Rasulullah SAW praised a man who was awwah — literally: one who says ah, ah! — That is: loud in his Thikr, even when others censured him. Ahmad narrated from Uqba ibn Amir RA: " Rasulullah SAW said of a man named Dhu al-bijadayn: innahu awwah, He is a man who says ah a lot. This is because he was a man abundant in his dhikr of Allah in Quran-recitation, and he would raise his voice high when supplicating."

Allah SWT said of the Ibrahim AS: "Verily, Ibrahim is awwah and halim " (9:114, 11:75), that is, according to Tafsir al-jalalayn: "Crying out and suffering much, out of fear and dread of his Lord." [ halim = merciful, gentle.] Rasulullah SAW prayed to be awwah in the following invocation: rabbi ij`alni ilayka awwahan, "O Allah, make me one who often cries out ah to you." Narrated by Tirmidhi (book of da`awat #102, hasan sahih ), Ibn Majah ( Du`a' #2), and Ahmad (1:227) with a strong chain [Yahya ibn Sa`id al-Qattan < Sufyan al-Thawri < Shu`ba < `Amr ibn Murra < `Abd Allah ibn al-Harith < Taliq ibn Qays al-Hanafi < Ibn Abbas] with the following wording: Rasulullah SAW used to supplicate thus: "O my Lord! help me and do not cause me to face difficulty; grant me victory and do not grant anyone victory over me; devise for me and not against me; guide me and facilitate guidance for me; make me overcome whoever rebels against me; O my Lord! Make me abundantly thankful to You (shakkaran laka), abundantly mindful of You (dhakkaran laka), abundantly devoted to You (rahhaban laka), perfectly obedient to You (mitwa`an ilayks) , lowly and humble before You (mukhbitan laka), always crying out and turning back to You (awwahan muniban)… "

Gatherings of Collective, Loud Thikr
The hadith qudsi already quoted, "Those that remember Me in a gathering," makes gatherings of collective, loud Thikr the gateway to realizing Allah's promise "Remember Me, and I shall remember you." It is no wonder that such gatherings receive the highest praise and blessing from Allah SWT and His Rasulullah SAW, according to many excellent and authentic hadiths.

Ibn Umar RA reported that Rasulullah SAW said: "When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, avail yourselves of them." The Companions asked: "What are the gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "The circles of Thikr. There are roaming angels of Allah who go about looking for the circles of Thikr, and when they find them they surround them closely." Tirmidhi narrated it (hasan gharib) and Ahmad.

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira RA reported that Rasulullah SAW, said, "When any group of men remember Allah SWT, angels surround them and mercy covers them, tranquillity descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him." Narrated by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Bayhaqi.

Shahr ibn Hawshab RA relates that one day Sayyadina Abu al-Darda RA entered the Masjid of Bayt al-Maqdis ( Jerusalem ) and saw people gathered around their admonisher (mudhakkir) who was reminding them, and they were raising their voices, weeping, and making invocations. Abu al-Darda' said: "My father's life and my mother's be sacrificed for those who moan over their state before the Day of Moaning!" Then he said: "O Ibn Hawshab, let us hurry and sit with those people. I heard Rasulullah SAW say: If you see the groves of Paradise, graze in them, and we said: O Messenger of Allah, what are the groves of Paradise ? He said: The circles of remembrance, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, no people gather for the remembrance of Allah Almighty except the angels surround them closely, and mercy covers them, and Allah mentions them in His presence, and when they desire to get up and leave, a herald calls them saying: Rise forgiven, your evil deeds have been changed into good deeds!" Then Abu al-Darda made towards them and sat with them eagerly. Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi relates it with his chain of transmission in the chapter entitled: "Mention of those of the elite who used to attend the gatherings of story-tellers" of his book al-Qussas wa al-mudhakkirin (The Story-tellers and the Admonishers) ed. Muhammad Basyuni Zaghlul (Beirut: dar al-kutub al-`ilmiyya, 1406/1986) p. 31.