72 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would remember Allah at every moment of his time.” Related by Muslim, while al-Bukhārī records it in muʿallaq form (1).
Vocabulary of the ḥadith
– aḥyān (times): plural of ḥīn. Al-Miṣbāḥ defines ḥīn as “time, whether short or long”; the expression “in all his times” therefore means “in most of them.”
Points derived from the ḥadith
-
The report affirms the basic principle that Allah’s remembrance is lawful in every circumstance, even when a person is in minor or major ritual impurity. Saying Subḥān Allah, Lā ilāha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, al-ḥamdu lillāh, and similar formulas is permissible at any time by unanimous agreement of the Muslims.
-
Qur’an recitation is a form of dhikr, yet it is qualified by the ḥadith of ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Prophet ﷺ would teach us the Qur’an so long as he was not in a state of major ritual impurity,” related by Aḥmad (628), Abū Dāwūd (229), al-Tirmidhī (146), al-Nasāʾī (265), and Ibn Mājah (594); al-Tirmidhī declared it ṣaḥīḥ.
-
Verbal dhikr is likewise excluded while one is urinating, defecating, or engaged in intercourse. Silent remembrance in the heart, however, is unobjectionable in these situations. The stronger view is that ʿĀʾishah’s statement refers to dhikr spoken aloud.
-
The ḥadith conveys the same meaning as the noble verse: “Those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and who reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth” (Āl ʿImrān 3:191).