(100x) لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ
There is no god worthy of worship except Allah. He is Alone and He has no partner whatsoever. To Him Alone belong all sovereignty and all praise. He is over all things All-Powerful.
Lā ilāha illā-Allāh, waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahu-l-mulk, wa lahu-l-ḥamd, wa Huwa ʿalā kulli shay’in Qadīr.
Abū Hurayrah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever says [the above] 100 times in a day will have a reward equivalent to that of freeing 10 slaves. A 100 good deeds will be recorded for him, and a 100 of his sins will be blotted out from his scroll. He will be safeguarded against Shayṭān on that day till the evening; and none will surpass him in doing better good deeds except someone who has recited these words more often than him.” (Bukhārī 3293)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever says [the above] 100 times in the morning and evening, none will surpass him in doing better good deeds except someone who has recited it more than him.” (Nasā’ī in al-Sunan al-Kubra 10335)
Brief Commentary
• This dhikr begins with the statement of tawḥīd, which is the greatest statement to make as it affirms the greatest truth: the Oneness of Allah (subḥānahū wa taʿālā).
• The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The best of what I and the Prophets before me have said is:
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ” (Muwaṭṭa’).
• When we say this dhikr, we affirm that Allah alone deserves to be worshipped. It means to be a slave of Allah alone, and not of any other being, ideology, object or desire. With it, we profess Allah’s Lordship over all creation, and thereby His exclusive right to be worshipped alone.
• When we say all “sovereignty” belongs to Allah, this means every single king and kingdom from the past, present, and future falls under the dominion of Allah. This further reiterates His greatness and why He Alone is deserving of worship.
• Allah is the only True Creator and King over everything and everyone. He is a Just King, who has no partners, rivals or helpers; and He does not even need any of these. And so, He is deserving of praise after affirming His sovereignty.
• Since Allah is “over all things All-Powerful,” it only makes sense that the kingdom and the praise belong exclusively to Him.
• Sometimes a person may have sovereignty, but it is a confined, fickle authority that will inevitably end. Here, we affirm at the end of this dhikr that Allah’s sovereignty is real as He has full control over everyone and everything.
• Since this dhikr is the greatest statement that a person can make, it is befitting that it contains the greatest rewards. The rewards it confers are unparalleled:
- Reward for freeing 10 slaves;
- 100 good deeds;
- 100 sins erased;
- Protection from Shayṭān for that day;
- Being from those who did the best deeds that day.
• In the past, people had to save for a long time to be able to purchase one slave, yet Allah has promised us the reward of freeing 10 slaves everyday if we say this dhikr a 100 times!
• The reward of freeing one slave, in itself, is priceless: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will free every limb of his body for every limb (of the slave’s body that he freed) from the Hellfire, including his private parts” (Bukhārī).
Action Points
• لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ is the greatest statement ever uttered, the foundation of faith and the cornerstone of existence itself.
• Allah created the heavens, the earth and everything in between them for this fundamental truth: that He Alone is worshipped, loved and obeyed. He sent messengers and revealed books for this very same reason: so that He alone is worshipped. For this same reason, the Day of Judgement will be established, the creation will be gathered and questioned, and then driven either into Hell or Paradise.
• لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ is the best form of remembering Allah (dhikr). It outweighs the seven heavens and the seven earths. On the Day of Judgement, it will outweigh all sins on the Scale. When uttered sincerely, it leaves the realms of this earth and ascends to the Magnificent Throne of Allah. It is the guarantor of one’s ultimate success: its utterer will be saved from Hell, and will be guaranteed Paradise and the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ.
• Recite this dhikr with the presence of the heart.
• Try to remove the love and awe of other things from your heart as you repeat this dhikr. Focus your heart on Allah alone. Try to push away the whispers of Shayṭān and worldly distractions from your mind. Say to yourself: The Only One who deserves my complete love, awe, submission, obedience and worship is Allah. He has no partners; there is none who can compete with Him, and none like Him. Absolute dominion, power and praise is for Allah Alone.
• As you are repeating this dhikr, feel a sense of peace and tranquillity: you live in a world which is controlled by Allah, and everything in it belongs to Him.
• True kingdom belongs to Allah alone. The arrogant leaders and kings of this life are all meek actors in the kingdom and dominion of Allah. Therefore, don’t feel scared of worldly kings, authorities and leaders. Always remember that you have the King of kings by your side, so long as you obey Him.
• From all the morning and evening adhkār, this dhikr takes the most amount of time. However, its reward and benefits are too great to miss out on, so ensure you say this every day and aim to be amongst the best of people.
• Imām al-Nawawī (raḥimahullāh) writes, “The general meaning of the ḥadīth indicates that the reward mentioned may be attained by the one who repeats this dhikr one hundred times in a day — whether he repeats it consecutively (in one setting); or at different times in several sessions; or he recites some of it at the beginning of the day and some at the end of the day. However, it is best to recite it consecutively at the beginning of the day, so that it will be a protection for him throughout the full day.”
• Feel gratitude in your heart for Allah’s generosity, as the rewards for this dhikr are immense.
