A number of Hadīths pertaining to the virtue of Dhikr sessions
Authentic hadithعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «إنَّ لِلَّه تعالى ملائكة يَطُوفُون في الطُّرُق يلْتَمِسُون أهل الذِّكْر، فإذا وَجَدُوا قوماً يذكرون الله عز وجل تَنَادَوا: هَلُمُّوا إلى حاجَتِكُم، فَيَحُفُّونَهُم بِأَجْنِحَتِهِم إلى السَّماء الدُّنيا، فيَسألُهُم رَبُّهُم -وهو أعلم-: ما يقول عِبَادي؟ قال: يقولون: يُسَبِّحُونَك، ويُكَبِّرُونك، وَيَحْمَدُونَك، ويُمَجِّدُونَكَ، فيقول: هل رَأَوني؟ فيقولون: لا والله ما رَأَوك. فيقول: كيف لو رَأَوني؟! قال: يقولون: لو رأَوك كَانُوا أشَدَّ لك عبادة، وأشَدَّ لك تمْجِيداً، وأكْثر لك تسبيحاً. فيقول: فماذا يسألون؟ قال: يقولون: يَسْألُونك الجنَّة. قال: يقول: وهل رَأَوهَا؟ قال: يقولون: لا والله يا رب ما رأَوْهَا. قال: يقول: فَكَيف لو رَأَوْهَا؟ قال: يقولون: لو أنَّهُم رَأَوهَا كَانُوا أَشَدَّ عَلَيها حِرصاً، وأشَدَّ لهَا طلباً، وأَعْظَم فِيهَا رغبةً. قال: فَمِمَّ يَتَعَوَذُون؟ قال: يقولون: يَتَعَوذُون من النَّار؛ قال: فيقول: وهل رأوها؟ قال: يقولون: لا والله ما رأوها. فيقول: كيف لو رأوها؟! قال: يقولون: لو رأوها كانوا أشدَّ مِنها فِراراً، وأشدَّ لها مَخَافَة. قال: فيقول: فَأُشْهِدُكُمْ أَنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُمْ، قال: يقول ملَك مِن الملائكة: فيهم فلان ليس منهم، إنما جاء لحاجة، قال: هُمُ الجُلَسَاء لا يَشْقَى بهم جَلِيسُهُم». وفي رواية: عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «إن لله ملائكة سَيَّارة فُضُلاً يَتَتَبَّعُون مجالِسَ الذكر، فإذا وجدوا مَجْلِساً فيه ذِكْرٌ، قَعَدُوا معهم، وحَفَّ بعضُهم بعضاً بأجنحتهم حتى يمْلَؤُوا ما بينهم وبين السماء الدنيا، فإذا تَفرقوا عرجوا وصعدوا إلى السماء، فيسألهم الله عز وجل وهو أعلم -: من أين جئتم؟ فيقولون: جئنا من عند عباد لك في الأرض: يسبحونك، ويكبرونك، ويهللونك، ويحمدونك، ويسألونك. قال: وماذا يسألوني؟ قالوا: يسألونك جنتك. قال: وهل رأوا جنتي؟ قالوا: لا، أي رب. قال: فكيف لو رأوا جنتي؟! قالوا: ويستجِيرُونَك. قال: ومم يَسْتجيروني؟ قالوا: من نارك يا ربّ. قال: وهل رأوا ناري؟ قالوا: لا، قال: فكيف لو رأوا ناري؟! قالوا: ويستغفرونك؟ فيقول: قد غفرت لهم، وأعطيتهم ما سألوا، وأجرتهم مما استجاروا. قال: فيقولون: رب فيهم فلان عبد خَطَّاء إنما مرَّ، فجلس معهم. فيقول: وله غفرت، هم القوم لا يشقى بهم جليسُهُم».
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah, Exalted, has angels who wander in the roads seeking those who remember Him. When they find some people remembering Allah, the Almighty, they call one another and say: 'Come to what you were looking for' and they encircle them with their wings filling the space between them and the lowest heaven. Their Lord asks them, and He knows best: 'What are My slaves saying?' They reply: 'They are exalting You, glorifying You, praising You, and extolling You.' He asks: 'Have they seen Me?' They reply: 'No, by Allah they have not seen You.' He asks: 'What if they see Me?' Thereupon they reply: 'If they were to see You, they would engage more devoutly in worshiping, extolling, and glorifying You.' He says: 'What do they ask of Me?' They say: 'They ask You for Your Paradise.' Allah says: 'Have they seen it?' They say: 'No Lord, by Allah they have not seen it.' He says: 'What if they see it?' They reply: 'Were they to see it, they would be more keen, more zealous in seeking it, and would wish more for it.’ He says: 'From what are they seeking refuge?' They (the angels) say: 'They are seeking refuge from Hell.' He asks: 'Have they seen it?' They say: 'No. By Allah they have not seen it.' He says: 'What if they see it?' They say: 'If they were to see it, they would be more fearful of it and flee faster from it.' He says: 'Bear witness that I have forgiven them.' One of the angels says: 'There is amongst them so-and-so who is not one of them. He only came for another purpose.' He says: 'They are the people by virtue of whom their companion will in no way be unfortunate.'" Another narration reads: Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has angels, other than the keepers, who wander about seeking Dhikr sessions. Once they find it, they sit with them and surround them with their wings filling the space between them and the lowest heaven. When they [the people in the gathering] depart, the angels ascend and rise to heaven. Then Allah, the Almighty, asks them - though He knows best - 'From where have you come?' They say: 'We have come from a gathering of Your slaves on earth. They were exalting You, glorifying You, witnessing that there is no deity but You, praising You, and asking You.' He says: 'What do they ask of Me?' They say: 'They ask You Your Paradise.' He says: 'Have they seen My Paradise?' They say: 'No, Lord.' He says: 'What if they see My Paradise?' They say: 'They also ask You for protection.' He says: 'What do they ask Me protection from?' They say: 'From Your Hell, O Lord.' He says: 'Have they seen My Hellfire?' They say: 'No.' He says: 'What if they see My Hell?' They say: 'They ask for Your forgiveness.' Then He says: 'I have forgiven them, and I have bestowed upon them what they asked for,and I have granted them refuge from what they sought protection from.' They say: 'O Lord, among them is so-and-so, a frequent sinner, who was merely passing by and sat down with them.' He says: 'They are the people by virtue of whom their companion will in no way be unfortunate.’"
Explanation
This Hadīth narrates one of the manifestations of glorifying Dhikr sessions. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah has assigned a certain group of angels, other than the keepers, to wander about in earth. These angels rove around the Muslims' streets, mosques, and houses seeking Dhikr sessions, to visit, attend, and listen to its participants. Al-Hāfizh said: "It appears that this specifically applies to assemblies where Allah is exalted." If they find a group of people remembering Allah, the Almighty, or a Dhikr session as in Muslim's narration, they call each other. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) described the angels in Dhikr sessions saying that they encircle them tight like a bracelet in the wrist. They surround them with their wings, until they reach the heavens. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) narrated the conversation between the Lord, the Exalted, and His noble angels: Their Lord asks them, though He knows best their affairs, to make mention of such people remembering Him in the exalted assembly of angels and to boast about them before the angels. "What are My slaves saying?" The angels reply that those people remembering Allah are saying: Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Most Great. They glorify Allah by saying "there is no god but Allah" because it entails the oneness of worship. Allah says: "'Have they seen Me?' They reply: 'No, by Allah they have not seen You.' He asks: 'What if they see Me?'" The angels reply: "If they were to see You, they would engage more devoutly in worshiping, extolling, and glorifying You", because diligence in worship is dependent on the extent of knowledge. Then Allah, Blessed and Exalted, asks them what such people are asking of Him, and the angels reply that they are asking Him for Paradise, i.e. they are remembering You and worshiping You aspiring to Your Paradise. The angels reply that if they were to see it, they would be ever more devoted to enter it. They would endeavor even more seriously to attain it, because hearing about something is not like seeing it. Allah says to the angels: "From what are they seeking refuge?" In other words what are they afraid of, and what are they asking their Lord to save them from? The angels reply that they are seeking refuge from Hellfire, i.e. they remember and worship their Lord out of fear from Hellfire, and they ask Him, the Almighty, to save them from it. Allah says: "What if they see it?" The angels reply that if they were to see it, they would exert themselves to flee therefrom, i.e. they would be more diligent in doing righteous deeds that would be a cause for saving them from Hellfire. Then Allah, the Almighty, says: "Bear witness that I have forgiven them." One of the angels says: "There is amongst them so-and-so who is not one of them. He only came for another purpose", i.e. he came because of a need he had to take care of and was sitting with them, will he be forgiven also? Allah, the Exalted, says that He grants such a person pardon because they are the people by virtue of whom their companion will in no way be unfortunate.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).