All praise be to Allah:
As for collective remembrance, it is one of the virtues and recommended acts of worship. Many scholars have mentioned its merit, including Imam An-Nawawiy in his book of remembrances and Imam As-Suyūṭiy in his book Al-Badīʽ al-Ḥāwiy. This is also the majority view of the scholars. Here, I will mention some evidence for this, although a more detailed discussion of the opposing views can be dedicated later.
Firstly, evidence from the Quran:
Allāh the Almighty says: “Therefore remember Me. I will remember you” (2:152), “O you who believe! Remember Allāh with much remembrance. And glorify Him morning and evening” (33:41-42), and “Those who remember Allāh standing, sitting, and lying on their sides” (3:191). The verse in Sūrat al-Kahf (18:28) also clearly alludes to gathering for remembrance when it says: “And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance.” Such verses and others use the plural term. The default principle is to understand the apparent meaning of the Quran unless there is a proof to interpret it. Although the last verse includes the remembrance by the individual, it also refers to it in gatherings.
Secondly, evidence from the Sunnah:
1. Muslim narrates from Muʽāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyaān that Allāh’s Messenger (peace be upon him) went out to the circle of his Companions and said: What makes you sit? They said: We are sitting here in order to remember Allāh and to praise Him for He guided us to the path of Islam and He conferred favors upon us. Thereupon he adjured by Allāh and asked if that only was the purpose of their sitting there. They said: By Allāh, we are not sitting here but for this very purpose, whereupon he (the Messenger) said: I am not asking you to take an oath because of any allegation against you but for the fact that Gabriel came to me and he informed me that Allāh, the Exalted and Glorious, was talking to the angels about your magnificence. This is a clear-cut statement that they were gathered for collective remembrance (we are not sitting here in order to remember Allāh), and there is no evidence to suggest that they were remembering Allāh each one on his own while sitting together.
2. At-Tirmidhiy narrates from ʼAnas that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, then stop.” They asked, “What are the gardens of Paradise?” He replied, “The circles of remembrance (ḥalaqat adh-dhikr).” The phrase “circles of remembrance” indicates gathering and sitting together.
3. Abū Dawūd narrates from ʼAnas that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “I love to sit with those who remember Allāh from the Fajr prayer until the sun rises more than freeing four slaves from the children of Ismail. I also love to sit with those who remember Allāh from the ʽAṣr prayer until the sun sets more than freeing four slaves.”
4. Muslim narrates from Abī Saʽīd al-Khudriy that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No people sit together remembering Allāh but the angels surround them, mercy covers them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allāh mentions them among those who are with Him.” A similar narration is reported from Abū Hurayrah: “No group of people gather in one of the houses of Allāh reciting and studying the Book of Allāh altogether, but tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allāh mentions them among those who are with Him.” The last statement clearly proves gathering for recitation and study.
5- In the two Saḥīḥ collections of Ḥadīth by Al-Bukhāriy and Muslim, Allah (swt) says: “I am present when my servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me inwardly I shall remember him inwardly, and if he remembers Me in an assembly I shall remember him in an assembly better than his..” This Qudusiy Ḥadīth (sacred narration) narrates from the Lord of Majesty that He said: “And if he remembers Me in an assembly,” and the assembly refers to a group, and it is clear that it came in contrast to the individual (inwardly).
6- Baqiy ibn Makhlad narrated from ʽAbdullāh ibn ʽAmr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed by two gatherings, one of them was supplicating to Allāh and seeking His pleasure, and the other was learning knowledge. He (peace be upon him) said, “Both gatherings are good, but one is better than the other.”
7- Al-Bayhaqiy narrated from Abī Saʽīd al-Khudriy (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allāh Almighty will say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘The people of the gathering today will know who the people of nobility (karam) are.’ It was asked, ‘Who are the people of nobility, O Messenger of Allāh?’ He said, ‘The assemblies of dhikr (remembrance) in the mosques.'”
8- Al-Bukhāriy narrated with the exact chain of transmission from Abī Hurayrah (may Allāh be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said, “God has angels who go about on the roads seeking those who remember God, and when they find people doing so they call to one another, ‘Come to what you are looking for’, and surround them with their wings up to the lowest heaven.” He said that their Lord then asks them, although He is best informed about them, “What are my servants saying?” They reply, “They are extolling, magnifying, praising and glorifying Thee.” He asks whether they have seen Him, and when they reply, “No indeed, they have not seen Thee,” He asks how they would act if they had seen Him, to which they reply, “If they had seen Thee they would have engaged more earnestly in worshipping and glorifying Thee, and would have extolled Thee much more.” He then says, “What are they asking for?” and they reply, “They are asking Thee for paradise.” He asks whether they have seen it, and when they reply, “No indeed, my Lord, they have not seen it,” He asks how they would act if they had seen it to which they reply, “If they had seen it they would have been more intensely eager for it, would have asked more earnestly for it, and would have had a greater desire for it.” He asks what they are seeking refuge from, to which they reply that it is from hell. He asks whether they have seen it, and when they reply, “No indeed, my Lord, they have not seen it,” He asks how they would act if they had seen it, to which they reply, “If they had seen it they would have been more earnest in flying from it and fearing it.” He then says, “I call you to witness that I have forgiven them.” One of the angels says, “Among them is so and so who does not belong to their number, but has come only for something he wants,” and He replies, “They are people who are seated together, and he who sits with them will not be miserable.”
There are many other Ḥadīths on this topic.
Thirdly, evidence from the practice of the Companions:
1- In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhāriy, it is mentioned under the chapter of Takbīr (Allāh ʼAkbar) during the days of staying in Mina and on the day of ʽArafah. ʽUmar (may Allāh be pleased with him) used to perform Takbīr in his tent at Mina, and the people in the mosque would hear him and also start to perform Takbīr. The people in the markets would also perform Takbīr until Mina would resound with the sound of Takbīr. Ibn ʽUmar used to perform Takbīr during those days, after the prayers, on his bed, in his tent, in his sitting place, on his pathways, and in all his gatherings. Maymūnah used to perform Takbīr on the day of Sacrifice, and the women, along with men, used to perform Takbīr after ʼAbān ibn ʽUthmān and ʽUmar ibn ʽAbd al-ʽAzīz during the nights of Tashrīq in the mosque. This clarifies that ʽUmar was performing Takbīr, and the people were performing Takbīr collectively, which is collective remembrance.
2- Imam Ash-Shāfiʽiy reported in his book (Al-ʼUmm) that Ibn Al-Musayyib, ʽUrwah ibn Az-Zubayr, Abū Salamah, Abū Bakr ibn ʽAbd ar-Raḥmān, Nāfiʽ ibn Jubayr, and Ibn ʽUmar used to perform Takbīr loudly. Ibn ʽUmar, the jurist of the Companions, used to go out on the days of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha, raising his voice with the Takbīr and Tahlīl until he reaches the prayer place. Imam Ash-Shāfiʽiy also said: “When people see the new moon of Shawwāl, I like that they would perform Takbīr collectively and individually in the mosque, markets, roads, and homes, whether travelers or residents, in all situations, and wherever they are, and manifest their Takbīr.”
Performing collective remembrance is permissible according to the consensus of the four schools of thought, scholars of fatwa, the people of truth and order (the Sufis), and others. Only some of the scholars of Ḥadīth and the extremists of the Wahhābi sect oppose this. May Allāh guide us and them. After all, Allāh knows best.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr