Perkataan ZIKIR ialah dalam bahasa Arab yang bererti atau membawa makna, "sebut" dan "INGAT".
Sebut itu baik pada mulut atau pun dalam hati.
Ingat itu ialah di dalam hati atau di dalam minda tentang sesuatu apa-apa yang disebutkan.
Sembahyang (solat), membaca al-Quran dan berpuasa juga termasuk dalam definasi "zikir" kepada Allah.
Tujuan zikir ialah untuk ingat akan kebesaran Allah, di mana bila kita mengingatkan kebesaranNya, maka dengan sendirinya pula kita tahu akan kedudukan dan martabat diri kita.
"Ingatlah kamu kepadaKu nescaya Aku ingat kepadaMu dan bersyukurlah kepadaKu dan jangan kamu mengingkari-Ku." Al-Baqarah 152
"Hai orang-orang yang berIman, berzikirlah dengan menyebut nama Allah, zikir yang sebanyak-banyaknya. Dan bertasbihlah kepadaNya di waktu pagi dan petang." Al-Ahzab 41-42
"Maka apabila kamu telah menyelesaikan solatmu, ingatlah Allah di masa berdiri, di masa duduk dan di masa berbaring." Surah An-Nisa' 103
Hadis At-Turmizi dan Ibnu Majah dan disahihkan oleh Al-Hakim, dari Abu Darda',"Mahukah aku beritahu kamu tentang amal yang paling bersih disisi Tuhanmu dan paling tinggi mengangkat darjatmu, dan lebih baik bagimu dari berperang melawan musuh, kamu memenggal leher mereka dan mereka pun memenggal lehermu?" Para Sahabat menjawab,"Khabarkan kepada kami." Rasulullah S.A.W. pun bersabda,"zikir kepada Allah".
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The gap between the rich and the poor
Tak sedih ke kita dengar pakcik, Arokiasamy umur 64 tahun dipenjara 10 hari kerana mencuri makanan dan minuman di pasaraya dekat Kuala Lumpur. Pakcik ni ada kencing manis, darah tinggi mengaku bersalah apabila didakwa di mahkamah dan mengatakan dia orang miskin.
Dia ditanggung oleh anaknya yang hanya bekerja sebagai pengawal keselamatan dengan gaji RM 1,000, mempunyai isteri dan anak pula, dan berhutang RM 2,000 kerana tak cukup gaji nak beli makanan, dan sering terputus bekalan makanan.
Lebih menyedihkan anaknya hanya tahu ayahnya dipenjarakan apabila membaca berita dalam akhbar.
Tidak bolehkah kesalahan pakcik ini dimaafkan ? Hukum hudud Islam, rasanya pun memaafkan yang bersalah sekiranya mencuri kerana terdesak untuk makan dan minum.
Mungkin ramai lagi diluar sana mengalami nasib yang sama seperti pakcik ini, tak kira samada Islam, Hindu, Buddha, Kristian dan sebagainya. Mana semangat 1Malaysia kita dalam hal sebegini ?
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'We didn't know he was in jail, until we read The Malay Mail'
Malay Mail 21 Sep 2010
Son learnt missing dad in jail for shoplifting from sister who read it in The Paper That Cares
KUALA LUMPUR: A security guard has more than meeting ends meet for his family-of-five to contend with after learning his missing father been jailed for stealing food and drinks from a supermarket.
He only knew his father's fate when a sibling told him she read about the court case in The Malay Mail on Wednesday — a day after the old man did not return to his son's one-room flat in Jalan Hang Tuah here.
Despite the misfortune, Vijayakumaran Arokiasamy, 30, did not condone the action of I. Arokiasamy, 64, who was sentenced to 10 days in jail by the Magistrate's Court here for stealing cans of food and packets of drinks from a supermarket.
ALL HE WANTED WAS FOOD: Arokiasamy being led away from the courthouse last week to serve his sentence
"I admit we are not a family who swims in the lap of luxury," he said when met at his low-cost unit. "I know times are bad and I am trying my best to make ends meet but I never thought my father would do such a thing.
"I thought we could make it through life together, even during hard times. I am saddened by what he did."
He said his father went missing on Tuesday after his regular trip to shops near his house.
"At first, I did not give it much thought as he had gone missing a couple of times before, only to return the next morning with breakfast for us.
"This time, he did not return and I got worried."
With the help of a friend, Vijayakumaran searched places his father frequented but could not find him.
Vijayakumaran only learnt about his father's whereabouts on Wednesday night when his sister called him. "She called me, saying our father was sentenced in court. She read about the case in The Malay Mail. I immediately rushed to the Dang Wangi police station.
"They then gave me the Sungai Buloh prison's number. I might visit my father tomorrow (today)."
Vijayakumaran, who is the sole breadwinner earning RM1,100 a month, said his father had never been jailed before.
"Times were bad towards the end of the month when we only have a meal a day. I have also borrowed from my boss. I already owe him RM2,000 but that does not mean stealing for food is the answer."
Last Wednesday morning, Arokiasamy, who was hardly able to walk as he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and poor eyesight, pleaded guilty to charge of stealing food and soft drinks.
He was nabbed last Tuesday outside The Store supermarket in Pudu Plaza after a staff saw the former putting 15 cans of food and drink packets into a plastic bag and leaving the premises.
When a security officer demanded he pay for the items, amounting to RM99.22, at the exit, the latter said he did not have the money.
During his trial, Arokiasamy, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a lighter sentence citing his age. "I won't do it again, I have a grandchild and I'm poor."
