Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Abu Tiyah says: I asked Abdur Rahman bin Hanbash Tamimi, who was elderly: Did you have the companionship of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: Yes. I asked: What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) do on that night when the devils came near him? He said: That night, the devils attacked the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from various valleys and ravines. Among them was a devil who had a flame of fire in his hand and wanted to burn the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). At that moment, Jibreel (peace be upon him) came and said: O Muhammad! Say. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What should I say? He said: Recite this supplication: “I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah, which neither the righteous nor the wicked can surpass, from the evil of whatever He has created, and from the evil of whatever descends from the sky, and from the evil of whatever ascends into it, and from the evil of whatever comes at night, except one who comes with good, O Most Merciful!” (As a result,) their fire was extinguished and Allah, Blessed and Exalted, defeated them.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you of something by which you will attain the rank of those who came before you, and those who come after you will not be able to catch up with you, and you will be the best among all the people of your time, except for the one who does the same as you? (That deed is) that you say «سبحان اللہ », «الحمد للہ», and « اللہ اکبر» thirty-three times after every prayer." This hadith is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, Sayyiduna Abu Dharr, Sayyiduna Abu Darda, Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, and Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). The hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), which Abu Salih narrated, is as follows: The poor people came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "The wealthy have taken all the high ranks and everlasting blessings. They pray as we pray, and they fast as we fast, but they have more virtue due to their wealth; they perform Hajj, Umrah, Jihad, and give charity." The narrator says: (the above hadith was mentioned). (Regarding the number of tasbihat) we differed; some said to say «سبحان اللہ » thirty-three times, «الحمد للہ» thirty-three times, and «اللہ اکبر» thirty-four times (and some said something else). I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned the whole matter, and he said: "Say each of «سبحان اللہ », «الحمد للہ», and «اللہ اکبر» thirty-three times."