“We are in need of attending gatherings of remembrance of both of their meanings, in terms of learning and in terms of invoking Allah and sending salawats upon His Prophet.
These are the two meanings of gatherings of dhikr, and sometimes both meanings are combined in one. It is for this reason it has been said, ‘If you want to know a state of a community, look at how many gatherings of remembrance with both its meanings are in that community, whether it be a city or a village? If you want to know the state of any given place, then what is the state of its gatherings? A city or place that doesn’t have such gatherings are dead, it is spiritually lacking and when people enter into those places, they’ll feel alienated and lonely – they won’t feel alive (spiritually).”