Q: I have a question regarding Halqah Thikr and loud congregational thikr. Recently I have heard reports from many Ulama that this action is not an ibadah but a bid'ah. They cite the incident of Abdullah ibn Masud (RadhiAllahu Anhu) and the dhikr majlis (which I'm sure Mufti Saheb is familiar with) as proof for their claim. Is this claim true? That the Halqah Thikr is a bid'ah.
A: Zikr done in a gathering is proven from authentic ahaadeeth. Refer to Sunan Abu Dawood. Hence, doing zikr individually in a gathering is proven. Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hayy Lucknowi (rahmatullahi alaih) has proven this in 'Sabaahatul fikr' with over 70 ahaadeeth. Secondly, doing the zikr in an audible tone is also proven from the Sahaabi Hadhrat Abdullah Zul Bujaadayn (radhiyallahu anhu).
Perhaps the hadeeth of Hadhrat Abdullah bin Masood (radhiyallahu anhu) is with reference to people doing it in a chorus. This is obviously not established. In the khanqah of Hadhrat Moulana Thanwi (rahmatullahi alaih), zikr used to be done at around 2 a.m. and this was done in a gathering.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by: