The Root
Commemorating God
God tells us why we remember Him, and the reason He gives is so that we can come ever closer and closer to Him.
You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.
[73:8]God tells us clearly what remembering Him is for, and the answer may be different from what many people expect: “You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.” [73:8]
If you look closely at this verse, you will notice that the commandment comes together with its own reason. The reason God gives us is about coming closer to Him, and not about carrying out a duty.
Let's go through this together, step by step. First, we will look at what remembering God is for. After that, we will look at the names God gave us to call Him by, and then at the prayers that are already written in the Quran for us to use. At the end, we will look at what remembering God looks like on an ordinary day of the week.
On This Page
The page has four parts. At the end of each part, you will find the questions most people usually ask about that topic, along with their answers from the Quran.
What the Remembering Is For
Let's start with the reason we remember God, because everything else on this page follows from it.
God commands us to remember Him, and in the same verse He also tells us why: “You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.” [73:8]
God also tells us very plainly what remembering Him does for the person who does it. He names two things by which a person redeems his own soul, and remembering God is the first of them: “Successful indeed is the one who redeems his soul. By remembering the name of his Lord, and observing the contact prayers (Salat).” [87:14-15]
There is also a promise that comes with remembering God, and it goes in both directions: “You shall remember Me, that I may remember you, and be thankful to Me; do not be unappreciative.” [2:152]
So when we remember God, God remembers us, and this one verse describes the whole relationship between us and Him.
What Remembrance Does to the Heart
God does not just promise us something good in a general way. He describes exactly what happens to us, and He says it twice in the same verse: “They are the ones whose hearts rejoice in remembering GOD. Absolutely, by remembering GOD, the hearts rejoice.” [13:28]
God also describes the hearts of the true believers, the people whose hearts have already been touched by remembering Him: “The true believers are those whose hearts tremble when GOD is mentioned, and when His revelations are recited to them, their faith is strengthened, and they trust in their Lord.” [8:2]
Remembering God is also on the list of things God rewards, and you will notice that men and women are mentioned separately in this verse: “the men who commemorate GOD frequently, and the commemorating women; GOD has prepared for them forgiveness and a great recompense.” [33:35]
Why the Contact Prayers Exist
Now we come to something that changes the way we look at all of this. The Contact Prayers (Salat) are not one duty, with remembering God as another separate duty. The two are connected, and God tells us this Himself.
God tells us the purpose of the Contact Prayers in His own words, at the moment He introduces Himself to Moses: “I am GOD; there is no other god beside Me. You shall worship Me alone, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me.” [20:14]
God says this again in another verse, and this time He also tells us how important it is: “observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), for the Contact Prayers prohibit evil and vice. But the remembrance of GOD (through Salat) is the most important objective.” [29:45]
This is the reason the commandment to remember God does not stop when the Contact Prayer ends: “Once you complete your Contact Prayer (Salat), you shall remember GOD while standing, sitting, or lying down.” [4:103] So the Contact Prayer comes to an end, but our remembering of God continues through the rest of the day.
Questions About Remembering God
What is commemorating God actually for?
The purpose is to come closer to God. God gives us the purpose together with the command: “You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.” [73:8] He also tells us that remembering Him is how a person redeems his soul: “Successful indeed is the one who redeems his soul. By remembering the name of his Lord, and observing the contact prayers (Salat).” [87:14-15] And He tells us that it goes both ways: “You shall remember Me, that I may remember you.” [2:152] So remembering God is not something we do to pay back a debt to Him. It is the way we close the distance between us and Him.
What does commemorating God look like during a working day?
Most of it is small and quiet, and that is exactly how God describes it: “You shall remember your Lord within yourself, publicly, privately, and quietly, day and night; do not be unaware.” [7:205] In practice, it is made up of a few small habits. We say “GOD willing” about anything we plan to do, which God commands us directly [18:23-24]. We say His name over our food [6:118]. And we turn to Him when a bad thought comes to us [7:200]. The Contact Prayers hold the rest of the day together, because God decreed them so that we would remember Him.
Does God need to be remembered?
No. Nothing we say adds anything to God. God tells us that everything already glorifies Him: “Glorifying Him is everything in the heavens and the earth.” [59:24] So the universe is not waiting for us to join in before God is glorified. The benefit of remembering God comes back to us. God tells us what remembrance does for us, “by remembering GOD, the hearts rejoice” [13:28], and He tells us what it is for, which is coming closer to Him [73:8]. So God is not asking for our praise because He needs it. He is offering us a way to come closer to Him.
The Names He Gave Us
Now that we have looked at what remembering God is for, let's look at the names God gave us to call Him by. If remembering God means calling on Him, then the next question is what we should call Him.
God answers this question for us, and He gives us two instructions at the same time: “To GOD belongs the most beautiful names; call upon Him therewith, and disregard those who distort His names. They will be requited for their sins.” [7:180]
So we are told to use His names, and we are told to leave alone the people who twist His names out of their true meaning. Both parts of this verse are commandments from God.
When it comes to which name to use, God is more generous than many people expect: “Say, ‘Call Him GOD, or call Him Most Gracious; whichever name you use, to Him belongs the best names.’” [17:110] The same verse also tells us the tone to use, which is not too loudly and not secretly, but in a moderate tone.
Three Verses Full of God's Names
There is one passage in the Quran that simply lists God's names, one after another. Reading it slowly is itself the kind of remembrance this page is about.
“He is the One GOD; there is no other god besides Him. Knower of all secrets and declarations. He is the Most Gracious, Most Merciful.” [59:22]
“He is the One GOD; there is no other god besides Him. The King, the Most Sacred, the Peace, the Most Faithful, the Supreme, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the Most Dignified. GOD be glorified; far above having partners.” [59:23]
“He is the One GOD; the Creator, the Initiator, the Designer. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Glorifying Him is everything in the heavens and the earth. He is the Almighty, Most Wise.” [59:24]
Please notice that all three verses begin in the same way. Two of them say in their very first line that there is no other god besides Him, and the middle one says it again at the end: “GOD be glorified; far above having partners.” [59:23] So these names are not there for decoration. Every one of them belongs to the One God, who has no partner.
Some of the Names, and When They Help Us Most
Each name below is one that God gave Himself in the Quran. The line under each name is our own suggestion of when that name can help us the most.
The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
These two names are mentioned together, and they open every sura of the Quran except one. They are the names most of us learn first, and they are good names to call on when we are going through a hard week.
[59:22]
The Peace
This name appears in one verse together with other names, such as the King, the Most Sacred and the Most Faithful. It is a good name to call on when we cannot find peace anywhere else.
[59:23]
The Living, the Eternal
“Never a moment of unawareness or slumber overtakes Him.” [2:255] This is a good name to remember in the late hours of the night, when it feels as if nobody else is awake.
[2:255]
The Creator, the Initiator, the Designer
These are three names in one verse, and each one describes a different part of the same act: bringing something into being, starting it from nothing, and then giving it its shape.
[59:24]
Knower of all secrets and declarations
God knows equally well what we say out loud and what we never say to anyone. This is a good name to call on when there is something we have not told anyone else.
[59:22]
Mentioning God Alone
Before we finish this section, there is one more thing we need to look at, because it is the main point of everything we have said about God's names.
However many names God has, mentioning God alone, with nothing added beside Him, is a test for us. Please notice what happens inside us when His name is said on its own.
God tells us: “When GOD ALONE is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion. But when others are mentioned beside Him, they become satisfied.” [39:45]
So God has many names, but the One they all belong to is one. We are invited to call on Him by any of His names. But calling on anyone other than Him is exactly what the whole Quran warns us against.
Questions About God's Names
Which name should we use when we call on Him?
We can use any of them. God tells us this plainly: “Call Him GOD, or call Him Most Gracious; whichever name you use, to Him belongs the best names.” [17:110] God also tells us to use His names when we call on Him: “To GOD belongs the most beautiful names; call upon Him therewith.” [7:180] What matters is that we do not add anyone else beside Him. That is the test we looked at in 39:45, and it is the only condition the Quran puts on how we call on Him.
What does it mean to distort God's names?
It means twisting one of God's names out of the meaning God gave it. God tells us to leave the people who do this alone. This instruction comes in the same verse where God invites us to call on Him by His names: “call upon Him therewith, and disregard those who distort His names. They will be requited for their sins.” [7:180] The clearest example is giving one of God's names to someone else, or using a name of His for something He created. God also warns us about names that people made up themselves: “These are but names that you made up, you and your forefathers. GOD never authorized such a blasphemy.” [53:23]
Is there a right number of times to say God's name?
No. The Quran does not give us a number, and it does not ask us to keep a count. What God asks of us is to remember Him often and in every situation: “You shall remember your Lord within yourself, publicly, privately, and quietly, day and night; do not be unaware.” [7:205] In another verse, He simply says to remember Him frequently [33:35]. God does tell us the tone to use, though: “You shall not utter your Contact Prayers (Salat) too loudly, nor secretly; use a moderate tone.” [17:110] Nowhere in the Quran are we told to count with beads. What we are told is not to be unaware of Him.
The Prayers Already Written
Now that we have looked at the names God gave us, let's look at the prayers that are already written in the Quran. Most people who want to pray get stuck at the same point, which is that they do not know what to say.
The Quran helps us with this by giving us the prayers themselves. There are dozens of them, said by prophets and by ordinary believers, written out in full so that we can use them.
We are not limited to these prayers. But they are there for us at the times when we cannot find the words ourselves.
The prayer everyone knows is the Opening, and if you look closely, you will notice that it is a prayer and not only a statement: “You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.” [1:5]
Prayers for Different Occasions
Every one of these prayers is in the Quran, and each one was said by someone who needed it at the time.
When we want the right things
“Our Lord, grant us righteousness in this world, and righteousness in the Hereafter, and spare us the retribution of Hell.” [2:201] The verse just before this one talks about the people who ask only for this world.
[2:201]
When we are afraid of our own failings
“Our Lord, do not condemn us if we forget or make mistakes... Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Lord and Master.” [2:286]
[2:286]
When certainty is slipping
“Our Lord, let not our hearts waver, now that You have guided us. Shower us with Your mercy; You are the Grantor.” [3:8]
[3:8]
For our parents
“My Lord, have mercy on them, for they have raised me from infancy.” [17:24] The same verse begins by telling us to lower for our parents the wing of humility.
[17:24]
For our family
“Our Lord, let our spouses and children be a source of joy for us, and keep us in the forefront of the righteous.” [25:74]
[25:74]
When we have to face something
Moses said this prayer when God told him to go to Pharaoh: “My Lord, cool my temper. And make this matter easy for me. And untie a knot from my tongue. So they can understand my speech.” [20:25-28]
[20:25-28]
God's Promise to Answer
A book full of prayers would mean very little if nobody were listening to them. God does not leave us wondering about this.
God answers this Himself, speaking in the first person, in the middle of a passage about fasting: “When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me.” [2:186]
In another verse, God puts it as a command, and it is a very generous thing to command: “Your Lord says, ‘Implore Me, and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Gehenna, forcibly.’” [40:60] So asking God is not something optional for us.
Please notice also that there is nobody in between. Every prayer above is said directly to God by the person praying it, whether that person is a prophet, a parent, or someone who has just failed. None of them goes through anyone else.
Questions About Praying
What should we actually say when we pray?
We can pray in our own words, and the Quran also gives us prayers to use when we cannot find the words. The Quran is full of them. There is a prayer for asking for the right things [2:201], one for our parents [17:24], and one for the moment we have to face something hard [20:25-28]. They were said by prophets and by ordinary people, and you will find them collected in the cards above. The Contact Prayers have their own fixed words, which are explained on the Contact Prayers page. Outside of the Contact Prayers, we are free to pray in whatever words we choose. God tells us: “Implore Me, and I will respond to you.” [40:60]
Can we pray for other people, and for people who have died?
For people who are living, yes, and the Quran gives us many examples of this. For those who died without believing, the answer is no. In the Quran, believers pray for each other. Abraham prays for “my parents, and the believers, on the day when the reckoning takes place” [14:41], and we are also given prayers for our parents [17:24] and for our families [25:74]. The limit is set at idol worship. God tells us that the prophet and the believers must not ask forgiveness for idol worshippers, even if they are their nearest relatives, “once they realize that they are destined for Hell” [9:113].
How do we know a prayer is heard?
We know because God tells us so Himself, and He does not put any conditions on who the person asking is. God says: “When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me.” [2:186] And in another verse: “Implore Me, and I will respond to you.” [40:60] Having said that, the answer is not always the exact thing we asked for. God tells us plainly that we can want something that is bad for us: “But you may dislike something which is good for you, and you may like something which is bad for you.” [2:216] What God promises is that He will respond, and He is the One who decides what form that response takes.
Through an Ordinary Day
So far, we have looked at what remembering God is for, the names we call Him by, and the prayers He gave us. Now let's look at how all of this fits into an ordinary day. None of this needs us to live a different life. God places remembrance inside the day we already have, and He is very specific about where it goes.
First, God tells us to remember Him at both ends of the day: “you shall glorify GOD when you retire at night, and when you rise in the morning.” [30:17]
Then God tells us how to remember Him, and He gives us four ways in the same verse: “You shall remember your Lord within yourself, publicly, privately, and quietly, day and night; do not be unaware.” [7:205]
You will notice that remembering God within ourselves and remembering Him publicly are mentioned together in the same sentence. So remembrance is not something private that we have to hide, and it is not something public that we do to be seen by others. The only thing this verse tells us not to do is to be unaware.
Small Commandments That Many People Miss
There are two instructions that are small enough to be missed easily, and specific enough that we can start on them tomorrow.
The first is about how we talk about the future: “You shall not say that you will do anything in the future, without saying, ‘GOD willing.’ If you forget to do this, you must immediately remember your Lord and say, ‘May my Lord guide me to do better next time.’” [18:23-24] We talk about the future every day, so this commandment gives us daily chances to remember God.
The second one is about our food: “You shall eat from that upon which GOD's name has been pronounced, if you truly believe in His revelations.” [6:118] This applies to every meal we eat, and we eat several meals a day, so this gives us several more chances to remember God each day.
There is also an instruction for when something goes wrong inside us: “When the devil whispers to you any whisper, seek refuge in GOD; He is Hearer, Omniscient.” [7:200] The verse after it describes what this does for us: “whenever the devil approaches them with an idea, they remember, whereupon they become seers.” [7:201]
What Keeps Us From Remembering God
God tells us what competes with our remembrance of Him, and it may not be what we expect.
Work is not the problem, but there is one time when work has to give way: “when the Congregational Prayer (Salat Al-Jumu'ah) is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the commemoration of GOD, and drop all business.” [62:9]
Once that time is over, God gives us wide permission: “Once the prayer is completed, you may spread through the land to seek GOD's bounties, and continue to remember GOD frequently, that you may succeed.” [62:10]
What God does warn us about is much closer to home: “O you who believe, do not be distracted by your money and your children from remembering GOD. Those who do this are the losers.” [63:9] Please notice what these two things are, our money and our children. These are the two things most of us would never feel guilty about giving all of our time and effort to.
God also gives us a measure for this in very ordinary words, at the end of the pilgrimage: “you shall continue to commemorate GOD as you commemorate your own parents, or even better.” [2:200]
What Does Not Count as Remembrance
It would not be honest to finish this page without the warning God attaches to this subject. The failure God names here is not forgetting Him.
God says: “And woe to those who observe the contact prayers (Salat)— who are totally heedless of their prayers. They only show off. And they forbid charity.” [107:4-7]
Please notice that this warning is aimed at people who are actually praying. The Contact Prayers are being done, but the person's heart and mind are not there.
God gives us the same picture again in another verse, and this time He describes what is going on inside the person: “When they get up for the Contact Prayer (Salat), they get up lazily. That is because they only show off in front of the people, and rarely do they think of GOD.” [4:142]
God's description of true remembrance is the opposite in every detail. It is done quietly, within ourselves, when nobody is counting [7:205]. It comes from people who “reverence their Lord, even when alone in their privacy” [21:49].
So the question we are left with at the end of this page is whether our heart and mind are really present when we say the words.
Questions About the Daily Practice
How do we remember God when work takes all our attention?
We can remember God by connecting the remembrance to things we already do, which is exactly what the Quran does. God connects it to how we talk about the future [18:23-24], to our food [6:118], and to the beginning and end of each day [30:17]. None of these asks us for extra time. Work itself is not the problem. God allows us to go out and seek His bounties once the Friday Congregational Prayer is done, and He tells us to “continue to remember GOD frequently” while we do so [62:10]. What He warns us against is letting our money and our family push Him out of our mind.
What do we do when we forget for days at a time?
We start again at the next chance we get. The Quran treats forgetting as something ordinary, and the remedy is given inside the commandment itself. God builds this into the “GOD willing” instruction: “If you forget to do this, you must immediately remember your Lord and say, ‘May my Lord guide me to do better next time.’” [18:24] So forgetting is expected, and the response God gives us is a single sentence. Believers are not described as people who never slip. They fall, then they remember God and ask forgiveness, “and they do not persist in sins, knowingly” [3:135].
Is saying the words enough?
No, and this is the warning the Quran attaches to the whole subject. God warns people who are actually praying: “who are totally heedless of their prayers. They only show off.” [107:5-6] The words were said, but the person's heart was not there. What God describes instead is quiet and private: remembrance “within yourself... privately, and quietly” [7:205], by people who “reverence their Lord, even when alone in their privacy” [21:49]. So what God asks of us is that we are really present, and not that we reach a certain count.
What the Quran Says About Remembering God
Here are the main verses this page is based on, all in one place, so you can come back and read them again.
You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.[73:8]
God tells us the purpose of remembering Him.
Successful indeed is the one who redeems his soul. By remembering the name of his Lord, and observing the contact prayers (Salat).[87:14-15]
How a person redeems his soul.
You shall remember Me, that I may remember you, and be thankful to Me; do not be unappreciative.[2:152]
When we remember God, He remembers us.
They are the ones whose hearts rejoice in remembering GOD. Absolutely, by remembering GOD, the hearts rejoice.[13:28]
God tells us twice in the same verse that remembering Him brings joy to our hearts.
"I am GOD; there is no other god beside Me. You shall worship Me alone, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me.[20:14]
God tells us why He decreed the Contact Prayers.
You shall remember your Lord within yourself, publicly, privately, and quietly, day and night; do not be unaware.[7:205]
Four ways to remember God, and one thing to avoid.
When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me. The people shall respond to Me and believe in Me, in order to be guided.[2:186]
God tells us in His own words that He answers our prayers.
And woe to those who observe the contact prayers (Salat)— who are totally heedless of their prayers. They only show off. And they forbid charity.[107:4-7]
A warning to people who are praying, but whose hearts are not in it.
If This Question Is Difficult
This question is not here to discourage anyone. None of us is fully present every single time. What matters is that we keep coming back to God.
Growth Prompt
Most of us go for hours without a single conscious thought of God. If you would like, please try this for one week. Choose three things you already do every day, such as drinking a glass of water, walking through a doorway, or hearing the phone ring, and say God's name each time you do them. As you will notice, the Quran connects remembrance to ordinary things we do in exactly this way [18:24], [6:118].
How often did I think of God yesterday outside of prayer, and where did the gaps fall?
Keep growing
Every topic on this site connects to the others. Here is where this page leads next.