The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (653 page)

(P
li). Buddhist analysis of the elements of the body, and thus one of the forty meditation exercises advocated by the
Visuddhimagga
(for which see
BUDDHAGHOSA
).

 
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(Arab., ‘remembrance’). Basically a Quranic word, commanding ‘remembrance of God’, an act of devotion during and after the
al
t
(prayer). However, the
S
f
s
consider dhikr a spiritual food, and it is one of their main practices. Each S
f
order has a dhikr of its own, constructed by its founder; the litanies and incantations are derived from the Qur’
n and taught by the
murshid
(S
f
guide) to the initiate. It should be noted that the dhikr does not bring union with God: it is a device to purify the heart so that it may become a fit receptacle of the divine attributes.

 
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