask for things of aakhirat. The true and real ardent lovers of Allah only desire Allah and His pleasure. The dunya has no value in their eyes nor does Jannat. What value would Jannat have without Allah! It is for this reason that the Ahlullah ask Allah for Himself.

ہر تمنا دل سے رخصت ہو گئی

اب تو آجا اب تو خلوت ہو گئی

Har tammanna dil se rukhsat ho gayi, ab to aaja ab to khalwat ho gayi.

My heart has bid farewell to all hopes and wishes. Now please come, now I have achieved solitude.

This is alluding to the notion that the heart is where Allah manifests His manifestations. When the heart of a mu’min is occupied with other things like hopes and desires, then Allah will not enter that heart. Allah is King of all kings. He requires a clean and pure heart to settle in. When we, as mere humans would feel offended when people do not honor us, then Allah has more ghairat than all of us. Therefore, clean your heart and mind of everything, and then make zikr and you yourself will see the outcome.

‘The aim and objective of spiritual path (sulook) is to make the heart of the seeker yearn for Allah’s pleasure  similar to the body’s demand for food. That is, the desire to worship becomes similar to the craving for food and water.

This can only happen when the his heart is,

-  filled to the brim by the majesty and love of Allah and

- empty from the desires of all that is other-than-Allah (ma-siwa Allah)

Until this love of other-than Allah exists, to the extent that it resists the love and awe of Allah, one  can not be true in his search for the Divine pleasure and be able to abstain from all sinful activities thoroughly.

In summary, two things are essential. Firstly,  cleansing the heart (takhliya) from all that is ’other’ (-than-Allah) and finally adorning (tajeliya) it with the  love and awe of Allah.

Successful accomplishment of these two things results in bestowment of (spiritual) illuminations and other honors from Allah. This is known as taheliya.