in anything other than remembrance of Him—Glorified and Exalted.

Indeed, remembrance is truly the life of the heart and the nourishment of the heart and soul. When a servant is deprived of it, he becomes like a body deprived of its nourishment. The heart therefore has no true life except through the remembrance of Allah. Hence Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Remembrance is to the heart what water is to fish. What, then, becomes of a fish when it leaves the water?”1

— Another benefit of the servant’s remembrance of Allah is that it results in Allah remembering him, as He Most High says: “Remember Me, and I will remember you.” 2

In the two Sahīhs, Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, relating from his Lord, Glorified and Exalted: “Whoever remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself; and whoever mentions Me in a gathering, I mention him in a gathering better than theirs.” 3

— Another benefit is that remembrance expiates and removes sins and saves the one who remembers Allah from His punishment. It is reported in the Musnad from Muādh ibn Jabal—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “No human being performs any deed more effective in saving him from Allah’s punishment than the remembrance of Allah Most High.”4

— Another benefit of remembrance is that it brings rewards, recompense, and bounty unlike those resulting from other deeds, even though it is the easiest of acts of worship, since moving