A collection of various forms of dhikr and tasbih from the Sunnah.

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ - SubhanAllahi wa biHamdihi (Glory be to Allah and Praise Him).

Whoever says (the above) at morning and evening time, one hundred times, none shall come on the Day of Resurrection with anything better except someone who has said the same or more.[1]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ - SubhanAllah wa biHamdihi (Glory be to Allah and Praise Him).

Whoever says (the above) a hundred times during the day, his sins are wiped away, even if they are like the foam of the sea.[2]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ - SubhanAllahi wa biHamdihi (Glory be to Allah and Praise Him)

Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, "Shall I tell you the words that Allah loves the most?" I said: "Yes, tell me, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "The words dearest to Allah are: subhanAllah wa bihamdihi.[3]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ الْعَظِيمِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ - SubhanAllahi 'l-`adheem wa biHamdihi (Glory be to Allah, The Supreme, and Praise Him)

A palm tree is planted for the reciter [of the above] in Paradise.[4]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ ، سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ الْعَظِيمِ - SubhanAllahi wa biHamdihi, Subhan-Allahi 'l-`adheem (Glory be to Allah, and Praise, Glory be to Allah, the Supreme)

Prophet Muhammad said: "Two words are light on the tongue, weigh heavily in the balance, they are loved by the Most Merciful One."[5]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ - SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)

Whoever recites [the above] one Hundred times, a thousand good deeds are recorded for him or a thousand bad deeds are wiped away.[6]

لا حَوْلَ وَ لا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللّهِ - La Hawla wa la Quwatta illa Billah (There is no Might or Power except with Allah)

[the above is] a treasure from the treasures of Paradise.[7]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ ، والْحَمْدُللّهِ ، وَ لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ ، وَ اللّهُ اَكْبَرُ - SubhanAllah, walHamdulilah, wa La illaha ilAllahu, waAllahu Akbar (Glory be to Allah, All Praise is for Allah, There is No God but Allah, Allah is the Greatest)

The above are mentioned as the four most beloved words to Allah. It does not matter with which one of them is begun.[8]

Abu Sa`id reported that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, "Perform the enduring goods deeds (al-baaqiyaat al-SaliHaat) more frequently." They asked, "What are these enduring good deeds?" The Prophet replied: Takbir [Allahu Akbar], Tahlil [la ilaha illallah], Tasbih [Subhan'Allah], alhamdulillah, and la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.[9]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ ، والْحَمْدُللّهِ ، وَ لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ ، وَ اللّهُ اَكْبَرُ - SubhanAllah, walHamdulilah, wa La illaha ilAllahu, waAllahu Akbar (Glory be to Allah, All Praise is for Allah, There is No God but Allah, Allah is the Greatest)

Prophet Muhammad said: “For me to say (the above) is dearer to me and all that the sun rises upon (ie the whole world).”[10]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ ، والْحَمْدُللّهِ ، وَ لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ ، وَ اللّهُ اَكْبَرُ ، وَ لا حَوْلَ وَ لا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللّهِ - SubhanAllah, walHamdulilah, wa La illaha ilAllahu, waAllahu 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, There is no might or any power Except with Allah)

(The above) are the good deeds which endure [al-baqiyaatuS-SaliHaat]

سُبْحَانَ اللّهِ ، والْحَمْدُللّهِ ، وَ لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ ، وَ اللّهُ اَكْبَرُ ، وَ لا حَوْلَ وَ لا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللّهِ - SubhanAllah, walHamdulilah, wa La illaha ilAllahu, waAllahu 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, There is no might or any power Except with Allah)

Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet said: "During the Night Journey I met Ibrahim (alayhis salam) who said to me: ‘O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Community, and tell them that the Paradise is of pure land, its water is sweet, and its expanse is vast, spacious and even. And its seedlings are SubhanAllah, walhamdulilah, wa la ilaha ilAllah, waAllahu Akbar (the above).’”[11]

الْحَمْدُللّهِ - Alhamdulilah (All Praise is for Allah) - Verily the best supplication is (above).[12]

لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ - La illaha ilAllah(u) (There is No God But Allah)

The best form of remembrance is (above).[13]

لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ - La illaha ilAllah(u) (There is No God But Allah)

Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet said: "When a servant of Allah utters the words la ilaha illallah (there is no God except Allah) sincerely, the doors of heaven open up for these words until they reach the Throne of Allah, so long as its utterer keeps away from the major sins.”[14]

لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ - La illaha ilAllah(u) (There is No God But Allah)

Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet said, "Renew your faith." "How can we renew our faith?" they asked. The Prophet replied: "Say always: la ilaha illallah."[15]

لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَ هُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ - La illaha ilAllahu, waHdahu la shareeka lahu, lahul Mulku, wa lahul Hamd, wa Huwa ala kulli shaiy'in Qadeer (There is No God But Allah Alone, who has no partner. His is the dominion and His is the raise, and He is Able to do all things)

Whoever says the above ten times, will have the reward for freeing four slaves from the Children of Isma'il .[16]

لا اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَ هُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ - La illaha ilAllahu, waHdahu la shareeka lahu, lahul Mulku, wa lahul Hamd, wa Huwa ala kulli shaiy'in Qadeer (There is No God But Allah Alone, who has no partner. His is the dominion and His is the raise, and He is Able to do all things)

Whoever says the above one Hundred times, has the reward of freeing ten slaves, a hundred good deeds are recorded for him and a hundred bad deeds are wiped away and he has gained refuge from the devil that day until evening and none shall come with anything better except someone who has done more.[17]

لَآ اِلهَ اِلاَّ اللّهُ وَاحِدًا اَحَدًا صَمَدًا لَّمْ يَتَّخِذْ صَاحِبَةً وَّ لاَ وَلَدًا وَّ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَّوْ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌ - La illaha ilAllahu, Wahidda(n), Ahada(n), Samada(n), lam yatakhidh sahiba(n). Wa la walada, wa la yak(n)ul-lahu kufuwan Ahad (There is no God except Allah, the One and Only, the Eternal, Who has not taken a partner nor a son. And there is none like unto Him)

Whoever says the words above ten times, then 40,000 (forty thousand) good deeds will be recorded for him.[18]

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْْقَيُّومُ وَ أَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ - Astaghfirullah al-'Adheemal-ladhi la ilaha illa Huwal-Hayyul-Qayyum wa atubu ilaih (I seek the forgiveness of Allah the Mighty, Whom there is none worthy except Him, the Living, The Eternal, and I repent unto Him)

Whoever says the above words, Allah will forgive him even if he deserted the army's ranks.[19]

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّى لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَ أَنْتَ ، خَلَقْتَنِى وَ أنَا عَبْدُكَ وَ أنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ ما اسْتَطَعْتُ ، أعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِ مَا صَنَعْت ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَىَّ وَ أبُوءُ بِذَنْبى فَاغْفِرْ لِى فإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ - Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Anta Khalaqtani wa ana abduka, wa ana 'ala ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, A'udhu bika min Sharri ma sana'tu, abu'u Laka bini'matika 'alaiya, wa Abu Laka bidhanbi faghfirli innahu la yaghfiru adhdhunuba illa anta (O Allah! You are my Lord! None has the right to be worshipped but You. You created me and I am Your slave, and I am faithful to my covenant and my promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from all the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I confess to You all my sins. So I entreat You to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins except You.)

The above du'a is known as the Sayyid al-Istighfar and is the most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah. Whoever says it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise.[20]

If someone implements ten verses of the Qur'an, He/She will not be considerate amongst the negligent on the Day of Judgment.[21]

If someone implements one hundred verses of the Qur'an, He/She will be considered among the obedient on the Day of Judgment.[22]

If someone implements one thousand verses of the Qur'an, He/She will be amongst the extremely rich on the Day of Judgement.[23]

[1] Sahih Muslim, #4:42071.

[2] Sahih al-Bukhari; #7:168, Sahih Muslim; #4:2071.

[3] Muslim and at-Tirmidhi.

[4] at-Tirmidhi; 5:511, al-Hakim.

[5] Sahih al-Bukhari; #7:67, Sahih Muslim, #4:2071.

[6] Sahih Muslim; #4:2073.

[7] Sahih al-Bukhari; al-Fath al-Bari #11:213, Sahih Muslim #4:2076.

[8] Sahih Muslim; #3:1685.

[9] an-Nasa'i and Hakim, who said its chain is sahih.

[10] Sahih Muslim; #4:2072.

[11] at-Tirmidhi and Tabarani whose version adds: "There is no power nor strength save through Allah".

[12] Sahih Muslim; #4:2073.

[13] Sahih Muslim; #4:2073.

[14] at-Tirmidhi, who says it is hasan gharib. al-Mundhiri included in al-Targhib #2:414.

[15] Ahmad with a fair chain of authorities.

[16] Sahih al-Bukhari; 7:67, Sahih Muslim; #4:2071.

[17] Sahih al-Bukhari; #4:95, Sahih Muslim; #4:2071.

[18] Ahmad.

[19] Abu Dawud 2/85, at-Tirmidhi 5/569, Al-Hakim who declared it authentic and adh-Dhahabi agreed with him 1/511.

[20] Sahih al-Bukhari 8, 75 #318.

[21] Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban – sahih.

[22] Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban – sahih.

[23] Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban – sahih.



Ibn Taimiyaa wrote, "Remembrance of Allah is to the heart what water is to fish. What happens to a fish when it is taken out of water?" Imam Shams ad-Din ibn al-Qayyim wrote about nearly eighty benefits that come with dhikru'llah in his book al-Wabil al-Sayyib. We shall quote some of them here, although we recommend the reader to refer to this book itself because of its great value.

Remembrance of Allah is sustenance for both the heart and the spirit. If the servant is deprived of it he becomes like a body which has been deprived of food.

Remembrance of Allah also drives away shaytan, suppressing him and breaking him; it is pleasing to the Merciful, Might and Exalted is He, dispels worry and melancholy from the heart, adorns it with delight and joy, fills the heart and face with light, and cloaks the one who remembers Allah with dignity, gentleness and freshness. It instils love for Allah, fear of Him, and relating all matters to Him. It also enhances Allah's remembrance of His servant, for as Allah says:

--< So remember Me-I will remember you. (2:152)-->

Even if this were the only reward for the remembrance of Allah, it would be mercy and honour enough, for such a heart is always aware and free from wrong actions.

Although remembrance is one of the easiest forms of worship, the mercy and honour that it brings cannot be acheived by any other means. Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet *saaws* said, "Whoever recites the words, "There is no god but Allah, the One, having no partner with Him. Sovereignty belongs to Him and All praise is due to Him, and He is Powerful over everything', one hundred times every day, there is a reward equal to freeing ten slaves for him, and a hundred good actions are recorded for him, and a hundred wrong actions are removed from his record. That is a safeguard for him against shaytan on that day until evening, and no one brings anything more excellent than this, except the one who has done more than this (that is, who recites these words more than one hundred times)."1

Jabir reported that the Prophet *saaws* said, "Whoever recites the words, "Glory be to Allah and His is the praise', will have a palm tree planted for him in the Garden."2

Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "To Praise Allah, may He be Exalted, is more dear to me than spending the same number of dinars (as the number of times I praise Him) in the way of Allah."

Remembrance of Allah is a remedy for hard hearts. A man once told al-Hassan, "O Abu Sa'id, I complain to you about the hardness of my heart." He said, "Soften it with the remembrance of Allah." Makhul said, "Remembrance of Allah is (a sign of) health, while remembrance of people is like a disease." A man once asked Salman, "Which deeds are the best?" He said, "Haven't you read in the Qur'an:

--<* And the remembrance of Allah is greatest. (29:45)<*-:

Abu Musa once related that the Prophet *saaws* said, "The difference between the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not is like the difference between the living and the dead."3

Abdullah ibn Busr related that a man once told the Prophet *saaws*, "The roads to good are many and I am unable to take all of them, so please tell me something to which I can hold fast, but do not overburden me lest I forget it." He said, "Make sure that your tongue is moist and supple with the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted."4

Continual remembrance of Allah increases a servant's good witnesses on the Day of Resurrection. It is a means which prevents him from talking in the wrong way, such as backbiting and spreading tales and their like. Either the tongue is mentioning Allah and remembering Him, or it is talking incorrectly.

Whoever has the gates of remembrance opened to him has an opening to his Lord, Mighty and Glorious is He, through which he will find what he seeks. If he finds Allah, he has found everything. If he misses the opportunity, he has missed everything.

There are several types of remembrance. The remembrance of the Names of Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He, the remembrance of His Attributes, and praising Him and thanking Him. All of these can take the form of saying, for example, 'Glory be to Allah', 'Praise be to Allah', 'There is no god but Allah'. A servant can also remember Allah by referring to His Names and Attributes, such as by saying, for example, "Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He, Hears all that his servants say and do"; or by mentioning what He has commanded and what He has forbidden, such as saying, "Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, commands such and such, or forbids such and such."

A servant can also remember Allah by talking about His blessings, while the best type of remembrance is the recitation of the Qur'an, because this contains remedies to cure the heart from all illnesses. Allah, the Exalted, says:

--<*O mankind, there has come to you a protection from your Lord and a healing for what is in your hearts, and for those who believe, a guidance and a mercy. (10:57)-->

And also::

--<* We send down in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy for those who believe. (17:82)>--*

All the illnesses of the heart result from desires and doubt, and the Qur'an is a cure for both. It has enough clear signs and proofs to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and thus it cures the diseases of doubt which ruin knowledge, understanding and perception, by enabling a person to see things as they really are.

Whoever studies the Qur'an, and allows it to be absorbed by his heart, will recognise truth and falsehood and will be able to distinguish between them, just as he is able to distinguish between night and day.

As for curing the diseases that arise from desires, it is because it contains wisdom and good counsel. This recommends avoiding worldly gains and inspires a yearning for the akhira.

The Prophet *saaws* once said, "Whoever wants to love Allah and His Messenger should read the Qur'an."5

The Qur'an is also the best means for bringing the servant nearer to his Lord, Glorious and Exalted is He. Khabab ibn al-Arat said to a man, "Draw closer to Allah as much as you can, and remember that you can do so by no means more pleasing to Him than using His own words."

Ibn Mas'ud said, "Whoever loves the Qur'an loves Allah and His Messenger," and sayyedina Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "If your hearts were really pure, they would never have enough of reciting Allah's words."

All in all, the most benefical thing for the servant is to remember Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He, constantly:

--<* Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. ( 13:28)*>-

**The Best kind of remembrance is to recite the Book of Allah, the Glorious and Exalted.*
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Notes:

1. Al-Bukhari, Kitabn ad-Da'awat, 11/201; Muslim, Kitab adh-Dhikr
wa'd-Du'a, 17/16.
2. Sahih, at-Tirmidhi, Kitab ad-Da'awat, 9/433.
3. Al-Bukhari, Kitab ad-Da'awat, 11/208; al-Hakim, Kitab ad-Du'a, 1/495.
4. At-Tirmidhi, Kitab ad-Da'awat, 9/314.
5. Da'if, munkar. See the commentary on this hadith in Ibn Hajar's Tahdhib
at-Tahdhib, 2/222 and Lisan al-Mizan, 2/185, and in as-Suyuti's Al-Jami'
as-Saghir, 6/150.

--------=-The Purification of the Soul-=---------------------
from the works of Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbabli, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyaa, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
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