Copyright 2019 by Mahmood N. A. Jawaid 1 Why ‘La ilaha il Allah’ is the Best Dhikr? A Mystical Explanation Mahmood Jawaid February 16, 2019 Revised March 5, 2019 ABSTRACT The Prophet SAW has been reported to be saying that the best form of remembrance (dhikr) is ‘La ilaha il Allah (There is no deity, but Allah). 1 This is also the first of the two statements required to be professed to enter into the fold of Islam. Whereas the starting point of this statement is for the verbal confession, the author has demonstrated that repeating ‘La ilaha il Allah’ in a slow rhythmic induces a state of extraordinary relaxation interrupting the constant stream of sensory information, which results in the (mystical) experiences. When mystics reach the highest state, they find themselves in a state in which there are no images, no desires, no thought, no affective feeling, no sensation, and no vision. When we reach the ultimate mystical level, we end up purging our consciousness of all the thoughts ( la ilaha), the only thing that remains in our consciousness is Allah ST (il Allah). Though the mystical state can be reached by chanting any word or sound, since ‘La ilaha il Allah’ is the chant where our words match exactly with what happens to our consciousness, if it is chanted with understanding, it becomes the most effective and hence the best dhikr in reaching that state.