The reward of glorifying and praising Allah

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That I say 'Subhan Allah, wal-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illa Allah, wa Allahu Akbar' (Glory be to Allah, all praise is for Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest) is dearer to me than everything upon which the sun rises."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are two phrases which are light on the tongue, heavy in the Scale and beloved to the Most Merciful, namely 'Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi, Subhan Allahil-Azim' (Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him, glory be to Allah the Magnificent)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: That I say 'Subhan Allah, wal-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illa Allah' and 'Allahu Akbar' (Glory be to Allah, all praise is for Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest) is dearer to me than spending dinars equal to their number in the path of Allah.

It is narrated from Thabit al-Bunani that he said: One of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this to me beside this pillar. He said: Whoever says 'Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi, wa astaghfirullaha wa atubu ilayhi' (Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him, and I seek the forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance), it is written on a parchment, and then a seal of musk is stamped upon it. It will not be broken until he comes with it on the Day of Resurrection.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: That I say these words is dearer to me than that I send out (in the path of Allah) bridled horses equal to their number.

It is narrated from Ubayd bin Umayr that a single glorification in praise of Allah in the record of the believer is better than that mountains of gold should move, or flow, along with him.

Al-Walid narrates concerning Abu al-Ahwas; he said: I heard Abu al-Ahwas say: A single glorification while seeking a need is better than a choice milch she-camel provided in a year of severe hardship.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: That I recite a few glorifications is dearer to me than that I spend dinars equal to their number in the path of Allah.

Mus'ab bin Sa'd said: When the servant says 'Subhan Allah' (Glory be to Allah), the angels say 'wa bihamdihi' (and praise be to Him), and when the servant says 'Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi' (Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him), the angels pray for mercy for him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When the servant says 'Al-hamdu lillahi kathiran' (All praise is for Allah, abundantly), the angel says: "How shall I write (this)?" Allah says: "Write it as My abundant mercy." And when the servant says 'Subhan Allahi kathiran' (Glory be to Allah, abundantly), the angel says: "How shall I write?" Allah says: "Write for him My abundant mercy." And when the servant says 'Allahu Akbaru kabiran' (Allah is the Greatest, greatly), the angel says: "How shall I write?" Allah says: "Write for him My great mercy."

It is narrated from Amr bin Maymun that he said: Is any one of you unable to glorify Allah 100 times, so that he may have 1000 good deeds?

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He mentioned that he could not take anything from the Qur'an, and he asked him (peace and blessings be upon him) for something that would suffice in place of the Qur'an. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Say: 'Subhan Allah, wal-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illa Allah, wa Allahu Akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah' (Glory be to Allah, all praise is for Allah, there is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest, and there is no might nor power except through Allah)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those who, out of awe of Allah, recite His glorification (tasbih), His praise (tahmid) and the declaration of His oneness (tahlil), these glorifications of theirs keep circling around the Throne. These glorifications have a buzzing like the buzzing of bees. They remember the one who recites them. Would any one of you not like that there should be something with the Most Merciful which continually remembers him?"

It is narrated from Sayyidah Yusayrah (may Allah be pleased with her), who was one of the women who emigrated, that she said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: "You must keep to tasbih (glorifying), takbir (magnifying) and taqdis (sanctifying), and count on your fingers." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "For these fingers will be made to speak on the Day of Resurrection and will be questioned. Do not be heedless, lest you then be made to forget mercy."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I submitted: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the wealthy have taken away the reward. They pray just as we pray, they fast just as we fast, they perform Hajj just as we perform Hajj, and they also give charity, whereas we find nothing to give in charity." The narrator said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you of something which, when you do it, you will catch up with those who have gone ahead of you, and those after you will not catch up with you except through the same deed that you have done? After every prayer recite 'Subhan Allah' (Glory be to Allah) 33 times, 'Al-hamdu lillah' (All praise is for Allah) 33 times, and 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is the Greatest) 34 times."

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) also narrates something similar from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Hilal bin Yasaf that he said: Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: That I recite a few glorifications is dearer to me than that I spend dinars equal to their number in the path of Allah.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In return for every glorification there is charity."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Shall I not tell you the speech most beloved to Allah Almighty?" Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I submitted: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), certainly. Tell me the speech most beloved to Allah Almighty." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The speech most beloved to Allah Almighty is 'Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi' (Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him)."

It is narrated from Ka'b that he said: Among the best of deeds is subhat al-hadith, and among the worst of deeds is tajdif. The narrator said: I submitted: "O Abu Abd al-Rahman, what is subhat al-hadith?" He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "That a man glorifies Allah while the other people are talking." The narrator said: I submitted: "What is tajdif?" He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "That people are doing well, but when they are asked (about their state) they say: 'Badly.'"

It is narrated from Sa'id bin al-Musayyib that he said: We were with Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), and he remained silent for a moment and then said: "Indeed, in this silence of mine I have obtained what the Nile and the Euphrates irrigate." The narrator said: We said: "What have you obtained?" He said: "'Subhan Allah, wal-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illa Allah, wa Allahu Akbar' (Glory be to Allah, all praise is for Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest)."