The Harmony of Dhikr and Fikr

By Dr. Edrees Bridges, D.Min., APBCC-FR

Imam, Baytul Sabr Jameel

There is a remembrance that does not begin on the tongue.

It begins in the chest as a quiet stirring, a soft returning, a subtle awareness of the One who has always been near.

Dhikr is often translated as remembrance, but in the spiritual tradition of al-Islam it is more than memory or recitation.

Dhikr is re-attunement.

It is the re-centering of the heart upon the Objective Reality, the Source Creator, the Eternal.

We forget, not because belief departs, but because life draws the senses outward.

Obligations accumulate, voices pull, demands intensify, and the heart tightens to endure.

In this tightening, the inner signal grows faint beneath the noise of the world and the noise within.

Dhikr is the gentle reopening of what fear and fatigue attempt to close.

Imam al-Ghazālī teaches,

“The purpose of dhikr is to polish the heart until the mirror of the soul is clear, reflecting the light of the Truth without distortion.”

The Qur’an says,

“So remind, for reminder benefits the one who remembers.”

Surah Adh-Dhāriyāt 51:55

The benefit lies not merely in repetition, but in the heart’s capacity to incline toward Allah again.

And every heart carries this capacity, no matter how far it has traveled.

In the spiritual tradition of al-Islam, dhikr (remembrance) and fikr (reflection) are spoken of as companions.

Though they arise from different linguistic roots, they work together in the inner life.

Dhikr softens and awakens the heart.

Fikr clarifies and gives meaning to what the awakened heart perceives.

Dhikr opens the door.

Fikr walks through it.

Yet dhikr is not only a human practice.

The Qur’an reminds us that all of creation is already remembering:

“There is nothing in the heavens and the earth except that it glorifies Him, though you do not understand their glorification.”

Surah Al-Isrā’ 17:44

This is known as Tasbīh al-Kawn, the praise of the cosmos.

Dhikr is not the beginning of remembrance.

It is the joining of a remembrance already flowing through existence.

The human being remembers in order to rejoin what the universe never stopped doing.

Neuroscience confirms what the heart has always known.

Modern research shows that rhythmic repetition in dhikr, the vocal remembrance of Allah:

• Calms the amygdala, easing fear and emotional reactivity

• Activates the vagus nerve, signaling safety and grounding

• Lowers cortisol, reducing inflammation and internal tension

• Engages the prefrontal cortex, restoring clarity, patience, compassion, and discernment

In lived experience:

Dhikr teaches the body how to trust again.

It returns the nervous system to a state where the heart can feel and the mind can see.

Early sages describe this as aligning the breath with Nafas ar-Raḥmān, the Breath of the Merciful, the sustaining breath through which all existence is continuously held.

Dhikr is breathing in rhythm with the breath of creation itself.

Inhale gently, allowing the heart to expand.

Exhale with sincerity, letting the words settle:

SubhanAllah

Alhamdulillah

Allāhu Akbar

Not loud.

Not performed.

True.

Here, the tongue teaches the heart.

The breath teaches the mind.

The body becomes a vessel of remembrance.

The Qur’an describes those who remember and reflect across every state:

“Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying, Our Lord, You did not create this without purpose.”

Surah Aal-Imrān 3:191

They remember and they reflect.

The heart awakens and the mind understands.

The inner and outer worlds come into alignment.

Dhikr is not escape.

It is return.

Not withdrawal from life, but re-entry into life with steadiness, clarity, humility, and presence.

A heart in remembrance does not react.

It responds.

It sees from above while standing firmly on the earth.

So when the internal signal becomes crowded or unclear, pause.

Place your hand over your heart.

Allow the breath to settle your being.

Let remembrance return.

Let dhikr be the doorway.

Let fikr be the walking.

Let presence be the fruit.

May your dhikr be medicine.

May your fikr be insight.

May your presence become refuge for those who feel unseen.

Ameen.