Tasbih, Tahmid & Takbir
سُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ (tasbīḥ), اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ (taḥmīd), and اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ (takbīr) are amongst the most beloved statements to Allah.
Though easy to utter with our tongues, on the Day of Judgement, they will be heavy on the scales. They remove sins and garner unparalleled rewards. They cultivate the trees and plants of Paradise, and are a protection from the Hell-Fire.
What Does سُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ Mean?
سُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ means to glorify Allah above any imperfection or deficiency i.e. Allah is free from all defects. Allah is the Most Glorified who has no partner or rival, who possesses every aspect of perfection, and whose actions are pure and free from evil. By negating all deficiencies from Him, we are affirming His perfection and majesty.
The entire universe — including the angels, the mountains, and trees — praises and glorifies Allah. Allah (subḥānahū wa taʿālā) says,
“The seven heavens, the earth, and all those in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not glorify His praises — but you cannot comprehend their glorification. He is indeed Most Forbearing, All-Forgiving” (17:44).
What Does اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ Mean?
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ is an expression that encompasses both:
(1) Gratitude for what Allah has blessed us with; īmān, life, health etc.
(2) Praise: Allah is worthy of every possible praise on account of His very existence, His mercy, beauty, generosity and all of His other noble Attributes and Names. All of His Attributes are perfect; be they of His majesty (jalāl) or beauty (jamāl). Even if none of His slaves praised Him, He would still be worthy of all praise.
In truth, it is Allah who praises Himself on the tongues of His slaves. Any slave who praises Him is only able to do so because of His permission for such praise.
Our praise of Him emanates from our love and reverence of Him. Our praise of Him is, in fact, a blessing from Him which deserves even more praise. Even if we were to spend our entire life praising Him, it would be insufficient. Whilst uttering اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ, we should reflect on the blessings of Allah and His Perfect Qualities.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When Allah grants a blessing to a slave, upon which the slave praises Him, the praise of the slave is better than the blessing itself ” (Ibn Mājah).
What Does اَللهُ أَكْبَر Mean?
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ means ‘Allah is Greater than…’ By not specifying what He is Greater than, we are saying that He is Greater than everything. Allah is Greater than anything we can imagine, and His greatness encompasses all things: He is Great in His Essence, His Names, His Attributes and His Actions. Allah is Supreme and Transcendent above every limitation and deficiency that is inherent in created beings.
Our limited minds are unable to comprehend the Greatness of Allah. However one can attempt to appreciate His Greatness by pondering over His creation. When we ponder on the greatness of Allah’s creation such as the heavens, the earth, His Kursī and His Majestic Throne, and then realise our own inability to comprehend them due to their greatness, we arrive at the most important realisation: how Great must their Creator be!
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “The seven heavens in comparison to the Kursī is nothing but like a ring thrown in a desert, and the excellence of the Throne of Allāh over the Kursī is like the excellence of that desert over that ring.” (Bayhaqī)
What Are the Virtues of Tasbih, Tahmid & Takbir?
1 – The Most Beloved Statements to Allah
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The most beloved statements to Allah are four: سُبْحَانَ اللهِ ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ ، وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ ، وَاللهُ أَكْبَر.” (Muslim)
They are also “the best words after the Qur’ān and they are from the Qur’ān…” (Aḥmad).
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Uttering سُبْحَانَ اللهِ ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ ، وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ ، وَاللهُ أَكْبَر is more beloved to me than anything over which the sun rises” (Muslim).
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked, “What is the most virtuous speech?” He said, “What Allah selected for His angels or for His servants: سُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ” (Muslim).
2 – The Best Companion in a Believer’s Life
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There is none better in the sight of Allah than a believer whose life is lengthened in Islam and who frequently utters takbīr, tasbīḥ, tahlīl and taḥmīd” (Aḥmad).
3 – They Wipe Sins Away
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There is not anyone upon the earth who says: لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ ، وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ ، وَسُبْحَانَ اللهِ ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَلَا حَوْلَ ، وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِالله except that his sins shall be pardoned, even if they were like the foam of the sea.” (Tirmidhī)
Anas (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, “The Prophet ﷺ passed by a tree with dry leaves. He struck it with his stick causing the leaves to fall. He then said, ‘Indeed الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَسُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ ، وَاللهُ أَكْبَر cause the servant’s sins to fall just as the leaves of this tree fell’” (Tirmidhī).
4 – Heavy on the Scales
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There are two statements that are light on the tongue, heavy on the Scale and are beloved to the Most Merciful: سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ ، سُبْحَانَ اللهِ الْعَظِيْم” (Bukhārī).
He ﷺ also said, “ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ fills the Scale; and سُبْحَانَ اللهِ and اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ fill what is in between the heavens and the earth” (Muslim).
5 – Unparalleled Reward
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Perform tasbīḥ 100 times, for it is equivalent to freeing 100 slaves among the children of Ismāʿīl. Perform taḥmīd 100 times, for it is equivalent to 100 saddled and bridled horses which you load in the path of Allah. Perform takbīr 100 times, for it is equivalent to 100 adorned and accepted camels (which are sacrificed for the sake of Allah)” (Aḥmad).
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Is one of you incapable of earning a thousand good deeds every day?” One of his Companions asked him, “How can one of us earn a thousand good deeds?” He replied, “He says سُبْحَانَ اللهِ 100 times, for which either a thousand good deeds are recorded for him, or a thousand of his sins are wiped away” (Muslim).
6. The Key to Receiving Sustenance
The Prophet ﷺ said, “When death approached Allah’s Prophet Nūḥ (ʿalayhis-salām), he said to his son: ‘… (I command you with) سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ . It is the prayer of everything, and with it the creation is given sustenance (i.e. all of Allah’s creation praise Him and this is their worship of Him; and this tasbīḥ is the key of them receiving the provisions of Allah)’” (Ḥākim).
7 – An Easy Powerful Deed
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever finds it difficult to struggle at night (i.e. stand in prayer at night), or is stingy to spend his wealth (in the path of Allah), or is cowardly to fight the enemy — then he should abundantly say سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ, for it is more beloved to Allah than a mountain of gold which he spends in the path of Allah” (Ṭabarānī).
8 – A Means of Acceptance of Your Duʿas
Umm Sulaym (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhā) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allah, teach me some phrases which I can supplicate with in my ṣalāh.” He ﷺ said, “Say سُبْحَانَ اللهِ , ten times, اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ ten times, اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ ten times, then ask Him for your needs — He (subḥānahū wa taʿālā) will say, ‘Yes, Yes!’” (Nasā’ī).
9 – A Form of Charity
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Every tasbīḥ is a charity, every takbīr is a charity, every taḥmīd is a charity, and every tahlīl is a charity” (Muslim).
10 – Protection From the Hell-Fire
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “For your shield from the Hell-Fire, say, سُبْحَانَ اللهِ ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ ، وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ ، وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ as they will indeed come on the Day of Judgement as saviours and preceding good actions, and they are the lasting good deeds of the righteous” (Ḥākim).
11 – The Plants of Paradise
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I met Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhi s-salām) on the Night of al-Isrā’ (the Night journey), and he said to me: ‘O Muḥammad, convey my greetings to your ummah, and tell them that Paradise has pure soil and sweet water, and it is a flat treeless plain. Its plants are: سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ. ’”
He ﷺ also said: “Whoever says سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ, a palm-tree will be planted for him in Paradise.” (Tirmidhī)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Indeed what you remember of Allah’s Glory (by uttering) tasbīḥ, takbīr, tahlīl and taḥmīd, gather around the Throne of Allah, buzzing like bees, mentioning to Allah the person who uttered them. Do you not wish to have someone who mentions you by Him?” (Ibn Mājah)
