Discover the meaning of the term Al-dhkr (ذكر) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 5 min readWith kasra: what is done with the tongue; with damma: what is done with the hearts. Its rules are in the books of hadith and the litanies (awrad) of the masters, may God's mercy be upon them all. With two fathas: the male, and in it the phallus.
'Dhakara ash-shay' dhikran, dhikran wa-tadhkaran': to keep it in memory. In the noble Quran: 'wadhkuru ni'mata llahi 'alaykum' (and remember the favor of God upon you) (Al-Baqara, 231), that is: keep it and do not lose its gratitude. To recall it. The favor: to thank for it. People: to backbite them, mentioning their faults. 'Dhakara fulanatan': to ask her in marriage. 'Dhakar' (with fatha and sukun): his line is vigorous and he keeps it; he is then dhakr, she dhakra. People: to preach to them. 'Dhakara fulanan ash-shay', wa-bihi': to remind him of it. Adh-dhakar: the opposite of the female. Plural: dhukur, dhukura, dhukara, dhukran. In the noble Quran: 'li-Llahi mulku s-samawati wa-l-ard, yakhluqu ma yasha', yahabu li-man yasha' inathan wa-yahabu li-man yasha' adh-dhukur, aw yuzawwijuhum dhukranan wa-inathan wa-yaj'alu man yasha' 'aqiman, innahu 'alimun qadir' (To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He creates what He wills, bestows females on whom He wills, and males on whom He wills, or couples them male and female, and makes barren whom He wills; He is All-knowing, All-powerful) (Ash-Shura, 49-50). The animal's member. Plural: madhakir. Adh-dhukr: dhikr. Adh-dhikr: the warning. Memory. Honor; hence God's saying about the noble Quran: 'wa-innahu la-dhikrun laka wa-li-qawmika wa-sawfa tu's'alun' (it is a reminder for you and your people, and you will be questioned) (Az-Zukhruf, 44). The noble Quran, as in: 'inna nahnu nazzalna dh-dhikra wa-inna lahu la-hafizun' (We have sent down the Reminder, and We are its guardian) (Al-Hijr, 9). Prayer to God and supplication. In the noble Book: 'ya ayyuha lladhina amanu dhkuru llaha dhikran kathiran' (O you who believe, remember God with much remembrance) (Al-Ahzab, 41). Al-Wahidi said: dhikr is the presence of the meaning in the soul, at times by the heart, at times by the tongue, followed by the heart's remembrance. Plural: adhkar. Among the Shafi'is: that whose content is the praise of God; or: what the Lawgiver instituted as an act of worship. According to Qadi 'Iyad, two kinds: the dhikr of the heart, which is twofold: first, meditating on God Most High's greatness, majesty, omnipotence, dominion, and His signs in the heavens and the earth; this is the highest and mightiest dhikr; second, remembering Him by the heart at command and prohibition, complying with the command, shunning the forbidden, and pausing at what is ambiguous. The other: the dhikr of the tongue alone, which is the weakest of dhikr. Adh-dhikr al-hakim: the Quran, for it governs mankind and rules over them, and because it is firmly composed, without divergence or disorder.
Summoning what is stored in memory.
The presence of a thing in the heart or on the tongue.
The opposite of forgetfulness; with kasra when by the tongue, and with damma what is done with the hearts. Also: dhikr is the uttering of a thing and bringing it to mind so that it does not depart from it; it is also applied to repute and praise.
﴿فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَـٰسِكَكُمْ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ ءَابَآءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًۭا ۗ فَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَـٰقٍۢ﴾
« And when you have completed your rites, remember Allah like your [previous] remembrance of your fathers or with [much] greater remembrance. And among the people is he who says, "Our Lord, give us in this world," and he will have in the Hereafter no share. »
Surah البقرة : 200
﴿فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَضَعْتُهَآ أُنثَىٰ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ ٱلذَّكَرُ كَٱلْأُنثَىٰ ۖ وَإِنِّى سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وَإِنِّىٓ أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ﴾
« But when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah]." »
Surah آل عمران : 36
﴿ذَٰلِكَ نَتْلُوهُ عَلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ وَٱلذِّكْرِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ﴾
« This is what We recite to you, [O Muhammad], of [Our] verses and the precise [and wise] message. »
Surah آل عمران : 58
﴿وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا۟ فَـٰحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا۟ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ﴾
« And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know. »
Surah آل عمران : 135
﴿فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّى لَآ أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَـٰمِلٍۢ مِّنكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ ۖ بَعْضُكُم مِّنۢ بَعْضٍۢ ۖ فَٱلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا۟ وَأُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِمْ وَأُوذُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِى وَقَـٰتَلُوا۟ وَقُتِلُوا۟ لَأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ثَوَابًۭا مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥ حُسْنُ ٱلثَّوَابِ﴾
« And their Lord responded to them, "Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another. So those who emigrated or were evicted from their homes or were harmed in My cause or fought or were killed - I will surely remove from them their misdeeds, and I will surely admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow as reward from Allah, and Allah has with Him the best reward." »
Surah آل عمران : 195
﴿وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ مِن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌۭ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًۭا﴾
« And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer - those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged, [even as much as] the speck on a date seed. »
Surah النساء : 124
This term appears in 128 verses of the Quran.