فضائل الذكر
Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Mu‘āwiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came upon a group of people sitting in a circle in the mosque, and he asked them: "What made you sit together?" They replied: "We are sitting together to remember Allah." He said: "I adjure you by Allah to tell me whether nothing else has made you sit together." They replied: "By Allah! We are sitting only for this purpose." Then, he said: "I did not adjure you because I suspected you. I am the least one to narrate from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) among all his close Companions. However, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came upon a group of his Companions sitting in a circle and said: 'What made you sit together?' They replied: 'We are sitting together to remember Allah and praise Him for guiding us to Islam and bestowing favors on us.' Then, he said: 'I adjure you by Allah to tell me whether nothing else has made you sit together.' They said: 'By Allah! We are sitting only for this purpose.' He said: 'I did not adjure you because I suspected you, but Jibrīl (Gabriel) came and told me that Allah is taking pride in you before the angels.'"
عن أبي سعيد الخدري –رضي الله عنه- قال: خرج معاوية -رضي الله عنه- على حَلْقَةٍ في المسجد، فقال: ما أَجْلَسَكم؟ قالوا: جلسنا نذكر الله، قال: آلله ما أجْلَسَكُم إلا ذاك؟ قالوا: ما أجلسنا إلا ذاك، قال: أما إنّي لم استَحْلِفْكُم تُهْمَةً لكم، وما كان أحد بمنزلتي من رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- أقَلَّ عنه حديثاً مِنِّي: إنَّ رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- خَرَجَ على حَلْقَةٍ من أصحابه فقال: «ما أَجْلَسَكم؟» قالوا: جلسنا نذكر الله ونَحْمَدُهُ على ما هَدَانا للإسلام؛ ومَنَّ بِهِ علينا، قال: «آلله ما أجْلَسَكُم إلا ذاك؟» قالوا: والله ما أجلسنا إلا ذاك، قال: «أما إنّي لم أستحلفكم تُهْمَةً لكم، ولكنه أتاني جبريل فأخبرني أن الله يُبَاهِي بكم الملائكة».
شرح الحديث :
This Hadīth indicates the merit of sitting together to remember Allah, the Mighty and the Magnificent. In this regard, Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Mu‘āwiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came upon a group of people in the mosque and asked them why they were sitting together. They told him that they were sitting together to remember Allah. He adjured them to tell him whether they gathered only to remember Allah. They swore by Allah that they sat only for that purpose. Thereupon, Mu‘āwiyah told them that he did not make them swear because he did not believe them; rather it was because he saw the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) doing the same thing. He came upon a circle of his Companions in the mosque, asked them these questions, and told them that Allah was taking pride in them before the angels, by saying, for instance, to the angels: ''Look at My servants! They gathered to remember Me.'' It should be noted, however, that this kind of assembly does not mean that people sit together to mention Allah in one voice. Rather, they mention anything that would remind them of Allah, the Almighty, such as an admonition or a reminder. Likewise, they remember the blessings of Allah upon them, including being Muslims, secure, healthy, etc. Indeed, remembering the blessings of Allah is a form of remembering Allah. This proves the virtue of gathering to remember the blessings that Allah has bestowed on people.