Dhikr ذکر, Plural اذكار Adhkaar (Zikir in Turkish and Malay, Zikr in Urdu, Jikir in Bengali and Zekr in Persian ) (Arabic "pronouncement", "invocation" or "remembrance") is an Islamic practice that focuses on the remembrance of God. Dhikr as a devotional act often includes the repetition of the names of Allah, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature and sections of the Qur'an. Zekr also known as a name for Shaleh Book, Moses Book and Quran in Quran.
The Sufi orders engage in ritualized dhikr ceremonies. Each order or lineage within an order has one or more forms for group dhikr, the liturgy of which may include recitation, singing, instrumental music, dance, costumes, incense, meditation, ecstasy, and trance (Touma 1996, p.162). Dhikr in a group is not limited to these rules but most often done on Thursday and/or Sunday nights as part of the institutional practice of most orders.
Dhikr is sometimes accompanied with traditional instruments such as the Daf, Ney, Dombak, Tar (lute), Setar (lute), Santur, and so on. Recently, modern instruments have also been used to perform dhikr.
A group dhikr ceremony in Arabic countries is usually called the hadrah. In Turkey the group ceremony is called Zikr-i Kiyam. The hadrah marks the climax of the Sufi's gathering regardless of any teaching or formal structure. Musically this structure includes several secular Arab genres and can last for hours. (ibid, p.165)
The hadrah section consists of the ostinato-like repetition of the name of God over which the soloist performs a richly ornamented song. Often the climax is reached through cries of "Allah! Allah!" or "hu hu" ("He! He!"), with the participants bending forward while exhaling and stand straight while inhaling.
