The Ultimate Guide to Building a Zikir Habit for Anxious Souls

Break free from anxiety and strengthen your spiritual connection

Dear anxious mind,

Have you ever felt trapped in a whirlwind of worries, unable to escape?

As a psychiatrist, I’ve witnessed how anxiety can make even simple moments feel overwhelming. Anxiety often disrupts spiritual practices, particularly dhikr (remembrance of Allah), which calls for stillness and focus to connect with divine oneness. For Muslims, dhikr isn’t just a spiritual practice; it’s a lifeline. It quiets the noise, anchors your heart, and strengthens your connection with the One who is always in control.

That’s why I created this guide—to help you make dhikr a natural part of your life, even in the midst of anxiety.

Let’s embark on this journey together.

Struggles with Dhikr When Your Mind Feels Turbulent

If anxiety consumes you, sitting down to recite dhikr can feel agonizing. Your mind can feel like thousands of worries, fears, and intrusive thoughts are bombarding it like a missile.

When your mind is overwhelmed, you might experience:

• Feeling trapped by unrelenting thoughts and emotions.

• Difficulty letting go of worries, guilt, or shame.

• Overpowering emotions are tied to physical sensations and mental narratives.

• Unhelpful habits like overeating, doomscrolling, or self-criticism.

• Struggles with staying present and grounded.

• Emotional highs and lows that pull you away from the moment.

Anxiety can make you second-guess yourself. When reciting your adhkār (plural form of dhikr), you might worry that you're not doing the dhikr 'perfectly' or that Allah won't reward your efforts. But that's just your anxiety talking—every attempt to connect with Him is valuable.

Building a meaningful dhikr habit isn’t about perfection. It isn’t a measure of Allah’s love for you, but a skill you develop over time. Patience and steady practice will allow dhikr to become second nature, bringing you closer to the peace you’re seeking.

5 Steps on How to Have a Meaningful Dhikr Session

These steps, adapted from mindfulness and meditation practices, can help ground you and deepen your connection to Allah. Remember, perfection isn’t the goal. The heart of dhikr lies not only in focusing solely on the recitation but in your attempt to build connection with Allah.

1. Find your comfortable posture and center yourself. Take several deep breaths.

2. Recite the chosen dhikr repeatedly in your mind. Let the meaning of the dhikr sink into your consciousness and stir your heart as you reflect on how this dhikr has manifested in your life.

3. When your thoughts stray, gently note them, then return to your dhikr. If you notice any sensations in your body, note the feeling, then return to your dhikr. Don’t try to force your thoughts or feelings out of your mind. Let the dhikr find its own rhythm as you repeat it over and over again.

4. If you have the opportunity, you may want to recite your dhikr aloud. Let the sound of your voice fill you as you relax. Notice whether the sensations in your body are different from those you felt when you recited silently. Which is more relaxing?

5. Remember that dhikr is to be practiced with awareness, but it can easily become mechanical with repetition. When this happens, develop an inner voice repeating the dhikr while you are lost in thought or rapidly approaching sleep. Try to stay aware of each repetition of your dhikr.

   How to Build a Consistent Dhikr Habit

How to Build a Consistent Dhikr Habit

Now, we go into the nitty-gritty practicality of building a dhikr habit. You can start by using either of these two methods:

Method 1: Recite the Morning and Evening Adhkār

These are a set of adhkār prescribed by the Prophet ﷺ that a Muslim should recite daily. The Qur’ān mentions:

"Believers, remember Allah often and glorify Him morning and evening.” (33:41-42)

These adhkār are recommended to be recited at the following times:

• Morning: between Fajr and sunrise

• Evening: between Asr and Maghrib

By setting aside specific times for this practice, you create a natural structure for your day.

You can access the adhkār here.

Method 2: Choose Your Adhkār

This method allows you to select a few dhikr to recite repeatedly in large numbers. Choose this method if you want to delve deeper into specific dhikr.

For example, my teacher once introduced a practice of reciting three adhkār 70,000 times over two months, consisting of:

• Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ

• Tahlil (declaration of divine oneness) لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ

• Salawat (prayers for the Prophet ﷺ) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ

Trying to hide my disbelief 🤣

I’ll confess, my first reaction to "70,000 times" was one of panic. I thought it meant 70 times per day. At first, it seemed daunting, but by dividing it into daily targets (like 4,000 recitations each day), it became more manageable.

The sequence was intentional. We began with istighfar to cleanse the heart of spiritual impurities, moved to tahlil to strengthen our understanding of divine oneness, and finally concluded with salawat to elevate our character and send blessings to the Prophet ﷺ.

Of course, you don’t have to follow the same sequence. Since this is a do-it-yourself kind of adventure, you can customize your own dhikr routine—choosing different adhkār, numbers of recitations, and duration to complete the dhikr. While this exact sequence isn’t required, it highlights the importance of consistency and intention.

Some Additional Thoughts

1. Position and Timing: It’s ideal to carve out specific times to sit down and immerse yourself in dhikr, but not everyone has the luxury of sitting down. You can incorporate dhikr with tasks that don’t require a lot of cognitive load, like housework or walking.

2. Counting the Dhikr: It’s advisable to count your dhikr to stay mindful of the number recited. If your hands are busy, you can estimate by calculating how much you can recite in a specific timeframe (e.g., the number of tahlil recited in 10 minutes). Another method I’ve found helpful is using YouTube videos that guide you through specific dhikr recitations, such as repeating Istighfar 1,000 times.

The Surprising Mental Health Benefits of Dhikr

Through regular practice of dhikr, you’ll gain insights about anxiety and how to navigate it:

• Thoughts and emotions are temporary visitors. They only linger if you invite them to stay.

• Your mind can’t exist in contradictory situations—it can’t focus on worry when it’s anchored in dhikr.

• You have the power to choose which thoughts deserve your attention.

• Emotional extremes become more manageable when you accept the presence of your thoughts and emotions, rather than trying to push them away.

As believers, we gain additional perks for striving to develop the dhikr habit. Dhikr helps heighten self-awareness, offers guidance for success, protects from evil, leads to forgiveness of sins, and deepens our connection with Allah.

Your Dhikr Journey

Nowadays, whenever I think about what motivates me to do dhikr, I always remember this hadith:

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that during the Mi'raj, Nabi Ibrahim AS told the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: O Muhammad, convey my salam to your Ummah and tell them that Jannah has good soil and sweet water, but it is barren. The plantation of Jannah is the recital of سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَر.”

I remind myself each time I recite dhikr that a plant is built for me in Jannah. Each time I finish a dhikr session, I imagine a garden being created for me in Jannah, and I’m ready to build another garden in my next dhikr session.

Remember, this is a personal journey. There's no perfect way to practice. Some days will be easier than others, and that's okay. What matters is your intention and consistent effort.

Start small. Be kind to yourself. Let each remembrance be a step toward inner peace. May your dhikr be a source of comfort, healing, and spiritual connection.

Key Takeaways

• Dhikr can help calm anxiety
  Doing dhikr (remembering Allah) is a powerful way to quiet an anxious mind. It helps you feel grounded, brings peace, and strengthens your connection with Allah.

• You don’t need to be perfect
  Dhikr isn’t about doing it perfectly—it’s about trying. Even if it’s not perfect, every effort you make to remember Allah counts and is meaningful.

• Simple tips for dhikr that works
  Find a comfy spot, focus on what the dhikr means, and don’t stress if your mind wanders. Just gently bring your focus back and keep going.

• Make dhikr fit your life
  You can do structured routines like morning and evening adhkār, or create your own dhikr schedule that works for you. It’s all about finding what feels natural and easy to stick to.

• Dhikr benefits your heart and mind
  Regular dhikr not only helps you feel more connected to Allah but also makes it easier to handle stress, manage emotions, and stay focused on what truly matters in life and the hereafter.

Question:

Share your own tips on how you build a dhikr habit that you love. What other special ways have you discovered?

Write them in the comment section