2. Allah has said: "And remember thy Lord within thyself, morning and evening, in awe and humility; and (if thou art to mutter any-thing in praise of Allah, do it) in a subdued tone and be not unmindful of Him," (S. 7 : 205 SAL). The requirements of zikr are: (1) One who engages himself in zikr, should be clean by wazu, ghusl (ablutions), clean in body and attire, and the place too should be clean; (2) He should squat (char zanu) facing Qibla (the mosque at Makkah) with the palms of one's hands placed on knees, or holding the back of the left hand with the palm and thumb of the right hand, as is done while standing in prayers (namaz), in accordance with the practice of Prophet Muhammad (SLM). Hamali has mentioned this in his book. Protecting the voice and having the eyes closed, one should recite La ilaha illa Llah with full presence of mind. The recitation of the words, 'La ilaha', should coincide with the exhaling of the breath with full force from the heart, breaking all relationships with the heart and denying all the good and evil occurances of the heart. And the words, 'Illa Llah', should coincide with the inhaling of the breath. While doing this the attention of the heart should be directed towards Allah and thus it should enter the heart, so that the inference of the zikr should come to mean that there is nothing other than Allah in existence.

QUARTET:
I want to eradicate the company of all strangers (aghyar) /
In the garden of the heart, I will not plant any sapling
other than the plant (of the love) of the Friend, /
(I should) give up all the sorrows of this world and the Hereafter, /
(Because), the heart will become either the storehouse of
the effects and baggage of the world, or the abode of the union with the Friend.

3. In (deep) meditation of the heart, one should continue and perpetuate zikr. The formalities (adaab) of the (zikr) are that, all the time, one should be engaged in the zikr of the Friend and it should be so deep that both the heart and the tongue are not devoid of the zikr and its meaning, so that the essence of the heart should combine with the essence of the zikr and both should concurrently continue the zikr. Finally, the zakir (one who is engaged in zikr) perishes into the mazkoor (one whose zikr is being performed), with the result that all the veils that prevent the beholding (mushahida) of the Supreme Being, are removed.

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