Remembrance of God

than on the comfort or the problems arising from it. That is, whether their response was one of gratitude or ingratitude, one of patience or impatience. An individual must introspect in every situation, rather than complain about external circumstances. Conscious Worship A bdullah ibn Umar narrates that the Prophet once observed: “Man apparently performs namaz, fasting, zakat, hajj, and umra.” The Prophet went on to mention all the good acts, then he said, “But on the Day of Judgement he will be rewarded in accordance with his reason or understanding (aql).” (Shu‘ab alIman, al-Bayhaqi, Hadith No. 4316) In this hadith, the word aql is used in the sense of understanding. In this tradition aql means what we may call consciousness. And the hadith means that if a person engages in the remembrance of God and His worship, he will be rewarded for his acts not by measuring the quantity but by gauging the quality. The reward for all these acts will be given as is commensurate with their spirit. One who has worshipped with full consciousness will be fittingly rewarded. For instance, a person performs some form of worship but that worship according to the Quran is done in a state of absent-mindedness. So, apparently,