The Path
Dhikr ذكر
Remembrance of God is the heart of the Rifāʿī way. Two of its fifteen principles concern it: continual remembrance, and remembrance together with companions.
Continual remembrance
The fourth principle asks for remembrance of God with heart and tongue, “accompanying the breaths,” beyond counting. Samarrâî gives with it a saying of the Pîr: if you remember God, God will melt your selfishness, remove the obstacles of the ego, and bring you near to the people of truth.
Remembrance given by a guide
In the Rifāʿī way the guide gives each disciple a dhikr suited to them. Atik reports that the first is the declaration of God's oneness, lā ilāha illā'llāh. When the disciple has grown in it, the guide gives names of God of his choosing; the guide decides which names and how many. The name al-Raḥmān, the All-Merciful, is often chosen, followed by al-Raḥīm, al-Wahhāb and al-Quddūs.
Remembrance in gathering
The tenth principle calls for open dhikr with the brethren, in good order and full courtesy, sitting or standing. Like the Qādirī and other orders of Iraqi origin, the Rifāʿīs hold a standing dhikr, the qiyām.
The ceremony opens with the sheikh's Fātiḥa. Kneeling in a crescent-shaped circle, the participants recite the evrâd to its own melody. After a short prayer they rise and stand in facing rows; the sheikh names the name of God to be remembered, and a leader called the reis carries the dhikr, while ilahis, Arabic chants and odes are sung in its rhythm. The Rifāʿī standing dhikr is known for its intensity. The ney is played in the heart-dhikr of the names Ḥayy and Jalāl.