Source : Muslim Path / 23 Jun 2014

Fathima looks forward to Fajr prayers every morning. She loves the fresh smell of dew that the morning brings. Everything is so fresh in the morning and the two rak'ath of Fajr makes her feel really close to Allah the most high. But she always has one nagging question in her mind. "How do I ensure that I always remember Allah throughout the day?" she wonders. So one day she decides to observe what her family does to remember Allah.

First, she observes her father and she notices that right after fajr prayers he begins to recite, 'SubhanAllah, SubhanAllah'. And so Fathima repeats after him.

After filling her tummy with a hearty breakfast, Fathima notices that grandma says, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah ' after her meal. Grandma tells Fathima, "Praise Allah for His Greatness for giving us this food to make us strong". So Fathima lovingly repeats it to praise Allah for the breakfast He has given them.

Fathima then sits down to finish her homework with her sister, Aysha. After finishing the homework Aysha says, "Allahu Akabar, Allahu Akabar " and encourages Fathima to do the same. "Why?" Fathima asks. "Well, it is so that we give praise to Allah for helping us to achieve what had we set out to do", replied Aysha.

"Well then," asks Fathima, "When do we say a'udubillah?".

"Whenever you have a bad thought in your mind," "A'udubillah is to request protection from Allah the Almighty from bad thoughts or actions". Fahim, her brother, said.

Fathima gave Fahim a grateful smile for teaching her a new dikir to remember Allah by.

Later that day, after praying 'Asr with her grandpa congregationally, Fathima noticed that he repeatedly recited "asthaghfirullah, asthaghfirullah". Curious to know why, Fathima asks, "Why do you say this 'dikr' grandpa?"

"Well," replies grandpa, "I like to say 'asthaghfirullah' so that I will always seek forgiveness from Allah the most high".

And so for the rest of the evening, Fathima rehearsed what she had learnt from watching her father, her grandma, her sister, her brother and her grandpa. But as Maghrib drew near, she discovered two more useful 'diks' for her to recite to remind her of Allah.

She learnt the value of 'Bismillah' . "This means 'In the name of Allah'", mother had said. "Begin everything you do in the name of Allah' or with 'Bismillah'," mother says, "particularly before eating, so that Allah will bless you for your actions" And so before eating her dinner, Fathima silently says 'Bismillah'.

For Maghrib prayers, Fathima accompanied her mother and their neighbour Mrs. Fahima to the nearby house. As they walked to the house, Mrs. Najma kept reciting        '
La ilaha illAllah'. "What does it mean?" Fathima curiously asks her.

"La ilaha illAllah means there is only one God who is Allah", says Mrs. Najma. "As Muslims we believe that Allah is one and that He has no partners. This is the most important belief in Islam. Saying La ilaha illallah will remind us of this very important belief in Islam. So recite it regularly, Fathima", Mrs. Najma told her.

Fathima thanked Mrs. Najma for his advice and in her heart gave a silent thank you to Allah. for helping her learn the many ways that she can bring herself closer to Him. She set it firmly in her heart to apply whatever 'dikr' she has learnt everyday.  Everyday. Starting from today. Insha Allah, Fathima will be close to Allah the most high.

The Qur'an says: "And remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that you do" (Ŝurat Ankabut 29:45).